Plant community data from a statewide survey of paired serpentine and non-serpentine soils in California, USA

Soils derived from ultramafic parent materials (hereafter serpentine) provide habitat for unique plant communities containing species with adaptations to the low nutrient levels, high magnesium: calcium ratios, and high metal content (Ni, Zn) that characterize serpentine. Plants on serpentine have long been studied in evolution and ecology, and plants adapted to serpentine contribute disproportionately to plant diversity in many parts of the world. In 2000-2003, serpentine plant communities were sampled at 107 locations representing the full range of occurrence of serpentine in California, USA, spanning large gradients in climate. In 2009-2010, plant communities were similarly sampled at 97 locations on nonserpentine soil, near to and paired with 97 of the serpentine sampling locations. (Some serpentine locations were revisited in 2009-2010 to assess the degree of change since 2000-2003, which was minimal.) At each serpentine or nonserpentine location, a north- and a south-facing 50 m x10 m plot were sampled. This design produced 97 “sites” each consisting of four “plots” (north-south exposure, serpentine-nonserpentine soil). All plots were initially visited >3 times over 2 years to record plant diversity and cover, and a subset were revisited in 2014 to examine community change after a drought. The original question guiding the study was how plant diversity is shaped by the spatially patchy nature of the serpentine habitat. Subsequently, we investigated how climate drives plant diversity at multiple scales (within locations, between locations on the same and different soil types, and across entire regions) and at different levels of organization (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic).

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Diversity Indices of Plant Communities and Their Rhizosphere Microbiomes: An Attempt to Find the Connection

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9112339 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 2339

Author(s):

Aleksei O. Zverev ◽

Arina A. Kichko ◽

Aleksandr G. Pinaev ◽

Nikolay A. Provorov ◽

Evgeny E. Andronov

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Beta Diversity ◽

Mutual Influence ◽

Plant Root ◽

Alpha Diversity ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Alpha And Beta Diversity ◽

Highly Correlated

The rhizosphere community represents an “ecological interface” between plant and soil, providing the plant with a number of advantages. Despite close connection and mutual influence in this system, the knowledge about the connection of plant and rhizosphere diversity is still controversial. One of the most valuable factors of this uncertainty is a rough estimation of plant diversity. NGS sequencing can make the estimations of the plant community more precise than classical geobotanical methods. We investigate fallow and crop sites, which are similar in terms of environmental conditions and soil legacy, yet at the same time are significantly different in terms of plant diversity. We explored amplicons of both the plant root mass (ITS1 DNA) and the microbial communities (16S rDNA); determined alpha- and beta-diversity indices and their correlation, and performed differential abundance analysis. In the analysis, there is no correlation between the alpha-diversity indices of plants and the rhizosphere microbial communities. The beta-diversity between rhizosphere microbial communities and plant communities is highly correlated (R = 0.866, p = 0.01). ITS1 sequencing is effective for the description of plant root communities. There is a connection between rhizosphere communities and the composition of plants, but on the alpha-diversity level we found no correlation. In the future, the connection of alpha-diversities should be explored using ITS1 sequencing, even in more similar plant communities—for example, in different synusia.

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PLANT COMMUNITY CHANGE ACROSS THE PALEOCENE-EOCENE BOUNDARY IN THE GULF COASTAL PLAIN, CENTRAL TEXAS

10.31233/osf.io/9bce5 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer D. Wagner ◽

Daniel J. Peppe ◽

Jennifer M.K. O'Keefe ◽

Christopher Dennison

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Coastal Plain ◽

Community Change ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Gulf Coastal Plain ◽

High Turnover ◽

Future Global Warming ◽

Central Texas

During the early Paleogene the Earth experienced long-term global warming punctuated by several short-term ‘hyperthermal’ events, the most pronounced of which is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). During this time, tropical climates expanded into extra-tropical areas potentially forming a wide band of ‘paratropical’ forests that are hypothesized to have expanded into the mid-latitude Northern Great Plains (NGP). Relatively little is known about these ‘paratropical’ floras, which would have extended across the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP). This study assesses the preserved floras from the GCP in Central Texas before and after the PETM to define plant ecosystem changes associated with the hyperthermal event in this region. These floras suggest a high turnover rate, change in plant community composition, and uniform plant communities across the GCP at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. Paleoecology and paleoclimate estimates from Central Texas PETM floras suggest a warm and wet environment, indicative of tropical seasonal forest to tropical rainforest biomes. Fossil evidence from the GCP combined with data from the NGP and modern tropics suggest that warming during the PETM helped create a ‘paratropical belt’ that extended into the mid-latitudes. Evaluating the response of plant communities to rapid global warming is important for understanding and preparing for current and future global warming and climate change.

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Meteorological, soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater data from the St Denis National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada

10.5194/essd-2018-125 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Edward K. P. Bam ◽

Rosa Brannen ◽

Sujata Budhathoki ◽

Andrew M. Ireson ◽

Chris Spence ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Surface Water ◽

Climate Models ◽

Multiple Scales ◽

Full Range ◽

Research Network ◽

Groundwater Levels ◽

Groundwater Availability ◽

Surface Water And Groundwater

Abstract. Long-term meteorological, soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater data provide information on past climate change, most notably information that can be used to analyze past changes in precipitation and groundwater availability in a region. These data are also valuable to test, calibrate and validate hydrological and climate models. CCRN (Changing Cold Regions Network) is a collaborative research network that brought together a team of over 40 experts from 8 universities and 4 federal government agencies in Canada for 5 years (2013–18) through the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) Initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The working group aimed to integrate existing and new data with improved predictive and observational tools to understand, diagnose and predict interactions amongst the cryospheric, ecological, hydrological, and climatic components of the changing Earth system at multiple scales, with a geographic focus on the rapidly changing cold interior of Western Canada. The St Denis National Wildlife Area database contains data for the prairie research site, St Denis National Wildlife Research Area, and includes atmosphere, soil, and groundwater. The meteorological measurements are observed every 5 seconds, and half-hourly averages (or totals) are logged. Soil moisture data comprise volumetric water content, soil temperature, electrical conductivity and matric potential for probes installed at depths of 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm, 200 cm and 300 cm in all soil profiles. Additional data on snow surveys, pond and groundwater levels, and water isotope isotopes collected on an intermittent basis between 1968 and 2018 are also presented including information on the dates and ground elevations (datum) used to construct hydraulic heads. The metadata table provides location information, information about the full range of measurements carried out on each parameter and GPS locations that are relevant to the interpretation of the records, as well as citations for both publications and archived data. The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.20383/101.0115.

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Plant and insect herbivore community variation across the Paleocene–Eocene boundary in the Hanna Basin, southeastern Wyoming

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7798 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7798

Author(s):

Lauren E. Azevedo Schmidt ◽

Regan E. Dunn ◽

Jason Mercer ◽

Marieke Dechesne ◽

Ellen D. Currano

Keyword(s):

Community Composition ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

High Water ◽

Insect Herbivore ◽

Herbivore Damage ◽

Late Paleocene ◽

Hanna Basin ◽

Laramide Basins ◽

Herbivore Communities

Ecosystem function and stability are highly affected by internal and external stressors. Utilizing paleobotanical data gives insight into the evolutionary processes an ecosystem undergoes across long periods of time, allowing for a more complete understanding of how plant and insect herbivore communities are affected by ecosystem imbalance. To study how plant and insect herbivore communities change during times of disturbance, we quantified community turnover across the Paleocene–Eocene boundary in the Hanna Basin, southeastern Wyoming. This particular location is unlike other nearby Laramide basins because it has an abundance of late Paleocene and Eocene coal and carbonaceous shales and paucity of well-developed paleosols, suggesting perpetually high water availability. We sampled approximately 800 semi-intact dicot leaves from five stratigraphic levels, one of which occurs late in the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Field collections were supplemented with specimens at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Fossil leaves were classified into morphospecies and herbivore damage was documented for each leaf. We tested for changes in plant and insect herbivore damage diversity using rarefaction and community composition using non-metric multidimensional scaling ordinations. We also documented changes in depositional environment at each stratigraphic level to better contextualize the environment of the basin. Plant diversity was highest during the mid-late Paleocene and decreased into the Eocene, whereas damage diversity was highest at the sites with low plant diversity. Plant communities significantly changed during the late PETM and do not return to pre-PETM composition. Insect herbivore communities also changed during the PETM, but, unlike plant communities, rebound to their pre-PETM structure. These results suggest that insect herbivore communities responded more strongly to plant community composition than to the diversity of species present.

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Introduction

Serpentine Geoecology of Western North America ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195165081.003.0003 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Earl B. Alexander ◽

Roger G. Coleman ◽

Todd Keeler-Wolfe ◽

Susan P. Harrison

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Special Interest ◽

Deep Understanding ◽

Plant Evolution ◽

Ultramafic Rocks ◽

Serpentine Soils ◽

Distinctive Features ◽

Very High

Ultramafic, or colloquially “serpentine,” rocks and soils have dramatic effects on the vegetation that grows on them. Many plants cannot grow in serpentine soils, leaving distinctive suites of plants to occupy serpentine habitats. Plants that do grow on serpentine soils may be stunted, and plant distributions are commonly sparse relative to other soils in an area. Plant communities on serpentine soils are usually distinctive, even if one does not recognize the plant species. Because of these distinctive features, ultramafic rocks and serpentine soils are of special interest to all observers of landscapes. Geology underlies both conceptually and literally the distinctive vegetation on serpentine soils. The occurrence of special floras on particular substrates within particular regions makes rocks and soils of key significance to plant evolution and biogeography. Sophisticated interpretations of these interrelationships require a combined knowledge of geology, soils, and botany that few people possess. Even highly specialized professionals generally lack the requisite expertise in all three disciplines. The science of ecology, which in principle concerns interactions among all aspects of the environment, seldom incorporates a deep understanding of rocks and soils. Some scientists have attempted to bridge this gap through creating a discipline known as geoecology (Troll 1971, Huggett 1995), which forms the basis for our interdisciplinary exploration of serpentine rocks and soils in western North America. The term “serpentine” is applied in a general sense to all ultramafic rocks, soils developed from them, and plants growing on them. Ultramafic rocks are those with very high magnesium and iron concentrations. The word serpentine is derived from the Latin word serpentinus, meaning “resembling a serpent, or a serpent’s skin,” because many serpentine rocks have smooth surfaces mottled in shades of green to black. The distinctive chemistry of ultramafic rocks and serpentine soils restricts the growth of many plants and makes them refuges for plants that thrive in serpentine habitats, including serpentine endemics (species that are restricted to these soils) and other species that have evolved means of tolerating these habitats. Often the means of tolerance include visible adaptations such as slow growth and relatively thick, spiny foliage.

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Unveiling neotropical serpentine flora: a list of Brazilian tree species in an iron saturated environment in Bom Sucesso, Minas Gerais

Acta Scientiarum Biological Sciences ◽

10.4025/actascibiolsci.v41i1.44594 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

pp. e44594 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aretha Franklin Guimarães ◽

Luciano Carramaschi de Alagão Querido ◽

Polyanne Aparecida Coelho ◽

Paola Ferreira Santos ◽

Rubens Manoel dos Santos

Keyword(s):

Plant Diversity ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Serpentine Soils ◽

Floristic Survey ◽

Adverse Conditions ◽

Magnesium Compounds ◽

Minas Gerais State ◽

Key Factor ◽

Serpentine Flora ◽

Conservation Concern

Serpentine soils are those holding at least of 70% iron-magnesium compounds, which make life intolerable for many species. Although plant's adaptation to environmental toughness is widely studied in tropics, virtually nothing is known about Brazilian serpentine flora. Our aim was to bring up and characterize the serpentine flora in Bom Sucesso, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. We performed expeditions utilizing rapid survey sampling method to identify the arboreal compound in the area. Plants within circumference at breast high (CBH) up to 15,7 cm were included in our study. A specialist identified all the individuals to species level. We found 246 species located in 59 botanical families. Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Melastomataceae were the most representative families in the area. Serpentine areas usually present a few species capable to survive to adverse conditions, contrasting the high number found in our study. To our knowledge, this is the first floristic survey in serpentine areas in the neotropics, reinforcing the need for more studies about plant diversity in those areas. It seems that serpentinites is not the key factor influencing plant diversity in the neotropics. The high diversity found in our study strengthens serpentine areas as a place for conservation concern.

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Effects of Continuous Slope Gradient on the Dominance Characteristics of Plant Functional Groups and Plant Diversity in Alpine Meadows

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10124805 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 4805 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Qi-Peng Zhang ◽

Jian Wang ◽

Hong-Liang Gu ◽

Zhi-Gang Zhang ◽

Qian Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Ph Value ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Slope Gradient ◽

Alpine Meadows

Many studies reported the effect on plant functional groups and plant diversity under discontinuous slope gradient. However, studies on the effect of continuous slope gradient on plant functional groups and plant diversity in alpine meadows have rarely been conducted. We studied the effect of a continuous slope gradient on the dominance characteristics of plant functional groups and plant diversity of alpine meadows on the Tibetan plateau—in Hezuo area of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Altogether, 84 samples of alpine meadows grass and 84 soil samples from seven slope gradients at sunlit slopes were collected. By using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient, this study revealed: (1) Continuous slope gradient is an important factor affecting plant communities in alpine meadows, due to the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and water content. The number of families, genera, and species increased first then decreased at the different slope gradient levels, respectively; (2) there is a close relationship between the soil and plant functional groups, and plant diversity. In other words, the slope determines the functional groups of plants and the soil nutrients; and (3) soil characteristics (pH value, Soil Total Nitrogen, Soil Water Content) are the determining factors of the plant community characteristics at each slope gradient level. To conclude, a continuous slope gradient is an important factor that affects plant communities in alpine meadows.

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pH 6 as the threshold to use in critical load modeling for zooplankton community change with acidification in lakes of south-central Ontario: accounting for morphometry and geography

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f03-008 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 151-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

C A Holt ◽

N D Yan ◽

K M Somers

Keyword(s):

Zooplankton Community ◽

Single Species ◽

Community Change ◽

Step Function ◽

Crustacean Zooplankton ◽

Load Modeling ◽

South Central ◽

Species Abundances ◽

Community Data ◽

Zooplankton Communities

Identifying thresholds of biotic community change along stressor gradients may be useful to both ecologists and lake managers; however, there are several weaknesses in the thresholds that have been identified for zooplankton communities along acidity gradients. The thresholds are often based on a single species even though pH sensitivities vary among species. They often measure changes in species occurrences, though abundances may be a more responsive indicator of damage. Their identification may be confounded by spatial and morphometric factors if they are derived from lake surveys. Finally, the thresholds have usually been subjectively identified. Our goal was to establish a threshold in zooplankton community change along an acidity gradient that did not have these four common weaknesses. We used two crustacean zooplankton community metrics: species richness and scores of a correspondence analysis based on species abundances. Spatial and morphometric patterns were detected in the zooplankton community data and then extracted. The relationship between zooplankton and acidity was then modeled using a step function that objectively identified a threshold of community change at pH 6 for lakes in south-central Ontario.

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Determining Plant Diversity within Interconnected Natural Habitat Remnants (Ecological Network) in an Agricultural Landscape: A Matter of Sampling Design?

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d14010012 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 12

Author(s):

Francesco Liccari ◽

Maurizia Sigura ◽

Enrico Tordoni ◽

Francesco Boscutti ◽

Giovanni Bacaro

Keyword(s):

Plant Communities ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Sampling Design ◽

Agricultural Landscape ◽

Natural Habitat ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Habitat Types ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Pilot Studies ◽

Integrated Method

In intensively used and human-modified landscapes, biodiversity is often confined to remnants of natural habitats. Thus, identifying ecological networks (ENs) necessary to connect these patches and maintain high levels of biodiversity, not only for conservation but also for the effective management of the landscape, is required. However, ENs are often defined without a clear a-priori evaluation of their biodiversity and are seldom even monitored after their establishment. The objective of this study was to determine the adequate number of replicates to effectively characterize biodiversity content of natural habitats within the nodes of an EN in north-eastern Italy, based on vascular plant diversity. Plant communities within habitat types of the EN’s nodes were sampled through a hierarchical sampling design, evaluating both species richness and compositional dissimilarity. We developed an integrated method, consisting of multivariate measures of precision (MultSE), rarefaction curves and diversity partitioning approaches, which was applied to estimate the minimum number of replicates needed to characterize plant communities within the EN, evaluating also how the proposed optimization in sampling size affected the estimations of the characteristics of habitat types and nodes of the EN. We observed that reducing the total sampled replicates by 85.5% resulted to sufficiently characterize plant diversity of the whole EN, and by 72.5% to exhaustively distinguish plant communities among habitat types. This integrated method helped to fill the gap regarding the data collection to monitor biodiversity content within existing ENs, considering temporal and economic resources. We therefore suggest the use of this quantitative approach, based on probabilistic sampling, to conduct pilot studies in the context of ENs design and monitoring, and in general for habitat monitoring.

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Key steps in conservation and use of plant genetic resources: an overview

Plant genetic resources: A review of current research and future needs - Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science ◽

10.19103/as.2020.0085.04 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 103-138

Author(s):

Nigel Maxted ◽

◽

Joana Magos Brehm ◽

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Conservation Planning ◽

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

Full Range ◽

Conservation Action ◽

Natural Plant ◽

Crop Varieties ◽

Key Steps ◽

Target Plant

This chapter reviews the key steps in conservation and the use of plant genetic diversity. It begins by providing an example of a model which includes a series of steps starting with the full range of genetic diversity for all the target plant taxa, through the prioritisation of target taxa, the planning and the implementation of conservation action, leading through characterisation and evaluation, and utilisation in the development of novel crop varieties by farmers and/or breeders. The chapter then goes on to discuss conservation planning which is then followed by a review of the different strategies and techniques that are used in conservation. A section on the link between conservation and utilization is also included, before providing a conclusion that emphasises the importance of maintaining the current wealth of natural plant diversity.

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