scholarly journals Plant Community Distribution and Dynamics in Bryce Canyon National Park

Author(s):  
David Roberts ◽  
Gregory Hallsten

The overall objectives of the research are: 1. Develop a comprehensive classification for all stages of successional development for all vegetation types within the Park; 2. Map the potential vegetation and current vegetation types throughout the Park; 3. Development a simple succession model for predicting vegetation dynamics for each vegetation type in the Park; and 4. Map distributions of rare or endangered plant species within the Park. The combination of these objectives will provide Park managers with a predictive tool for Park management, and will provide vegetation ecologists with a comprehensive knowledge of the landscape vegetation dynamics of a range of vegetation types.

Author(s):  
David Roberts

The overall objectives of the research are: 1) to develop a comprehensive classification for all stages of successional development for all vegetation types within the Park, 2) to map the potential vegetation and current vegetation types throughout the Park, 3) to develop a simple succession model for predicting vegetation dynamics for each vegetation type in the Park, and 4) to map distributions of rare or endangered plant species within the Park. The combination of these objectives will provide Park managers with a predictive tool for Park management, and will provide vegetation ecologists with a comprehensive knowledge of the landscape vegetation dynamics of a range of vegetation types.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Moreno ◽  
Viviane G Ferro

Arctiinae are a species-rich subfamily of moth, with approximately 1,400 species in Brazil and 723 recorded in the Cerrado biome. A list of species of these moths was compiled during three years of sampling in four vegetation types within the Emas National Park. A total of 5,644 individuals belonging to 149 species were collected. About 67% of these species are new records for the Emas National Park, 31% for the State of Goiás and 9% for the Cerrado biome. Cerrado sensu stricto and semideciduous forests have higher species richness, followed by campo cerrado and campo sujo. The vegetation type with the highest number of exclusive species was the semideciduous forest, followed by cerrado sensu stricto, campo cerrado and campo sujo. The high species richness and the high proportion of new species records for Goiás and Cerrado reinforce the importance of the Emas National Park region as a center of diversity for this group of moths. The conservation of areas not yet cleared around the Park, including the creation of new protected areas, and the establishment of ecological corridors between these areas and the Park would be strategies to preserve the fauna of these moths.


Author(s):  
Brian Miller ◽  
Hank Harlow

Our objective is to establish a long-term monitoring project that will assess the abundance and densities of selected species of mammals at sites representing five defined vegetation types found in Grand Teton National Park. The term monitoring implies data collection over multiple years. Taking long term estimations of population composition before, during, and after biotic and abiotic changes provides needed information to assess the impacts of such changes and furnish useful options for management decisions. This standardized monitoring plan will provide information on small and medium-sized mammals that will (1) assess species use of habitat, (2) monitor changes in species composition as a result of environmental change, such as precipitation and temperature, (3) produce predictive models of small and medium-sized mammal distribution based on vegetation type, and (4) analyze the impact of wolf colonization on the mammal (and plant) community.


Author(s):  
David Roberts ◽  
Gregory Hallsten ◽  
Doug Wight

This research program incorporates four primary objectives: (1) develop a comprehensive vegetation classification for Bryce Canyon National Park and to map the current and potential vegetation for the park; (2) develop a vital attributes succession model which depicts the successional development and disturbance response of plant communities in Bryce Canyon; (3) determine and characterize the fuel loads typical of each successional community type; (4) predict the behavior of fires occurring in each of the successional community types.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 555 ◽  
Author(s):  
LT Bennett

The distribution of selected vegetation types on the Yanakie Isthmus, Wilson's Promontory National Park, was mapped from aerial photographs from 1941, 1972 and 1987. The main changes in the vegetation dynamics were: (1) an expansion of Leptospevmum laevigatum into grasslands and into Banksia integrifolia woodlands with herbaceous understoreys, and (2) a stabilisation of dunes by shmbs dominated by Leptospennum laevigatum. The total area of L. laevigatum shrubland and scrub increased from 2179 ha in 1941 to 3436 ha in 1972 and 4516 ha in 1987. Land-use changes in this period included the exclusion of fire in the early 1970s, after a history of regular burning, and an increase in grazing pressure primarily due to population expansions of the rabbit and the eastern grey kangaroo. Fire was not a prerequisite of the L. laevigatum expansion on the Isthmus because the spread continued after fire was excluded; nor was fire the primary cause of the expansion because the percentage yearly increase in the area of L. laevigatum was, on average, similar before and after 1972. An increase in grazing pressure was identified as the probable cause of the L. laevigatum expansion due to: (1) the exposure of bare ground, and (2) the restriction of the feeding range of cattle (known to graze both L. laevigatum and Acacia sophorae on the Isthmus).


Author(s):  
Brian Miller ◽  
Hank Harlow

Our objective is to establish a long-term monitoring project that will assess the abundance and densities of selected species of mammals at sites representing five defined vegetation types found in Grand Teton National Park. The term monitoring implies data collection over multiple years. Taking long term estimations of population composition before, during, and after biotic and abiotic changes provides needed information to assess the impacts of such changes and furnishes useful options for management decisions. This standardized monitoring plan will provide information on small and medium-sized mammals that will (1) assess species use of habitat, (2) monitor changes in species composition as a result of environmental change, such as precipitation and temperature, (3) produce predictive models of small and medium-sized mammal distribution based on vegetation type, and (4) analyze the impact of wolf colonization on the mammal (and plant) community.


Author(s):  
Heather Marks

Non-native species invasions in national parks directly interfere with the major management goal of protecting native biota. The status of species richness and non-native invasions was assessed in five riparian vegetation types in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, with nested-scale number and frequency vegetation data using a Modified­Whittaker sampling design. In the 20 (1OOO-m2 plots sampled, non-native species represented 11.9% (35) of the total 294 species recorded. Non-native species were found in small populations either widely dispersed across the five vegetation types or appearing to have some level of habitat specificity. Total species richness across the five vegetation types varied from 42 species in the sage community to 96 species in the conifer-broadleaf community. Overall, mean species richness across the five communities was 81.9 species/0.1 ha. A suite of environmental variables such as nutrient availability, flood regime, herbivory as well as successional trends may explain the variability in species richness across communities. Patterns of total species richness across multiple scales were fairly consistent. Patterns of non-native species invasion, however, appeared to be both scale and vegetation type dependent. The highest proportion of non-native species for four of the five vegetation types was recorded at the smaller sampling scales. The alder community was the most invaded at all scales measured and had the most distinct assemblage of non-native species. Some studies suggest that community invasibility may be related to species richness. At the 1-m2 and 1000- m2 scales, total species richness and number of non-native species were significantly and positively correlated. When the alder sites were removed from analysis at the 1000- m2 scale, the positive linear relationship increased, and the total variance explained by the linear models was enhanced by 38%. At all scales sampled, the alder sites were highly and disproportionately invaded, often more than twice the level of other communities. The mechanism of nitrogen fixation may be promoting non-native invasions in the alder community. At the vegetation type scale (combined species lists from four 1OOO-m2 plots in each community), those communities with the most unique non-native assemblages were the most invaded. A significant negative linear relationship between non­native species overlap and percentage of non-native species was observed in the alder sites at each scale sampled. This pattern suggests some relationship between properties of an invading species and properties of the community that it invades. Because the results of this study suggest species rich riparian landscapes are vulnerable to non-native invasions, recommendations are offered to assist managers in responding efficiently and effectively to this conservation priority.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Wagner ◽  
S. Beirle ◽  
T. Deutschmann ◽  
M. Grzegorski ◽  
U. Platt

Abstract. A new method for the satellite remote sensing of different types of vegetation and ocean colour is presented. In contrast to existing algorithms relying on the strong change of the reflectivity in the red and near infrared spectral region, our method analyses weak narrow-band (few nm) reflectance structures (i.e. "fingerprint" structures) of vegetation in the red spectral range. It is based on differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), which is usually applied for the analysis of atmospheric trace gas absorptions. Since the spectra of atmospheric absorption and vegetation reflectance are simultaneously included in the analysis, the effects of atmospheric absorptions are automatically corrected (in contrast to other algorithms). The inclusion of the vegetation spectra also significantly improves the results of the trace gas retrieval. The global maps of the results illustrate the seasonal cycles of different vegetation types. In addition to the vegetation distribution on land, they also show patterns of biological activity in the oceans. Our results indicate that improved sets of vegetation spectra might lead to more accurate and more specific identification of vegetation type in the future.


Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska ◽  
Slavčo Hristovski ◽  
Dana Prelić ◽  
Lucija Šerić Jelaska ◽  
Valentina Slavevska-Stamenković ◽  
...  

AbstractCarabid fauna is not sufficiently explored in Central and Western Balkan areas, especially in mountain ecosystems with unique biodiversity which is a result of specific environmental factors and geologic history. Furthermore, distribution of species and adaptation to varying environmental parameters change along the altitudinal gradients. All this highlights the need for biodiversity and ecological studies in order to assess the state of the mountain ecosystems and conservation significance. Carabids as good bioindicator group can be used as a tool for monitoring those changes. The aim of this study was to analyse the differences of body size distribution and mean individual biomass (MIB) of ground beetle assemblages as a response of changing conditions and vegetation types along an altitudinal gradient on Belasitsa Mountain in south Macedonia. Both parameters significantly decreased with increasing altitude and were consequently associated with the vegetation type. Larger bodied individuals and higher values of MIB were recorded in the white oak and oriental hornbeam forest stands with the values decreasing in sessile oak forests towards submontane and montane beech forest stands. This research yielded first list of carabid species inhabiting Belasitsa Mountain with insight of carabid body length and biomass distribution along altitudinal gradient.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document