A floristic analysis of the vegetation of Platberg, eastern Free State, South Africa

A checklist of vascular plants of Platberg was compiled to determine species richness, rarity and endemism. The floristic analysis is part of the Department of Economic, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Free State biodiversity assessment programme and conservation management plan for Platberg. The analysis identified a total of 669 species belonging to 304 genera and 95 families, with 214 species belonging to the Monocotyledoneae and 438 species to the Dicotyledoneae. The largest family is Asteraceae with 126 species, followed by Poaceae with 73 species, Cyperaceae with 39 species, Fabaceae with 33 species, and Scrophulariaceae with 27 species. Various fynbos species were found, as well as 26 endemic/near-endemic species belonging to the Drakensberg Alpine Centre or Eastern Mountain Region. The results of this study revealed that Platberg shares inselberg floral richness and endemism that can be tracked via the Afromontane archipelago-like string of inselbergs and mountains, which stretch north through the Chimanimani Mountains, into Malawi, the Eastern Arc Mountains via Tanzania and north through Ethiopia, into Eurasia.Conservation implications: Platberg, as an inselberg, is a site of significant biological diversity, with high species richness, vegetation selection and ecosystem complexity. It shares floral richness and endemism via inselbergs and mountains throughout Africa. The high species richness, Red Data species and ecosystems make this area an important conservation site that should be legislated and protected.

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Mammals of medium and large size in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/5.3.399 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 399 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anderson Aires Eduardo ◽

Marcelo Passamani

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Human Activities ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Reserve ◽

Leopardus Pardalis ◽

Large Size ◽

The World ◽

High Species Richness ◽

Callithrix Aurita

The diversity of Brazilian vertebrates is regarded among the highest in the world. However, the biological diversity is still mostly unknown and a good part of it is seriously threatened by human activities. This study aimed to inventory the medium and large size mammals present in the Reserva Biológica de Santa Rita do Sapucaí, an Atlantic forest reserve located in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, southeastern Brazil. Sand-plots, photographic traps and searches for animal tracks on pre-existent trails in the area, were carried out once every two months between May 2006 and February 2007. The sand-plots and tracks were inspected during five consecutive days per sampling. We obtained 108 records of 15 species, mostly of carnivorans. Two confirmed species are threatened with extinction in Brazil (Callithrix aurita and Leopardus pardalis). The results suggest that the sampled reserve has high species richness and plays an important role in conservation of mammals in this landscape, including species threatened with extinction.

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Impact of Mining on Forests and Its Biological Diversity at Kirandul Iron Ore Mines, Dantewada, South Bastar, Chhattisgarh: A Case Study

Journal of Environmental Science Studies ◽

10.20849/jess.v1i1.420 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Saroni Biswas ◽

Anirban Biswas

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Iron Ore ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Buffer Zone ◽

Species Diversity Index ◽

Mining Sites ◽

High Species Richness

Mining activities have several impacts on the environment. In our study, emphasis was given to assess biodiversity in one of the leading iron ore mining sites of Bailadila-Kirandul Iron Ore Mines (KIOM) of Dantewada District, South Bastar of Chhattisgarh. Habitat fragmentation, loss and deforestation are highly prevalent in the area. However, the study reveals high species richness of 110 and 253 plant species in core and buffer zone respectively. Canopy cover was found to be within 10 to 40% and in places in the buffer zone canopy cover with > 40% was recorded. Species diversity index indicates the instability of vegetation structure in the area with indices of 1.44 in core and 1.88 in buffer zone. Although species richness is high, about 10 floral species (7 herbs, 3 trees) are recorded under REET (Rare Endangered Extinct Threatened) species while locally endangered floral species are 6 and locally critically endangered are 4. Similarly, 208 faunal species belong to 10 faunal groups was recorded out of which 34 species are listed in different Schedules of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Therefore, it is an urgent need for planning to undertake appropriate management strategies to conserve biodiversity in the area.

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Floristic analysis of the Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v45i1.18 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

U. Pond ◽

B.B. Beesley ◽

L.R. Brown ◽

H. Bezuidenhout

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Vegetation Dynamics ◽

National Park ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Cape Floristic Region ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Floristic Analysis ◽

Very High ◽

Red Data Species

As part of a larger project to assess the vegetation dynamics and conservation potential of the enlarged Mountain Zebra National Park, a checklist was produced to determine the plant species richness for this area. Six hundred and eighty species, represented by 333 genera and 87 families were identified. One hundred and eighty species belong to the Monocotyledoneae and 479 species to the Dicotyledoneae. By far the largest families are the Asteraceae with 129 and the Poaceae with 82 species. Thirteen Red Data species were recorded. A number of fynbos elements were encountered, the most noteworthy being two families endemic to the Cape Floristic Region, the Penaeaceae and Grubbiaceae. A very high species to square kilometre ratio of 5.05 supports the area’s rich floristic composition.

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Altitudinal gradients of species richness and range size of vascular plants in Taiwan: a test of Rapoport's rule

Biodiversity Science ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1003.2010.312 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 312 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zhang Wanjun ◽

Lu Qiyan ◽

Liang Jun ◽

Shen Zehao

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Range Size ◽

Altitudinal Gradients ◽

Rapoport’S Rule

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Distribution Patterns and Climatic Explanations of Species Richness of Vascular Plants in Xinjiang, China

Arid Zone Research ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1148.2011.00025 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 25-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Li-ping LI ◽

Nurbay Abdusalih ◽

Shao-peng WANG ◽

Zhi-heng WANG ◽

Zhi-yao TANG

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Vascular Plants ◽

Distribution Patterns

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

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2011.1115 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 397-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

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.

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Effectiveness of local conservation management is affected by landscape properties: Species richness and composition of saproxylic beetles in boreal forest clearcuts

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2017.05.025 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 399 ◽

pp. 54-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Diana Rubene ◽

Martin Schroeder ◽

Thomas Ranius

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Saproxylic Beetles ◽

Local Conservation

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Seasonality in a taxocoenosis of molluscs from soft bottoms in the Bay of Cádiz (southern Spain)

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315401004829 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 81 (6) ◽

pp. 903-912 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jose L. Rueda ◽

Manuel Fernández-Casado ◽

Carmen Salas ◽

Serge Gofas

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Correspondence Analysis ◽

Dominant Species ◽

Southern Spain ◽

Soft Bottom ◽

Soft Bottoms ◽

High Species Richness ◽

Bay Of Cadiz ◽

Bay Of Cádiz ◽

Autumn And Winter

The macrofauna of molluscs associated with soft bottoms in the Bay of Cádiz (southern Spain) was studied monthly from February 1994 to January 1996. The number of species (63) is high for a soft bottom and is related to environmental characteristics (growth of macrophytes) and the biogeographical setting of the studied area. Corbula gibba (∼90%) was the dominant species in this taxocoenosis together with the gastropod Nassarius pygmaeus and the bivalves Pandora inaequivalvis, Parvicardium exiguum and Macoma melo. The most frequent species during the two years was also the bivalve Corbula gibba (100%) followed by the gastropods Nassarius pygmaeus, Tricolia tenuis, Rissoa membranacea and the bivalve Macoma melo. Total abundance of the taxocoenosis in both years reached higher values in spring. The dynamics of the ecological indices such as diversity or evenness, and the species richness showed a similar pattern in both years, with low values of diversity and evenness together with high species richness in spring and summer months and the reverse in autumn and winter. The qualitative correspondence analysis of monthly samples shows an ordination related to seasonality in both studied years, however the values of Jaccard's coefficient do not indicate significant boundaries among the monthly samples. The quantitative correspondence analysis shows an ordination and grouping of samples related to the biology of species, particularly with the recruitment of C. gibba, the dominant species. The existence of similar trends in the structure of the taxocoenoses over both years, and the seasonality highlighted by the qualitative correspondence analysis, seems to indicate a certain stability of the ecosystem.

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