scholarly journals Litter accumulation in emergent marshes: investigating the effects of litter on wetland invertebrates and the processes controlling litter distribution and accumulation

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Richard Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Wetland Invertebrates

The effect of fine-scale sampling frequency on estimates of beach litter accumulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Ryan ◽  
Annerie Lamprecht ◽  
Debbie Swanepoel ◽  
Coleen L. Moloney
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Frequency ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Beach Litter

A novel GIS-based tool for predicting coastal litter accumulation and optimising coastal cleanup actions

2019 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marthe Larsen Haarr ◽  
Levi Westerveld ◽  
Joan Fabres ◽  
Kriss Rokkan Iversen ◽  
Kjersti Eline Tønnessen Busch
Keyword(s):  
Litter Accumulation

scholarly journals Prescribed-burning vs. wildfire: management implications for annual carbon emissions along a latitudinal gradient of <i>Calluna vulgaris</i>-dominated vegetation

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 17817-17849
Author(s):  
V. M. Santana ◽  
J. G. Alday ◽  
H. Lee ◽  
K. A. Allen ◽  
R. H. Marrs
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Latitudinal Gradient ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Biomass Accumulation ◽  
Calluna Vulgaris ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Rotation Interval ◽  
Annual Carbon

Abstract. A~present challenge in fire ecology is to optimize management techniques so that ecological services are maximized and C emissions minimized. Here, we model the effects of different prescribed-burning rotation intervals and wildfires on carbon emissions (present and future) in British moorlands. Biomass-accumulation curves from four Calluna-dominated ecosystems along a north–south, climatic gradient in Great Britain were calculated and used within a matrix-model based on Markov Chains to calculate above-ground biomass-loads, and annual C losses under different prescribed-burning rotation intervals. Additionally, we assessed the interaction of these parameters with an increasing wildfire return interval. We observed that litter accumulation patterns varied along the latitudinal gradient, with differences between northern (colder and wetter) and southern sites (hotter and drier). The accumulation patterns of the living vegetation dominated by Calluna were determined by site-specific conditions. The optimal prescribed-burning rotation interval for minimizing annual carbon losses also differed between sites: the rotation interval for northern sites was between 30 and 50 years, whereas for southern sites a hump-backed relationship was found with the optimal interval either between 8 to 10 years or between 30 to 50 years. Increasing wildfire frequency interacted with prescribed-burning rotation intervals by both increasing C emissions and modifying the optimum prescribed-burning interval for C minimum emission. This highlights the importance of studying site-specific biomass accumulation patterns with respect to environmental conditions for identifying suitable fire-rotation intervals to minimize C losses.

Effects of litter accumulation on riparian vegetation: Importance of particle size

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaojun Xiong ◽  
Christer Nilsson ◽  
Mats E. Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Litter Accumulation

scholarly journals Germination response of invasive plants to soil burial depth and litter accumulation is species‐specific

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1079-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Sonkoly ◽  
Orsolya Valkó ◽  
Nóra Balogh ◽  
Laura Godó ◽  
András Kelemen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plants ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Soil Burial ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Germination Response ◽  
Species Specific

scholarly journals Thinning and Burning Effects on Long-Term Litter Accumulation and Function in Young Ponderosa Pine Forests

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 761-769
Author(s):  
Matt Busse ◽  
Ross Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Essential Components

Abstract We measured forest-floor accumulation in ponderosa pine forests of central Oregon and asked whether selected ecological functions of the organic layer were altered by thinning and repeated burning. Experimental treatments included three thinning methods applied in 1989 (stem only, whole tree, no thin—control) in factorial combination with prescribed burning (spring 1991 and repeated in 2002; no burn—control). Forest-floor depth and mass were measured every 4–6 years from 1991 to 2015. Without fire, there was little temporal change in depth or mass for thinned (270 trees ha−1) and control (560–615 trees ha−1) treatments, indicating balanced litterfall and decay rates across these stand densities. Each burn consumed 50–70 percent of the forest floor, yet unlike thinning, postfire accumulation rates were fairly rapid, with forest-floor depth matching preburn levels within 15–20 years. Few differences in forest-floor function (litter decay, carbon storage, physical barrier restricting plant emergence, erosion protection) resulted from thinning or burning after 25 years. An exception was the loss of approximately 300 kg N ha−1 because of repeated burning, or approximately 13 percent of the total site N. This study documents long-term forest-floor development and suggests that common silvicultural practices pose few risks to organic layer functions in these forests. Study Implications: Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are among the most widespread management practices used to restore forests in the western US to healthy, firewise conditions. We evaluated their effects on the long-term development of litter and duff layers, which serve dual roles as essential components of soil health and as fuel for potential wildfire. Our study showed that thinning and burning provided effective fuel reduction and resulted in no adverse effects to soil quality in dry ponderosa pine forests of central Oregon. Repeated burning reduced the site carbon and nitrogen pools approximately 9–13 percent, which is small compared to C located in tree biomass and N in mineral soil. Litter accumulation after burning was rapid, and we recommend burning on at least a 15–20-year cycle to limit its build-up.

Do elephants influence the organisation and function of a South African grassland?

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Parker ◽  
R. T. F. Bernard ◽  
J. Adendorff
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Occupation Time ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

The impact of elephants (Loxodonta africana) on woody plants is well known. Elephants can be regarded as drivers of ecosystem functioning by, for example, decreasing woody plant litter accumulation through defoliation. However, their influence within grassland landscapes is, by comparison, very poorly understood. We assessed the influence of elephants on grassland functionality at three separate sites (1, high elephant density, long occupation time; 2, low elephant density, short occupation time; 3, no elephants) in the Addo Elephant National Park, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Using landscape function analysis (LFA) we described the landscape organisation of each site, and, using visual surrogates, calculated indices of landscape stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling. The number of vegetation patches/10 m of transects surveyed was higher at sites where elephant density was high (3 elephants/km2) and where elephants had been present for a long time (>70 years). However, patch size was significantly smaller when elephant density/time of occupation increased, and the proportion of bare soil was higher where elephant density and occupation time were highest. In addition, stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling indices at a site scale were significantly lower where elephants were present at high densities and after a long occupation time. However, bare soil stability was not greatly affected by elephant grazing pressure, implying that a ‘threshold of potential concern’ has not yet arisen. We conclude that the functioning of this grassland landscape is significantly altered when elephants are present. These conclusions highlight the importance of management factors such as containment and the provision of artificial water points which may be compromising the functionality of these landscapes. We recommend ongoing assessments to inform future management decisions.

Distribution of the eucalypt-defoliating sawfly Perga affinis affinis (Hymenoptera)

1965 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
PB Carne
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Leaf Production ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Sawfly Larvae ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Individual Trees

The distribution of the sawfly is discussed at several levels, ranging from that within a study region which comprised a substantial proportion of the known range of the insect, to that within the crowns of individual trees. A mosaic of areas was recognized within the region, each characterized by a degree of ecological uniformity and in which saivfly populations maintained relatively high or low levels of abundance during 6 yr of observation. The distribution of the insect is influenced strongly by climatic factors, the rainfall and temperature statistics for the critical period October-March for all areas in which it occurs being closely grouped. Such grouping is even more marked for those areas in which the sawfly was consistently most abundant. The cool wet limit of the sawfly's distribution coincides with that of a favoured host species, but the hot dry limit appears to be determined by the insect's susceptibility to desiccation. Although many naturally occurring and planted eucalypts will support sawfly larvae, persistent infestations were recorded only where one or more of three species grew - Eucalyptus blakelyi, E. camaldulensis, or E. melliodora. The sawfly is an inhabitant of river valley woodland, rarely becoming abundant in other situations and being absent from sclerophyll forest formations. Survival of the insect is greatly influenced by the ease with which it can penetrate into the soil for cocoon formation; it tends to be most abundant in areas of light soil, or where large trees provide a deep litter accumulation. The susceptibility of trees to infestation is influenced by seasonal production of new foliage. Those growing in sites where the water table is high, and whose leaf production is to a large extent independent of rainfall patterns, may be subject to chronic attack. Distribution between trees is affected by their leaf shape and texture, and by their history of previous defoliation. Small trees are particularly prone to attack, and infestation of mature trees is generally an indication of outbreak abundance of the insect. Similarly, marginally favoured species are attacked only when oviposition sites on more favoured trees are virtually saturated. Field experiments indicated that an observed contagious distribution of sawfly eggs in portions of the crowns of individual trees is not the result of overt gregariousness on the part of the females, but results from the attraction of the latter to foliage of certain physical characteristics and position on the tree.

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