scholarly journals Allelopathic potential of Ficus retusa L. leaf litter on understory vegetation in urban gardens

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Omar Hassan ◽  
Howida Yacoup Mohamed ◽  
Ayman Hassan Aboellil
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Significant Inhibition ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Allelopathic Effect ◽  
Urban Gardens ◽  
Allelopathic Potential ◽  
Understory Species ◽  
Phenolic And Flavonoid

Pruning Ficus trees in urban green spaces may lead to the accumulation and spread of their leaf litter on the understory vegetation. This study was conducted to evaluate the allelopathic effect of Ficus retusa L. leaf litter on the understory species in urban gardens. A field study showed that the plant cover and species richness of litter-affected plots were lower than those of litter-free areas. The litter-affected soils had substantially lower pH and higher electrical conductivity. In a greenhouse experiment, litter-affected soil significantly inhibited the emergence and growth of understory species selected for the purpose of this study: Melilotus indicus (L.) All., Trifolium resupinatum L. and Amaranthus viridis L. Osmotic potentials equivalent to those of the litter-affected soils did not affect emergence or growth of these species. A spectrophotometric analysis indicated that the litter-affected soils contained larger amounts of phenolics and flavonoids. An HPLC analysis revealed that the litter-affected soils contained higher concentrations of free phenolic and flavonoid allelochemicals. These results demonstrate that F. retusa leaf litter may reduce plant cover and species richness. The significant inhibition in both field and greenhouse experiments could be attributed to phenolic and flavonoid allelochemicals released from the tree litter, as the osmotic potential of the litter had no effect on the understory species. The allelopathic potential of F. retusa leaf litter plays at least a partial role in reducing urban vegetation.

scholarly journals Understory Vegetation Richness and Diversity of Eucalyptus benthamii and Pinus elliottii Plantations in the Midsouth US

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea De Stefano ◽  
Michael A Blazier ◽  
Christopher E Comer ◽  
Thomas J Dean ◽  
T Bently Wigley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Pinus Elliottii ◽  
The United States ◽  
Slash Pine ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Understory Species ◽  
Species Richness And Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In the Western Gulf region of the United States cold-tolerant eucalyptus have been explored as pulpwood feedstock. However, non-native plantations may alter understory species diversity, modifying environmental conditions and soil characteristics. Few studies have compared eucalyptus plantations with native ecosystems to understand the impact on understory vegetation in the United States. In this study, we compared understory plant species richness and diversity during 2014–2016 in (1) slash pine (Pinus elliottii) established in 2008, (2) slash pine established in 2013, and (3) and Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii) established in 2013. Overstory characteristics, soil pH, and soil nutrient concentrations were measured to understand factors that affected understory species richness and diversity. Results indicated a decline in understory species richness over time, with Camden white gum in an intermediate condition between same-age slash pine (highest richness) and older slash pine (lowest richness). Leaf area index, soil pH and K, and tree height were the most important factors influencing understory species richness and diversity. The adoption of fast-growing eucalyptus on these sites will probably accelerate the deterioration of natural habitats and reduce open-condition species in favor of shade-tolerant species, overturning the conservation efforts already put in place by governmental agencies and conservation groups.

Allelopathic Potential and Chemical Components of Aqueous Extract from Soil-Like Substrate

2012 ◽  
Vol 455-456 ◽  
pp. 490-495
Author(s):  
Le Yuan Li ◽  
Bei Zhen Xie ◽  
Wen Ting Fu ◽  
Wen Ting He ◽  
Hong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Extract ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Significant Inhibition ◽  
Seed Vigor ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Allelopathic Effect ◽  
Chemical Compositions ◽  
Fresh Weight ◽  
Allelopathic Potential

. Rice and wheat are the traditional food for Chinese people, as well as the main crop candidates for space bioregenerative life support systems. Recycling of inedible parts of rice and wheat is an important issue concerning the system. In order to determine whether the mixed-substrate of rice and wheat’s inedible parts is suitable for plant cultivation, soil-like substrate made from rice and wheat was tested in an aqueous extract germination experiment. The effects of different concentrations of aqueous extract on seed vigor, seedling growth and development situations and the physiological and biochemical characteristics of wheat, lettuce and pumpkin were studied, and the presence and degrees of allelopathic effects were analyzed. The test results show that this type of soil-like substrate can exert different degrees of allelopathic effect on wheat and lettuce; this allelopathic effect is related to the concentration of soil-like substrate aqueous extract. With the increase of extract concentration, the seed germination, root length and shoot fresh weight of wheat decreased; and every concentration of aqueous extract showed significant inhibition on the root length and root fresh weight of lettuce. However, this type of soil-like substrate showed few effect on the growth of pumpkin seedlings. Content changes of chlorophyll and endogenous hormones in wheat and lettuce seedlings, and the chemical compositions of soil-like substrate were measured. Besides, the mechanism of allelopathic effect was analyzed.

scholarly journals Plant structure predicts leaf litter capture in the tropical montane bromeliad Tillandsia turneri

2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-691
Author(s):  
F. Ospina-Bautista ◽  
J. V. Estévez Varón
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Akaike Information Criterion ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Plant Structure ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Leaves intercepted by bromeliads become an important energy and matter resource for invertebrate communities, bacteria, fungi, and the plant itself. The relationship between bromeliad structure, defined as its size and complexity, and accumulated leaf litter was studied in 55 bromeliads of Tillandsia turneri through multiple regression and the Akaike information criterion. Leaf litter accumulation in bromeliads was best explained by size and complexity variables such as plant cover, sheath length, and leaf number. In conclusion, plant structure determines the amount of litter that enters bromeliads, and changes in its structure could affect important processes within ecosystem functioning or species richness.

scholarly journals Understory Species Identity Rather than Species Richness Influences Fine Root Decomposition in a Temperate Plantation

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1091
Author(s):  
Rim Khlifa ◽  
Denis A. Angers ◽  
Alison D. Munson
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Vegetation Succession ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Root Decomposition ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Understory Species ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Fine Root Decomposition

Different silvicultural treatments that are applied at plantation establishment may drive different vegetation succession pathways. These divergent vegetation types subsequently feed back to influence soil carbon and nitrogen cycles. One potential mechanism of feedback is through litter decomposition, and in particular fine root decomposition (FRD; <2 mm roots). In the present study we investigated how blade scarification, fertilization, and vegetation control influenced over- and understory vegetation 27 years after plantation, and whether these different vegetation communities affected FRD. In a design using factorial combinations of the three treatments at the Petawawa Research Forest (Laurentian Hills, ON, Canada), we conducted an in situ FRD experiment, with fine roots from the entire vegetation community (both over- and understory) of each plot. The different silvicultural treatments affected overstory basal area, understory species richness and FRD. No correlation was noted between understory species richness and FRD. Instead, we found that understory vegetation (especially fern and herb) cover best explained FRD. We conclude that silvicultural treatments affect FRD through subsequent vegetation succession and that this effect is more likely due to species-specific effects inducing a favorable soil environment than to a higher species richness per se.

scholarly journals Biodiversity hanging by a thread: the importance of fungal litter-trapping systems in tropical rainforests

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake L. Snaddon ◽  
Edgar C. Turner ◽  
Tom M. Fayle ◽  
Chey V. Khen ◽  
Paul Eggleton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
Dramatic Reduction ◽  
Experimental Removal ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Vital Resource

The exceptionally high species richness of arthropods in tropical rainforests hinges on the complexity of the forest itself: that is, on features such as the high plant diversity, the layered nature of the canopy and the abundance and the diversity of epiphytes and litter. We here report on one important, but almost completely neglected, piece of this complex jigsaw—the intricate network of rhizomorph-forming fungi that ramify through the vegetation of the lower canopy and intercept falling leaf litter. We show that this litter-trapping network is abundant and intercepts substantial amounts of litter (257.3 kg ha −1 ): this exceeds the amount of material recorded in any other rainforest litter-trapping system. Experimental removal of this fungal network resulted in a dramatic reduction in both the abundance (decreased by 70.2 ± 4.1%) and morphospecies richness (decreased by 57.4 ± 5.1%) of arthropods. Since the lower canopy levels can contain the highest densities of arthropods, the proportion of the rainforest fauna dependent on the fungal networks is likely to be substantial. Fungal litter-trapping systems are therefore a crucial component of habitat complexity, providing a vital resource that contributes significantly to rainforest biodiversity.

scholarly journals The conservation value of South East Asia's highly degraded forests: evidence from leaf-litter ants

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1582) ◽  
pp. 3256-3264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Woodcock ◽  
David P. Edwards ◽  
Tom M. Fayle ◽  
Rob J. Newton ◽  
Chey Vun Khen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Logged Forest

South East Asia is widely regarded as a centre of threatened biodiversity owing to extensive logging and forest conversion to agriculture. In particular, forests degraded by repeated rounds of intensive logging are viewed as having little conservation value and are afforded meagre protection from conversion to oil palm. Here, we determine the biological value of such heavily degraded forests by comparing leaf-litter ant communities in unlogged (natural) and twice-logged forests in Sabah, Borneo. We accounted for impacts of logging on habitat heterogeneity by comparing species richness and composition at four nested spatial scales, and examining how species richness was partitioned across the landscape in each habitat. We found that twice-logged forest had fewer species occurrences, lower species richness at small spatial scales and altered species composition compared with natural forests. However, over 80 per cent of species found in unlogged forest were detected within twice-logged forest. Moreover, greater species turnover among sites in twice-logged forest resulted in identical species richness between habitats at the largest spatial scale. While two intensive logging cycles have negative impacts on ant communities, these degraded forests clearly provide important habitat for numerous species and preventing their conversion to oil palm and other crops should be a conservation priority.

scholarly journals Habitat, food, and small mammal community structure in Namaqualand

Koedoe ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Deventer ◽  
J.A.J. Nel
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Shrub Cover ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Habitat Differences ◽  
Elephant Shrew ◽  
Density And Biomass

The effect of habitat differences and food availability on small mammal (rodent and elephant shrew) species richness, diversity, density and biomass was investigated in Namaqualand, South Africa. Species richness in the three habitats sampled, namely Upland Succulent Karoo, Dry Riverine Shrub and North-western Mountain Renosterveld was low, with only 2–4 species per habitat. Rodents trapped were predominantly Gerbillurus paeba and Aethomys namaquensis, with fewer Mus minutoides and Petromyscus sp. The only non-rodent was the elephant shrew Elephantulus edwardii. Ten habitat features, the percentage of total plant cover, tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover, plant litter, total basal cover, sand, gravel or rock cover, and the dominant plant height were recorded at 30 randomly chosen points on five sampling grids in each habitat. Small mammal density and biomass was significantly correlated with food availability (green foliage cover, seeds, and relative density and biomass of insects). Species richness and diversity of small mammals were significantly correlated with shrub cover. Numbers and biomass of specific species correlated significantly with different habitat features in each case.

Invasive Pine Tree Effects on Northern Coastal Scrub Structure and Composition

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Steers ◽  
Susan L. Fritzke ◽  
Jen J. Rogers ◽  
James Cartan ◽  
Kaitlyn Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Basal Diameter ◽  
Monterey Pine ◽  
Pine Tree ◽  
Day Range ◽  
Pine Trees ◽  
The Impact

AbstractVegetation that becomes overtopped usually experiences a decrease in abundance or species richness. When an overtopping plant alters the physiognomy of the existing vegetation (e.g., trees invading a shrubland), ecosystem processes can also be dramatically altered. Worldwide, Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) cultivars have been planted in Mediterranean-like climates and are known to invade surrounding natural communities. Ecological impacts resulting from these invasions have been widely investigated; however, the effects from solitary pine trees on the vegetation they overtop are lacking. Furthermore, studies on the impact of P. radiata cultivars from the California floristic province, where P. radiata is native, do not exist. In coastal California, north of the present-day range of native P. radiata stands, cultivars of this species have invaded northern coastal scrub vegetation. To determine the impact of pine invasion on species richness and structure in this habitat, floristic surveys were conducted in 20 blocks that consisted of invaded and uninvaded plots. An invaded plot contained two subplots located under the canopy of an isolated pine tree, whereas a paired, uninvaded plot contained two subplots located in coastal scrub adjacent to each pine. Pine trees selected ranged in size from 2.8 to 119 cm (1.1 to 46.9 in) basal diameter. Our results demonstrate that understory native cover and species richness are negatively correlated with tree size. Understory exotic plant cover and richness of species other than P. radiata did not show any correlation with tree size, mainly because exotic plants had a very low abundance overall.

scholarly journals Elevated CO2 Concentrations and Water Stress Affect the Ability of Italian Ryegrass to Remediate Herbicides and Enhance its Allelopathic Effect

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.P. SILVEIRA ◽  
A.R. FEIJÓ ◽  
C. BENETTI ◽  
J.P. REFATTI ◽  
M.V. FIPKE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Italian Ryegrass ◽  
Allelopathic Effect ◽  
Irrigated Rice ◽  
Allelopathic Potential ◽  
Co2 Concentrations ◽  
Temporal Persistence ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT: The long temporal persistence of select herbicides negatively impacts crops sown in succession to irrigated rice. One way to reduce these compounds in the soil over time is through phytoremediation. However, elevated CO2 concentrations may interfere with the phytoremediation process. Another consequence of climate change is the production of allelopathic compounds by forage species used as remedial agents. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of elevated CO2 concentration and drought stress on the remediation of soil samples contaminated with imazapyr + imazapic herbicides by Italian ryegrass and any subsequential affect on the allelopathic effect of this species. We report that the increasing CO2 decreased the phytoremediation potential of ryegrass. Water stress combined with a CO2 concentration of 700 µmol mol-1 caused increased allelopathy. Overall, these are the first data to indicate a significant effect of higher CO2 levels with respect to both phytoremediation efficacy and allelopathic potential of the plant species used in phytoremediation.

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