Forest communities and factors responsible for vegetation pattern in the legally protected areas of the Kashmir Himalaya, India

Abstract Background The protected areas (PAs) of any region are contributing people’s livelihoods and are proving to be the backbone of all forms of biodiversity conservation. The reforms in protection rules at global level and legal protection at local level has contributed a lot to the conservation of forests and other associated biodiversity. However, due to various anthropogenic activities and other climatic changes, protected areas and other species rich sites are being exposed to a continuous threat. Realizing the future perspective of potential and economic value of these protected forests, the phytosociological investigations were carried out in protected forests of Jammu and Kashmir in Kashmir Himalaya. Results Floristically, a total of 84 species belonging to 71 genera in 39 families were recorded. The floristic analysis revealed that the dominant plant families in the study area comprises of Rosaceae with (14%) species, followed by Asteraceae (8%) species and Poaceae (7%) species. Species richness of the vascular plants varied from 38–55, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index value of scrub forest type was statistically lower than that of the coniferous forest and other forest types. The average tree density of 890 individual’s ha− 1 was recorded throughout the study area. Conclusions The diversity of various plant species differed across the dimensions. The phytosociological parameters are being affected by discrete levels within soil parameters. Plant community composition displayed a significant change within forest types even when species richness didn’t alter. Furthermore, the prototype of conservation biology has got shifted towards updated patter of biodiversity safeguarding by highlighting various multi-scale approaches. There are some critical abiotic factors, which prove very much helpful in understanding the mechanisms operating at a specific level to create variation in species diversity as well as in community composition.

Download Full-text

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9080476 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 476 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Inger Måren ◽

Lila Sharma

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Park ◽

Flood Control ◽

Forest Health ◽

Legal Protection ◽

Woody Species ◽

Walking Distance ◽

Participatory Management ◽

Protected Forests ◽

Agro Forestry

Legal protection has been used as means of conserving forests and associated biodiversity in many regions of the world since the eighteenth century. However, most forests in the global south, even those within protected areas, are influenced by human activities. Himalayan forests harbour much of the biodiversity of the region, maintain subsistence livelihoods, and provide regional and global ecosystem services like water regulation, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Yet few studies have quantitatively studied the impacts of legal protection on forest health and biodiversity. We assess woody biodiversity and forest health in relation to legal protection and biomass extraction in forests inside and outside Langtang National Park in Nepal (n = 180). We found more woody species in protected forests. Of the 69 woody species recorded, 47% occurred at both sites. Within protected forests, we found differences in forest health largely related to the intensity of biomass extraction expressed as walking distance to settlement. The closer the forest was to settlements, the heavier degradation it suffered, showing that within agro-forestry systems in the Himalayas, the resource-consumer distance is typically determining the intensity of biomass extraction. Our research brings forth the need to better address the drivers of resource extraction from protected areas in order to mitigate this degradation. It also brings forth the need to contribute to the development of appropriate participatory management programmes outside areas of formal protection in order to sustain both biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery from these forests for the future.

Download Full-text

Multi-trophic communities re-establish with canopy cover and microclimate in a subtropical forest biodiversity experiment

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/s00442-021-04921-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Felix Fornoff ◽

Michael Staab ◽

Chao-Dong Zhu ◽

Alexandra-Maria Klein

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Community Composition ◽

Natural Enemies ◽

Trophic Position ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Tree Diversity ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Tree Biomass ◽

Wasp Species

AbstractPlant diversity affects multi-trophic communities, but in young regrowth forests, where forest insects are in the process of re-establishment, other biotic and also abiotic factors might be more important. We studied cavity-nesting bees, wasps and their natural enemies along an experimental tree diversity gradient in subtropical South-East China. We compared insect communities of experimental young forests with communities of established natural forests nearby the experiment and tested for direct and indirect effects of tree diversity, tree basal area (a proxy of tree biomass), canopy cover and microclimate on bee and wasp community composition, abundance and species richness. Finally, we tested if the trophic levels of bees, herbivore-hunting wasps, spider-hunting wasps and their natural enemies respond similarly. Forest bee and wasp community composition re-established towards communities of the natural forest with increasing tree biomass and canopy cover. These factors directly and indirectly, via microclimatic conditions, increased the abundance of bees, wasps and their natural enemies. While bee and wasp species richness increased with abundance and both were not related to tree diversity, abundance increased directly with canopy cover, mediated by tree biomass. Abundance of natural enemies increased with host (bee and wasp) abundance irrespective of their trophic position. In conclusion, although maximizing tree diversity is an important goal of reforestation and forest conservation, rapid closure of canopies is also important for re-establishing communities of forest bees, wasps and their natural enemies.

Download Full-text

Abiotic Drivers of Seedling Bank Diversity in Subtropical Forests of Southern China

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.784036 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Francesco Martini ◽

Chaobo Zou ◽

Xiaoyang Song ◽

Uromi Manage Goodale

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Community Composition ◽

Soil Nutrients ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Subtropical Forests ◽

Adult Trees ◽

Seedling Community

Abiotic factors are important to shape plant community composition and diversity through processes described as environmental filtering. Most studies on plant diversity in forests focus on adult trees, while the abiotic drivers of forest seedling community characteristics are less understood. Here, we studied seedling banks’ composition, richness, diversity, and abundance, and investigated their relationships with microsite abiotic conditions along a wide elevational gradient. We sampled seedling communities in 312 1-m2 quadrats, distributed in 13 one-ha plots in four subtropical forests in south China, covering an elevation gradient of 1500 m, for 2 years. We measured light availability, slope, and 11 soil nutrients for each seedling quadrat. We used analysis of similarities and multivariate analysis of variance to compare the composition and abiotic drivers of the four forests’ seedling communities. We then used mixed models and structural equation modeling to test the direct and indirect effects of abiotic factors on seedling species richness, diversity, and abundance. The differences in seedling community composition among these forests were mostly explained by differences in elevations and soil nutrients. Seedling diversity as Shannon and Simpson diversity index decreased with increasing elevation and increased with increasing slope, but seedling abundance and species richness did not. Elevation had an indirect effect on Simpson’s diversity index through modulating the direct effects of soil properties. Our findings show that soil properties play a prominent role in favoring differentiation in species composition among the four forests we studied and provide additional evidence to decreasing species diversity with elevation. However, this was reflected in decreasing Shannon and Simpson indices rather than species richness, which is more commonly studied. Whether and to what extent future environmental changes in climate and soil acidification will alter future forest composition and diversity needs to be investigated.

Download Full-text

Ant Species Diversity, Distribution, and Community Composition in Different Forest Types in Papua New Guinea

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2021.1342727 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jacob Yombai ◽

Petr Klimes ◽

Paul Dargusch ◽

Aloysius Posman ◽

Ondrej Mottl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Diversity ◽

Sea Level ◽

Papua New Guinea ◽

Community Composition ◽

Scientific Information ◽

New Guinea ◽

Sampling Effort ◽

Forest Types ◽

The Impact

Previous studies have provided important scientific information on ant species richness and composition relating to the effects of elevation, sampling approaches, stratification, and forest succession. Yet, they have primarily focused on single sites or regions. Knowledge of ant ecology should also include the impact of disturbance in various forest types. Tuna baiting and hand collection methods were used to investigate diversity and community composition of ants in 16 sites sampled across Papua New Guinea, in both disturbed and pristine forest, at heights ranging from 28 to 2,728 m above sea level. We found 176 species as a result of exposing 320 tuna baits and traversing 72 hand-searched plots. Baiting samples were strongly dominated by a few common species, while the hand-collecting captured more species per plot. The Chao 2 richness estimator for both methods predicted undersampling of the local community. As expected, ant species diversity and richness significantly decrease with increasing elevation. We observed, on average, greater species diversity of ground-dwelling ant communities in disturbed compared to undisturbed forests. The effect was not significant using multivariate randomisations, since the same species dominated both forest classes. The unexpected pattern of ant species richness being locally higher in the disturbed sites is driven by our sampling of undisturbed communities at all elevations, but sampling of the disturbed communities only up to 1,600 m above sea level. Hence, future studies should consider more locations, aiming ideally for an equal sampling effort to capture disturbance stage and elevation.

Download Full-text

Exploring the Functional Strategies Adopted by Coastal Plants Along an Ecological Gradient Using Morpho-functional Traits

Estuaries and Coasts ◽

10.1007/s12237-021-00945-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Ciccarelli ◽

Cleusa Bona

Keyword(s):

C4 Photosynthesis ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Matter Content ◽

Strong Interactions ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Ecological Gradient ◽

Ecological Conditions

AbstractCoastal dunes are characterised by strong interactions between biotic and abiotic factors along a short gradient from the shoreline to the inland region. We carried out an ecological analysis of the vegetation in a protected area of the Italian coast to evaluate the relationships among species abundance, the occurrence of morphoanatomical traits related to leaves, stems, and roots, and soil variables. Three transects were established perpendicular to the shoreline, with 27 plots distributed in the frontal dunes, backdunes, and temporarily wet dune slacks. An analysis based on community-weighted mean values showed that the pioneer communities of the frontal dunes were dominated by ruderals that are well adapted to the harsh ecological conditions of these environments, showing succulent leaves, high limb thickness values, and low values for leaf dry matter content (LDMC). The backdune vegetation was a mosaic of annual herbaceous and perennial shrub communities showing both ruderal and stress-tolerant strategies (clonality, sclerified leaves, high LDMC values, root phenolics) consistent with less extreme ecological conditions. The dune slack areas were dominated by plants showing adaptations to both arid and flooded environments, such as C4 photosynthesis, amphistomatic leaves, and abundant aerenchyma in the roots. The invasive status, C4 photosynthesis, leaf trichomes, and aerenchyma in the roots were significantly correlated with soil humidity, organic matter content, and pH. These results demonstrate the usefulness of anatomical traits (including root system traits) in understanding the functional strategies adopted by plants. Invasive species tended to occupy plots with high levels of soil moisture, suggesting an avoidance strategy for the harsh environmental conditions of coastal sand dunes. Finally, we suggest including information regarding root systems into coastal monitoring programs because they are directly linked to soil parameters useful in coastal dune management and protection.

Download Full-text

Temperature and Prey Species Richness Drive the Broad-Scale Distribution of a Generalist Predator

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13040169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 169

Author(s):

Danai-Eleni Michailidou ◽

Maria Lazarina ◽

Stefanos P. Sgardelis

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Prey Species ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Biodiversity Loss ◽

Generalist Predator ◽

Distributional Patterns ◽

The Future ◽

Grass Snake ◽

Broad Scale

The ongoing climate change and the unprecedented rate of biodiversity loss render the need to accurately project future species distributional patterns more critical than ever. Mounting evidence suggests that not only abiotic factors, but also biotic interactions drive broad-scale distributional patterns. Here, we explored the effect of predator-prey interaction on the predator distribution, using as target species the widespread and generalist grass snake (Natrix natrix). We used ensemble Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) to build a model only with abiotic variables (abiotic model) and a biotic one including prey species richness. Then we projected the future grass snake distribution using a modest emission scenario assuming an unhindered and no dispersal scenario. The two models performed equally well, with temperature and prey species richness emerging as the top drivers of species distribution in the abiotic and biotic models, respectively. In the future, a severe range contraction is anticipated in the case of no dispersal, a likely possibility as reptiles are poor dispersers. If the species can disperse freely, an improbable scenario due to habitat loss and fragmentation, it will lose part of its contemporary distribution, but it will expand northwards.

Download Full-text

Avian Breeding Season Diversity and Community Composition in Camden White Gum and Slash Pine Plantations

Forest Science ◽

10.1093/forsci/fxaa050 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth J Messick ◽

Christopher E Comer ◽

Michael A Blazier ◽

T Bently Wigley

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Species Richness ◽

Community Composition ◽

Pinus Elliottii ◽

The United States ◽

Slash Pine ◽

Planted Forests ◽

Eucalyptus Plantation ◽

Short Rotation Woody Crops ◽

Eucalyptus Plantations

Abstract In the southern United States, some landowners have established plantations of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.) and are managing them on short rotations (<15 years) to provide wood for fiber and other potential uses. Establishment of short-rotation woody crops dominated by nonnative species has implications for resident fauna in the United States that are largely unknown. We compared avifauna abundance, diversity, and community composition in newly established Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii) plantations with slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations of the same age and height (one to two and six to seven years old, respectively) in southwestern Louisiana, USA. Species richness, diversity, and community composition in newly established eucalyptus plantations and six- to seven-year-old pines were similar. More birds were observed, and bird detections varied less in eucalyptus plantations. Indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea) and other shrub-associated species were detected more often in eucalyptus stands. In contrast, species that inhabit herbaceous-dominated communities, such as eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), or that were associated with a dense graminoid community (e.g., Bachman’s sparrow [Peucaea aestivalis]) were detected less often in eucalyptus. Overall, breeding bird communities in eucalyptus plantations one to two years postestablishment differed little from plantations dominated by slash pine. Study Implications Compared with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Englem) plantations of similar age and height (one to two years and six to seven years old, respectively) we found one- to two-year-old eucalyptus (Eucalyptus benthamii Maiden & Cambage) plantations supported similar avian species richness and diversity to six- to seven-year-old pine stands. Furthermore, we found these eucalyptus plantations (E13) supported an avian community that was intermediate to similar aged pine (S13) and pine of similar height (S08). However, avian communities will likely change as eucalyptus plantations age (Christian et al. 1997). Continued monitoring and assessment of community composition, richness, and abundance is important for determining the magnitude of this change. Future investigations focused on nest success, fecundity, postfledging monitoring, and survivorship compared with other types of planted forests and native cover types would help us better understand eucalyptus plantation effects on avifauna demographics (Van Horne 1983, Martin 1998, Jones 2001, Wood et al. 2004, Sage et al. 2006, Riffell et al. 2011).

Download Full-text

Effect of tree species identity and related habitat parameters on understorey bryophytes – interrelationships between bryophyte, soil and tree factors in a 50-year-old experimental forest

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-021-05074-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kaja Rola ◽

Vítězslav Plášek ◽

Katarzyna Rożek ◽

Szymon Zubek

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Tree Species ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Soil Parameters ◽

Species Identity ◽

Habitat Factors ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Old Trees ◽

Habitat Parameters

Abstract Aim Overstorey tree species influence both soil properties and microclimate conditions in the forest floor, which in turn can induce changes in ground bryophyte communities. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of tree species identity and the most important habitat factors influencing understorey bryophytes. Methods We assessed the effect of 14 tree species and related habitat parameters, including soil parameters, vascular plant presence and light intensity on bryophytes in monospecific plots covered by nearly fifty-year-old trees in the Siemianice Experimental Forest (Poland). Results The canopy tree species determined bryophyte species richness and cover. The strongest differences were observed between plots with deciduous and coniferous trees. Soils with a more acidic pH and lower content of macronutrients supported larger bryophyte coverage. We also found a positive correlations between vascular plants and availability of light as well as bryophyte species richness. Conclusion Tree species identity and differences in habitat conditions in the forest floor lead to changes of ground bryophyte richness, cover and species composition. Consequently, the changes in the dominant tree species in the stand may result in significant repercussions on ground bryophyte communities. We indicated that the introduction of alien tree species, i.e. Quercus rubra, has an adverse effect on bryophyte communities and suggested that the selection of tree species that contribute to the community consistent with the potential natural vegetation is highly beneficial for maintaining ground bryophyte biodiversity.

Download Full-text

Flora of Espírito Santo: Psidium (Myrtaceae)

Rodriguésia ◽

10.1590/2175-7860201768515 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (5) ◽

pp. 1791-1805 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Amélia C. Tuler ◽

Tatiana T. Carrijo ◽

Márcia F.S. Ferreria ◽

Ariane L. Peixoto

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Sea Level ◽

The State ◽

Agricultural Expansion ◽

Herbarium Specimens ◽

Espírito Santo ◽

Lowland Forests ◽

Atlantic Rainforest Biome ◽

Espirito Santo

Abstract This study presents a floristic-taxonomic treatment of Psidium in the state of Espírito Santo, and is a result of fieldwork combined with analyses of herbarium specimens. Fourteen species of the genus were recognized in Espírito Santo state (P. brownianum, P. cattleianum, P. cauliflorum, P. guajava, P. guineense, P. longipetiolatum, P. myrtoides, P. oblongatum, P. oligospermum, P. ovale, P. rhombeum, P. rufum P. sartorianum, and Psidium sp.), accounting for about 34% of the species richness estimated for the genus in the Atlantic Rainforest biome. The species occur predominantly in lowland forests up to 700 meters above sea level. These areas are highly threatened due to urbanization of coastal areas and agricultural expansion in the state Espírito Santo. Therefore, the conservation of Psidium species in this state requires the creation of more lowland protected areas.

Download Full-text