scholarly journals Impact of the Disturbances for Forest Grazing on Flora Composition in a Natural Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 872
Author(s):  
Gyuil Han ◽  
Eunju Cheong ◽  
Wangeun Park ◽  
Sechang Kim
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Cool Temperature ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Forest Grazing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ground Condition

Daegwallyeong is a mountain pass at an altitude of 832 m, which has been designated a conservation area because of its essential role in Korea’s forest ecosystem. Simultaneously, this area is considered a suitable place for forest grazing due to the cool temperature during the summer. Some areas have been converted to grassland for livestock feeding, and the scale has continued increasing. Although livestock in a forest area is more ecofriendly than industrialized facilities, it could impact the native ecosystem, especially in terms of the flora and vegetation. We investigated the changes in flora and vegetation of Daegwallyeong before and after the grassland formation. The total number of vascular plant species changed throughout the survey period. It was decreased by thinning and forest floor removal in 2015. However, it bounced back to the original number in 2016, even after grazing. However, there was a dramatic decrease after the second forest floor removal and 3 months of grazing in 2017. The number of flora slightly increased after the fallow of grazing in 2019, but it did not fully recover. Although the number of flora seemed back to normal, the composition of the flora in 2019 was significantly changed from the forest without disturbance in 2014. First, there was the invasion of naturalized plants such as Taraxacum officinale and Barbarea vularis, as well as ecosystem-disturbing flora such as Carex callitrichos var. nana and Rumex acetosa. Second, the coverage of those species expanded after thinning and grazing. Most importantly, we lost five valuable rare species, Anemone koraiensis, Viola diamantiaca, Chionanthus retusus, Scopolia japonica, and Streptopus ovalis, from the area. Additionally, the ground condition of the area was severely damaged, and plants no longer grow in some areas. The survey and analysis of plants in this study showed the adverse effects of forest grazing practices on rare plants in Daegwallyeong. Forest grazing practices should be carefully conducted to preserve vulnerable plant species and a healthy ecosystem.

scholarly journals Rare component of Halych National Nature Park forest ecosystems flora (Ivano-Frankivsk region)

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-302
Author(s):  
Dmytrash-Vatseba I.I. ◽  
Shumska N.V. ◽  
Gniezdilova V.I.
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Occurrence Rate ◽  
Population Number ◽  
Vascular Plant Species ◽  
General Number ◽  
Nature Park

The paper contains a synopsis of rare component of flora of Halych National Nature Park forest ecosystems, as well as evaluation of distribution trends of rare vascular plant species and the state of their populations. Being established in 2004, the Park is located in Halych district of Ivano-Frankivsk region on the area of 14684.8 ha. Forests occupy the biggest part of its territory (81.1 %), among which predominate poor and mixed oak (Querceta roboris), beech (Fageta sylvaticae) and hornbeam (Carpineta betuli) woods. Inventory check of plant cover of the forest ecosystems has been done between 2008-2019 years. According to the results of our study, within the forests and forest margins grow 303 vascular plant species, out of which 63 are rare (20.8 %). The list of rare species is composed of species included to the Red Data Book of Ukraine, of species protected by international conventions and directives and complemented by species that are threatened within the study region. Species were considered as threatened if the number of localities and / or population size were small. Regionally rare species were selected based on the analyzes of results of our field survey and materials of herbarium collections. We have found that the third part of rare species (33.3 %) has high coenotic amplitude and a bit less species (26.2 %) favor forest margins. Rare species having low coenotic amplitude are confined to beech woods (19.1 %). Rare species are considerably distinguished by occurrence. Species with scarce occurrence predominate. For instance, 61 % of the species were found in 1-5 localities, of which 25 species occur only in one or two sites. Share of species growing in 6-10 localities within the Park is equal to 26.6 %. Only a small percentage (6.2 %) of rare species comprises species with relatively frequent occurrence (11–20 localities as well as more than 20 cites). Rare species of the Park forests with the highest occurrence rate are Lilium martagon and some members of Orchidaceae family. Predominantly, rare species have populations of small size, for instance, 81.2 % of the species were found in quantities of a few plants – several hundreds of individuals. The most threatened are species general number of which at the Park area is several plants (15.6 %). These species are as follows: Circaea alpina, Atropa bella-donna, Campanula latifolia, Phyteuma spicatum, Epipactis atrorubens etc. The biggest groups comprise species with general number of few tens and several hundreds of individuals (totally 65.6 %). Species with big populations represent far smaller part of forest rare species. Nine rare species grow in the number of several thousands of plants within the Park and three species (Allium ursinum, Galanthus nivalis and Leucojum vernum) – over a million. It has been established that 52.4 % of rare species populations taken together remain in critically bad state, 28.6 % of the populations – in bad state, 14.3 % – in satisfactory state. Only 4.8 % of populations are in good state. Our results show that about 95 % of species are in need of protection and continuous monitoring of population number. Furthermore, 51 species of rare plants,having low number and bad state of populations, require to work out and implement management plans for their restoration. Key words: rare species, vascular plants, population state, species occurrence, population number

scholarly journals Floristic diversity of steppe territories near Poltava town (Ukraine)

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
D. A. Davydov ◽  
L. M. Gomlya
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Steppe Zone ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Steppe Vegetation ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Steppe Plant ◽  
Data Book

Current progress in botany requires new claims for floristic research. Now the latter is not a simple species inventory of a separate local or regional flora but it needs coordination with recent results of critical taxonomic, nomenclatural and molecular phylogenetic investigations. Based on the fact that detailed research on steppes as a zonal type of vegetation in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine is very important for preservation of current steppe territories, the authors studied several territories with steppe vegetation near Poltava town (Poltava region, Ukraine). The key steppe territories found are situated near Abazivka, Rozhayivka, Kostochky, Buhayivka, Machukhy, Ivonchentsi and Zhuky villages. Data about steppe flora from only the first territory located between Abazivka and Rozhayivka villages including “Rozhayivskyi” local botanical reserve were early reported in literature sources while data about steppe vegetation of the other areas has never been published in detail. The full list of 401 vascular plant species found on these steppe territories with the frequency of distribution, major synonym names and references to current taxonomic papers for separate species are proposed. One of these species (Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L.) is a new alien for Poltava region. Taxonomy for all species was critically revised, nomenclature of several taxa (Dichoropetalum carvifolia (Vill.) Pimenov & Kljuykov, Erophila verna (L.) DC., Campanula canescens (Waldst. & Kit.) Roth) is discussed in detail. The name “Dichoropetalum carvifolium-chabraei (Crantz) Soldano et al.” is an invalid designation based on trinominal and must be rejected. The names Selinum chabraei Jacq. ex Murray, Peucedanum euphimiae Kotov and Hemerocallis lilio-asphodelus var. fulva L. were lectotypified. The studied steppe territories have the great significance in the sozological aspect, they include 32 rare steppe plant species (seven from the Red Data Book of Ukraine and 25 from the list of locally rare plants within Poltava region) so the primary task for further research is to organize their protection as the most valuable steppe areas and the monitoring of their condition in the future.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Themeda triandra as an indicator for monitoring the effects of grazing and fire in the Bontebok National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Novellie ◽  
Tineke Kraaij
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rare Plants ◽  
Plant Species Diversity ◽  
Conservation Priority ◽  
Previous Survey ◽  
Survey Period ◽  
Themeda Triandra ◽  
Unintended Outcome

Up until 2004, the burning regime applied in the Bontebok National Park was aimed at maintaining grazing conditions suitable for bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus). It was, however, not suitable for maintaining plant species diversity, an increasingly urgent conservation priority for the park. Accordingly, the burning regime was changed in 2004 to increase the interval between fires. A possible unintended outcome of the new burning regime is the spread of grazing lawns which is likely to be deleterious for maintaining the diversity of rare plants. Red grass, Themeda triandra, a species often locally abundant in areas preferred by bontebok, is potentially a good indicator of the anticipated change because, although it persists with moderate grazing, it is sensitive to localised intense grazing and will decrease on grazing lawns. To gauge the potential of this indicator, the canopy spread cover, degree of defoliation and inflorescence production of T. triandrawas determined at 13 permanently marked sites in November 2005. The results are compared with a survey conducted 20 years previously (October–November 1984 and October–November 1985) using similar methodology. The results suggest that T. triandra remained abundant over the previous 20 years’ application of the prior burning regime. In 1984–1985, defoliation of T. triandra was high within 1 year after a fire but declined quickly thereafter. In 2005, the tendency for the defoliation level to decline with increasing time after a fire was still apparent, but it was much less marked than in the previous survey period. A likely cause of this was the fact that Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) and red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus caama) were present in 2005 but absent in 1984–1985 and these taller-grass grazers would have contributed to the use of the older veld. Provided it is interpreted together with other monitoring programmes, the use of T. triandra cover and defoliation intensity appears promising as an efficient indicator of some of the potentially deleterious outcomes of the interactions between herbivory and the new burning regime.Conservation implications: The conservation objectives of maintaining (1) large mammal herbivory as an ecological process and (2) plant species diversity may be difficult to reconcile with each other in the highly fragmented renosterveld and lowland fynbos ecosystems. This paper explores a rapid approach to monitoring impacts of bontebok and other grazing ungulates.

Differentiation of new coenomorph in context of the Belgard’s ecomorph system development

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Baranovski
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
System Development ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Tabular Form ◽  
Ecological Scales ◽  
The One ◽  
Different Levels

Nowadays, bioecological characteristics of species are the basis for flora and vegetation studying on the different levels. Bioecological characteristics of species is required in process of flora studying on the different levels such as biotopes or phytocenoses, floras of particular areas (floras of ecologically homogeneous habitats), and floras of certain territories. Ramensky scale is the one of first detailed ecological scales on plant species ordination in relation to various environmental factors; it developed in 1938 (Ramensky, 1971). A little later (1941), Pogrebnyak’s scale of forest stands was proposed. Ellenberg’s system developed in 1950 (Ellenberg, 1979) and Tsyganov’s system (Tsyganov, 1975) are best known as the systems of ecological scales on vascular plant species; these systems represent of habitat detection by ecotopic ecomorphs of plant species (phytoindication). Basically, the system proposed by Alexander Lyutsianovich Belgard was the one of first system of plant species that identiified ectomorphs in relation to environmental factors. As early as 1950, Belgard developed the tabulated system of ecomorphs using the Latin ecomorphs abbreviation; he also used the terminology proposed in the late 19th century by Dekandol (1956) and Warming (1903), as well as terminology of other authors. The article analyzes the features of Belgard’s system of ecomorphs on vascular plants. It has certain significance and advantages over other systems of ecomorphs. The use of abbreviated Latin names of ecomorphs in tabular form enables the use shortened form of ones. In the working scheme of Belgard’s system of ecomorphs relation of species to environmental factors are represented in the abbreviated Latin alphabetic version (Belgard, 1950). Combined into table, the ecomorphic analysis of plant species within association (ecological certification of species), biotope or area site (water area) gives an explicit pattern on ecological structure of flora within surveyed community, biotope or landscape, and on environmental conditions. Development and application by Belgrard the cenomorphs as «species’ adaptation to phytocenosis as a whole» were completely new in the development of systems of ecomorphs and, in this connection, different coenomorphs were distinguished. Like any concept, the system of ecomorphs by Belgard has the possibility and necessity to be developed and added. Long-time researches and analysis of literature sources allow to propose a new coenomorph in the context of Belgard’s system of ecomorphs development: silvomargoant (species of forest margin, from the Latin words margo – edge, boundary (Dvoretsky, 1976), margo – margin, ad margins silvarum – along the deciduous forest margins). As an example of ecomorphic characterization of species according to the system of ecomorphs by Belgard (when the abbreviated Latin ecomorph names are used in tabular form and the proposed cenomorph is used), it was given the part of the table on vascular plants ecomorphs in the National Nature Park «Orelsky» (Baranovsky et al). The Belgard’s system of ecomorphs is particularly convenient and can be successfully applied to data processing in the ecological analysis of the flora on wide areas with significant species richness, and the proposed ecomorph will be another necessary element in the Belgard’s system of ecomorphs. 

scholarly journals New tools for old problems — comparing drone- and field-based assessments of a problematic plant species

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Oldeland ◽  
Rasmus Revermann ◽  
Jona Luther-Mosebach ◽  
Tillmann Buttschardt ◽  
Jan R. K. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Post Processing ◽  
Tall Grass ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Object Based Image Analysis ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Before And After

AbstractPlant species that negatively affect their environment by encroachment require constant management and monitoring through field surveys. Drones have been suggested to support field surveyors allowing more accurate mapping with just-in-time aerial imagery. Furthermore, object-based image analysis tools could increase the accuracy of species maps. However, only few studies compare species distribution maps resulting from traditional field surveys and object-based image analysis using drone imagery. We acquired drone imagery for a saltmarsh area (18 ha) on the Hallig Nordstrandischmoor (Germany) with patches of Elymus athericus, a tall grass which encroaches higher parts of saltmarshes. A field survey was conducted afterwards using the drone orthoimagery as a baseline. We used object-based image analysis (OBIA) to segment CIR imagery into polygons which were classified into eight land cover classes. Finally, we compared polygons of the field-based and OBIA-based maps visually and for location, area, and overlap before and after post-processing. OBIA-based classification yielded good results (kappa = 0.937) and agreed in general with the field-based maps (field = 6.29 ha, drone = 6.22 ha with E. athericus dominance). Post-processing revealed 0.31 ha of misclassified polygons, which were often related to water runnels or shadows, leaving 5.91 ha of E. athericus cover. Overlap of both polygon maps was only 70% resulting from many small patches identified where E. athericus was absent. In sum, drones can greatly support field surveys in monitoring of plant species by allowing for accurate species maps and just-in-time captured very-high-resolution imagery.

scholarly journals Improving the knowledge of plant potential biodiversity-ecosystem services links using maps at the regional level in Southern Patagonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamina Micaela Rosas ◽  
Pablo L. Peri ◽  
María Vanessa Lencinas ◽  
Romina Lasagno ◽  
Guillermo J. Martínez Pastur
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Southern Patagonia

Abstract Background Biodiversity supports multiple ecosystem services, whereas species loss endangers the provision of many services and affects ecosystem resilience and resistance capacity. The increase of remote sensing techniques allows to estimate biodiversity and ecosystem services supply at the landscape level in areas with low available data (e.g. Southern Patagonia). This paper evaluates the potential biodiversity and how it links with ecosystem services, based on vascular plant species across eight ecological areas. We also evaluated the habitat plant requirements and their relation with natural gradients. A total of 977 plots were used to develop habitat suitability maps based on an environmental niche factor analysis of 15 more important indicator species for each ecological area (n = 53 species) using 40 explanatory variables. Finally, these maps were combined into a single potential biodiversity map, which was linked with environmental variables and ecosystem services supply. For comparisons, data were extracted and compared through analyses of variance. Results The plant habitat requirements varied greatly among the different ecological areas, and it was possible to define groups according to its specialization and marginality indexes. The potential biodiversity map allowed us to detect coldspots in the western mountains and hotspots in southern and eastern areas. Higher biodiversity was associated to higher temperatures and normalized difference vegetation index, while lower biodiversity was related to elevation and rainfall. Potential biodiversity was closely associated with supporting and provisioning ecosystem services in shrublands and grasslands in the humid steppe, while the lowest values were related to cultural ecosystem services in Nothofagus forests. Conclusions The present study showed that plant species present remarkable differences in spatial distributions and ecological requirements, being a useful proxy for potential biodiversity modelling. Potential biodiversity values change across ecological areas allowing to identify hotspots and coldspots, a useful tool for landscape management and conservation strategies. In addition, links with ecosystem services detect potential synergies and trade-offs, where areas with the lowest potential biodiversity are related to cultural ecosystem services (e.g. aesthetic values) and areas with the greatest potential biodiversity showed threats related to productive activities (e.g. livestock).

scholarly journals 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

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.

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