scholarly journals Floristics of Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve: a Piedmont mafic woodland complex in Halifax County, Virginia, U.S.A.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 481-519
Author(s):  
John F. Townsend ◽  
J. Christopher Ludwig

The 331-hectare (819-acre) Difficult Creek Natural Area Preserve (DCNAP) was established in Halifax County, Virginia to protect and manage habitat for rare vascu-lar plant species and animals, and to restore plant communities. Mafic metavolcanic rocks of the Virgilina Formation and felsic metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks of the Aaron Formation comprise the geologic units on the preserve. The Virgilina-derived soils have high shrink-swell potential, a dense hardpan layer, relatively high base status, and a significant gravelly or stony component; these soil conditions support the highest density of rare plant species known on the preserve. The first noteworthy vascular plant species were documented from the property in 1972 by botanist Alton Harvill of Longwood University, but detailed investigations of the flora did not begin until the site was revisited by the second author in 1993. Rare plant inventory has been the primary focus of botanists since that time. In 2001, the property was acquired by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage (DCR) and dedicated as a state Natural Area Preserve, at which point active management for natural communities and associated rare species was initiated. Since the rare plants on site thrive in open woodland or savanna-like conditions, prescribed burns and timber harvests have been used by DCR stewards to restore habitat after decades of fire suppression and conversion of hardwood stands to loblolly pine plantations. In 2018, a thorough floristic study was initiated to highlight the significance of this flora beyond the documentation of rare plants. The two-year inventory documented 653 plant taxa, comprising 326 genera in 106 families. Fourteen of these species are of conservation concern at the global or state level; an additional 12 taxa are considered uncommon and of potential conservation concern (Townsend 2019). These rare or uncommon species are components of two globally rare plant communities. In addition, the globally rare lepidopteran, Erynnis martialis (Mottled Duskywing), occurs on the preserve, the only extant population known in Virginia. Due to agricultural impacts and widespread fire exclusion, few analogs to this flora exist within the southern Piedmont of Virginia.

Author(s):  
Nyoman Wijana ◽  
I Made Oka Riawan ◽  
Sanusi Mulyadiharja

Forests are a source of foreign exchange that has been exploited on a large scale for timber. This exploitation causes a rapid reduction in forest area. Until now, the destruction of the forest environment is still happening, both by illegal logging and illegal mining. This study aims to determine the number of rare plant species in Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia; and the factors causing the rarity of these plant species. The population in this research is the plant species in Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest. Meanwhile, the social population is all people in the Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest area. The sampling method for plant species is the quadratic method was used to investigate the diversity and the number of rare plants. While for the social sampling was conducted by interviewing with purposive sampling method to the local community around the Alas Kedaton areas. Determination of endangered plant species was conducted by studying of available documents, in-depth interviewing, and seeking information from various existent sources. The collected data analyzed descriptively. The results of this study indicated there are 48 species of plants with 26 families, which are generally found in Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest. Of this number, 42 (87.5%) plant species are included in the rare category; (2) of the 42 species of rare plants in the Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest, there are 8 (19.04%) plant species that are included in the National rare category, 20 (47.62%) rare plant species in Bali, 10 ( 23.81%) rare plant species in Tabanan Regency, and 4 (9.52%) species included in the rare category at the District level (especially Marga District); and (3) factors causing the scarcity of plant species in Alas Kedaton Tourism Forest are (a) past environmental degradation, (b) reproductive problems of rare plants, (c) human intervention, (4) disturbance by animals, especially long tailed monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and bats (Pteropus vampyrus).


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
I Nyoman Wijana ◽  
Gede Astra Wesnawa

The purpose of this research was to know the species of rare plants existing in forest tourism Monkey Forest, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali and their mapping distributions in the original nature. This is an explorative research. The populations of this research were all species of plants in Monkey Forest. This research samples were the plant species covered by the squares. The sampling method used was quadratic method with systematic sampling technique. The mapping of rare plant species distribution used simple mapping method which was simple polygon compass and GPS. Identification of rare plant species was conducted through interviews, questionnaires, observations, and document studies. The results showed that the distribution of rare plant species in Monkey Forest, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali was in groups. The total number of rare plant species their nature were 33 species with the details that there were as many as six species of plants belonging to the National Rare category, 18 species of Bali Rare category, eight species of Regency Rare category, and one species of Rare Sub-District category.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Alla Gnatiuk ◽  
Rak Oleksandr ◽  
Viktoriia Gritsenko ◽  
Mykola Gaponenko

Increasing anthropogenic pressure, global climate change, and the lack of large introduction centers in the Chernihiv region makes it important to preserve rare species of flora ex situ outside this administrative region. The article presents the results of the study of taxonomic composition and evaluation of the success of the introduction of rare plant species of Chernihiv region in the M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The study of rare plant species and the development of methods for their effective reproduction was initiated in the NBG in 1970 in a separate section “Rare plants of the flora of Ukraine.” It is established that the collection grows and protects 57 phythorarites of Chernihiv region, of which 29 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (III edition), and 28 species – in the “List of regionally rare plant species of Chernihiv region”. Most plants successfully recover ex situ with moderate care or without additional human intervention. The biomorphological spectrum of introduced plants is dominated by cryptophytes (50.88 %) and hemicryptophytes (42.11 %), the shares of phanerophytes, hamephytes and therophytes are insignificant. 17 species of phythorarites formed stable homeostatic populations. Of these: 5 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine (Allium ursinum, Crocus reticulatus, Epipactis helleborine, Galanthus nivalis, Pulsatilla pratensis) and 12 species – in the “List of regionally rare plant species of Chernihiv region” (Aster amellus, Corydalis intermedia, C. marschal, Daphne mesereum, Equisetum hyemale, Iris hungarica, Phlomis tuberosa, Primula veris, Pteridium aquilinum, Scilla bifolia, S. sibirica, Vinca minor). Thus, the cultivation of almost a third of the phythorarites of Chernihiv region in the M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden testifies to the effectiveness of their preservation ex situ.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary A. Sylvain ◽  
David H. Branson ◽  
Tatyana A. Rand ◽  
Natalie M. West ◽  
Erin K. Espeland

Grassland restoration is largely focused on creating plant communities that match reference conditions. However, these communities reflect only a subset of the biodiversity of grassland systems. We conducted a multi-trophic study to assess ecosystem recovery following energy development for oil and gas extraction in northern US Great Plains rangelands. We compared soil factors, plant species composition and cover, and nematode trophic structuring between reclaimed oil and gas well sites (“reclaims”) that comprise a chronosequence of two—33 years since reclamation and adjacent, undeveloped rangeland at distances of 50 m and 150 m from reclaim edges. Soils and plant communities in reclaims did not match those on undeveloped rangeland even after 33 years. Reclaimed soils had higher salt concentrations and pH than undeveloped soils. Reclaims had lower overall plant cover, a greater proportion of exotic and ruderal plant cover and lower native plant species richness than undeveloped rangeland. However, nematode communities appear to have recovered following reclamation. Although total and omni-carnivorous nematode abundances differed between reclaimed well sites and undeveloped rangeland, community composition and structure did not. These findings suggest that current reclamation practices recover the functional composition of nematode communities, but not soil conditions or plant communities. Our results show that plant communities have failed to recover through reclamation: high soil salinity may create a persistent impediment to native plant growth and ecosystem recovery.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Buechling ◽  
Claudine Tobalske

Abstract Certification requirements associated with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative include efforts to identify and protect occurrences of endangered plant species. Habitat models were constructed in this study using maximum entropy and random forest algorithms to generate independent predictions for four selected rare plants, Castilleja chambersii, Erythronium elegans, Filipendula occidentalis, and Sidalcea nelsoniana, associated with divergent physical environments. Explanatory variables used to model rare plant occurrence included Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus spectral imagery, spectral-based vegetation indices, climatic data, and several terrain variables derived from a digital elevation model. Models were trained with known occurrence records obtained from the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center. Subsequent field surveys were conducted to acquire randomly located test data for comparative model evaluation. A range of accuracy statistics was computed that indicated generally high prediction accuracy for both methods. Model performance was highest for species with narrow, well-defined ecological requirements at scales comparable to the resolution of the calibration data. Species with relatively broad ecological distributions or with extremely specific habitat requirements were less accurately predicted. Random forest-based models generally produced higher rates of prediction success than maximum entropy when model performance was limited by the ecology of a species. Field surveys identified 22 previously unknown populations of the target rare plants, suggesting the efficacy of habitat models for predicting rare species occurrence and their utility as a prescriptive tool for land management planning.


Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Crain ◽  
Ana María Sánchez-Cuervo ◽  
Jeffrey W. White ◽  
Steven J. Steinberg

AbstractEffective conservation of rare plant species requires a detailed understanding of their unique distributions and habitat requirements to identify conservation targets. Research suggests that local conservation efforts may be one of the best means for accomplishing this task. We conducted a geographical analysis of the local distributions of rare plants in Napa County, California, to identify spatial relationships with individual habitat types. We measured the potential contribution of individual habitats to rare plant conservation by integrating analyses on overall diversity, species per area, specificity-weighted richness, presence of hotspots, and the composition of the rare plant community in each habitat type. This combination of analyses allowed us to determine which habitats are most significant for rare plant conservation at a local scale. Our analyses indicated that several habitat types were consistently associated with rare plant species. In broad terms, grasslands, oak forests, coniferous forests, wetlands, serpentines, chaparral, and rock outcrops were most consistently highlighted. No single habitat stood out in every analysis however, and therefore we conclude that careful selection of an assemblage of habitats that best represents diverse, restricted and unique rare plant communities will be the most efficient approach to protecting rare plant habitat at local scales. Accordingly we present a means of identifying conservation targets and protecting global biodiversity through local efforts.


2007 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordana Tomovic ◽  
Snezana Vukojicic ◽  
M. Niketic ◽  
D. Lakusic

We present the distribution of 10 threatened or rare plant species in Serbia based on field research and herbarium and literature data. These taxa are mapped on 10 x 10 km2 UTM grids. The following taxa are analyzed: Crepis nicaeensis Balbis, Lamium hybridum Vill., Lathyrus inconspicuus L., Kitaibela vitifolia Willd., Lindernia palustris Hartm., Veronica dillenii Crantz, Cyperus pannonicus Jacq., Milium vernale Bieb., Epipactis microphylla (Ehrh.) Swartz, and Epipogium aphyllum Swartz. For each species, the IUCN threatened status in Serbia is given; on the basis of these estimates it is proposed that eight plants be included in the next edition of the Red Data Book of the Flora of Serbia.


2020 ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
V. N. Khramtsov

Identification of valuable biotopes was carried out on the example of a small territory —the “Gagarka” forest park, located on the Northern coast of the Gulf of Finland within the borders of St. Petersburg (Fig. 1). Field data on landscapes, vegetation, flora and fauna were collected in 2018 to proof the need to create a specially protected natural territory of regional significance. The study area of 58.7 ha is an accumulative sea terrace with absolute elevations not exceeding 2.5 m above sea level. Despite of small area size, the vegetation is quite diverse and it is represented by the coniferous (spruce and pine) forests, several types of black alder forests, tree and shrub fens, littoral meadows, coastal and aquatic vegetation. Rare species of herbaceous plants and shrubs listed in the Red books of the Russian Federation (Krasnaya…, 2008) and St. Petersburg (Krasnaya…, 2018) are recorded and they often dominate in the plant communities. The preservation of biological diversity may be successful only if the landscapes and the biotopes hosting plant and animal species, including rare ones, are protected. Objects of protection can be both rare and typical ones for the regional biotopes. The environmental value of biotopes of the “Gagarka” forest park was assessed according to the following criteria: ecotopic (areas with rare and specific landforms, soils, hydrochemical regime), geobotanical (the presence of primary plant communities, rare plant communities; widespread, but with a tendency to reduce the area as a result of natural or anthropogenic impacts), floristic (the presence of rare species and species located on the border of their ranges), faunistic (the pre­sence of rare animal species, the species richness of fauna, the presence of permanent habitats of animals and birds, as well as biotopes used in certain seasons: during breeding, nesting, molting and migration). In addition, the compliance of biotopes with the European habitat classification EUNIS (European Nature Information System) was taken into account (Davies et al., 2004, EUNIS, 2018). Plant communities are the main indicator of habitats, and their borders mark the boundaries of habitats. In this regard, the geobotanical map (Fig. 2) is the basis for creating a map of biotopes. In addition to the geobotanical map, the map of actual landscapes, the map of the locations of rare plant species, and faunistic materials were used to create a map of valuable biotopes (Materialy…, 2018). It shows 6 types of habitats, that are particularly important for the conservation of biological and biotopic diversity (Fig. 3). All valuable habitats of the “Gagarka” forest park are located in the littoral zone of the Gulf of Finland and near its coast. They are grouped into 4 categories: black alder forests as a model of natural tree communities of the Littorina terrace and habitats of rare plant and animal species, coastal fens as rare plant communities on the territory of St. Petersburg and habitats of rare plant species, littoral meadows as rare plant communities on the territory of St. Petersburg and habitats of rare plant and animal species, shallow waters of the Gulf of Finland as habitats with highly productive communities of macrophytes, rare plant species, with a large species diversity and a high number of birds, including rare ones. The creation of new protected area “Gagarka” is necessary to preserve the habitats and rare species that grow and live here.


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