Structure and Composition of the Abrupt Rain-Forest Boundary in the Herberton Highland, North Queensland

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 413 ◽  
Author(s):  
GL Unwin
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots ◽  
Boundary Change ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Closed Forest ◽  
Forest Boundary

Structural and floristic features of the rainforest-eucalypt forest boundary are described for two sites on the seasonally clouded eastern slopes of the Herberton Highland, north Queensland. Permanent sample plots, transects and canopy profiles were used to analyse variations across the narrow ecotone. The forest ecotone was found highly variable, spatially and temporally. Within rainforest, richness of woody species was maintained through to the closed forest edge. However, structural changes were more pronounced towards the boundary than were floristic variations and a fringe of immature rainforest varied in depth from 20-500 m. In the open forest margin, tall trees of Eucalyptus grandls were restricted to a narrow zone between the rainforest edge and the broad expanse of medium height Eucalyptus intermedia. Within this transition, young rainforest trees and some shrubs were observed, during a 12-year interval, to be establishing beneath tall E. grandis, displacing fire-prone grasses in the process. The distribution of old E. grandis within rainforest provides a record of recent boundary change. On evidence presented, the rainforest-eucalypt forest boundary is dynamic and parts of the rainforest are expanding due to favourable contemporary fire regimes.

The Small Mammals of Little Nourlangie Rock, N. T I. Description of Study Site

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Dunlop ◽  
RJ Begg
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Study ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Sandy Area ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Closed Forest ◽  
Arnhem Land

Little Nourlangie Rock (12� 51' S., 132� 47' E.) is an isolated sandstone outlier of the Arnhem Land plateau, approximately 0.8 by 2 km in size and up to > 100 m above the surrounding plain. The climate is monsoonal. The habitat types studied are: closed forest, of either rainforest or evergreen open forest species; rocky crevices adjoining a flat sandy area covered in shrubs; a scree slope with open eucalypt forest; sparsely vegetated rocky slopes. Eighteen species of mammals were seen or trapped; of the resident rock-dwellers, Dasyurus hallucatus, Antechinus bilarni, Zyzomys argurus and Z. woodwardi were numerous enough for quantitative study.

Fire regimes and interval-sensitive vegetation in semiarid Gregory National Park, northern Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Cameron P. Yates ◽  
Chris Brock ◽  
Vanessa C. Westcott
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Fine Fuels ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

Few data are available concerning contemporary fire regimes and the responses of fire interval-sensitive vegetation types in semiarid woodland savanna landscapes of northern Australia. For a 10 300 km2 semiarid portion of Gregory National Park, in the present paper we describe (1) components of the contemporary fire regime for 1998–2008, on the basis of assessments derived from Landsat and MODIS imagery, (2) for the same period, the population dynamics, and characteristic fine-fuel loads associated with Acacia shirleyi Maiden (lancewood), an obligate seeder tree species occurring in dense monodominant stands, and (3) the fire responses of woody species, and fine-fuel dynamics, sampled in 41 plots comprising shrubby open-woodland over spinifex hummock grassland. While rain-year (July–June) rainfall was consistently reliable over the study period, annual fire extent fluctuated markedly, with an average of 29% being fire affected, mostly in the latter part of the year under relatively harsh fire-climate conditions. Collectively, such conditions facilitated short fire-return intervals, with 30% of the study area experiencing a repeat fire within 1 year, and 80% experiencing a repeat fire within 3 years. Fine fuels associated with the interior of lancewood thickets were characteristically small (<1 t ha–1). Fine fuels dominated by spinifex (Triodia spp.) were found to accumulate at rates equivalent to those observed under higher-rainfall conditions. Stand boundaries of A. shirleyi faired poorly under prevailing fire regimes over the study period; in 16 plots, juvenile density declined 62%, and adult stem density and basal area declined by 53% and 40%, respectively. Although the maturation (primary juvenile) period of A. shirleyi is incompletely known, assembled growth rate and phenology data indicated that it is typically >10 years. Of 133 woody species sampled, all trees (n = 26), with the exception of A. shirleyi, were resprouters, and 58% of all shrub species (n = 105) were obligate seeders, with observed primary juvenile periods <5 years. Assembled data generally supported observations made from other northern Australian studies concerning the responses of fire-sensitive woody taxa in rugged, sandstone-derived landscapes, and illustrated the enormous challenges facing ecologically sustainable fire management in such settings. Contemporary fire regimes of Gregory National Park are not ecologically sustainable.

scholarly journals Natural Regeneration of the Tree Stand in the Bilberry Spruce Forest—Clear-Cutting Ecotone Complex in the First Post-Logging Decade

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1542
Author(s):  
Nadezhda V. Genikova ◽  
Viktor N. Mamontov ◽  
Alexander M. Kryshen ◽  
Vladimir A. Kharitonov ◽  
Sergey A. Moshnikov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Clear Cutting

Bilberry spruce forests are the most widespread forest type in the European boreal zone. Limiting the clear-cuttings size leads to fragmentation of forest cover and the appearance of large areas of ecotone complexes, composed of forest (F), a transition from forest to the cut-over site under tree canopy (FE), a transition from forest to the cut-over site beyond tree canopy (CE), and the actual clear-cut site (C). Natural regeneration of woody species (spruce, birch, rowan) in the bilberry spruce stand—clear-cut ecotone complex was studied during the first decade after logging. The effects produced by the time since cutting, forest edge aspect, and the ground cover on the emergence and growth of trees and shrubs under forest canopy and openly in the clear-cut were investigated. Estimating the amount and size of different species in the regeneration showed FE and CE width to be 8 m—roughly half the height of first-story trees. Typical forest conditions (F) feature a relatively small amount of regenerating spruce and birch. The most favorable conditions for natural regeneration of spruce in the clear-cut—mature bilberry spruce stand ecotone are at the forest edge in areas of transition both towards the forest and towards the clear-cut (FE and CE). Clear-cut areas farther from the forest edge (C) offer an advantage to regenerating birch, which grows densely and actively in this area.

Seasonal variation in soil seed bank size and species composition of selected habitat types in Maputaland, South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. S. Kellerman ◽  
M. W. Van Rooyen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Open Woodland

Seasonal variation in seed bank size and species composition of five selected habitat types within the Tembe Elephant Park. South Africa, was investigated. At three-month intervals, soil samples were randomly collected from five different habitat types: a, Licuati forest; b, Licuati thicket; c, a bare or sparsely vegetated zone surrounding the forest edge, referred to as the forest/grassland ecotone; d, grassland; and e, open woodland. Most species in the seed bank flora were either grasses, sedges, or forbs, with hardly any evidence of woody species. The Licuati forest and thicket soils produced the lowest seed densities in all seasons.  Licuati forest and grassland seed banks showed a two-fold seasonal variation in size, those of the Licuati thicket and woodland a three-fold variation in size, whereas the forest/grassland ecotone maintained a relatively large seed bank all year round. The woodland seed bank had the highest species richness, whereas the Licuati forest and thicket soils were poor in species. Generally, it was found that the greatest correspondence in species composition was between the Licuati forest and thicket, as well as the forest/grassland ecotone and grassland seed bank floras.

scholarly journals Fire regimes and structural changes in oak-pine forests of the Mogollon Highlands ecoregion: Implications for ecological restoration

2020 ◽  
Vol 465 ◽  
pp. 118087
Author(s):  
David W. Huffman ◽  
M. Lisa Floyd ◽  
Dustin P. Hanna ◽  
Joseph E. Crouse ◽  
Peter Z. Fulé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Pine Forests

Population Studies on Acacia melanoxylon R. Br. I. Variation in Seed and Vegetative Characteristics

1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 365 ◽  
Author(s):  
TP Farrell ◽  
DH Ashton
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Clinal Variation ◽  
Acacia Melanoxylon ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Popu Lations ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Closed Forest ◽  
Shape And Size

Considerable variation in phyllode shape and size was found between populations of Acacia melanoxylon sampled over the wide geographical range (27° of latitude) of this species in tropical and temperate eastern Australia. Communities sampled range from closed-forest to open-forest and grassy woodland. Some evidence of relationships between morphological characters of the phyllodes and environ- mental conditions of the collecting site was found, although such relationships are complex and not easily understood. The most important factors determining phyllode shape and size were the distance of the collecting site from the coast, and the seasonal distribution of the annual rainfall. Phyllodes tended to be smaller and more symmetric in the drier inland areas. Differences were found between seed characteristics of selected populations, although there was no evidence of correlation of these with selected environmental parameters. Seedlings of 17 popu- lations of A. melanoxylon grown under uniform glasshouse conditions showed some differences in leaf morphology. The age at which conversion to phyllodes begins is correlated with the mean annual rainfall at the site of origin of the seeds. The occurrence of this species in such a wide variety of habitats in eastern Australia is probably due to its clinal variation.

Evaluating long-term effects of prescribed fire regimes on carbon stocks in a temperate eucalypt forest

2014 ◽  
Vol 328 ◽  
pp. 219-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren T. Bennett ◽  
Cristina Aponte ◽  
Thomas G. Baker ◽  
Kevin G. Tolhurst
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Eucalypt Forest

scholarly journals Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the White Hunter Local Fauna

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy Myers
Keyword(s):  
Dry Forest ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Mammalian Fauna ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Modern Analogue ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Closed Forest ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
World Heritage Area

The White Hunter (WH) Local Fauna (LF) is one of the oldest assemblages from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, belonging to Faunal Zone A and tentatively dated at approximately 24 Ma. The mammalian fauna has many plesiomorphic taxa and a wide range of body sizes are represented, although it is depauperate in medium to large arboreal mammals and over-represented by small to medium-sized macropodoids, vombatomorphians and carnivores. The non-mammalian vertebrate fauna also covers a wide body size range. The palaeoenvironmental conditions at the time of deposition have been contentious, ranging from hypotheses of cold and dry woodland to warm, wet rainforest, and many climatic and vegetation combinations in between. The autecologies of various species provide only equivocal support for palaeoenvironmental conclusions. Taphonomic and palaeoecologic data were tested herein to further illuminate palaeoenvironmental understanding. Mammalian post-cranial elements were examined for degree of weathering, abrasion, fragmentation, taxonomic bias and susceptibility to transport. No obvious bias against small vertebrates was observed. The fauna does not appear to represent a mixed-assemblage. Animals most likely died within close proximity to the site of deposition, although the absence of scavenger/carnivore damage militates against predation as the main source of accumulation. Trampling of elements may have been significant. Results suggest that WH may have been a moderately large ephemeral water body, subject to periodic drying and fed by a slow-moving creek. The climate was cooler than the early Miocene, with a distinct wet and dry season. Surrounding vegetation may have been a type without modern analogue combining structural, but not floristic, equivalents of open dry forest and closed rainforest. There is no evidence for gradational wet open forest types, but this may represent a rapid move to closed forest. These results are reinforced by palaeocommunity analysis of Riversleigh LFs which unite WH LF with a suite of early Miocene Lfs as a similar palaeocommunity type, perhaps antecedent to them.

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