Spatio-temporal patterns along a primary succession on alluvial sediments

AbstractDynamic alluvial landscapes offer many possibilities to study primary succession processes on newly developed habitats. However, within the Central European environmental conditions, where watercourses and their riparian spaces are under severe anthropogenic pressures — water regulation, deforestation, lowering of groundwater — natural processes are limited. We studied primary succession on alluvial stream deposits in an artificial lake, where we aimed to follow the terrestrialisation rate and habitat turnover, along with plant species richness and composition across successional stages. In 30 years, a pristine white-willow riparian forest developed. One half of the initially aquatic habitat became terrestrial. The frequency of change, studied on 11250 quadrats 10×10 m each (on a scale from “no change” to 8 changes) and the mean of change per habitat type (most of the habitats changed 2 to 3 times) revealed only one successional trajectory. The percentage flow chart showed a deterministic pathway of succession. The “time since formation” of a terrestrial habitat shows that more than 20% of the lake was terrestrialised within in the first ten years. We studied species richness and composition along three composed transects, following successional stages. We found that the newly assembled riparian white willow woodland has a surprisingly low colonisation rate of plant species.

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Distinguishing the Effects of Area and Habitat Type on Island Plant Species Richness by Separating Floristic Elements and Substrate Types and Controlling for Island Isolation

Journal of Biogeography ◽

10.2307/2844908 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 527 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

R. C. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Floristic Elements ◽

Substrate Types

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Spatial patterns of water-deposited seeds control plant species richness and composition in riparian forest landscapes

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-015-0236-y ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 30 (10) ◽

pp. 2133-2146 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Emmanuelle Araujo Calçada ◽

Jonathan Lenoir ◽

Jan Plue ◽

Laura S. Broeckx ◽

Déborah Closset-Kopp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Riparian Forest ◽

Control Plant ◽

Plant Species Richness

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Area modulates the effect of elevation but not of land use or canopy on tropical plant species richness

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-021-02304-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andreas Hemp ◽

Corina Del Fabbro ◽

Markus Fischer

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Species Richness ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Plant Species ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Tropical Plant ◽

Set Up ◽

Elevational Range

AbstractOne of the few general patterns in ecology is the increase of species richness with area. However, factors driving species-area relationship (SAR) are under debate, and the role of human-induced changes has been overlooked so far. Furthermore, SAR studies in tropical regions, in particular in multilayered rain forests are scarce. On the other side, studies of global change-induced impacts on biodiversity have become increasingly important, particular in the tropics, where these impacts are especially pronounced. Here, we investigated if area modulates the effect of land use, elevation and canopy on plant species richness. For the first time we studied SAR in multilayered tropical forests considering all functional groups. We selected 13 natural and disturbed habitats on Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, distributed over an elevational range of 3700 m. In each habitat type, we set up three to six modified Whittaker plots. We recorded all plant species in 64 plots and 640 subplots and described SAR using the power function. Area consistently modulated effects of elevation on plant species richness, partly effects of land use but not effects of plant canopy. Thus, area needs to be taken into account when studying elevational plant species richness patterns. In contrast to temperate regions open and forest habitats did not differ in SAR, probably due to a distinct vertical vegetation zonation in tropical forests. Therefore, it is important to consider all vegetation layers including epiphytes when studying SAR in highly structured tropical regions.

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Determinants of Termite Assemblages’ Characteristics within Natural Habitats of a Sudano-Guinean Savanna (Comoe National Park, Côte d’Ivoire)

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects9040189 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 189

Author(s):

N’golo Koné ◽

Kolotchèlèma Silué ◽

Souleymane Konaté ◽

Karl Linsenmair

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

National Park ◽

Woody Plant ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Termite Species ◽

Woody Plant Species

Termites are one of the major components of tropical ecosystems. However, the ecological and biological variables determining the structure of their communities within natural habitats are less documented in general and especially in the Comoe National Park, a Sudano-Guinean savanna zone located in the north-eastern part of Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa). Using a standardized method of belt transects, the structure of termite’s communities was estimated within habitats differing in the structure of their vegetation, soil characteristics, and the disturbance level caused by annual occurrences of bushfires. The effect of a set of environmental variables (habitat type, occurrence of annual bushfire, woody plant density, woody plant species richness, and soil physicochemical parameters) was tested on the habitat-specific recorded termite species. Sixty species of termites belonging to 19 genera, seven subfamilies and two families, namely Rhinotermitidae (Coptotermitinae and Rhinotermitinae) and Termitidae (Apicotermitinae, Cubitermitinae, Macrotermitinae, Nasutitermitinae, and Termitinae) were sampled. These species were assigned to the four feeding groups of termites: fungus growers (18 species), wood feeders (17 species), soil feeders (19 species) and the grass feeders (6 species). The highest diversity of termites was encountered in forest habitats, with 37 and 34, respectively, for the gallery forest and the forest island. Among savanna habitats, the woodland savanna was identified as the most diversified habitat with 32 recorded species, followed by the tree savanna (28 species) and the grassy savanna (17 species). The distribution of termite species and their respective feedings groups was determined by the habitat type and a set of environmental variables such as Woody Plant Diversity (WPD), Woody plant Families Diversity (WPFD), and Organic Carbon (OC). The annual Fire Occurrence (FO) was found to indirectly impact the characteristics of termite assemblages within natural habitats via their respective Herbaceous Species Richness (HSR) and Woody Plant Species Richness (WPSR). In summary, the spatial heterogeneity of the Comoe National Park, modeled by the uncontrolled annual bushfire, offers a diversified natural habitat with an important variety of termite-habitat-specific species, probably due to the food preference of these organisms and its relatively good conservation status.

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Plant Species Richness on Islands Over a Century of Primary Succession: Lake Hjalmaren

Ecology ◽

10.2307/1941247 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 69 (4) ◽

pp. 916-927 ◽

Cited By ~ 62

Author(s):

Hakan Rydin ◽

Sven-Olov Borgegard

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Primary Succession ◽

Plant Species Richness

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Plant species richness and composition of a habitat island within Lake Kastoria and comparison with those of a true island within the protected Pamvotis lake (NW Greece)

Biodiversity Data Journal ◽

10.3897/bdj.8.e48704 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandros Papanikolaou ◽

Maria Panitsa

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Ecological Value ◽

Anthropogenic Pressures ◽

Large Measure ◽

Β Diversity ◽

Community Interest ◽

Habitat Island ◽

The City

Lake Kastoria is one of the potentially “ancient” Balkan lakes that has a great environmental importance and ecological value, attracts high touristic interest and is under various anthropogenic pressures. It belongs to a Natura 2000 Special Protection Area and a Site of Community Interest. The city of Kastoria is located at the western part of the lake and just next to it, towards the centre of the lake, is a peninsula, a habitat island. In the framework of research concerning the flora of lake islands of Greece, one of the main objectives of the present study is to fill a gap concerning plant species richness of the habitat island within the protected Lake Kastoria, which is surrounded by the lake except for its north-western part where the border of the city of Kastoria is located. Floristic analysis of the habitat island of Lake Kastoria is in large measure accounted, concerning chorology with emphasis on Balkan endemics (8.7%), life forms, by hemicryptophytes (36.1%), therophytes (33.2%), phanerophytes (16.4%) and geophytes (10.9%) and, for habitats, by taxa preferring agricultural and ruderal ones (53.3%). Another objective is to compare its floristic composition to the one of the island within the protected urban Lake Pamvotis - one of the very few lake islands in Greece - focusing on the influence of urbanisation. The α- and β- diversity are measured in order to reveal floristic differences. Beta diversity partitioning in turnover and nestedness showed that the β-diversity is mostly expressed as compositional turnover. The role of the society in combination with long-term programmes for the study of plant species richness, functional diversity and patterns of species assemblages over time are necessary for the effective management and protection of protected areas, including lake insular areas.

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Quality and Conservation of Riparian Forest in a Mountain Subtropical Basin of Argentina

International Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1155/2016/4842165 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Romina Daiana Fernández ◽

Sergio Javier Ceballos ◽

Ana Lucía González Achem ◽

Margarita del Valle Hidalgo ◽

Hugo Rafael Fernández

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Invasive Plant ◽

Riparian Forest ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Riparian Forests ◽

Exotic Plant Species ◽

Lower Altitude

The aims of this work were to describe the conservation status of riparian forests located in a mountain subtropical basin of Tucumán province, Argentina, and assess how the quality of riparian forests is related with altitude, plant species richness, proportion of exotic species, and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in adjacent rivers. Composition and species richness of riparian forests were studied at 16 sites located along an altitudinal gradient and TSS was determined from water samples collected in each site. In order to evaluate conservation status of riparian forests, we calculated an index of Quality of Yungas Riparian Forests (QBRy). We recorded 90 plant species at all sites, from which 77% were native. QBRy index was mainly associated with altitude and varied from riparian forests with good preservation or slightly disturbed to those with extreme degradation. At lower altitude, forests were more disturbed, more invaded by exotic plant species, and closer to urban and cropped areas. QBRy was not correlated with species richness or TSS. Like other riparian forests of Argentina, plant species invasion increased their degradation; therefore, future studies should focus on native riparian forests conservation and on the management of invasive plant species, which affect their quality.

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Diversity of Flower Visiting Beetles at Higher Elevations on the Yulong Snow Mountain (Yunnan, China)

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13110604 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 604

Author(s):

Kai-Qin Li ◽

Zong-Xin Ren ◽

Qiang Li

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Bipartite Networks ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Insect Interactions ◽

Flower Visiting ◽

Yulong Snow Mountain

Background: Flowers are one of the important microhabitats promoting beetle diversity, but little is known about variation in the diversity of these insects at higher elevations. We do not know how divergent habitats influence the distribution of beetles among montane flora. Methods: We sampled beetles systematically in angiosperm flowers at 12 sites at two elevations (2700 m and 3200 m) and in two habitats (meadows and forests) for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) on the Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan, southwestern China. Beetle diversity among sites were compared. Their interactions with flowers of identified plant species were analyzed using bipartite networks approach. Results: We collected 153 species of beetles from 90 plant species recording 3391 interactions. While plant species richness was lower at the higher, 3200 m elevation regardless of habitat type, beetle species richness was not significantly different among sites. Plant-beetle interaction networks were strongly modular and specialized. The structure of networks showed greater differences between elevations than between habitats. The turnover of networks was determined by species composition showing a weak influence by interaction rewiring. Conclusion: Our study showed a high diversity of beetles in flowers at higher elevations within this mountain complex. The role of beetles in plant–insect interactions within some sections of temperate, montane sites appear to be underestimated and warrant further study.

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