Plant Diversity and Succession of Artificial Vegetation Types and Environment in an Arid Desert Region of China

This is a review of current studies in diversity of the flora and main vegetation types in the Brazilian Pantanal. The flora of this wetland, nearly 2,000 species, constitutes a pool of elements of wide distribution and from more or less adjacent phytogeographic provinces, such as Cerrado, dry seasonal forests, Chaco, Amazonia and Atlantic Forest. The most numerous group includes wide-distribution species, mainly herbs, while the second contingent comes from the Cerrado. Endemic plants are rare, numbering only seven. The vegetation of the sedimentary floodplain is a mosaic of aquatics, floodable grasslands, riparian forests, savannas (cerrados), cerrado woodlands, dry forests, and a large area of mono-dominant savannas, and pioneer woodlands. The main vegetation types are briefly described with their characteristic species, and their estimated areas are given according to the latest mapping.

Download Full-text

The Cuito catchment of the Okavango system: a vascular plant checklist for the Angolan headwaters

PhytoKeys ◽

10.3897/phytokeys.113.30439 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 113 ◽

pp. 1-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David J. Goyder ◽

Nigel Barker ◽

Stoffel P. Bester ◽

Arnold Frisby ◽

Matt Janks ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Conservation Planning ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

River System ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Additional Species ◽

System A ◽

Peat Deposits ◽

First Time

This paper aims to provide a baseline for conservation planning by documenting patterns of plant diversity and vegetation in the upper catchment of the Cuito River. 417 species are recorded from this region. Nine of these are species potentially new to science. Ten species are newly recorded from Angola, with an additional species only recorded previously within Angola from the northern enclave of Cabinda. The 108 new provincial records for Moxico clearly indicate the lack of collections from Angola’s largest province. We note the existence of extensive peat deposits in the Cuito river system for the first time and suggest that one of Barbosa’s vegetation types in the area needs to be reassessed.

Download Full-text

High Air Humidity Causes Atmospheric Water Absorption via Assimilating Branches in the Deep-Rooted Tree Haloxylon ammodendron in an Arid Desert Region of Northwest China

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2019.00573 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xue-Wei Gong ◽

Guang-Hui Lü ◽

Xue-Min He ◽

Binoy Sarkar ◽

Xiao-Dong Yang

Keyword(s):

Water Absorption ◽

Rooted Tree ◽

Northwest China ◽

Air Humidity ◽

Atmospheric Water ◽

Haloxylon Ammodendron ◽

Desert Region ◽

Arid Desert

Download Full-text

Vineyard evaporative fraction based on eddy covariance in an arid desert region of Northwest China

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2008.03.005 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 95 (8) ◽

pp. 937-948 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Sien Li ◽

Shaozhong Kang ◽

Fusheng Li ◽

Lu Zhang ◽

Baozhong Zhang

Keyword(s):

Eddy Covariance ◽

Northwest China ◽

Evaporative Fraction ◽

Desert Region ◽

Arid Desert

Download Full-text

How do heterogeneity in vegetation types and post-fire age-classes contribute to plant diversity at the landscape scale?

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2015.02.023 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 346 ◽

pp. 22-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

J.S. Cohn ◽

J. Di Stefano ◽

F. Christie ◽

G. Cheers ◽

A. York

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Landscape Scale ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Age Classes

Download Full-text

The Biodiversity Promotion Areas: effectiveness of agricultural direct payments on plant diversity conservation in the semi-natural grasslands of the Southern Swiss Alps

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-020-02069-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (14) ◽

pp. 4155-4172

Author(s):

Simone Ravetto Enri ◽

Emiliano Nucera ◽

Michele Lonati ◽

Pier Francesco Alberto ◽

Massimiliano Probo

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Swiss Alps ◽

Species Number ◽

Ecological Indicator ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Natural Grasslands ◽

Meadow Species

Abstract An agro-environmental payment for the management of the so-called ‘Biodiversity Promotion Areas’ (BPA) has been used to accomplish biodiversity conservation goals in Switzerland. These areas have been managed according to specific limitations on mowing dates and fertilizers. We assessed the regional-scale effectiveness of BPA implementation within Ticino Canton by answering the following questions: (i) is plant species diversity higher in BPA than in conventionally managed grasslands (CMG)? (ii) which are the differences between BPA and CMG in terms of climatic, topographical, ecological, and vegetation variables? (iii) which vegetation types, functional groups, and plant species are specifically related to BPA? A total of 242 vegetation surveys (64 in BPA and 178 in CMG, respectively) was carried out in 55 farms and the main climatic and topographic features were assessed. Differences in terms of plant diversity, ecological indicator and pastoral values, species functional groups, vegetation types, and indicator species between BPA and CMG were assessed. The BPA harboured a higher plant diversity. They were located in steeper areas, at higher elevations, and characterised by lower soil nutrient content, mowing tolerance, and pastoral value than CMG. Dry meadow species number and cover were higher in BPA, while nutrient-rich meadow species number was higher in CMG. The species associated to BPA belonged to a wider range of functional groups and 38% of them belonged to the national list for biodiversity promotion in agriculture, whereas no species associated to CMG belonged to that list. Thus, our results confirmed the effectiveness of BPA for biodiversity conservation for the Southern Swiss Alps.

Download Full-text