Facilitation and edge effects influence vegetation regeneration in old-fields at the tropical Andean forest line

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bueno ◽  
Luis D. Llambí
Author(s):  
William J. Baxter

In this form of electron microscopy, photoelectrons emitted from a metal by ultraviolet radiation are accelerated and imaged onto a fluorescent screen by conventional electron optics. image contrast is determined by spatial variations in the intensity of the photoemission. The dominant source of contrast is due to changes in the photoelectric work function, between surfaces of different crystalline orientation, or different chemical composition. Topographical variations produce a relatively weak contrast due to shadowing and edge effects.Since the photoelectrons originate from the surface layers (e.g. ∼5-10 nm for metals), photoelectron microscopy is surface sensitive. Thus to see the microstructure of a metal the thin layer (∼3 nm) of surface oxide must be removed, either by ion bombardment or by thermal decomposition in the vacuum of the microscope.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-431
Author(s):  
Bulat R. Rakhimzianov

Abstract This article explores relations between Muscovy and the so-called Later Golden Horde successor states that existed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on the territory of Desht-i Qipchaq (the Qipchaq Steppe, a part of the East European steppe bounded roughly by the Oskol and Tobol rivers, the steppe-forest line, and the Caspian and Aral Seas). As a part of, and later a successor to, the Juchid ulus (also known as the Golden Horde), Muscovy adopted a number of its political and social institutions. The most crucial events in the almost six-century-long history of relations between Muscovy and the Tatars (13–18th centuries) were the Mongol invasion of the Northern, Eastern and parts of the Southern Rus’ principalities between 1237 and 1241, and the Muscovite annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates between 1552 and 1556. According to the model proposed here, the Tatars began as the dominant partner in these mutual relations; however, from the beginning of the seventeenth century this role was gradually inverted. Indicators of a change in the relationship between the Muscovite grand principality and the Golden Horde can be found in the diplomatic contacts between Muscovy and the Tatar khanates. The main goal of the article is to reveal the changing position of Muscovy within the system of the Later Golden Horde successor states. An additional goal is to revisit the role of the Tatar khanates in the political history of Central Eurasia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.


2015 ◽  
pp. 3-25
Author(s):  
E. O. Golovina

The museum-preserve «The Kulikovo Field» is situated in the northern part of the Central Russian Upland within the forest-steppe zone near its northern border. There are a lot of abandoned fields, most of them left fallow since 1990–2000 years; the exact age of the old fields is unknown. Using the Braun-Blanquet approach as well as the method of K. Kopecký and S. Hejný (Kopecký, Hejný, 1974; Kopecký, 1992), the classification of the old-field vegetation of the central part of the museum-preserve was carried out. One derivate community, 2 basal communities (one of them with two variants), 3 communities and one association with three variants have been identified. The derivate community Conyza canadensis­ [Artemisietea vulgaris/Stellarietea mediae] is dominated by annual and biennial ruderal species: Conyza canadensis, Lactuca serriola and Carduus acanthoides. The association Convolvulo arvensis–Elytrigietum repentis is heterogeneous both in its floristic and subdominant composition and it can be divided into 3 variants. The variant typica represents monodominant communities where Elytrigia repens prevails. The variant Lactuca serriola is characterized by high constancy of Conyza canadensis, Lactuca serriola and some other ruderal plants and it represents coenoses dominated by Elytrigia repens with subdominants such as Lactuca serriola, Senecio jacobaea and Pilosella spp., mainly P. bauhini. The variant Cichorium intybus is dominated by Elytrigia repens with a subdominant Cichorium intybus; some mesophilous meadow species are often present. Variants Melilotus officinalis and Sonchus arvensis of the basal communityElytrigia repens–Cichorium intybus [Artemisietea vulgaris] are dominated by Cichorium intybus, Poa angustifolia and Elytrigia repens, the first of them also by Melilotus officinalis, Artemisia absinthium, and the second by Carduus acanthoides and Calamagrostis epigeios. Unlike the foregoing syntaxa the basal community Elytrigia repens–Cichorium intybus [Artemisietea vulgaris] is characterized by relative high constancy of some species pertaining to the order Galietalia veri, namely Fragaria viridis, Galium verum, Potentilla argentea. These species and also Poa angustifolia are the first steppificated meadow plants that appear in the old field communities under investigation. The community Pilosella bauhini [Onopordion acanthii] is dominated by Pilosella spp., mainly by P. bauhini that sometimes replaced by some ruderal plants, e. g. Achillea nobilis or Cichorium intybus. The peculiarity of this community is the low constancy and abundance of Elytrigia repens. The species of the orders Galietalia veri and Arrhenatheretalia play much noticeable role in the other syntaxa mentioned below, so these syntaxa are between the natural and synanthropic vegetation. The community Leucanthemum vulgare–Galium mollugo [Onopordion acanthii/Molinio-Arrhenatheretea] is distinguished by high abundance and constancy of some mesophilous and xeromesophilous meadow plants (Leucanthemum vulgare, Galium mollugo, Phleum pratense etc.). The community Artemisia marschalliana [Onopordion acanthii/Galietalia veri] is dominated mostly by Leontodon hispidus and Pilosella spp.; its peculiarity is a relatively high constancy of species common in the local steppificated meadows. The basal community Poa angustifolia [Galietalia veri/Artemisietea vulgaris] represents monodominant communities where Poa angustifolia prevails. Annual, biennial and some perennial ruderal species are rare in this variant, unlike most of the syntaxa mentioned above. The common feature of the last three syntaxa is subdominance of Fragaria viridis. It is known that the floristic composition of communities is changed during an old-field succession: the percentage of annual and biennial species declines and that of species pertaining to the classes of natural vegetation increases (Bonet, Pausas, 2007; Yamalov et al., 2008; Pankratova, Gannibal, 2009). Using the life-form and phytosociological spectrum of the syntaxa analysis an attempt to evaluate succession status of the described communities was made (tab. 9, 10). Based upon the results of this analysis, it is possible to suggest that the derivate community Conyza canadensis [Artemisietea vulgaris/Stellarietea mediae] is the earliest stage one can find in the investigated old fields. The variants Lactuca serriola and typica of the association Convolvulo arvensis–Elytrigietum repentis and the community Pilosella bauhini [Onopordion acanthii] are the next in the series. It seems that Pilosella spp. (P. bauhini and probably some other species of this genus) outcompete the pioneer species of initial stages, like Elytrigia repens, in some cases. The basal community Poa angustifolia [Galietalia veri / Artemisietea vulgaris] seems to be the most advanced stage: the percentage of annuals and biennials is minimal, and that of species pertaining to the syntaxa of natural vegetation of the high ranks, especially to the order Galietalia veri, increases greatly. Species richness of the communities is minimal at the most early stage, which is the peculiarity of the old-field vegetation (Pankratova, Gannibal, 2009; Ovcharova, Yamalov, 2013). Similar phenomenon was also noticed at the succession stages where strong dominant (Elytrigia repens or Poa angustifolia) pre­vails, regardless of how much advanced these stages are, the fact mentioned earlier (Prach, 1985). Species richness attains maximum at those stages of succession where the communities are polydominant and contain both early- and late-successional species, that was also previously described (Meiners et al., 2007).


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-217
Author(s):  
Nádson Ricardo Leite de Souza ◽  
Vanessa Vasconcelos da Silva ◽  
Edson Henrique Almeida de Andrade ◽  
Valéria Raquel Porto de Lima

A Mata do Buraquinho consiste no maior remanescente de Mata Atlântica em área urbana do país, é cortada pelo Rio Jaguaribe, um dos afluentes do Rio Paraíba e maior rio urbano de João Pessoa/PB que, represado, forma o Açude do Buraquinho, de onde provém parte da água potável da capital paraibana. O local é declarado uma Área de Preservação Permanente desde 1989, devido à importância ambiental e, desde o ano de 2000, abriga o Jardim Botânico Benjamin Maranhão, que ocupa mais de 65% da área total, criado com a missão de fortalecer as ações de preservação e promover a intensificação dos estudos no representativo ambiente, todavia, a existência de trilhas em seu interior possibilita maior vulnerabilidade à degeneração ecossistêmica, somada aos efeitos de borda no contato com a densa urbanização do entorno. Com o objetivo de analisar os impactos ambientais negativos ocasionados por tais bordas, foram realizadas observações in loco, por meio de inventariações de parcelas concretizadas ao longo das trilhas mais frequentadas, onde se apurou diversos indicativos de degradação florestal. A partir disso, confirmou-se a autenticidade das teorias empregadas sobre os impactos ambientais negativos e a degeneração das espécies habituais, resultantes das ações de caráter antrópico, concluindo-se que a propagação dos efeitos de borda originada pela abertura de trilhas que favorecem o avanço da degradação e fazem-se necessárias ações de conservação mais rigorosas do que as em vigor, mesmo se tratando de uma área legalmente protegida.Palavras-chave: Efeitos de borda; Degeneração ecossistêmica; Mata do Buraquinho. ABSTRACTMata do Buraquinho is the largest remnant of Mata Atlântica in an urban area of the country. It is cut by the Jaguaribe River, - one of the tributaries of the Paraíba River and the largest urban river of João Pessoa/PB – which was dammed up forming the Açude do Buraquinho, from where comes part of the potable water of the capital of Paraíba. The place has been declared a Permanent Preservation Area since 1989. Due to its environmental importance and, since the year of 2000, it has sheltered the Benjamin Maranhão Botanical Garden, which occupies more than 65% of the total area. This garden was created with the mission of strengthening actions of preservation and to promote the intensification of studies in the representative environment. However, the existence of trails inside of it, allows greater vulnerability to the ecosystem degeneration, and combined with effects of border in the contact with the dense urbanization of the surrounding area. In order to analyze the negative environmental impacts caused by such edges, some observations were made in loco, through inventories of concretized plots along the most frequented trails, where several indications of forest degradation were obtained. From this, the authenticity of the theories used on the negative environmental impacts and the degeneration of the habitual species was confirmed. And resulting from actions of anthropic character, it was concluded that the propagation of the edge effects originated by the opening of tracks, favors the advance of the degradation and becomes necessary conservation actions more stringent than those in force, even in the case of a legally protected area. Keywords: Edge effects; Ecosystem Degeneration; Mata do Buraquinho. RESUMENLa “Mata do Buraquinho” es el testimonio más grande del bosque Atlántico en el área urbana de Brasil, es cortado por el Río Jaguaribe, uno de los tributarios del Río Paraíba, además, es el río urbano más grande de João Pessoa/PB, que forma la presa del “Buraquinho”, de donde proviene el suministro de agua potable para la capital del Estado de Paraíba. Esta zona es declarada un Área de Preservación Permanente desde 1989, debido a su importancia ambiental, y desde el año 2000, acoge el Jardín Botánico Benjamin Maranhão, que ocupa más de 65% del área total, creado con la misión de fortalecer las acciones de preservación y promover la intensificación de los estudios en el representativo de ambiente, sin embargo, la existencia de rutas en el interior aumenta la vulnerabilidad a la degeneración ecosistémica, añadidos a los efectos de borde que tienen contacto directo con la densa urbanización de los alrededores. Con el propósito de analizar los impactos ambientales negativos ocasionados por estos bordes, han sido realizadas observaciones "In loco", a través de inventariaciones de parcelas implementadas a lo largo de las rutas más frecuentadas, donde se ha detectado indicios de degradación forestal. Con eso, se ha confirmado la autenticidad de las teorías utilizadas sobre los impactos ambientales negativos y la degeneración de especies habituales, resultantes de acciones antrópicas, se concluye que la propagación de los efectos de borde originada por la apertura de rutas ha favorecido el avance de la degradación, con eso, son necesarias acciones de conservación todavía más estrictas de que las que existen, aún que ya sea un área protegida por la ley.Palabras-clave: Efectos de borde; Degeneración ecosistémica; Mata do Buraquinho.


BMC Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Andriatsitohaina ◽  
Daniel Romero-Mujalli ◽  
Malcolm S. Ramsay ◽  
Frederik Kiene ◽  
Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Edge effects can influence species composition and community structure as a result of changes in microenvironment and edaphic variables. We investigated effects of habitat edges on vegetation structure, abundance and body mass of one vulnerable Microcebus species in northwestern Madagascar. We trapped mouse lemurs along four 1000-m transects (total of 2424 trap nights) that ran perpendicular to the forest edge. We installed 16 pairs of 20 m2 vegetation plots along each transect and measured nine vegetation parameters. To determine the responses of the vegetation and animals to an increasing distance to the edge, we tested the fit of four alternative mathematical functions (linear, power, logistic and unimodal) to the data and derived the depth of edge influence (DEI) for all parameters. Results Logistic and unimodal functions best explained edge responses of vegetation parameters, and the logistic function performed best for abundance and body mass of M. ravelobensis. The DEI varied between 50 m (no. of seedlings, no. of liana, dbh of large trees [dbh ≥ 10 cm]) and 460 m (tree height of large trees) for the vegetation parameters, whereas it was 340 m for M. ravelobensis abundance and 390 m for body mass, corresponding best to the DEI of small tree [dbh < 10 cm] density (360 m). Small trees were significantly taller and the density of seedlings was higher in the interior than in the edge habitat. However, there was no significant difference in M. ravelobensis abundance and body mass between interior and edge habitats, suggesting that M. ravelobensis did not show a strong edge response in the study region. Finally, regression analyses revealed three negative (species abundance and three vegetation parameters) and two positive relationships (body mass and two vegetation parameters), suggesting an impact of vegetation structure on M. ravelobensis which may be partly independent of edge effects. Conclusions A comparison of our results with previous findings reveals that edge effects are variable in space in a small nocturnal primate from Madagascar. Such an ecological plasticity could be extremely relevant for mitigating species responses to habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbances.


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