Vascular plants distribution in relation to topography and environmental variables in alpine zone of Kedarnath Wild Life Sanctuary, West Himalaya

This paper describes the structural and compositional pattern of forest communities in the temperate and sub-alpine zones of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. It gives information about 344 species belonging to 227 genera and 95 families of vascular plants recorded between 2100 to 3600m amsl. These species include 40 trees, 64 shrubs and 240 herbaceous species distributed within 13 forest communities. It was found that the density of trees, seedlings, saplings and shrubs was higher in temperate zone than sub-alpine zone. However, density of herbs was lower in temperate zone in comparison to sub-alpine zone. This paper also gives information on distribution of native, endemic, economically important and rare-endangered species in different communities. Finally, the communities and species have been prioritized for conservation.

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Environment and Floristics of Ten Australian Alpine Vegetation Formations

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt97058 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

J. B. Kirkpatrick ◽

K. L. Bridle

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variables ◽

Geographic Range ◽

Previous Literature ◽

Alpine Vegetation ◽

Environmental Relationships ◽

Alpine Zone ◽

Winter Temperatures ◽

Summer Temperatures ◽

Extractable Phosphorus

Data on floristics, structure and environment were collected from quadrats throughout the geographic range of alpine vegetation in Australia. These data were used to explore the floristic and environmental relationships of ten alpine vegetation formations: bolster heath, coniferous heath, heath, alpine sedgeland, fjaeldmark, tall alpine herbfield, short alpine herbfield, grassland, bog and fen. Alpine sedgeland and coniferous heath, and tall alpine herbfield and grassland, proved to be closely similar in their floristics. Grassland and coniferous heath were most separated in ordination space. The environmental variables with the largest numbers of significant differences between formations were extractable phosphorus, summer temperatures, winter temperatures and topography. However, many other edaphic, climatic, topographic and biotic variables were important in discriminating between formations. The results of the formation-environment analyses were largely consistent with the relationships suggested in the previous literature. However, some environmental differences between formations that were observed or posited from local studies did not prove to be exportable to the alpine zone as a whole. Edaphic and topographic variables appear to be more important in discriminating the environments of alpine formations than the environments of alpine floristic communities.

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Late-Quaternary history of the alpine flora of the New Hampshire White Mountains

Géographie physique et Quaternaire ◽

10.7202/004854ar ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 137-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Norton G. Miller ◽

Ray W. Spear

Keyword(s):

New England ◽

New Hampshire ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Late Glacial ◽

Plant Macrofossils ◽

Cold Climate ◽

Alpine Tundra ◽

White Mountains ◽

Alpine Zone

Abstract A distinctive flora of 73 species of vascular plants and numerous bryophytes occurs in the ca. 20 km 2 of alpine tundra in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. The late- Quaternary distribution of these plants, many of which are disjuncts, was investigated by studies of pollen and plant macrofossils from lower Lakes of the Clouds (1 542 m) in the alpine zone of Mount Washington. Results were compared with pollen and macrofossils from lowland late-glacial deposits in western New England. Lowland paleofloras contained fossils of 43 species of vascular plants, 13 of which occur in the contemporary alpine flora of the White Mountains. A majority of species in the paleoflora has geographic affinities to Labrador, northern Québec, and Greenland, a pattern also apparent for mosses in the lowland deposits. The first macrofossils in lower Lakes of the Clouds were arctic-alpine mosses of acid soils. Although open-ground mosses and vascular plants continued to occur throughout the Holocene, indicating that alpine tundra persisted, fossils of a low-elevation moss Hylocomiastrum umbratum are evidence that forest (perhaps as krummholz) covered a greater area near the basin from 7 500 to 3 500 yBP. No calcicolous plants were recovered from sediments at lower Lakes of the Clouds. Climatic constraints on the alpine flora during the Younger Dryas oscillation and perhaps during other cold-climate events and intervening periods of higher temperature may have led to the loss of plant species in the White Mountain alpine zone. Late-glacial floras of lowland western New England were much richer than floras of areas above treeline during late-glacial time and at the present.

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Plant diversity, composition, and rarity in the southern boreal peatlands of Manitoba, Canada

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b06-049 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 84 (6) ◽

pp. 940-955 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

David A. Locky ◽

Suzanne E. Bayley

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Black Spruce ◽

General Pattern ◽

Boreal Peatlands ◽

Environmental Extremes ◽

Low Diversity ◽

Total Diversity ◽

High Diversity

Plant diversity and rarity have been relatively well studied for bryophytes in Canadian western boreal peatlands, but little information exists for vascular plants. Diversity, community composition, and rarity of bryophytes and vascular plants were determined and relationships examined among these and environmental variables in five peatland types at Duck Mountain, Manitoba: wooded bogs, black spruce swamps, wooded moderate-rich fens, open moderate-rich fens, and open extreme-rich fens. Total diversity was 298 species comprising 86 bryophytes and 212 vascular plants. Mean diversity followed a unimodal distribution over a bog – rich fen gradient. Wooded moderate-rich fens (59.0) and black spruce swamps (53.4) had the highest mean diversity, whereas wooded bogs (32.3) and open extreme-rich fens (34.7) had the lowest mean diversity. Occurrences of locally rare species followed the same general pattern, and provincially rare vascular plants were found primarily in wooded moderate-rich fens and black spruce swamps and were mostly orchids. Reasons for these patterns are complex, but high diversity appears to be related to high habitat heterogeneity and moderate environmental variables, e.g., pH and alkalinity, and low diversity appears to be related to environmental extremes, e.g., pH and alkalinity. Boreal wooded moderate-rich fens and black spruce swamps have comparatively high plant diversity and rarity and require consideration if the focus is biodiversity conservation. This will become increasingly important in landscapes where development pressures are high.

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Plants will cross the lines: climate and available land mass are the major determinants of phytogeographical patterns in the Sunda–Sahul Convergence Zone

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society ◽

10.1093/biolinnean/blaa194 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth M Joyce ◽

Kevin R Thiele ◽

J W Ferry Slik ◽

Darren M Crayn

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variables ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

The Philippines ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Convergence Zone ◽

Sunda Shelf ◽

Taxonomic Level ◽

Species Checklist ◽

Land Mass

Abstract The Miocene convergence of the Sunda shelf, Sahul shelf and Wallacea facilitated the exchange of previously isolated floras across the Sunda–Sahul Convergence Zone (SSCZ). The SSCZ is a hotspot of biogeographical research; however, phytogeographical patterns across the region remain poorly understood. We conducted multivariate analysis on a comprehensive species checklist of SSCZ vascular plants to quantify the extent of exchange, characterize phytogeographical patterns and investigate their abiotic drivers. We found that Lydekker’s and Wallace’s Lines are not reflected in floristic composition at any taxonomic level, with 46% of genera distributed across these biogeographical lines. In contrast, environment is significantly correlated with floristic composition, with annual rainfall and seasonality being the strongest correlates. Mainland Asia, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia were major routes of exchange throughout the Cenozoic, possibly because these areas have been persistent landmasses throughout the entire period of convergence. We conclude that Sunda–Sahul floristic exchange has substantially influenced the assembly of the regional flora and that modern phytogeographical patterns have been influenced more by environmental variables and available landmass (i.e. establishment conditions) than by putative barriers to movement such as Wallace’s and Lydekker’s Lines (i.e. vagility).

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Shrub communities and environmental variables responsible for species distribution patterns in an alpine zone of the Qilian Mountains, northwest China

Journal of Mountain Science ◽

10.1007/s11629-014-3126-x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 166-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hong Huo ◽

Qi Feng ◽

Yong-hong Su

Keyword(s):

Species Distribution ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Northwest China ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

Alpine Zone ◽

The Qilian Mountains

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Towards on the conservation of rare species Iris glaucescens (Iridaceae) in Novosibirsk oblast: ecoinformative multimodal analysis of the area

BIO Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/bioconf/20202400007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 00007

Author(s):

Konstantin Baikov ◽

Vladimir Doronkin

Keyword(s):

Population Size ◽

Rare Species ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Maximum Entropy Method ◽

Regional Model ◽

Entropy Method ◽

Novosibirsk Oblast ◽

Multimodal Analysis ◽

Local Populations

Multimodal ecoinformation analysis as an modern computative approach to geospatial investigation of biodiversity structure is performed on maximum entropy method for local populations of Iris glaucescens -rare species of vascular plants that is included in Red Book of Novosibirsk Oblast. The most informative environmental variables were ranged and examined in detail. According to obtained results, trio of the most important variables in the scale of 1/12 arc-degree (5.0 arc-minutes) global model, includes: 1) maximum average diurnal tempreature of surface air in the warmest period of an year (bio5) – 32.7%, annual mean temperature of surface air (bio1) – 11.2%, and maximum average diurnal tempreature of surface air in July (tmax7) – 9.0%. Three of the most important variables in the scale of 1/60 arc-degree (1.0 arc-minutes) regional model (Zone_18) are: maximum average diurnal tempreature of surface air in the warmest period of a year (bio5) -35.7%, maximum average diurnal tempreature of surface air in Juny (tmax6) – 23.1%, minimum average diurnal tempreature of surface air in October (tmin10) – 7,7%. Therefore, climatic variables that influense on the amount of heat in the warmest period of a year, may be taken into account as factors, limiting population size of I. glaucescens.

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The alpine flora of Teresa Island, Atlin Lake, B.C., with notes on its distribution

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b77-162 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 55 (10) ◽

pp. 1399-1409 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steven C. Buttrick

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Relative Abundance ◽

Research Program ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Local Distribution ◽

Habitat Types ◽

Alpine Habitat ◽

Alpine Zone ◽

Provincial Park

A comprehensive inventory of the vascular plants is provided for the alpine zone of Teresa Island in Atlin Provincial Park, British Columbia. A total of 161 taxa were identified from collections made during a research program conducted in the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1976. Of these taxa Arnica louiseana var. frigida, Draba lactea, Lupinus kuschei, Oxytropis huddelsonii, Poa lettermanii, Senecio sheldonensis, Senecio yukonensis, and Stellaria longipes var. edwardsii have a restricted or otherwise interesting distribution in British Columbia.Preliminary observations indicate that the local distribution of all the taxa is controlled by three environmental gradients: snow duration, moisture, and topography. Five different alpine habitat types are recognized as a result of different combinations of these gradients. These habitat types are (1) fell-fields and boulder fields, (2) meadows and shrub fields, (3) snow beds, (4) seepage sites, and (5) drainage areas. The habitat types and relative abundance of each taxon are listed.

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Game Preservation in Nyasaland

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605300036395 ◽

1953 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 98-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

B. L. Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Sandy Soils ◽

Deciduous Forests ◽

Evergreen Forest ◽

Alpine Zone ◽

Wide Range ◽

Mountain Grasslands ◽

Lake Chilwa ◽

Mopane Woodland ◽

Wild Life ◽

Game Animals

As a result of the broken nature of much of Nyasaland and the diversity of its climate there is a correspondingly wide range of vegetation offering very varied habitats to wild life. From an alpine zone, containing giant lobelias on the Nyika Plateau and mountain grasslands with residual patches of broadleaved evergreen forest, occurring over all the plateaux above about 6,000 feet, the country drops into the Brachystegia woodland. This in its many forms covers most of the main watersheds of the country. The alluvial soils lying along the larger rivers on the plain of Lake Nyasa and down the Shire valley are characterized by mixtures of Acacia and Combretum species growing in grass which is long and intensely thick. Copaifera mopane woodland covers parts of the floor of the Shire valley, whilst on the poor sandy soils of the Lower Shire there are a number of patches of deciduous forests and thickets, some of which are virtually impenetrable except along paths made by the larger game animals. The only approach to open plains is found in the region of Lake Chilwa.

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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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