Over 80% of Africa's savannah conservation land is failing or deteriorating according to lions as an indicator species

Geobotanical survey of floodplain natural complexes near gypsum outcrops in the Pinega river valley was done in 2015. Large-scale geobotanical map of the key polygon (scale 1 : 30 000) was composed. Typological units of vegetation were selected on the basis of the composition of dominant species and groups of indicator species. Homogeneous and heterogeneous territorial units of vegetation (serial series, combinations, environmental series) were used. 53 mapped unit types (25 homogeneous types and 28 heterogeneous types) were recognized. The floodplain vegetation consists of 17 homogeneous types of plant communities, 3 series, 14 combinations and 6 ecological series. The sites of old floodplain forests, such as willow forests with Urtica sondenii rare in the Arkhangelsk region and oxbow wet meadows with Scolochloa festucacea were identified.

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Canaries In A Coal Mine: Best-Indicator Species For Detecting Abrupt Community Shifts

10.31988/scitrends.47084 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Vasilis Dakos

Keyword(s):

Coal Mine ◽

Indicator Species ◽

Community Shifts

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Current Condition of Pannonic Salt Steppes at Their Distribution Limit: What Do Indicator Species Reveal about Habitat Quality?

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10030530 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 530

Author(s):

Zuzana Dítě ◽

Róbert Šuvada ◽

Tibor Tóth ◽

Pavol Eliáš Jun ◽

Vladimír Píš ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Indicator Species ◽

Good Condition ◽

Central Area ◽

East Central Europe ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Ecological Conditions ◽

Typical Habitat ◽

Priority Habitat

Little is known about the suite of ecological conditions under which characteristic species may continue to develop under the pressure of recent habitat deterioration. We aimed to determine the niche of three indicator species of the priority habitat Pannonic salt steppes and to find out how their vegetation composition, land use, and soil chemistry mirror the current condition of their typical habitat. A plot-based vegetation survey was conducted in degraded and in pristine (reference) inland salt steppes in East-Central Europe. We confirmed decreased habitat quality at their northern geographical limit. Most of the sites there showed a strong prevalence of generalists (e.g., Elytrigia repens) and lack of specialists, both resulting from lowered habitat extremity and inappropriate land use (abandonment). A small proportion of plots (19%) were in the same good condition as the reference vegetation in the central area. Soil analyses revealed that the studied halophytes are able to persist on desalinized soils if the land use is suitable. The occurrence of the annual Camphorosma annua (Amaranthaceae) was driven largely by abiotic stress; grazing alone is insufficient for its long-term persistence, while the perennial Artemisia santonicum (Asteraceae) and Tripolium pannonicum (Asteraceae) have higher survival chances as they are able to coexist with generalists. Overall habitat quality can be reliably determined from the analyzed ecological conditions of indicator species. The outcomes of the presented work are relevant for conservation practice and can serve as a quick tool for assessing the current stage of other grassland habitats.

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