The relationships between plant community species diversity and soil factors

Author(s):  
Ming Yue ◽  
Linjing Zhang ◽  
Fengxue Gu ◽  
Xiaoling Pan ◽  
Guifang Zhao
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 331
Author(s):  
Xie Ting-Ting ◽  
Su Pei-Xi ◽  
Zhou Zi-Juan ◽  
Li Shan-Jia ◽  
Zhang Hai-Na

1970 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalik Ram Sigdel

Study on plant community structure was undertaken in different altitudinal ranges of Shivapuri National Park. The general objective of this study is to analyse different plant community structure in Shivapuri National Park with regards to altitudinal variation. The forest was divided into three distinct altitudinal ranges on the basis of dominancy. In each altitudinal range standard quadrats method was applied for vegetation analysis. The highest number of species was found in site II. All the ecological parameters of the plant species were higher in site II except Basal Area of tree that was highest in site III. The pattern of distribution of plant species was not uniform according to altitude. At higher elevation, the forest was mature with almost closed canopy and trees were large; so the tree density was low. Species richness was highest in site II. Species diversity among tree and shrub species was higher in site I. But for herb species diversity was higher in site II for both seasons. Such type of variations may be due to nature of soil i.e. acidity, nutrient availability and other micro-climatic factors. The most noteworthy thing was that variation in flower colour of Rhododendron arboreum i.e. deep scarlet at low altitude, but it gradually changed into pinkish white as altitude increased. Key words: Altitude, Density, Plant community, Species diversity doi: 10.3126/banko.v18i1.2161 Banko Janakari, Vol. 18, No. 1, 11-17


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasbagan Ganjurjav ◽  
Min-jie Duan ◽  
Yun-fan Wan ◽  
Wei-na Zhang ◽  
Qing-zhu Gao ◽  
...  

Grazing by large herbivores may have a strong impact on plant diversity and productivity, but the effects are expected to vary with grazing pressure. The changes in productivity and species diversity of Stipa purpurea-dominated semi-arid alpine steppe grassland were measured under four different stocking rates of Tibetan sheep [no grazing, light (2.4 sheep units ha–1), moderate (3.6 sheep units ha–1), and heavy (6.0 sheep units ha–1) grazing] in a 5-year (2006–2010) grazing experiment on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Herbage mass and aboveground net primary productivity of alpine steppe declined significantly with increasing stocking rate (P < 0.05). Over the 5 years of the experiment, the proportion of forbs and sedges increased significantly under light and moderate grazing; the proportion of grasses decreased significantly, whereas the proportion of S. purpurea did not change compared with the no grazing treatment. Species diversity was highest under moderate grazing and was significantly higher than the no grazing treatment in 2 years (2008 and 2010). Moderate grazing enhanced the species diversity of the plant community due to an increase in the proportion of forbs. There were significant positive linear correlations between herbage mass and species diversity under no and light grazing. Species diversity was not related to productivity under moderate and heavy grazing. In conclusion, grazing by sheep reduced plant productivity; plant diversity increased under low and moderate grazing, and was as a result of changes in the composition of the plant community of a semi-arid alpine steppe.


Botany ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (12) ◽  
pp. 1416-1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy C. Ganguli ◽  
David M. Engle ◽  
Paul M. Mayer ◽  
Eric C. Hellgren

Widespread encroachment of the fire-intolerant species Juniperus virginiana  L. into North American grasslands and savannahs where fire has largely been removed has prompted the need to identify mechanisms driving J. virginiana encroachment. We tested whether encroachment success of J. virginiana is related to plant species diversity and composition across three plant communities. We predicted J. virginiana encroachment success would (i) decrease with increasing diversity, and (ii) J. virginiana encroachment success would be unrelated to species composition. We simulated encroachment by planting J. virginiana seedlings in tallgrass prairie, old-field grassland, and upland oak forest. We used J. virginiana survival and growth as an index of encroachment success and evaluated success as a function of plant community traits (i.e., species richness, species diversity, and species composition). Our results indicated that J. virginiana encroachment success increased with increasing plant richness and diversity. Moreover, growth and survival of J. virginiana seedlings was associated with plant species composition only in the old-field grassland and upland oak forest. These results suggest that greater plant species richness and diversity provide little resistance to J. virginiana encroachment, and the results suggest resource availability and other biotic or abiotic factors are determinants of J. virginiana encroachment success.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (22) ◽  
pp. 8126-8137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maitane Iturrate-Garcia ◽  
Michael J. O'Brien ◽  
Olga Khitun ◽  
Samuel Abiven ◽  
Pascal A. Niklaus ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abyot Dibaba Hundie ◽  
Teshome Soromessa Urgessa ◽  
Bikila Warkineh Dullo

Abstract Background This study was carried out in Gerba Dima Forest, South-Western Ethiopia, to determine the floristic composition, species diversity and community types along environmental gradients. Ninety sample plots having a size of 25 × 25 m (625 m2) were laid by employing stratified random sampling. Nested plots were used to sample plants of different sizes and different environmental variables. All woody plant species with Diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 2.5 cm and height ≥ 1.5 m were recorded in 25 m X 25 m plots. Within the major plots, five 3 m x 3 m subplots (9 m2) was used to collect shrubs with dbh < 2.5 cm and > 1.5 m height. Within each 9 m2subplots, two 1 m2 subplots were used to collect data on the species and abundance of herbaceous plants. Hierarchical (agglomerative) cluster analysis was performed using the free statistical software R version 3.6.1 using package cluster to classify the vegetation into plant community types. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) ordination was used in describing the pattern of plant communities along an environmental gradient. Result One hundred and eighty plant species belonging to 145 genera, 69 families and comprising of 15 endemic species were recorded. Cluster analysis resulted in five different plant communities and this result was supported by the ordination result. RDA result showed altitude was the main environmental variable in determining the plant communities. The ANOVA test indicated that the five community types differ significantly from each other with regard to EC and K. Conclusions The studied forest can play a significant role in biodiversity conservation since it harbours high species diversity and richness. Thus, all Stakeholders including Oromia Forest and wildlife enterprise (OFWE) and the regional government should work to designate the forest as a biosphere reserve and being registered under UNESCO.


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