Cover distributions of vascular plants in relation to soil chemistry and soil depth in a granite rock ecosystem

AbstractThe maintenance of protected lichen species and their biodiversity in general depends on good management practices based on their distribution and habitat preferences. To date, 10 of the 17 protected lichen species of Hungary have been recorded in the Bakony Mts including the Balaton Uplands region. Habitat preferences of three protected Cladonia species (C. arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) growing on underlying rocks of red sandstone, basalt, Pannonian sandstone and gravel were investigated by detailed sampling. We recorded aspect, underlying rock type, soil depth, pH and CaCO3 content, habitat type (as defined by the General National Habitat Classification System Á-NÉR), all species of lichen, bryophyte and vascular plants as well as percentage cover of exposed rock, total bryophytes, lichens, vascular plants and canopy, degree of disturbance and animal impacts. Sporadic populations of these species mostly exist at the top of hills and mountains in open acidofrequent oak forests, but they may occur in other habitats, such as closed acidofrequent oak forests, slope steppes on stony soils, siliceous open rocky grasslands, open sand steppes, wet and mesic pioneer scrub and dry Calluna heaths. Cladonia rangiferina was found to grow beneath higher canopy cover than either C. arbuscula or C. mitis in the Balaton Uplands. Furthermore, there were significant differences in canopy cover between occupied and unoccupied quadrats in the case of all three species. Cladonia rangiferina is a good indicator species of natural habitats in Hungary due to its restricted distribution and low ecological tolerance. These results may lead to the adoption of effective conservation methods (e.g. game exclusion, artificial dispersal) in the future.

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Vegetation-environment relationships of boreal coniferous forests in the Solhomfjell area, Gjerstad, S Norway

Sommerfeltia ◽

10.2478/som-1993-0002 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 1-259

Author(s):

R.H. Økland ◽

O. Eilertsen

Keyword(s):

Vascular Plants ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Bottom Layer ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

Permanent Plots ◽

Hierarchy Theory ◽

N Availability ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Complex Gradient

Abstract The understory vegetation (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) in an area dominated by boreal coniferous forests is subjected to detailed ecological analysis. Two hundred meso sample plots (1 m2) are used as basis for vegetation sampling, and provided with measurements of 33 environmental variables. Species abundance is recorded as frequency in 16 subplots. Parallel DCA and 2-dimensional LNMDS ordinations of meso sample plots were largely identical, both provided two coenocline axes interpretable in ecological terms. The first axis is interpreted as the response to a broad-scale topographical complex-gradient, made up of two independent complex-gradients; (1) a topography-soil depth complex-gradient in the pine forest (running from lichen-rich pine forests to submesic Vaccinium myrtillus-dominated spruce forests), and (2) a complex-gradient in soil nutrient status in the spruce forest. The second axis, mainly affecting the species composition of the bottom layer, is interpreted as a fine-scale paludification gradient. The causes of variation along these gradients are discussed: Desiccation tolerance is considered to act directly on the physiology of vascular plant species, setting their limits towards xeric sites. Similarly, cryptogams with optima in the more mesic sites are considered to be excluded from drier sites by physiological tolerance. Limits of cryptogams towards more mesic sites are, however, considered to be set by competitive ability (growth rates) in accordance with the competitive hierarchy theory. N availability is assumed to be the most important factor for differentiation of vascular plants along the nutrient gradient, while bryophytes are expected to respond to a complex of factors, including structural properties of the humus layer. Increasing N accumulation in the humus towards xeric sites may indicate oversaturation due to deposition of airborne NO3- or NH>4 +. Fine-scale paludification, mainly of a soligenous type, occurred in sloping terrain with shallow soil. The cryptogams apparently make up a competitive hierarchy also along the paludification gradient. No other coenoclines could be identified by analysis of 0.0625 m2 micro sample plots, most probably because the response of vegetation to micro-scale environmental gradients (probably most important: the variation in microtopography) not essentially different from the meso-scale gradients, and because the importance of random processes increase towards finer scales. Structuring processes are discussed with reference to the observed patterns. The lack of a closed bottom layer in almost all sample plots is considered a strong indication of high importance of fine-scale disturbance and density-independent mortality in the investigated system, while interspecific competition is of lower importance. The methodology in vegetation ecological studies is discussed with particular reference to monitoring. The potential of an integrated concept using permanent plots, parallel investigation of vegetation and environmental parameters, and gradient analysis, is stressed. Several suggestions for future studies, based on this integrated approach, are made.

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The soil propagule bank in a boreal old-growth spruce forest: changes with depth and relationship to aboveground vegetation

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b97-014 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 121-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Knut Rydgren ◽

Geir Hestmark

Keyword(s):

Vascular Plants ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Spruce Forest ◽

Old Growth ◽

Soil Layers ◽

Propagule Bank ◽

Uppermost Layer ◽

Se Norway

The species composition and the depth distribution of the soil propagule banks of bryophytes and vascular plants from three different soil layers in a boreal old-growth spruce forest in SE Norway were studied using the emergence method. A total of 34 taxa germinated with a predominance of ferns and mosses. The frequency of the different species exhibits a common community pattern with a few common and a large number of low frequency species. The tree Betula pubescens, the ferns Athyrium filix-femina, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, and Phegopteris connectilis, and the mosses Plagiothecium laetum agg. and Polytrichum spp. were the most frequent. There is only a moderate correspondence, decreasing with soil depth, between the propagule bank and the aboveground vegetation in the sampled plots. In the soil profile, the litter layer on average had more taxa than the peaty mor and bleached layer (7.7, 6.0, and 5.5 taxa, respectively). Five of the 17 taxa occurring in more than 10% of the soil samples from the different soil layers were significantly more frequent in the upper soil layer, while two taxa were more frequent in either peaty mor and (or) the bleached layer than in the uppermost layer. The propagule bank in the different soil layers represents an in situ potential for regeneration of the vegetation after different degrees of disturbance in the forest floor. Key words: disturbance, soil propagule bank, boreal forest, bryophytes, vascular plants.

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Mineral Soil Chemical Properties as Influenced by Long-Term Use of Prescribed Fire with Differing Frequencies in a Southeastern Coastal Plain Pine Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9120739 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 739 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Thomas Coates ◽

Donald Hagan ◽

Wallace Aust ◽

Andrew Johnson ◽

John Keen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Soil ◽

Soil Ph ◽

Significant Relationship ◽

Soil Chemistry ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Prescribed Fires ◽

The Mean ◽

Linear Contrasts

Recent studies suggest increased fire frequency may impair soil chemistry, but few studies have examined long-term effects of repeated, frequent prescribed fires on forest soil properties in the southeastern Coastal Plain, USA. In this study, forest soil chemistry at the 0–10 and 10–20 cm mineral soil depths of sandy surface horizons (Entisols and Spodosols) were compared among units burned 0, 4, 6, and 8 times between 2004 and 2015 and 0 and 20 times between 1978 and 2015 in a longleaf (Pinus palustris Mill.)–loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) pine savanna at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center (Georgetown, SC, USA). At the 0–10 cm soil depth, soil pH (p = 0.00), sulfur (p = 0.01), calcium (p = 0.01), iron (p < 0.01), manganese (p < 0.01), and aluminum (p = 0.02) treatment means differed (2004–2015). Calcium and manganese displayed positive, significant relationships and sulfur displayed a negative, significant relationship with increasing fire frequency (p < 0.05). However, correlation of these relationships was low (r2 ≤ 0.23). Using linear contrasts to compare the mean of all fire treatments (20 fires from 1978 to 2015) to the mean of the unburned compartment, sulfur (p = 0.01) and iron (p < 0.01) were less in soils from the burned compartments. At the 10–20 cm soil depth, soil pH (p = 0.01), manganese (p = 0.04), phosphorus (p = 0.01), potassium (p = 0.02), and iron (p < 0.01) treatment means differed (2004–2015). Potassium displayed a negative, significant relationship and soil pH displayed a positive, significant relationship with increasing fire frequency (p < 0.05). Correlation of these relationships was low (r2 ≤ 0.16), however. Using linear contrasts to compare the mean of all fire treatments (20 fires from 1978 to 2015) to the unburned compartment, potassium (p = 0.00) and iron (p < 0.01) were less in soils from burned compartments. These results are inconsistent with studies suggesting that forest soil chemistry is substantially altered by increased fire frequency and support other studies from this region that have documented minimal or temporary soil chemical changes associated with frequent prescribed fires.

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Serpentine Soils as Media for Plant Growth

Serpentine Geoecology of Western North America ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195165081.003.0012 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Earl B. Alexander ◽

Roger G. Coleman ◽

Todd Keeler-Wolfe ◽

Susan P. Harrison

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Surface Area ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Particle Surface ◽

Soil Formation ◽

Serpentine Soils ◽

Green Plants ◽

Deep Soils

Plants and animals require water, energy sources, and nutrients to make tissues and perform vital functions. The primary source of energy is the sun. Green plants use solar energy to manufacture organic compounds that are later oxidized to produce energy for both plants and animals. Many microorganisms produce energy by inorganic chemical reactions, but that source of energy is minor compared to the very large amounts of solar energy used by green plants. The major source of water and nutrients (other than CO2) for green plants is soil. Barren rocks, including ultramafic rock outcrop and talus, are colonized by lichens, which are symbiotic alliances of fungi and either cyanobacteria or green algae. These and other small organisms promote weathering and contribute to soil formation. Once soils are deep enough to support vascular plants (plants with roots), plants are the primary users of soils and producers of ecosystem biomass. Vascular plants send roots into soils and exploit both a high soil particle surface area and soil solutions, neither of which are available to lichens growing on rock surfaces. The surface area of particles in a soil 10 cm deep is about a thousand times greater than a planar bedrock surface if the soil is coarse sand, or about a billion times greater if the soil is clayey. With these dramatic increases in surface area accompanying soil formation, and lack of water retained on rock surfaces, it is easy to understand that ecosystem productivity is relatively low on rock surfaces and increases greatly with soil depth in very shallow soils. Annual plants approach maximum productivity in moderately deep soils and trees in deep or very deep soils. Ecosystems with serpentine soils are generally less productive than ecosystems with other kinds of soils, and they have unique plant species distributions. Therefore, serpentine soils attract attention from botanists who are interested in the profound effects that serpentine soils have on plant distributions and growth. These effects include those that affect the supply of water (section 8.1) and those that affect the supply of nutrients (section 8.2) to plants. These in turn affect plant growth and productivity (section 8.3).

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Variability of acidity in agricultural soils—the impact of timber burning at land clearing

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr10076 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 223 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mark A. Fraser ◽

Brendan J. Scott

Keyword(s):

Soil Chemistry ◽

Soil Acidity ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

Soil Depth ◽

New South ◽

Farming System ◽

Free Lime ◽

South Wales ◽

Alkali Oxides ◽

The Impact

Patchiness in the growth of barrel medic, Medicago truncatula, in the central west of New South Wales, near Condobolin, has been associated with variability of soil acidity. There is evidence of the effect of timber burning on soil properties and it is possible that such burning of timber stacks and windrows on land recently cleared for agriculture may add alkali and contribute to such pasture growth. Of the three sites used, two were already in a 20-year farming system and one was constructed in a recently cleared paddock. Soil sampled at the 0–0.10, 0.10–0.20, and 0.20–0.30 m soil depths indicated significant increases in soil pHCa and extractable Ca to a soil depth of at least 0.20 m for up to 20 years after timber had been burnt. The effect of the timber burn on soil chemistry was due to the conversion of alkali oxides to either hydroxides or carbonates. This addition of alkali moved relatively rapidly through the soil profile in a low-rainfall farming system. Additional alkali was found in the soil, mainly at the 0–0.10 m depth, in the form of free lime. Using assumed rates of soil acidification, the burn effect could persist for up to 1227 years before reverting to the pre-burn soil pH. It was also found that timber burning at the sites contributed to the spatial variability of soil acidity.

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A Scanning Electron Microscopic Study of Pro-Vascular Cellular Morphology in Chaetophora Incressata

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100119880 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 638-639

Author(s):

A. E. Hotchkiss ◽

A. T. Hotchkiss ◽

R. P. Apkarian

Keyword(s):

Green Algae ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Vascular System ◽

Higher Plants ◽

Wall Structure ◽

Electron Microscopic ◽

Physiological Processes ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopic Study ◽

Scanning Electron Microscopic ◽

Scanning Electron

Multicellular green algae may be an ancestral form of the vascular plants. These algae exhibit cell wall structure, chlorophyll pigmentation, and physiological processes similar to those of higher plants. The presence of a vascular system which provides water, minerals, and nutrients to remote tissues in higher plants was believed unnecessary for the algae. Among the green algae, the Chaetophorales are complex highly branched forms that might require some means of nutrient transport. The Chaetophorales do possess apical meristematic groups of cells that have growth orientations suggestive of stem and root positions. Branches of Chaetophora incressata were examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) for ultrastructural evidence of pro-vascular transport.

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