Plant occurrences on the Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas, Murmansk Region, Russia: a dataset

The Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas are the northernmost part of Murmansk Region in the European part of Russia. While the most part of the Region is covered by boreal forest, the Peninsulas are covered by tundra. The vegetation and flora of Murmansk Region are well studied at present. The Peninsulas were first studied in 1829 by a Finnish botanist Jacob Fellman. The most comprehensive research was conducted in the late 19th - early 20th century. Nevertheless, the species composition of the Peninsulas' flora has changed significantly over the past 100 years due to land use and climate change. The aim of this dataset is to make the data on species occurrences for this territory digitally available via GBIF. To date, more or less complete digital floristic data were provided only by the project for digitising the book "Flora of Murmansk Region" (1953–1966). The present dataset is a part of the project studying the vegetation of the territory. We recorded the information about species frequency and distribution using the relevé method. We present a dataset based on 991 relevés from all vegetation types, which includes 16,289 records of georeferenced plant occurrences that belong to 568 species. There are 23 species of lichens (Ascomycota), 142 species of mosses (Bryophyta), three species of liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and 400 species of vascular plants (Tracheophyta) in the present dataset. The taxonomic diversity and unevenness result from the vegetation sampling. The data were collected in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The dataset cannot be considered as a complete vegetation database or a flora checklist, but it contains the occurrences and frequencies of the species from all the vegetation types.

Ethnobotanical And Bioeconomy Study Of Kedung Pedut Vegetation By Javanese Community In Kulon Progo Yogyakarta

Kedung Pedut is a natural waterfall located in Menoreh Highland, Kulon Progo, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia at altitude of 529 masl. Kedung Pedut has special natural vegetation characteristics, but since 2015 tourism developments was changing the composition of vegetation in this area. This makes the ethnobotany and biobased economy study are important. Therefore, this study aims to determine the abundance and utilization of vegetation in Kedung Pedut area by Javanese community in Kulon Progo and potential utilization of various vegetation in the future. The study was carried out by grid lines method and interview. Location of vegetation sampling was along the banks of river. Identification of vegetation was carried out on tree growthform. Data analysis was done by literature studies. The results of study identified 25 species of standing vegetation in Kedung Pedut. Tree vegetation with the greatest abundance are Swietenia mahagoni (4048.05 ind/ha), Paraserianthes falcataria (1700.18 ind/ha), Cocos nucifera (1484.29 ind/ha), Bambusa blumeana (782.62 ind/ha), and Tectona grandis (701.66 ind/ha). Potential utilization of vegetation in Kedung Pedut area by Javanese community in Kulon Progo based on the development of technology and science are for medicines, agroforestry, food and beverage industry, natural dyes, furniture industry, germplasm conservation, and conservation of environment

The Procambarus clarkii (red swamp crayfish) in Merja Zerga wetland in Morocco: Dynamic and impacts on aquatic vegetation

Procambarus clarkii, one of the most invasive aquatic species in the world, is present in the Mediterranean estuarine regions. The invasion of this species in these wetlands has a multitude of impacts, including the impact on flora. This study examines the floristic diversity and abundance of Procambarus clarkii in this wetland, as well as whether the presence of this aquatic species affects the flora. The Procambarus clarkii sampling lasted three years (2016, 2017, 2018) in the Merja zerga wetland, using fishermen’s boats. Vegetation sampling was conducted during the same Procambarus clarkii capture period to assess the abundance of Procambarus clarkii at the same time and recover the effect of this aquatic species on the flora. To strengthen our study a survey was conducted among sinners to assess the impacts of Procambarus clarkii in its living environment. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the abundance of Procambarus clarkii sampled over the years (2016, 2017, 2018). The floristic diversity of the Merja zerga lagoon is very important. The effect of Procambarus clarkii on the flora was very remarkable. Thus, the floristic species exposed to this impact are the species of genus Potamogéton. These results show that Procambarus clarkii can be considered as a factor contributing to the decline of the floristic diversity of the aquatic areas where it lives.

Coastal wetlands can be saved from sea level rise by recreating past tidal regimes

Climate change driven Sea Level Rise (SLR) is creating a major global environmental crisis in coastal ecosystems, however, limited practical solutions are provided to prevent or mitigate the impacts. Here, we propose a novel eco-engineering solution to protect highly valued vegetated intertidal ecosystems. The new ‘Tidal Replicate Method’ involves the creation of a synthetic tidal regime that mimics the desired hydroperiod for intertidal wetlands. This synthetic tidal regime can then be applied via automated tidal control systems, “SmartGates”, at suitable locations. As a proof of concept study, this method was applied at an intertidal wetland with the aim of restabilising saltmarsh vegetation at a location representative of SLR. Results from aerial drone surveys and on-ground vegetation sampling indicated that the Tidal Replicate Method effectively established saltmarsh onsite over a 3-year period of post-restoration, showing the method is able to protect endangered intertidal ecosystems from submersion. If applied globally, this method can protect high value coastal wetlands with similar environmental settings, including over 1,184,000 ha of Ramsar coastal wetlands. This equates to a saving of US$230 billion in ecosystem services per year. This solution can play an important role in the global effort to conserve coastal wetlands under accelerating SLR.

Floristic diversity and vegetation analysis of the community forests of South-West Haryana, India

Community forestry is an important form of forests and provides resources to over a half billion people in developing countries. They also play a significant part in mitigating the CO2 levels by sequestering a significant amount of carbon in the soil as well as biomass. The present paper assessed floristic diversity and vegetation structure in three different community forests of southwest Haryana which is a part of tropical dry deciduous forests. The vegetation sampling and data analysis were done following standard procedures. A total of 76 plant species belonging to 37 families in the form of 11 trees, 13 species of shrubs, 46 species of herbs, and 6 species of climbers are documented from all three sites. Poaceae was the most specious family in three sites. The highest tree diversity was recorded in Bhera forest followed by Daya and Dhanger. Regarding understory, the forest of Daya has a greater diversity than Bhera and Dhanger forests. Salavadora oleoides was the dominant tree species in Daya site and Dhanger site while in Bhera the dominant tree species was Ailanthus excelsa. The incidence of rampant livestock grazing and other anthropogenic disturbances were visible in all three sites which are primarily responsible for the degradation of these already fragmented village community forests.

Quantifying Long-Term Urban Grassland Dynamics: Biotic Homogenization and Extinction Debts

Sustainable urban nature conservation calls for a rethinking of conventional approaches. Traditionally, conservationists have not incorporated the history of the landscape in management strategies. This study shows that extant vegetation patterns are correlated to past landscapes indicating potential extinction debts. We calculated urban landscape measures for seven time periods (1938–2019) and correlated it to three vegetation sampling events (1995, 2012, 2019) using GLM models. We also tested whether urban vegetation was homogenizing. Our results indicated that urban vegetation in our study area is not currently homogenizing but that indigenous forb species richness is declining significantly. Furthermore, long-term studies are essential as the time lags identified for different vegetation sampling periods changed as well as the drivers best predicting these changes. Understanding these dynamics are critical to ensuring sustainable conservation of urban vegetation for future citizens.