scholarly journals Long-Term Suppression of Hardwood Regeneration by Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense)

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor N. Turner ◽  
Thomas J. Dean ◽  
Jeff S. Kuehny

Native hardwood regeneration in the southeast United States is hindered by repeat disturbance events and the presence of invasive species. Our study aimed to determine the ability of native species in an unmanaged urban forest fragment to persist following high winds from hurricane Gustav in 2008 and subsequent salvage logging. In 2009, researchers estimated the density and composition of the regeneration and overstory trees as well as percent crown cover of invasive Chinese privet. Percent Chinese privet cover was visibly high, leading them to believe it may be inhibiting native hardwood establishment. Ten years later in 2019, we returned to the plots to take repeat measurements. Forest composition remains the same and privet crown cover remains high. There has been no increase in regenerating individuals, and overstory trees per hectare and basal area remains low. These results confirm that the heavy Chinese privet presence is persistent long term and will require management to promote reproduction of native overstory tree species.

Hoehnea ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hebert Kondrat ◽  
Sonia Aragaki ◽  
Eduardo Pereira Cabral Gomes

ABSTRACT We present a synthesis (2006-2012) of plant community dynamics in an area (1 ha) of the largest remnant of Atlantic Rain Forest surrounded by São Paulo city. Plants with ≥ 2.5 cm dbh, including the climbers, were sampled in 10 transects (2 × 50 m), and the smaller (> 1 m height, < 2.5 cm dbh) in 10 subtransects (1 × 50 m). We sampled 901 individuals, 125 species (38 families), 83 classified as late-successional species, 12 threatened with extinction and 56 absent in the area management plan, some Endangered (EN) species. The climbers were the most dynamics, they had the largest decrease in basal area; and the larger (> 5.0 cm dbh) and shorter (< 2.5 cm dbh) trees had the highest mortality rates of the shrub-tree synusia. Late species regeneration was predominant. The studied forest showed progression towards more mature successional stages in the monitoring period.


2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-144
Author(s):  
Michael C Demchik ◽  
Monique L Sakalidis ◽  
Michael Hillstrom ◽  
Kyoko Scanlon ◽  
Trevor A Adams ◽  
...  

Abstract Heterobasidion root disease (HRD) infection is becoming increasingly common in red pine plantations of the Lake States. Although stump treatment can reduce rates of overland transmission, infested stands continue to experience expansion of mortality pockets. Natural regeneration into HRD mortality pockets can assist with revegetation. The objective of this study was to determine what tree species naturally regenerate in red pine plantations impacted by HRD in Wisconsin and Michigan. We visited 49 pockets (in 31 stands) in Wisconsin and Michigan that had existing confirmed HRD infections during the fall of 2017. We surveyed the regeneration in the pocket and measured the species and basal area of overstory trees 10 m from the expanding edge of the pocket. Overall, pockets were regenerating with desirable species, some of which are susceptible to HRD. Additionally, woody invasive species were present in 39 percent of the pockets. We expect these pockets to generally fill with desirable species of regeneration, although long-term successful regeneration by susceptible species such as pines may be limited.


1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1036-1043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Johnston ◽  
Robert J. Naiman

Beaver (Castorcanadensis) herbivory has both immediate and long-term effects on biomass, structure, and composition of riparian forests. Intense beaver foraging of trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) decreased tree density and basal area by as much as 43% within ~ 1-ha forage zones surrounding two beaver ponds in northern Minnesota. Maximum diameter of trees cut was 43.5 cm; average aspen stem diameter cut was 13.9 and 10.2 cm at the two ponds. Woody biomass harvested per beaver averaged 1.4 Mg•ha−1•year−1 over a 6-year foraging period. Most wood harvested was left on site or used in dam construction, rather than consumed. Selective foraging by beaver decreased the relative importance of preferred species (i.e., P. tremuloides) and increased the importance of avoided species (i.e., Alnusrugosa (Du Roi) Spreng., Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss), with long-term implications to forest succession and dynamics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Matos Magalhães ◽  
Maria Cecília Santana de Lima ◽  
Ednilza Maranhão Santos ◽  
Jozélia Maria de Sousa Correia ◽  
Ana Carolina Borges Lins e Silva

Abstract: We present a checklist for the aquatic biodiversity from two reservoirs within a PPBio (Biodiversity Research Program) site in a peri-urban forest fragment, the Dois Irmãos State Park (PEDI), in Pernambuco, Brazil. We obtained the data via extensive field collection and information from a specialized literature survey. We recorded 397 species in 156 families; the animal was the most abundant group (140 species) followed by fungi taxa (103), periphyton (69), aquatic macrophytes (44), and terrestrial plants in flooded areas (41). This review reflects different sample efforts toward selected groups and allows the definition of a long-term protocol for guiding new research based on the identified knowledge gaps revealed. Future ecological research should address the influence of the trophic state of the reservoirs, as well as the effects of competitive exclusion and predation on the long-term viability of the local diversity.


Author(s):  
Vincent Gauthray-Guyénet ◽  
Robert Schneider ◽  
Alexis Achim ◽  
Mathieu Fortin ◽  
David Paré ◽  
...  

Forests of North America have undergone important changes since European settlement, especially in terms of stand composition and associated changes in soil properties, and the causes and consequences of such variations through time remains poorly understood. This study investigates the effects of long-term changes in forest composition and soil properties on the radial growth of sugar maple and balsam fir, two important species of northeastern North America’s forests. Using data from 130 plots measured in 1930 and in 2012-14 and a mixed-effects modelling approach, we studied the links between radial growth, soil nutrient availability, current stand composition and shifts in vegetation. Balsam fir radial growth was found to vary with soil available nitrogen and present-day relative basal area of yellow birch, while that of sugar maple was found to be invariant to soil characteristics, but proportional to spruce relative basal area. However, no direct effects of vegetation change on radial growth were detected. Our results suggest that prior stand composition had no influence on radial growth of both studied species, yet vegetation change could influence balsam fir growth through an improvement of litter quality from other species. Moreover, we conclude that maintaining a certain proportion of compositional diversity may enhance radial growth of both balsam fir and sugar maple.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1008-1015
Author(s):  
A. D. Gubanova ◽  
O. A. Garbazey ◽  
D. A. Altukhov ◽  
V. S. Mukhanov ◽  
E. V. Popova

Long-term (20032014) routine observations of zooplankton in Sevastopol Bay (the Black Sea) have allowed the naturalization of the invasive copepod Oithona davisae to be studied in the Black Sea coastal waters. Inter-annual and seasonal variability of the species and their impact on the native copepod community have been analyzed. The invasion of O. davisae and their undoubted dominance in terms of abundance were shown to alter the community structure but, at the same time, the abundances of the native species did not decrease, excepting the Black Sea earlier invader Acartia tonsa. A significant decline in A. tonsa numbers over the stages of O. davisae establishment and naturalization provided evidence of competition between the species. O. davisae have been demonstrated to gain competitive advantage over A. tonsa, that ensured their fast dispersal in the Black Sea, acclimatization in the new habitat and the successful competition over native species.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Charalampos Dimitriadis ◽  
Ivoni Fournari-Konstantinidou ◽  
Laurent Sourbès ◽  
Drosos Koutsoubas ◽  
Stelios Katsanevakis

Understanding the interactions among invasive species, native species and marine protected areas (MPAs), and the long-term regime shifts in MPAs is receiving increased attention, since biological invasions can alter the structure and functioning of the protected ecosystems and challenge conservation efforts. Here we found evidence of marked modifications in the rocky reef associated biota in a Mediterranean MPA from 2009 to 2019 through visual census surveys, due to the presence of invasive species altering the structure of the ecosystem and triggering complex cascading effects on the long term. Low levels of the populations of native high-level predators were accompanied by the population increase and high performance of both native and invasive fish herbivores. Subsequently the overgrazing and habitat degradation resulted in cascading effects towards the diminishing of the native and invasive invertebrate grazers and omnivorous benthic species. Our study represents a good showcase of how invasive species can coexist or exclude native biota and at the same time regulate or out-compete other established invaders and native species.


FLORESTA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Lívia Mara Lima Goulart ◽  
Marianne Fidalgo de Faria ◽  
Grasiela Spada ◽  
Thiago Tássio de Souza Silva ◽  
Iraê Amaral Guerrini

The use of sewage sludge in agriculture and recovery of degraded areas has been shown as a promising alternative for its final destination. Studies on micronutrient levels after sludge application are necessary to avoid soil contamination at toxic levels. The objective of this work was to verify the micronutrient contents in the soil profile and pH, up to one-meter-deep, nine years after the application of sewage sludge and planting of native species of the Atlantic Forest. The experiment was implemented in a degraded Quartzeneic Neosol and conducted in randomized blocks with four replicates and eight treatments, consisting of six doses of sewage sludge (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 Mg ha-1, with supplementation of potassium due to low concentration in the residue), besides the control treatment, mineral fertilization and only potassium supplementation. After nine years, the contents of all micronutrients evaluated presented a significant response to the application of the treatments, and the application of sewage sludge provided an increase in their contents. Soil pH remained stable at sites receiving mineral fertilization and potassium supplementation. Only manganese and zinc showed mobility in the soil profile. The application of sewage sludge in degraded soil increases the micronutrient content and decreases its movement in the soil profile, and the application of the maximum dose of the residue does not provide toxic levels of these elements in the soil in the long term.


2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jemma Finch ◽  
Melanie J. Leng ◽  
Rob Marchant

AbstractLate Quaternary vegetation history and environmental changes in a biodiverse tropical ecosystem are inferred from pollen, charcoal and carbon isotope evidence derived from a ∼ 48,000-yr sedimentary record from the Uluguru Mountains, a component of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. Results indicate that Eastern Arc forest composition has remained relatively stable during the past ∼ 48,000 yr. Long-term environmental stability of the Eastern Arc forests has been proposed as a mechanism for the accumulation and persistence of species during glacial periods, thus resulting in the diverse forests observed today. The pollen and isotope data presented here indicate some marked changes in abundance but no significant loss in moist forest taxa through the last glacial maximum, thereby providing support for the long-term environmental stability of the Eastern Arc. Anthropogenic activities, including burning and forest clearance, were found to play a moderate role in shaping the mosaic of forest patches and high-altitude grasslands that characterise the site today; however, this influence was tempered by the inaccessibility of the mountain.


2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 213-218
Author(s):  
Robert Loeb ◽  
Samuel King

Trees and saplings were felled and killed by rockslides and soil slides formed during the record breaking rains of May 1–2, 2010, in Radnor Lake State Natural Area, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The losses were analyzed by species; stem basal area; root plate diameter and depth; percent slope; occurrence in a rockslide or soil slide as well as species classification as a lateral root system species versus tap or heart root system species. The number of stems lost for each species had a distribution similar to the results of the 2009 Natural Area survey but the number of saplings was significantly underrepresented at the landslide sites. Tree deaths were nearly five times greater than saplings lost. Although there were nearly equal numbers of tree and sapling stems classified as possessing a lateral root system versus tap or heart root system, 74% of the sapling losses were from surface root system species. The means for root plate diameter and depth were significantly larger in rockslides than soil slides even though the mean stem basal area did not differ significantly. For both slide types, slope steepness was not correlated with root plate depth, root plate diameter, or stem basal area. Similarly for both root system classi-fications, slope steepness was not significantly correlated except for surface root system trees with root plate depth. Planting tap root system trees reduces the risk of landslide, but advances in the cultivation of taxa, such as hickory (Carya spp.), are needed to assure tap root preservation during transplantation.


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