scholarly journals Specific remnants of old iron-ore extraction sites as islands of plant species richness

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Podgórska
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Iron Ore ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
Native Flora ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the Old-Polish Industrial Region (Southern Poland, Central Europe), specific remnants of former iron-ore extraction occur. These interesting post-mining habitats influence the plant cover which emerges on them. In this paper, I analyzed the impact of the former iron-ore mining on the increase of plant species richness in forest communities. I analyzed the floristic composition of 100 phytosociological relevés (plots) made in the mining areas, their surroundings and 100 associated soil samples. I found that within the island communities developing in the former mining fields, there was a considerable increase in the number of species of native flora (in comparison with communities of nontransformed areas). This increase in species richness is caused chiefly by the increased proportion of species characteristic of the syntaxa from the Querco-Fagetea class – species exclusively attached to the mesophilous forest communities developing in gob piles whose limits are marked by the material extracted and scattered around in ancient times. My research suggested that in this case, mining activity exerted a positive influence on the biodiversity in forested areas, improving the quality of soils and creating mesophilous forest communities growing on remnants of former iron-ore extraction, which are specific islands among acidophilous forest communities growing in the non-transformed areas.

scholarly journals The impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on plant species richness in the freshwater lakes of Algonquin Provincial Park

SURG Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Adrian Helmers ◽  
Alexis Platek ◽  
Melissa Ponte ◽  
Natalie Secen ◽  
Karl Cottenie
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Access Point ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Provincial Park

This study quantified the impact of human activity on aquatic and shoreline plant species richness. We hypothesized that human activity at the shoreline would negatively impact plant species richness and that the extent of the impact would depend on the intensity of human activity. To test this, we sampled 11 lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park, of which five permitted motorboat access, and five permitted canoe access and prohibited motorboat access. The remaining lake, which had no designated access point for boats and was only accessible to researchers, acted as a control. To assess the impact of anthropogenic disturbance at each lake, we measured plant species richness in three 10 m by 2 m plots: a first plot at the access point, assumed to be the site of highest disturbance; a second at the site of intermediate disturbance, 30 m down shore from the access point; and a third at the site of lowest disturbance, 60 m down shore from the access point. We found a significant negative relationship between the level of disturbance and plant species richness, both in the motorboat-accessible and canoe access-only lakes. The control lake exhibited no correlation between disturbance level and plant species richness. However, there was no significant difference between motorboat-accessible and canoe access-only lakes in the relationship between disturbance level and plant species richness. Overall, this study highlights the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance on freshwater aquatic and shoreline plant communities, and provides a framework for future management and rehabilitation strategies.

Impacts of erosion control treatments on native vegetation recovery after severe wildfire in the Eastern Cascades, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erich K. Dodson ◽  
David W. Peterson ◽  
Richy J. Harrod
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Native Plant

Slope stabilisation treatments like mulching and seeding are used to increase soil cover and reduce runoff and erosion following severe wildfires, but may also retard native vegetation recovery. We evaluated the effects of seeding and fertilisation on the cover and richness of native and exotic plants and on individual plant species following the 2004 Pot Peak wildfire in Washington State, USA. We applied four seeding and three fertilisation treatments to experimental plots at eight burned sites in spring 2005 and surveyed vegetation during the first two growing seasons after fire. Seeding significantly reduced native non-seeded species richness and cover by the second year. Fertilisation increased native plant cover in both years, but did not affect plant species richness. Seeding and fertilisation significantly increased exotic cover, especially when applied in combination. However, exotic cover and richness were low and treatment effects were greatest in the first year. Seeding suppressed several native plant species, especially disturbance-adapted forbs. Fertilisation, in contrast, favoured several native understorey plant species but reduced tree regeneration. Seeding, even with native species, appears to interfere with the natural recovery of native vegetation whereas fertilisation increases total plant cover, primarily by facilitating native vegetation recovery.

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of an invasive bryophyte on plant species richness using high resolution imaging spectroscopy

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 105882
Author(s):  
Michael Ewald ◽  
Sandra Skowronek ◽  
Raf Aerts ◽  
Jonathan Lenoir ◽  
Hannes Feilhauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Imaging Spectroscopy ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
High Resolution Imaging ◽  
Resolution Imaging ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals No universal scale-dependent impacts of invasive species on native plant species richness

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 20130939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Stohlgren ◽  
Marcel Rejmánek
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

A growing number of studies seeking generalizations about the impact of plant invasions compare heavily invaded sites to uninvaded sites. But does this approach warrant any generalizations? Using two large datasets from forests, grasslands and desert ecosystems across the conterminous United States, we show that (i) a continuum of invasion impacts exists in many biomes and (ii) many possible species–area relationships may emerge reflecting a wide range of patterns of co-occurrence of native and alien plant species. Our results contradict a smaller recent study by Powell et al. 2013 ( Science 339 , 316–318. ( doi:10.1126/science.1226817 )), who compared heavily invaded and uninvaded sites in three biomes and concluded that plant communities invaded by non-native plant species generally have lower local richness (intercepts of log species richness–log area regression lines) but steeper species accumulation with increasing area (slopes of the regression lines) than do uninvaded communities. We conclude that the impacts of plant invasions on plant species richness are not universal.

scholarly journals Environmental and Management Control over the Submontane Grassland Plant Communities in Central Slovakia

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Andrea Diviaková ◽  
Slavomír Stašiov ◽  
Radovan Pondelík ◽  
Vladimír Pätoprstý ◽  
Milan Novikmec
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Grassland Species

In Central Europe, submontane grassland plant biodiversity is currently threatened by management intensification as well as by the cessation and abandonment of management activities (extensive grazing and mowing). Although the vegetation of Central European grasslands has been well described by phytosociological papers, there is still a need to improve our understanding of the effect of both management and environment on species richness and community composition. We studied submontane grassland communities in Central Slovakia. Our study showed that both environmental variables and management were important for shaping the submontane grassland species richness and floristic composition. Plant species richness showed a weak negative relationship with soil pH. When grassland management types were analyzed individually, the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, pH, and altitude were all found to be significantly correlated with plant species richness or diversity. Management type and local environmental factors (i.e., incoming solar radiation) both determined community composition.

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