Meteorology and species composition of plant communities, birds and fishes before and after initial impoundment of Miharu Dam Reservoir, Japan

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Azami ◽  
Mariko Takemoto ◽  
Yasunori Otsuka ◽  
Satoshi Yamagishi ◽  
Shigekazu Nakazawa
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Dam Reservoir ◽  
Before And After

scholarly journals Environmental factors that influence species diversity of floodplain plant communities in different flooding phases in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Bothalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (Volume 50 No. 1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaolathe Tsheboeng ◽  
Mphaphi Bonyongo ◽  
Mike Murray-Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Okavango Delta ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Okavango River ◽  
Flooding Duration ◽  
Species Composition And Distribution

Background and objectives: Species composition and distribution in seasonal floodplain plant communities are influenced by variation in flooding. However, the influence of intra-flooding variation phases on the diversity of seasonal floodplain plant communities has not been studied in the Okavango Delta. The objective of this study was to investigate environmental factors that influence species composition and distribution of seasonal floodplain communities before and after flooding. It was hypothesised that environmental factors that influence the species composition and distribution in seasonal floodplain communities will vary with intra-flooding seasons. Methods: Flooding depth was measured in May (before flooding) and September (flood recession/after flooding) in forty 25 m2 plots. Flooding duration was recorded as the number of weeks in which the plots were inundated. The soil was sampled before and after floods and analysed for pH, extractable P, K, Mg, Ca and Na. Plant identification and estimation of percentage cover were done in the 25 m2 plots in which environmental variables were sampled. The relationship between environmental variables and seasonal floodplain plant community composition and distribution was sought using Non-metric Multi-dimensional Scaling. Paired Student’s t test was used to compare the means of environmental variables before and after flooding. Results: Factors that influenced the distribution of species before flooding were Na, K, water depth and flooding duration. After flooding, the factors that influenced species composition and distribution were K, Na, Mg, pH, water depth and flooding duration. Conclusion: These results suggest that during flooding K and Mg are deposited in the floodplains due to lateral water flow. Our results also suggest that any water abstraction from the Okavango River Basin should take into consideration the importance of flooding duration and depth in sustaining species composition and distribution of seasonal floodplain plant communities so that such developments do not disturb the ecological functioning of the Delta.

Long-term dynamics and destruction of marsh vegetation in the Kolokolkova Bay of the Barents Sea

2012 ◽  
pp. 66-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Lavrinenko ◽  
O. V. Lavrinenko ◽  
D. V. Dobrynin
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Marsh Vegetation ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Species Composition And Structure

The satellite images show that the area of marshes in the Kolokolkova bay was notstable during the period from 1973 up to 2011. Until 2010 it varied from 357 to 636 ha. After a severe storm happened on July 24–25, 2010 the total area of marshes was reduced up to 43–50 ha. The mean value of NDVI for studied marshes, reflecting the green biomass, varied from 0.13 to 0.32 before the storm in 2010, after the storm the NDVI decreased to 0.10, in 2011 — 0.03. A comparative analysis of species composition and structure of plant communities described in 2002 and 2011, allowed to evaluate the vegetation changes of marshes of the different topographic levels. They are fol­lowing: a total destruction of plant communities of the ass. Puccinellietum phryganodis and ass. Caricetum subspathaceae on low and middle marches; increasing role of halophytic species in plant communities of the ass. Caricetum glareosae vic. Calamagrostis deschampsioides subass. typicum on middle marches; some changes in species composition and structure of plant communities of the ass. Caricetum glareosae vic. Calamagrostis deschampsioides subass. festucetosum rubrae on high marches and ass. Parnassio palustris–Salicetum reptantis in transition zone between marches and tundra without changes of their syntaxonomy; a death of moss cover in plant communities of the ass. Caricetum mackenziei var. Warnstorfia exannulata on brackish coastal bogs. The possible reasons of dramatic vegetation dynamics are discussed. The dating of the storm makes it possible to observe the directions and rates of the succession of marches vegetation.

scholarly journals Disentangling the Ecological Determinants of Species and Functional Trait Diversity in Herb-Layer Plant Communities in European Temperate Forests

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
Janez Kermavnar ◽  
Lado Kutnar ◽  
Aleksander Marinšek
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Herb Layer ◽  
Bud Bank ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Stand Characteristics

Forest herb-layer vegetation responds sensitively to environmental conditions. This paper compares drivers of both taxonomic, i.e., species richness, cover and evenness, and functional herb-layer diversity, i.e., the diversity of clonal, bud bank and leaf-height-seed plant traits. We investigated the dependence of herb-layer diversity on ecological determinants related to soil properties, climatic parameters, forest stand characteristics, and topographic and abiotic and biotic factors associated with forest floor structure. The study was conducted in different forest types in Slovenia, using vegetation and environmental data from 50 monitoring plots (400 m2 each) belonging to the ICP Forests Level I and II network. The main objective was to first identify significant ecological predictors and then quantify their relative importance. Species richness was strongly determined by forest stand characteristics, such as richness of the shrub layer, tree layer shade-casting ability as a proxy for light availability and tree species composition. It showed a clear positive relation to soil pH. Variation in herb-layer cover was also best explained by forest stand characteristics and, to a lesser extent, by structural factors such as moss cover. Species evenness was associated with tree species composition, shrub layer cover and soil pH. Various ecological determinants were decisive for the diversity of below-ground traits, i.e., clonal and bud bank traits. For these two trait groups we observed a substantial climatic signal that was completely absent for taxonomy-based measures of diversity. In contrast, above-ground leaf-height-seed (LHS) traits were driven exclusively by soil reaction and nitrogen availability. In synthesis, local stand characteristics and soil properties acted as the main controlling factors for both species and trait diversity in herb-layer communities across Slovenia, confirming many previous studies. Our findings suggest that the taxonomic and functional facets of herb-layer vegetation are mainly influenced by a similar set of ecological determinants. However, their relative importance varies among individual taxonomy- and functional trait-based diversity measures. Integrating multi-faceted approaches can provide complementary information on patterns of herb-layer diversity in European forest plant communities.

Seed banks as a neglected area of biogeographic research: a review of literature and sampling techniques

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Warr ◽  
Ken Thompson ◽  
Martin Kent
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Sample Distribution ◽  
Tropical Environments

The article highlights a comparatively neglected area of biogeographical research - seed banks and the distribution of seeds in the soil. The article reviews some of the relevant literature on seed banks and the methods for their study. Attention is focused on aspects of seed banks of particular relevance to biogeographers, with detailed examples drawn from seed bank studies in both temperate and tropical environments. In the review of the seed bank literature, the topics covered include the seed banks of successional communities and the size of seed banks in different vegetation types. The species composition of seed banks in different plant communities is discussed, particularly the degree of correlation between the species composition of seed banks and associated ground flora. The relationships between seed persistence, depth of burial in the soil and soil properties, such as moisture and pH, are explored. Seed bank heterogeneity is examined and a number of studies which have attempted to describe and measure the spatial variability of seed banks are summarized. Ways of classifying seed banks in terms of seed bank strategies are explained. The role of seed banks in conservation is discussed, for example in restoration projects, where preferred species have been lost from the vegetation but survive in the seed bank. The relevance of seed banks for the conservation of rare species and in landscape management is considered. Lastly, the contribution of seed banks to the recovery of vegetation following disturbance in various plant communities is discussed. In the review of seed bank sampling techniques, the subjects considered include methods of sample collection, the sampling intensity required for reliable estimates of seed density, a consideration of the relative merits of random and systematic sample distribution, as well as the importance of the timing of sampling. Various methods for the estimation of seed numbers in samples are appraised; these either involve extraction of seeds from the soil, followed by seed identification or enumeration by germination and seedling identification. Problems of analysing seed bank data are considered and several useful techniques for data analysis are suggested. Finally, the article draws attention to areas of future seed bank research for biogeographers and plant ecologists.

scholarly journals Vegetation changes in boreo–nemoral forest stands depending on soil factors and past land use during an 80 year period of no human impact

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilze Kokarēviča ◽  
Guntis Brūmelis ◽  
Raimonds Kasparinskis ◽  
Arta Rolava ◽  
Oļģerts Nikodemus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Temperate Deciduous Forest ◽  
Soil Factors ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Forest Zone

Information on the long-term changes in plant communities that occur without human interference is limited, due to insufficient studies where vegetation can be resurveyed. In 1912, a strict nature protection reserve, with non-intervention management, was established on Moricsala Island in Latvia, located in the boreo–nemoral forest zone. Prior to establishment of the nature reserve, part of the island area was used for agriculture. The island is now covered almost entirely by forest dominated by Quercus robur L. and Tilia cordata Mill. on sandy soils. Resurvey was conducted in 2011 in 17 plots in which tree layers and the understory vegetation had been described in 1930. The plots were classified into two groups based on tree species composition in 1930 to determine changes in species composition. Differences in understory and tree canopy composition between these groups persisted over the period between the studies, in relation to soil factors and past stand history. Considerable turnover of species occurred, with a decrease of species typical of open habitats and replacement by species typical of nemoral (temperate deciduous) forest plant communities. In the past, Q. robur had likely established in open habitats created by agricultural land use or past fire but is presently not regenerating in the understory.

scholarly journals Flora and vegetation of the Minusinsk town and its vicinity

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 00016
Author(s):  
Maria Larina ◽  
Olga Zyryanova
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Pine Forests

The article demonstrates the results of studies about species composition of lichens, fungi, mosses and higher vascular plants found in the ribbon pine forests in the Minusinsk town and its vicinity. The article based on the original authors’ herbaria. 62 basidial macromycetes, 80 lichens and 210 species of the higher vascular plants were found in the studied area. The plant communities and their dominant species were studied.

The effect of thermal effluent, before and after macrophyte harvesting, on standing crop and species composition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Lake Wabamun, Alberta

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 3196-3205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph B. Rasmussen
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
Standing Crop ◽  
Tubifex Tubifex ◽  
Benthic Macroinvertebrate ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Plant Detritus ◽  
Chironomid Species ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Heated Area

The heated area of Lake Wabamun prior to macrophyte harvesting had higher submerged macrophyte production, greater amounts of plant detritus in the sediment, and a higher standing crop of benthic macroinvertebrates than the unheated area. Species composition of the benthic macroinvertebrate community was also much different in the heated area with the warmest areas supporting a community dominated by tubificid oligochaetes (Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Tubifex tubifex), and the moderately heated areas supporting a community dominated by large Chironomus species (Chironomus plumosus and Chironomus atroviridis). Benthos of the unheated parts of the lake consisted mainly of smaller chironomid species such as Chironomus maturus, C. (cf.) staegeri, Polypedilum nubeculosum, Cladotanytarsus spp., and Tanytarsus spp. The heated area was subjected to mechanical macrophyte harvesting which removed the majority of the submerged macrophytes. This reduced the amount of plant detritus within the sediment and also the standing crop of benthic macroinvertebrates in the heated area. Species composition of the oligochaete-dominated community was not affected by harvesting. Species composition of the Chironomus-dominated area was greatly affected by harvesting and became more similar to that of the unheated area; densities of the large Chironomus species were reduced to low levels, while the densities of smaller chironomid species increased.

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