Species Richness of Overstorey Strata in Australian Plant Communities ̵2 the Influence of Overstorey Growth Rates

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Specht ◽  
A Specht
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Australian Plant ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Tall Shrub ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Species Being ◽  
Annual Growth Increment

The species richness (number of tree and tall shrub species per hectare) of overstorey strata is examined in tropical, subtropical and temperate climax plant communities of Australia. Species richness (N) is shown to increase as the evaporative coefficient (k) of the sampling site increases from semiarid climates (k = 0.035-0.045) to perhumid climates (k = 0.075-0.100): Tropical: log N = 17.38k + 0.40. Subtropical: log N = 25.40k - 0.60. Temperate: log N = 8.90k + 0.09. Species richness of overstorey strata is highest in the tropics (N = 138 when k = 0. 100), followed by the subtropics (N = 73 when k = 0. 100), with only a small number of overstorey species being associ- ated with temperate communities (N = 8-10 when k = 0.100). Species richness of the overstorey is positively related to the annual shoot growth (vertical com- ponent) of the foliage canopy as it regenerates after disturbance. The tendency to dominance of only a few overstorey species in temperate communities may be enhanced by rapid stem growth (current annual growth increment) of the plant community due to lower cellular metabolism and respiration in stems and roots in cooler climates compared with those in the tropics. Trees and tall shrubs appear to be excluded as overstorey components when the respiratory coefficient (c) approaches 0.030 and the mean annual temperatures (of snow-free localities) are less than 13°C.

Species richness and canopy productivity of Australian plant communities

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Specht ◽  
Raymond L. Specht
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Australian Plant

Seasonal growth pattern in the lichen Pseudocyphellaria berberina in north-western Patagonia

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 435-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayra S. CALDIZ
Keyword(s):  
Growth Increment ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Seasonal Growth ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Growth Increments ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Nothofagus Dombeyi ◽  
North Western ◽  
Annual Growth Increment

Seasonal growth increments (%) were measured in the foliose epiphytic lichen Pseudocyphellaria berberina in north-western Patagonia. Growth was determined by measuring increase in weight (expressed as percentage of the original biomass) in transplanted thalli. Transplants were either hung freely from wooden frames or attached to tree trunks in a Nothofagus dombeyi forest and then weighed every three months between January 2001 and April 2003. The influence on growth increment of treatment, donor thallus, temperature, and absolute and relative humidity was analysed. Mean annual growth increment after two years, in both treatments was 12±1·07% (±SE). Growth increment was greatest in winter and lowest in summer; the mean winter growth increment was 6±0·50%, representing half of the annual growth, whereas most of the remaining growth occurred during both spring and autumn. Growth increments were similar for freely-hanging lichens and for the transplants attached to tree trunks. Individual trees had no consistent effect on growth while the donor thallus had a significant effect in the first season which then diminished, indicating acclimation in the transplants. Initial transplant weight had no influence on final cumulative growth, nor was there any consistent correlation between one season and another in the growth of transplants. Both transplantation methods proved to be useful for experiments on the growth of P. berberina.

scholarly journals The Species Richness of Vascular Plants and Amphibia in Major Plant Communities in Temperate to Tropical Australia: Relationship with Annual Biomass Production

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Specht ◽  
M. J. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Annual Biomass ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Number Of Leaves ◽  
Photosynthetic Potential ◽  
Number Of Stems ◽  
The Tropics

Aerodynamic fluxes (frictional, thermal, evaporative) in the atmosphere as it flows over and through a plant community determine the Foliage Projective Covers and eco-morphological attributes of new leaves developed annually in overstorey and understorey strata. The number of leaves produced on vertical foliage shoots depends on available soil water and nutrients, also ambient temperature, during this short growth season. Stem density (number of stems per hectare) and species richness (number of species per hectare) in the overstorey of major Floristic Groups are correlated with annual shoot growth (ASG, t ) in that stratum. Species richness in the overstorey increases in the climatic gradient from the arid to the humid zone as well as with increasing air temperatures (about C) from temperate to tropical Australia. Species richness in the understorey is highest in plant communities in temperate Australia, decreasing in the temperature gradient towards the tropics. As with other major plant and animal groups within an ecosystem, the species richness of Amphibia is correlated with the amount of solar energy fixed (per annum) by the major plant formation in the region—a photosynthetic potential determined by the foliage shoots (ASG, t ) produced annually in the overstorey.

Plant communities preferences of terrestrial crustaceans (Isopoda: Oniscidea) in a protected coastal area of southeastern Sicily (Italy)

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppina Messina ◽  
Giuseppe Montesanto ◽  
Elisa Pezzino ◽  
Saverio Sciandrello ◽  
Domenico Caruso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Pca Analysis ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Annual Activity ◽  
Rocky Coast

AbstractWe studied the plant communities preferences of oniscidean isopods in a protected coastal area in southeastern Sicily that is characterized by ponds, dunes and rocky coast. In total, five sites were sampled between March 2003 and February 2004 using pitfall traps. A total of 7,326 specimens were found, belonging to 23 species. The vegetation analysis, using the phytosociological method, recognized a total of 11 types of plant communities, with specific ecological features. Measuring the species richness, diversity and annual activity density (aAD) values of the terrestrial isopod communities from each sampling site revealed differences among the various plant communities. PCA analysis confirmed the correlation between isopods species and specific plant communities. Moreover our results show that the high species richness is associated with a high vegetation cover and number of plants.

scholarly journals The species-area-energy relationship in orchids

Lankesteriana ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iva Schödelbauerová ◽  
Pavel Kindlmann ◽  
David Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Species Area ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Species Area Relationship ◽  
The Tropics

Area, energy available and latitude are the main factors influencing species richness: (1) species richness increases with area – the species-area relationship (SAR); (2) according to the species-energy rela- tionship (SER) the energy available to an assemblage (i.e. that which it can turn into biomass) at a particular spatial resolution influences the species richness; (3) there are more species per unit area in the tropics than in the temperate regions. To test the relative importance of area, energy available and latitude on species richness, we have collected data on species richness of orchids for various areas in the world and calculated the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a measure of energy availability in these areas. We show that area considered is always very important, and that latitude is more important than ener- gy available. 

Successive pot cultures reveal high species richness of arbuscular endomycorrhizal fungi in arid ecosystems

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 1883-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean C. Stutz ◽  
Joseph B. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Arid Ecosystems ◽  
Taxonomic Structure ◽  
Biotic Community ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular ◽  
High Species Richness

Three cycles of successive trap cultures were utilized to determine the taxonomic structure of arbuscular fungi associated with mesquite (Prosopis spp.) from three locations in the Sonoran desertscrub biotic community and one location in the Chihuahuan desertscrub biotic community. Unlike the low species richness found in previous studies of some arid habitats, seven to nine species were recovered from each sampling site. This number is comparable to that found in many other plant communities. Seventy-five percent of the species found after three culture cycles were not detected in the first trap cultures, suggesting that a high proportion of arbuscular fungi in arid habitats may be nonsporulating in the field. Low colonization levels may account for the absence of sporulation, but ecological factors such as moisture limitations also may be involved. Although a total of 10 different species was detected, generic richness was limited, with 9 of these species in Glomus and 1 in Entrophospora. As long as measurement of species richness is based on occurrence of sporulation, successive trap cultures provide a means of detecting nonsporulating mycorrhizal colonizers in arid and other habitats. Keywords: vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae, ecology, desert, Glomales.

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.

Terminalia catappa (Singapore almond).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julissa Rojas-Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Edible Fruit ◽  
Tree Component ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract T. catappa is a hardy, fast-growing, deciduous multipurpose tree, reaching 25 (-40) m tall and producing an edible fruit. It plays a vital role in coastline stabilization as a tree component of strandline plant communities in the western Indian Ocean, South-East Asia and the South Pacific. Under suitable conditions it is a well-formed tree and has been widely planted throughout the tropics for shade, ornament and nuts, especially along sandy seashores (Heinsleigh and Holaway, 1988; Little and Skolmen, 1989). It is much used in agroforestry systems in the Philippines.

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