Native Plant Communities in an Abandoned Pb-Zn Mining Area of Northern Spain: Implications for Phytoremediation and Germplasm Preservation

Arid plant communities provide variable diets that can affect digestive microbial communities of free-foraging ruminants. Thus, we used next-generation sequencing of 16S and 18S rDNA to characterize microbial communities in the rumen (regurgitated digesta) and large intestine (faeces) and diet composition of lactating creole goats from five flocks grazing in native plant communities in the Sonoran Desert in the rainy season. The bacterial communities in the rumen and large intestine of the five flocks had similar alpha diversity (Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson indices). However, bacterial community compositions were different: a bacterial community dominated by Proteobacteria in the rumen transitioned to a community dominated by Firmicutes in the large intestine. Bacterial communities of rumen were similar across flocks; similarly occurred with large-intestine communities. Archaea had a minimum presence in the goat digestive tract. We detected phylum Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Apicomplexa as the main fungi and protozoa. Analyses suggested different diet compositions; forbs and grasses composed the bulk of plants in the rumen and forbs and shrubs in faeces. Therefore, lactating goats consuming different diets in the Sonoran Desert in the rainy season share a similar core bacterial community in the rumen and another in the large intestine and present low archaeal communities.

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Competition between native and non-native plants.

Plant invasions: the role of biotic interactions ◽

10.1079/9781789242171.0016 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 291-307

Author(s):

Elizabeth M. Wandrag ◽

◽

Jane A. Catford ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Native Species ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Invasion Biology ◽

Competitive Interactions ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

New Locations ◽

Strength Of Competition

The introduction of species to new locations leads to novel competitive interactions between resident native and newly-arriving non-native species. The nature of these competitive interactions can influence the suitability of the environment for the survival, reproduction and spread of non-native plant species, and the impact those species have on native plant communities. Indeed, the large literature on competition among plants reflects its importance in shaping the composition of plant communities, including the invasion success of non-native species. While competition and invasion theory have historically developed in parallel, the increasing recognition of the synergism between the two themes has led to new insights into how non-native plant species invade native plant communities, and the impacts they have on those plant communities. This chapter provides an entry point into the aspects of competition theory that can help explain the success, dominance and impacts of invasive species. It focuses on resource competition, which arises wherever the resources necessary for establishment, survival, reproduction and spread are in limited supply. It highlights key hypotheses developed in invasion biology that relate to ideas of competition, outlines biotic and abiotic factors that influence the strength of competition and species' relative competitive abilities, and describes when and how competition between non-native and native plant species can influence invasion outcomes. Understanding the processes that influence the strength of competition between non-native and native plant species is a necessary step towards understanding the causes and consequences of biological invasions.

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Pilbara Seed Atlas and Field Guide

10.1071/9781486305537 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Mining Activities ◽

Extreme Temperatures ◽

Native Plant ◽

Plant Identification ◽

Field Guide ◽

Boom And Bust ◽

Increasing Demand ◽

Boom And Bust Cycles

The Pilbara region in Australia’s arid northwest is rich in flora that is suited to extreme temperatures and boom and bust cycles of moisture availability. It is also a region important for its natural resources. In places where mining activities have finished and the land is under management for ecological restoration, there is increasing demand for information about native plant communities and the biology of their seeds. Pilbara Seed Atlas and Field Guide is the first book to combine plant identification with robust, scientific criteria for cost-effective seed-based rehabilitation. It describes 103 regional plant taxa and provides guidelines for effective collection, cleaning, storage and germination of their seeds. It addresses issues such as timing of collection, quality and viability of seed, and dormancy release, which are essential for successful restoration programs. With photographs to portray the subtle differences and unique features of each species’ biology, this book will be of great use to practitioners in the field, including environmental consultants, rehabilitation companies, commercial seed collectors and government authorities, as well as naturalists and people interested in growing the Pilbara’s remarkable plants.

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Impact of invasive alien plants on native plant communities and Natura 2000 habitats: State of the art, gap analysis and perspectives in Italy

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111140 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 274 ◽

pp. 111140 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lorenzo Lazzaro ◽

Rossano Bolpagni ◽

Gabriella Buffa ◽

Rodolfo Gentili ◽

Michele Lonati ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Gap Analysis ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Alien Plants ◽

Native Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plants

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Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) Removal and its Effect on Native Plant Communities of Riparian Forests

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-09-028.1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 292-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

James L. Hanula ◽

Scott Horn ◽

John W. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Foliar Application ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Riparian Forests ◽

Active Management ◽

Native Plant ◽

Chinese Privet ◽

Desirable Outcome ◽

Understory Plant ◽

Future Condition

AbstractChinese privet is a major invasive shrub within riparian zones throughout the southeastern United States. We removed privet shrubs from four riparian forests in October 2005 with a Gyrotrac® mulching machine or by hand-felling with chainsaws and machetes to determine how well these treatments controlled privet and how they affected plant community recovery. One year after shrub removal a foliar application of 2% glyphosate was applied to privet remaining in the herbaceous layer. Three “desired-future-condition” plots were also measured to assess how well treatments shifted plant communities toward a desirable outcome. Both methods completely removed privet from the shrub layer without reducing nonprivet shrub cover and diversity below levels on the untreated control plots. Nonprivet plant cover on the mulched plots was > 60% by 2007, similar to the desired-future-condition plots and higher than the hand-felling plots. Both treatments resulted in higher nonprivet plant cover than the untreated controls. Ordination showed that after 2 yr privet removal plots were tightly grouped, suggesting that the two removal techniques resulted in the same plant communities, which were distinctly different from both the untreated controls and the desired-future-condition. Both treatments created open streamside forests usable for recreation and other human activities. However, much longer periods of time or active management of the understory plant communities, or both, will be required to change the forests to typical mature forest plant communities.

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Comparing Effectiveness and Impacts of Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) Control Treatments and Herbivory on Plant Communities

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-13-00004.1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 459-469 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jeffrey S. Ward ◽

Scott C. Williams ◽

Thomas E. Worthley

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Initial Treatment ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Labor Cost ◽

Native Plant ◽

Minimal Impact ◽

Japanese Barberry ◽

Treatment Type

AbstractTwo factors that can degrade native plant community composition and structure, and hinder restoration efforts, are invasive species and chronic overbrowsing by ungulates such as white-tailed deer. Beginning in 2007, the effectiveness, costs, and impacts of Japanese barberry control treatments and herbivory on nonnative and native plant communities was examined at eight study areas over 4 to 5 yr. Prescribed burning and mechanical mowing by wood shredder or brush saw were utilized as initial treatments to reduce the aboveground portion of established barberry and were equally effective. Without a follow-up treatment, barberry had recovered to 56 to 81% of pretreatment levels 50 to 62 mo after initial treatment. Follow-up treatments in mid-summer to kill new sprouts included directed heating and foliar herbicide applications. Relative to untreated controls, follow-up treatments lowered barberry cover 50 to 62 mo after initial treatment by at least 72%. Although all follow-up treatments were equally effective, the labor cost of directed heating was four times higher than for herbicide applications. Follow-up treatment type (directed heating vs. herbicide) had minimal impact on species other than barberry. White-tailed deer herbivory had a larger impact on other species than did barberry control treatments. Native grass and fern cover was higher outside of exclosures. Areas inside exclosures had higher cover of Oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose, but not Japanese barberry. Thus, recovery of native communities will require more than simply removing the dominant invasive species where deer densities are high. Excellent reduction of Japanese barberry cover can be achieved using either directed heating or herbicides as follow-up treatments in a two-step process, but other invasive plants may become a problem when barberry is removed if deer populations are low.

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Effect of Aminopyralid on Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and the Native Plant Community in a Restored Tallgrass Prairie

Invasive Plant Science and Management ◽

10.1614/ipsm-d-09-00019.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 155-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Travis L. Almquist ◽

Rodney G. Lym

Keyword(s):

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Native Species ◽

Cirsium Arvense ◽

Grass Species ◽

Stem Density ◽

Native Plant ◽

Canada Thistle ◽

Native Plant Community ◽

Restored Prairie

AbstractAminopyralid efficacy on Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) and potential to injure native species was evaluated in a restored prairie at the Glacial Ridge Preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy in Polk County, MN. Canada thistle stem density was reduced from 17 to 0.1 stems m−2 10 mo after treatment (MAT) with aminopyralid applied in the fall at 120 g ha−1. Aminopyralid also altered the composition of both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. Aminopyralid controlled Canada thistle and removed or reduced several undesirable forb species from the restored prairie communities, such as absinth wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis). A number of high seral forbs were also reduced or removed by aminopyralid, including maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea). Foliar cover of high seral forbs in the native plant community was reduced from 12.2 to 7% 22 MAT. The cover of high seral grass species, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) increased after aminopyralid application in both the Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities and averaged 41.4% cover compared with only 19.4% before removal of Canada thistle. Species richness, evenness, and diversity were reduced after aminopyralid application in both Canada thistle–infested and native plant communities. However, the benefits of Canada thistle control, removal of undesirable species, and the increase in native grass cover should lead to an overall improvement in the long-term stability and composition of the restored prairie plant community, which likely outweigh the short-term effects of a Canada thistle control program.

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