High fire frequency and the impact of the 2019–2020 megafires on Australian plant diversity

Plantations have been claimed to be "monocultures", or "biological deserts". We investigated these claims in the context of a long-term study on plant diversity within plantations with different indigenous tree species, spacings, and soil types that were compared with 410 native stands. Soil type had no influence on plantation species diversity or abundance, and wider spacing resulted in higher richness, lower woody plant abundance, slightly higher cover of herbaceous plants, and large increases in cryptogam cover. We also found a canopy species × spacing interaction effect, where the impact of increased spacing on understory vegetation was more pronounced in spruce than in pine plantations. The dynamic community interactions among species of feathermoss appear to be in response to the physical impediment from varying amounts of needle rain from the different tree species. High light interception and needle fall were negatively correlated with understory plant diversity, as was lack of structural diversity. This study indicates that through afforestation efforts agricultural lands can be restored to productive forests that can harbour nearly one-half of the plant species found in equivalent natural forests within the same geographic region in as little as 50 years. We recommend applying afforestation using indigenous conifer species as a first step towards rehabilitating conifer forests that have been converted to agriculture and subsequently abandoned.

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The impact of forest roads on understory plant diversity in temperate hornbeam-beech forests of Northern Iran

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment ◽

10.1007/s10661-017-6105-1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 189 (8) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Azade Deljouei ◽

Ehsan Abdi ◽

Matteo Marcantonio ◽

Baris Majnounian ◽

Valerio Amici ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Northern Iran ◽

Forest Roads ◽

Understory Plant ◽

The Impact

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Influence of the Land Use Type on the Wild Plant Diversity

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9050602 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 602

Author(s):

Ina Aneva ◽

Petar Zhelev ◽

Simeon Lukanov ◽

Mariya Peneva ◽

Kiril Vassilev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Species Number ◽

Land Use Type ◽

Grazing Land ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Bioclimatic Variables ◽

The Impact

Studies on the impact of agricultural practices on plant diversity provide important information for policy makers and the conservation of the environment. The aim of the present work was to evaluate wild plant diversity across the agroecosystems in two contrasting regions of Bulgaria; Pazardzhik-Plovdiv (representing agroecosystems in the lowlands) and Western Stara Planina (the Balkan Mountains, representing agroecosystems in the foothills of the mountains). This study conducted a two-year assessment of plant diversity in different types of agricultural and forest ecosystems, representing more than 30 land use types. Plant diversity, measured by species number, was affected by the land use type only in Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region. More pronounced was the effect of the groups of land use types on the diversity, measured by the mean species number per scoring plot. Climatic conditions, measured by 19 bioclimatic variables, were the most important factor affecting plant species diversity. Six bioclimatic variables had a significant effect on the plant diversity, and the effect was more pronounced when the analysis considered pooled data of the two regions. The highest plant diversity was found on grazing land with sparse tree cover, while the lowest one was in the land use types representing annual crops or fallow. The study also established a database on weed species, relevant to agriculture. A number of common weeds were found in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region, while the most frequent species in the Western Stara Planina region were indigenous ones. Overall, the natural flora of Western Stara Planina was more conserved; eleven orchid species with conservation significance were found in the pastures and meadows in that region. The present study is the first attempt in Bulgaria to characterize the plant diversity across diverse agroecosystems representing many different land use types and environmental conditions. The results can contribute to nature conservation, biodiversity, and the sustainable use of plant resources.

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The impact of increasing fire frequency on forest transformations in southern Siberia

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2016.10.015 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 382 ◽

pp. 225-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Elena A. Kukavskaya ◽

Ludmila V. Buryak ◽

Evgeny G. Shvetsov ◽

Susan G. Conard ◽

Olga P. Kalenskaya

Keyword(s):

Fire Frequency ◽

Southern Siberia ◽

The Impact

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The impact of livestock grazing on plant diversity: an analysis across dryland ecosystems and scales in southern Africa

Ecological Applications ◽

10.1890/13-0377.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 1188-1203 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Wiebke Hanke ◽

Jürgen Böhner ◽

Niels Dreber ◽

Norbert Jürgens ◽

Ute Schmiedel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Dryland Ecosystems ◽

The Impact

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The Impact of Gas Flaring on Plant Diversity in Ibeno Local Government Area

Journal of Agriculture and Ecology Research International ◽

10.9734/jaeri/2015/12335 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 10-17

Author(s):

M. Abua ◽

S. Ashua

Keyword(s):

Local Government ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Local Government Area ◽

Gas Flaring ◽

The Impact

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Soil clay content and fire frequency affect clustering in trees in South African savannas

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467408004872 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 269-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Thomas A. Groen ◽

Frank van Langevelde ◽

Claudius A.D.M. van de Vijver ◽

Navashni Govender ◽

Herbert H.T. Prins

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Tree Species ◽

National Park ◽

Clay Content ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Soil Clay Content ◽

The Impact

Abstract:In this paper, we investigate which factors determine tree clustering in Southern African savannas. This was tested by measuring clustering of trees using the T-squared sampling method in plots of the Kruger National Park experimental burning programme in South Africa. Fire return interval is the main treatment in these plots, but also several auxiliary determining parameters like clay content in the soil, diameter of tree canopies, understorey composition, tree species diversity and average annual rainfall were measured while sampling. In the Kruger National Park 48 plots distributed over four different landscape types and with three different burning treatments (never, once every 3 y and annually) were sampled. First, we related the clustering of trees to these environmental variables. When looking at the most abundant species in each plot, the analysis revealed that clustering is mainly correlated with clay content in the soil. This analysis also showed that fire frequency had a positive effect on the clustering of tree species that are not very abundant. We suggest that less abundant species might be less resistant to fire and therefore adopt a mechanism of clustering to exclude grass fires under their canopy. Finally, we tested the effect of clustering on the impact of fire on trees by analysing the relationship between the distance of a tree to its nearest neighbour and its canopy diameter. We found that clustering reduces the damaging effect of fire on trees. Our study contributes to understanding of savanna functioning by showing which processes are relevant in the distribution of savanna trees.

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Impact of human population density on fire frequency at the global scale

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-10-15735-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 15735-15778 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

W. Knorr ◽

T. Kaminski ◽

A. Arneth ◽

U. Weber

Keyword(s):

Population Density ◽

Human Population ◽

Global Analysis ◽

Global Scale ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

System Component ◽

Burned Area ◽

Data Set ◽

In Fire ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Human impact on wildfires, a major Earth system component, remains poorly understood. While local studies have found more fires close to settlements and roads, assimilated charcoal records and analyses of regional fire patterns from remote-sensing observations point to a decline in fire frequency with increasing human population. Here, we present a global analysis using three multi-year satellite-based burned-area products combined with a parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis with a non-linear model. We show that at the global scale, the impact of increasing population density is mainly to reduce fire frequency. Only for areas with up to 0.1 people per km2, we find that fire frequency increases by 10 to 20% relative to its value at no population. The results are robust against choice of burned-area data set, and indicate that at only very few places on Earth, fire frequency is limited by human ignitions. Applying the results to historical population estimates results in a moderate but accelerating decline of global burned area by around 14% since 1800, with most of the decline since 1950.

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Review: The impact of social and economic change on domesticated plant diversity with special reference to wet rice field and home-garden farming of West Java, Indonesia

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity ◽

10.13057/biodiv/d190227 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 515-527 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

JOHAN ISKANDAR ◽

BUDIAWATI S. ISKANDAR ◽

RUHYAT PARTASASMITA

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Special Reference ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Rice Field ◽

Economic Change ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Home Garden ◽

West Java ◽

The Impact

Iskandar J, Iskandar BS, Partasasmita R. 2018. Review: The impact of social and economic change on domesticated plant diversity with special reference to wet rice field and home-garden farming of West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 515-527. The Impact of social and economic change on genetic diversity of domesticated plants with special reference to wet rice field and homegarden farming of West Java. Various farming systems have played an important role as sources of genetic diversity in plants. A large number of cultivated varieties have been commonly selected, maintained, and distributed by farmers and cultural practices and ecological factors have been involved. These factors, such as soil, climate, pests, and culinary, magical and ritual uses, have influenced farmers in their selection of plants in farming systems. Nowadays, however, the number of plant varieties in various farming systems of Java has dramatically declined. This article attempts to discuss the impact of social and economic change on the genetic diversity of agricultural plants of the wet rice field and home-garden farming, particularly based on data from West Java.

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Reasons for an outstanding plant diversity in the tropical Andes of Southern Ecuador

Landscape Online ◽

10.3097/lo.200912 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 1-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Michael Richter ◽

Karl-Heinz Diertl ◽

Paul Emck ◽

Thorsten Peters ◽

Erwin Beck

Keyword(s):

Human Impact ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Global Scale ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

Constant Input ◽

General Role ◽

Southern Ecuador ◽

The Impact

Long-term field studies in the scope of a multidisciplinary project in southern Ecuador revealed extraordinary high species numbers of many organismic groups. This article discusses reasons for the outstanding vascular plant diversity using a hierarchical scale-oriented top-down approach (Grüninger 2005), from the global scale to the local microscale. The global scale explains general (paleo-) ecological factors valid for most parts of the humid tropics, addressing various hypotheses and theories, such as the "greater effective evolutionary time", constant input of "accidentals", the "seasonal variability hypothesis", the "intermediate disturbance hypothesis", and the impact of soil fertility. The macroscale focuses on the Andes in northwestern South America. The tropical Andes are characterised by many taxa of restricted range which is particularly true for the Amotape-Huancabamba region, i.e. the so called Andean Depression, which is effective as discrete phytogeographic transition as well as barrier zone. Interdigitation of northern and southern flora elements, habitat fragmentation, geological and landscape history, and a high speciation rate due to rapid genetic radiation of some taxa contribute to a high degree of diversification. The mesoscale deals with the special environmental features of the eastern mountain range, the Cordillera Real and surrounding areas in southern Ecuador. Various climatic characteristics, the orographic heterogeneity, the geologic and edaphic conditions as well as human impact are the most prominent factors augmenting plant species diversity. On microscale, prevailing regimes of disturbance and environmental stresses, the orographic basement, as well as the general role on the various mountain chains are considered. Here, micro-habitats e.g. niches for epiphytes, effects of micro-relief patterns, and successions after small-sized disturbance events are screened. Direct effects of human impact are addressed and a perspective of possible effects of climate change on plant diversity is presented.

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