Dense regeneration of floodplain Eucalyptus coolabah: invasive scrub or passive restoration of an endangered woodland community?

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan K. Good ◽  
Jodi N. Price ◽  
Peter J. Clarke ◽  
Nick Reid

Clearing of native vegetation and changes to disturbance regimes have resulted in dense regeneration of native trees and shrubs in parts of Australia. The conversion of open vegetation to dense woodlands may result in changes to the composition of plant communities and ecosystem function if structure, composition and function are tightly linked. Widespread clearing of the floodplain tree Eucalyptus coolabah subsp. coolabah (coolibah), in New South Wales, Australia, has led to state and federal listings of coolibah woodland as an endangered ecological community. Dense regeneration of coolibah in the mid 1970s, however, also resulted in its listing as an ‘invasive native species’ in NSW, meaning it can be legally cleared under certain conditions. Dense regeneration could be a novel state dissimilar to the threatened community or it could represent the next generation of coolibah woodlands and may contribute to passive restoration of heavily cleared landscapes. This study investigated if dense stands are distinct from remnant woodland by comparing floristic composition of the ground-storey community and top-soil properties of four coolibah vegetation states: derived grassland, derived degraded grassland, dense regeneration and remnant woodland. Ground-storey composition was found to overlap broadly among states regardless of tree density. Most species were common to all states, although dense regeneration contained characteristic woodland species that were absent from grasslands. The carbon : nitrogen ratio of the soil was significantly higher in dense regeneration and remnant woodland than in either of the grassland states, indicating that the woody states are broadly similar in terms of nutrient cycling. The study demonstrates that structurally different vegetation states (grasslands, woodlands and dense regeneration) are not associated with distinct plant communities. The results also suggest that grazing management has a more pronounced effect on ground-storey composition of plant communities than tree density and that well managed derived grasslands and dense regeneration are floristically similar to remnant woodlands. Since dense regeneration and remnant woodlands are not floristically distinct from one another, dense regeneration could contribute to the conservation of endangered coolibah woodlands in cleared agricultural landscapes.

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 180 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR. Cilla Kinross

Many windbreaks are being planted on the Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia to provide shelter for stock and crops, but little is known of the effect of these linear plantations on the regional bird community. This paper compares the avian diversity, density and species composition in a range of habitats in agricultural landscapes, including farm windbreaks, and draws conclusions as to the benefits of windbreaks to bird conservation. The data were collected between 1993 and 1997 with 12 visits to each of 84 sites, placed a priori into seven habitat types on six grazing properties in the Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia and analysed using ANOVA and canonical variate analysis to identify bird-habitat relationships and patterns. Species diversity and density were found to be highest in remnant woodland and lowest in grassland, but differences between other habitats were less robust. Windbreaks >19 m wide were closer in diversity and species composition to remnant woodland than windbreaks =15 m wide. Of the 105 bird species observed, 17 were confined to remnant woodland and 67 native species were observed using planted sites. These species were not, as had been predicted, entirely composed of generalist-opportunistic species, but, particularly in the wider planted sites, included several woodland species identified as declining in this region. Although clearly not as important as remnant woodland, farm windbreaks, shelterbelts and woodlots of suitable size and composition appear to contribute significantly to avian diversity in agricultural areas and their planting should be encouraged and supported by the rural community and government.


2015 ◽  
pp. 26-37
Author(s):  
V. B. Golub ◽  
V. V. Bondareva ◽  
A. N. Sorokin ◽  
L. F. Nikolaychuk

Plant communities with reed domination (Phragmites australis agg.) occupy the large areas in the Lower Volga Valley and especially in the river delta. We have set the task to reveal the diversity of these communities in the Lower Volga Valley. For this purpose, we applied the database that is registered in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) under the EU-RU–002 index (http://www.givd.info/) and includes 14871 relevés made during the period from 1924 to 2013. Communities with the dominance of reed were defined as such, if the coverage of this plant was more than 50 %. We have found 375 such relevés in the database. At first, one basal community, 3 associations and 3 subassociations with domination of Phragmites australis agg. were distinguished in the Lower Volga Valley. All processing and analysis of relevés were performed using the software package JUICE 7.0. (Tichý, 2002). The «Cocktail» method was applied to establish the sociological groups that indicate environmental conditions (Bruelheide, 2000). The expert system for selection from the database of relevés by means of these groups was created. It is allowed us to ascribe relevés to earlier distinguished associations, subassociations and basal community. 171 relevés have been identified by the expert system and they were assigned to association, subassociation or the basal community. 204 relevés were not referred to any association, subassociation or the basal community. We wanted to answer the question: are there among these 204 relevés, which could be interpreted as the new syntaxa, giving them the proper ecological characteristics? For this purpose, the cluster analysis of 204 relevés has been carried out. The optimal level of clustering was determined by calculating the index of “crispness of classification” (Botta-Dukát et al., 2005). The greatest “crispness of classification” was reached at allocation of 13 clusters. Consideration of the floristic composition of allocated groups had shown that 11 of them were the transitional plant communities among the earlier established syntaxa. Only two clusters were differed in rather original structure that we could explain by the influence of environment factors. We have identified them as new associations Rubio tataricae-Phragmitetum australis and Cynancho acuti-Phragmitetum australis. All associations with the dominance of Phragmites australis agg. distinguished in the Lower Volga Valley were included in the alliance Phragmition communis Koch 1926, order Phragmitetalia communis Koch 1926. In literary sources from the ecological point of view these syntaxa are defined as the wetland communities, which are closely linked to water bodies (Šumberová et al., 2011; Ermakov, 2012). However, in many cases this definition does not correspond to the ecology of plant communities with the dominance of reed in the lower reaches of the Volga River. Ecotops of these communities are flooded for up to 2–3 months in a year and then they dry out. In the autumn, the ground water level can drop to a depth of one meter (Golub et al., 2011). The plant satellites of the reed here are often mesophytic plants such as Rubus caesius, Calamagrostis epigeios, Phalaris arundinacea, Rubia tatarica, Althaea officinalis, and Rumex stenophyllus. Therefore, the inclusion of phytocoenosises with domination of the reed in the lower reaches of the Volga River in the alliance Phragmition communis is rather relative. A correct placement of these plant communities in the system of vegetation syntaxa of the arid areas can be made only if it is based on original data obtained from much bigger territory than the Lower Volga Valley. In future geobotanical studies, it is desirable to divide the aggregation of Phragmites australis agg. into smaller species taxa.


2019 ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
T. M. Lysenko ◽  
V. Yu. Neshatayeva ◽  
Z. V. Dutova

The International conference “Flora and conservation in the Caucasus: history and current state of knowledge” dedicated to the 130-year anniversary of the Perkalsky Arboretum took place at 22–25 of May 2019 in Pyatigorsk (Stavropol Territory) on the base of the Pyatigorsk Museum of local lore and natural history. The participants were from 11 cities of Russia and 7 Republics of the Caucasus and represented 14 institutions. Proceedings of the conference were published by the beginning of the meeting the book of abstracts includes 49 papers on the study of vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and fungi, plant communities, as well as the protection of rare and endangered species, unique plant communities, and ecological problems in the Caucasus. The following geobotanical topics were highlighted in 13 papers: forest communities (3 reports), meadow and steppe vegetation (2), xeric open forests (2), communities of ecotone areas (1), structure of populations of rare plant species (3), as well as the history and current status of nature protected areas (2). The great emphasis has been focused on the study of floristic composition and plant populations. Thus, the conference showed that very few studies от vegetation are currently carried out in the Caucasus, and a lot of districts are not affected by the research. The greatest attention is paid to forest vegetation while meadow, steppe, alpine heath and xerophytic communities are studied rather poorly. Besides, there are “white spots” — mire, floodplain and aquatic vegetation. In nowadays, when the anthropogenic impact on the plant cover of the Caucasus is intensively increasing, it is especially important to study natural undisturbed communities preserved in protected natural areas. Another important issue is the conservation of the unique vegetation cover of the whole Caucasus. Thus, the study of vegetation of this region opens a wide field for researchers using various methods of modern plant science.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽  
Fabián Martínez-Hernández ◽  
Esteban Salmerón-Sánchez ◽  
Francisco J. Pérez-García ◽  
Blas Teruel ◽  
...  

Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea is a shrub belonging to the Celastraceae family, whose only European populations are distributed discontinuously along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, forming plant communities with great ecological value, unique in Europe. As it is an endangered species that makes up plant communities with great palaeoecological significance, the development of species distribution models is of major interest under different climatic scenarios, past, present and future, based on the fact that the climate could play a relevant role in the distribution of this species, as well as in the conformation of the communities in which it is integrated. Palaeoecological models were generated for the Maximum Interglacial, Last Maximum Glacial and Middle Holocene periods. The results obtained showed that the widest distribution of this species, and the maximum suitability of its habitat, occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, when the temperatures of the peninsular southeast were not as contrasting as those of the rest of the European continent and were favored by higher rainfall. Under these conditions, large territories could act as shelters during the glacial period, a hypothesis reflected in the model’s results for this period, which exhibit a further expansion of M. europaea’s ecological niche. The future projection of models in around 2070, for four Representative Concentration Pathways according to the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, showed that the most favorable areas for this species would be Campo de Dalías (southern portion of Almería province) as it presents the bioclimatic characteristics of greater adjustment to M. europaea’s ecological niche model. Currently, some of the largest specimens of the species survive in the agricultural landscapes in the southern Spain. These areas are almost totally destroyed and heavily altered by intensive agriculture greenhouses, also causing a severe fragmentation of the habitat, which implies a prospective extinction scenario in the near future.


1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Robert J. Whelan

The distribution and abundance of small terrestrial mammals were assessed in forest adjacent to powerline easements at three different sites in New South Wales. At each site, four transects of 300 m length extended into the forest from the edge of the easement. The abundances of two native species (Antechinus stuartii, Rattus fuscipes) did not differ significantly with distance from the easement but abundances differed markedly among sites. Mammals were captured in only one easement where dense vegetation was present. Feral carnivores, which may mediate edge effects on small mammals, were surveyed by using hair-sampling tubes. Cats and dogs were detected only 50–200 m inside the forest. Foxes were not detected by hair-tubes but were observed on two easements. These results suggest that powerline easements may not create edge effects in eucalypt forest for some native mammal species, although further studies are needed to determine the generality of this conclusion. We recommend that easement management should be more benign to native mammals, given the ubiquity of this form of habitat fragmentation. Promotion of dense vegetative cover and habitat linkages within easements could achieve this.


2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-315
Author(s):  
Ajithakumari Anusree ◽  
Puthiya Karunakaran ◽  
Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy

Studied on the effect of adult tree density and the proximity to the natural forest on restoration success in one of the most exploited tropical deciduous forests, Attappady, Western Ghats. Random quadrats were laid and surveyed for trees and saplings in remnant tropical deciduous forest patches (hereafter called as fragmented forest and the sites being restored here after called as restoration patches) to determine floristic composition, species turnover among sites and the influence of adult tree density on sapling density. Forests composed of deciduous and evergreen trees with an average species richness of 28 and alpha diversity of 2.671 in a 0.2 ha plot. Similarity of restoration patches with natural forest increased as distance between them decreased and regeneration of native species were more efficient in sites with more number of adult trees. Local (adult tree density) and landscape level (isolation of patches) factors are both important in determining the restoration success of deciduous forests of Attappady.


1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
J. Barker ◽  
D. Lunney ◽  
T. Bubela

Mammal surveys were carried out on the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range in north-east New South Wales between March 1988 and November 1989. The emphasis was placed on rainforest mammals, following the recognition by Adam ( 1987) that the species lists of mammals in the state's rainforests were incomplete and that more research was needed. The mammals were surveyed primarily by analysis of prey remains in Dog and Fox scats, collected from roads throughout the forests, and from bat trapping. The bat fauna at both the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range is rich (1 0 species and nine species respectively, including the rare Golden-tipped Bat, Kerivoula papuensis, in the Richmond Range). Scat analysis revealed the presence of 24 native species on the Carrai Plateau, and on the Richmond Range there were 17 species, including high numbers of two pademelon species. Feral prey species are almost completely absent, although the Fox is an established predator in both areas. A sharp division was identified between the mammal faunas of closed and open forests. Differences were found also between the mammal fauna composition of the two rainforest sites, and with those of nearby eucalypt forests. The mammal fauna of New South Wales rainforests is distinct from open forests and future mammal surveys are needed to ensure an adequate level of knowledge to identify and conserve these areas.


Koedoe ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Smit ◽  
G.J. Bredenkamp ◽  
N. Van Rooyen ◽  
A.E. Van Wyk ◽  
J.M. Combrinck

A vegetation survey of the Witbank Nature Reserve, comprising 847 hectares, was conducted. Phytosociological data were used to identify plant communities, as well as to determine alpha and beta diversities. Eleven plant communities were recognised, two of these are subdivided into sub- communities, resulting in 14 vegetation units. These communities represent four main vegetation types, namely grassland, woodland, wetland and disturbed vegetation. Grassland communities have the highest plant diversity and wetland vegetation the lowest. Floristic composition indicates that the vegetation of the Rocky Highveld Grassland has affinities to the grassland and savanna biomes and also to the Afromontane vegetation of the Great Escarpment. An ordination scatter diagram shows the distribution of the 14 plant communities or sub-communities along a soil moisture gradient, as well as along a soil depth/surface rock gradient. The sequence of communities along the soil moisture gradient is used for calculating beta-diversity indices. It is concluded that the relatively small size of the Witbank Nature Reserve is unlikely to have significant negative effects on the phytodiversity of the various plant communities. This nature reserve is therefore of considerable importance in conserving a representative sample of the Rocky Highveld Grassland.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-19
Author(s):  
K. S. Izbastina ◽  
◽  
M. S. Kurmanbayeva ◽  
A. A. Bazargaliyeva ◽  
N. S. Yerezhepova ◽  
...  

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