Vegetation management and ecosystem disturbance: impact of glyphosate herbicide on plant and animal diversity in terrestrial systems

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
T P Sullivan ◽  
D S Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
Glyphosate Herbicide

The conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity) is becoming an integral part of the sustainable management of forest- and agro-ecosystems. A vital part of these systems is weed control, or vegetation management, to enhance crop production. Because of its widespread use and environmental compatibility, this review was designed to evaluate glyphosate herbicide in terms of: (i) its role as a disturbance agent and (ii) a measure of its impact on species diversity of terrestrial plants and animals. Our analyses were based on 60 published studies of terrestrial plants and animals in temperate zone forest- and agro-ecosystems. Species richness and diversity of vascular plants was either unaffected or increased, particularly herbaceous species, in response to glyphosate. Responses of plant species in forest ecosystems differ from those in agro-ecosystems where glyphosate is used to repeatedly reduce non-crop vegetation in most situations. Richness and diversity of songbirds appeared little affected by glyphosate-induced habitat alteration. In studies on small mammal communities and glyphosate use, none found significant reductions in species richness or diversity. As for avian responses, some small mammal species declined temporarily whereas others increased in abundance. The impact of glyphosate on large mammalian herbivores was measured by abundance of animals and food plants and by habitat use. Hares (Lepus spp. L.) and deer (Odocoileus spp. Rafinesque and Capreolus capreolus L.) were little affected, whereas reductions in plant biomass and related moose (Alces alces L.) forage and habitat use generally occur for 1–5 years after treatment. Studies on terrestrial invertebrates covered a wide range of taxa with variable responses in abundance to glyphosate treatments. The magnitude of observed changes in mean species richness and diversity of vascular plants, birds, and small mammals, from the effects of herbicide treatment, were within the mean values of natural fluctuations of these variables. The biological significance of this impact is limited to shifts in species composition based on changes in floral composition and structure of habitats. Management for a mosaic of habitats within forest and agricultural landscapes, which provide a range of conditions for plant and animal species, should help ameliorate the short-term changes in species composition accompanying vegetation management with glyphosate.Key words: agro-ecosystems, forests, glyphosate, plants and animals, species richness and diversity, vegetation management.

scholarly journals The fish fauna of streams in the Madeira-Purus interfluvial region, Brazilian Amazon

Check List ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela de França Barros ◽  
Jansen Zuanon ◽  
Fernando Pereira De Mendonça ◽  
Helder Mateus Viana Espírito Santo ◽  
André Vieira Galuch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Taxonomic Group ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
High Species Richness

Small headwaters streams of the Neotropical region usually have high species richness and diversity. This study aimed to investigate the species composition and abundance of fish fauna in the headwaters streams of the Madeira-Purus interfluvial plain in the Brazilian Amazon. A total of 22 streams of 1st to 3rd order were sampled during two expeditions at two separate locations in April-May and July of 2007. A total of 5508 fishes were captured using hand and small seine nets, belonging to 78 species, 22 families and six orders. Characiformes was the most diverse taxonomic group in the samples, followed by Gymnotiformes and Siluriformes. Our findings indicate that the fish fauna of streams in the Madeira- Purus interfluvial plain is both rich and diverse and should be considered during the implementation of strengthened environmental conservation strategies in this region. 

scholarly journals Early-arriving saproxylic beetles developing in Scots pine stumps: effects of felling type and date

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 503-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Foit
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Pinus Sylvestris ◽  
Scots Pine ◽  
Saproxylic Beetles ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity

A total of 320 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) low stumps were analysed within two stands (one stand was thinned, and the other stand was subjected to clear-cut final felling) in the Drahanská Highlands in the Czech Republic. Each stand was divided into four parts, and the felling of each part was performed on different dates during 2006 (February, May, August and November). The fauna of early-arriving saproxylic beetles inhabiting the stumps was investigated by peeling the bark in two vegetation periods after the felling. A total of 17 species of beetles were found. The felling type and date affected the species composition of the recorded assemblages, with the felling date being considerably more important than the type. The species richness and diversity did not differ significantly between the felling types, but significant differences were found among the felling dates. Several associations of particular species with certain felling types or dates were also found.

scholarly journals Human Disturbance, Plant Species Composition, Diversity and Community Types of Kafta-Sheraro National Park, Tigray Region, Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fitsum Temesgen Hailemariam ◽  
Bikila Warkineh Dullo ◽  
Addisu Asefa Mitiku
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
National Park ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
Community Types

Abstract Background: Ethiopia is rich in woodland natural forest although of increasingly subjected to deforestation and forest degradation with extensive expansion of settlement and agricultural practices. In developing countries like Ethiopia forest is one of the vital resources that determine the livelihood of the local communities. Consequently, woodlands’ of the country’s are under heavy pressure by shifting cultivation and charcoal production. Kafta-sheraro national park is newly established woodland area which lacks documented vegetation diversity and human disturbance on the forest. The study was conducted to quantify plant species richness and diversity along altitude; and identify anthropogenic disturbance on vegetation composition and community diversity of the park. Methods: a Systematic sampling method was used to determine species composition, abundance, and diversity. 161 quadrats each (400 m2) lying 200 m far apart for trees and shrubs while sub-plots (1 m2) for herbs and grasses along transects were established over an altitudinal gradient of 539-1111 m.a.s.l. All vascular plant species were collected and brought to National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University for identification.The degree of disturbance data as (low, moderate and heavy) were visually estimated for each plot. Result: a total of 182 plant species: 63 (34.6%) herbs,46 (25.3%) trees, 38 (20.9%) grasses, 18(9.89%) shrubs, 11 climbers (6.04%), and 6 (3.3%) tree ̸ shrub), belonging to 142 genera and 53 families, were identified. Fabaceae was represented by the highest number of species (37 species; 20.3%) followed by Poaceae (36 species; 19.8%) and Asteraceae, 10 species (5.49%). Three plant communities’ types were identified: Acacia mellifera-Balanites aegyptiaca (1); Hyphaene thebaica-Ziziphus spina-christi (2); Combretum hartmannianum-Terminalia brownii-Boswellia papyrifera (3). Species richness was highest in community 1 (mid-altitude: 607-640 m.a.s.l.).The highest Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H`=2.82) for the forest was in community 2 (low altitude: 539-610 m.a.s.l.) while evenness (J=0.72) was highest in community 3 (high altitude: 674-1111 m.a.s.l.) There was a significant correlation between species richness (p=0.024) and altitude per plot while species diversity was non significant (p>0.05) over altitude. Human activities also strongly correlated with species richness and diversity of specific community type. Conclusion: the site has pronounced floristic composition and diversity. Altitudinal difference and the degree of human disturbance determine variation in species composition and richness among communities. Altitude is significantly correlated with species richness of all community types while it is more strongly correlated with community type1.Crop cultivation, illegal fire, and overpopulation of livestock grazing are the main threats in community types 2 and 3. However, this document is a baseline to vegetation information of the park. detailed study on conservation challenges (anthropogenic disturbance) of the park vegetation and prioritize their mitigation measures should be arranged.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal variation in small mammal abundance and diversity under protection, pastoralism and agriculture in the Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica T. Shilereyo ◽  
Flora J. Magige ◽  
Joseph O. Ogutu ◽  
Eivin Røskaft
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Serengeti Ecosystem ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity

AbstractLand use is an important factor influencing animal abundance, species richness and diversity in both protected and human-dominated landscapes. Increase in human population and activities intensify changes in habitat structure and hence abundance, species richness and diversity. We investigated the influences of land use and seasonality on small mammal abundance, species richness and diversity in 10 habitat types distributed over protected, agricultural and pastoral landscapes in the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania. We used live traps (n = 141) and capture-recapture methods in each of 10 fixed plots distributed across three landscapes for a total of 28,200 trap nights of effort. Trapping was carried out in the wet and dry seasons for two consecutive years (April 2017 to October 2018). Small mammal abundance was higher in the pastoral than in the protected and in the agricultural landscape. Abundance was higher in the dry than the wet season across all the three landscapes. Species richness and diversity were higher in the protected, middling in the agricultural and lowest in the pastoral landscape. The high abundance in the pastoral landscape was due to the numerical dominance of two species, namely A. niloticus in the shrubland and M. natalensis in the cropland habitat, resulting in low species richness and diversity. Abundance was more evenly distributed across all habitats in the protected area due to less disturbance. The low abundance in the agricultural landscape, likely reflects disturbance from cultivation. High species richness and diversity in the protected area indicate high habitat heterogeneity while high species diversity in the agricultural landscape was likely due to high food availability during and soon after harvests. These findings emphasize the importance of protection in maintaining habitat heterogeneity for wildlife. They also reaffirm the need for buffer zones around protected areas to cushion them from intensifying human activities.

Effect of urbanization on centipede (Chilopoda) diversity in the Wielkopolska-Kujawy Lowlands of western Poland

Biologia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Leśniewska ◽  
Piotr Leśniewski ◽  
Krystyna Szybiak
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Community Structures ◽  
Beech Forests ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
The City

AbstractOver fifty years of research data from various sources were compiled and analyzed in order to determine the effect of urbanization on centipede diversity in the Wielkopolska-Kujawy Lowlands of western Poland. Urbanization has had a significant effect on species composition and community structures. However, it has not reduced overall species richness and diversity in the centipede fauna. The centipede fauna from built-up areas was found to be rich and varied. The habitats with the highest levels of species richness were the city of Poznań and the beech forests in the surrounding region.

scholarly journals Mikroskopijne grzyby pasożytnicze w zbiorowiskach roślinnych Wyżyny Częstochowskiej [Phytoparasitic micromycetes in plant communities of the Wyżyna Częstochowska Upland]

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 ◽  
pp. 1-144
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Ruszkiewicz-Michalska
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Anamorphic Fungi ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Beech Forests

Mycosociological studies on microfungi parasitising vascular plants were carried out on 21 permanent observation plots in 5 phytocoenoses representing beech forests (<em>Luzulo pilosae-Fagetum</em>, <em>Melico-Fagetum</em>, <em>Dentario enneaphyllidis-Fagetum</em>,  <em>Carici-Fagetum</em>)  and  xerothermic  grassland  (<em>Origano-Brachypodietum  pinnati</em>)  as  well as using route  method in other  plant communities.  The frequency  of host  plants and fungi  occurring on  permanent plots was estimated using 5-degree scale. The observations yielded in 478 fungal species belonging to <em>Peronosporales </em>(<em>Oomycota</em>), <em>Dothideales</em>, <em>Erysiphales</em>, <em>Helotiales</em>, <em>Hypocreales</em>, <em>Mycosphaerellales</em>, <em>Phyllachorales</em>, <em>Pleosporales</em>, <em>Xylariales </em>(<em>Ascomycota</em>), <em>Uredinales</em>, <em>Microbotryales</em>, <em>Urocystales </em>(<em>Basidiomycota</em>) and <em>Hyphomycetes </em>and <em>Coelomycetes </em>(anamorphic fungi), which were hosted by 301 species of vascular plants as well as by 19 taxa of <em>Erysiphales </em>and <em>Uredinales</em>. The predominanting group was anamorphic fungi (65% of species), especially members of <em>Sphaeropsidales </em>(39%). This group was however less dispersed on the study area than <em>Uredinales </em>and <em>Erysiphales</em>, which were represented by relatively small number of species. The results provided data on diversi- fied occurrence of fungi depending on abiotic (humidity, temperature, insolation) and biotic factors (e.g. density of host plant population) provided by plant communities. The differences concern species composition and richness of fungi, their distribution as well as frequency of hosts and parasites. In the case of members of <em>Erysiphales</em>, <em>Moniliales </em>and <em>Peronosporales </em>differences in phenology were also noted. The greatest species richness and distribution of the micromycetes was observed in <em>Origano-Brachypodietum </em>and the poorest were plots of <em>Luzulo pilosae-Fagetum</em>. Most frequently the parasites infected small percentage of the individuals in the population of the hosts (about 1%), which occurred with the lowest coverage (below 10%). This type of relationship between frequency of fungi and density of plants dominated in all of the studied phytocenoses. Sixty two species of fungi observed on Wyżyna Częstochowska Upland are new for Polish biota. They belong to anamorphic fungi, mainly to <em>Phyllosticta </em>(32 species) and <em>Ascochyta </em>(15).

scholarly journals Natural vegetation regeneration from soil seed banks in the cultivated edges of Sudd wetlands in Juba, Southern Sudan

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Esaete ◽  
Augustine Bongo ◽  
Thomas Lado ◽  
Tomor Bojoi ◽  
Henry Busulwa
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Interquartile Range ◽  
Seed Density ◽  
Soil Seed Banks ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity

Soil seed banks are important for regeneration of degraded wetlands ecosystems. The Sudd wetlands of Juba city have long been encroached for crop cultivation. Seedling germination was monitored in a greenhouse to establish possible natural regeneration in Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton wetlands in the Sudd. Sixty-four species germinated from the soil seed bank of which 12.5% were dominated by Cyperus difformis and Typha capensis. The findings showed that median wetland species richness in Mindiari was 1.5 (interquartile range = 0.75?3.5), Rejaf 2.5 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 4.0), Roton 3 (interquartile range = 1.0 ? 5.0) while median Shannon-Wiener diversity was 1.5 (1.14 ?1.73), 1.43 (1.01?1.66), 1.15 (0.98?1.67) for Mindiari, Rejaf and Roton respectively. Both the median seed species richness and diversity were not significantly different among the study wetlands. The median of seed density (56.1) was significantly higher in Roton than in Mindiari (36.7) and Rejaf (29.4) wetlands. The NMDS results showed that species composition of Mindiari and Rejaf was different from Roton. It is concluded that growing crops in wetlands did not influence species richness and diversity but it reduced seed density and altered species composition. Although wetland species were not significantly different in the three-wetland categories, dominance of canopy species belonging to Typhaceae and Cyperaceae indicates that these species are resilient to cultivation and could facilitate natural regeneration of cultivated wetlands edges of the Sudd region in Juba. Further research should examine effect of cultivation duration and flooding regimes on soil seed bank species richness, diversity, and density and composition.

Ecology of small mammals in tropical forest habitats of southern India

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjali Chandrasekar-Rao ◽  
Melvin E. Sunquist
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
Teak Plantation ◽  
Forest Sites

ABSTRACTFive species of rodent (Rattus rattus wroughtoni, Mus platythrix, Funambulus tristriatus, Cremnomys blanfordi and Golunda ellioti) were live-trapped over a period of eight months in three different habitat types (moist evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest and teak plantation) in Anaimalais Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India. Small mammal densities ranged between 16.3 individuals ha−1 and 20.7 ha−1 for the natural forest sites and were 10.4 ha−1 in the teak plantation. Moist deciduous forest had the highest species richness and diversity scores. Although the teak plantation site had the same mammal species richness as the moist evergreen forest, numbers of individuals and overall small mammal biomass in the plantation was far lower than on the natural forest sites. Compared to moist deciduous forest, species richness and diversity were significantly lower on the teak plantation. R. r. wroughtoni and M. platythrix were the two most common species captured on all three sites. R. r. wroughtoni was the most common small mammal species captured, reaching densities of 14.5 ha−1 in moist evergreen forest. G. ellioti was the least common species, present only in moist deciduous forest. Demographic patterns and microhabitat selection were examined for R. r. wroughtoni, M. platythrix, and F. tristriatus. Only M. platythrix appeared to show any distinct seasonality in reproduction, with an increase in capture of breeding individuals towards the end of the wet season. Discriminant analysis did not reveal any distinct microhabitat preferences for any of the species. However, R. r. wroughtoni showed a significant association with bamboo, and F. tristriatus was associated with areas of higher canopy height and density in moist deciduous forest.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document