plant species richness
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2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hejda ◽  
Jan Čuda ◽  
Klára Pyšková ◽  
Guin Zambatis ◽  
Llewellyn C. Foxcroft ◽  
...  

AbstractTo identify factors that drive plant species richness in South-African savanna and explore their relative importance, we sampled plant communities across habitats differing in water availability, disturbance, and bedrock, using the Kruger National Park as a model system. We made plant inventories in 60 plots of 50 × 50 m, located in three distinct habitats: (i) at perennial rivers, (ii) at seasonal rivers with water available only during the rainy season, and (iii) on crests, at least ~ 5 km away from any water source. We predicted that large herbivores would utilise seasonal rivers’ habitats less intensely than those along perennial rivers where water is available throughout the year, including dry periods. Plots on granite harboured more herbaceous and shrub species than plots on basalt. The dry crests were poorer in herb species than both seasonal and perennial rivers. Seasonal rivers harboured the highest numbers of shrub species, in accordance with the prediction of the highest species richness at relatively low levels of disturbance and low stress from the lack of water. The crests, exposed to relatively low pressure from grazing but stressed by the lack of water, are important from the conservation perspective because they harbour typical, sometimes rare savanna species, and so are seasonal rivers whose shrub richness is stimulated and maintained by the combination of moderate disturbance imposed by herbivores and position in the middle of the water availability gradient. To capture the complexity of determinants of species richness in KNP, we complemented the analysis of the above local factors by exploring large-scale factors related to climate, vegetation productivity, the character of dominant vegetation, and landscape features. The strongest factor was temperature; areas with the highest temperatures reveal lower species richness. Our results also suggest that Colophospermum mopane, a dominant woody species in the north of KNP is not the ultimate cause of the lower plant diversity in this part of the park.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoyu Lan ◽  
Banqian Chen ◽  
Chuan Yang ◽  
Rui Sun ◽  
Zhixiang Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is one the global biodiversity hotspots. However, the diversity has been seriously threatened due to environmental degradation and deforestation, especially by expansion of rubber plantations. Yet, little is known about the impact of rubber plantations on plant diversity. In this study, we analyzed plant diversity patterns of rubber plantations in the GMS based on a ground survey of a large number of samples. We found that diversity varied across countries due to varying agricultural intensities. Laos had the highest diversity, then followed China, Myanmar, Cambodia. Thailand and Vietnam were the lowest among them. Plant species richness of Laos was about 1.5 times that of Vietnam. We uncovered latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in plant diversity across these artificial forests of rubber plantations. These gradients could be explained by the traditional ecological theories. Furthermore, null deviation of observed community to the randomly assembled communities were larger than zero indicating deterministic process were more important for structuring the community. Meanwhile, the results also showed that higher dominance of some exotic species (such as Chromolaena odorata and Mimosa pudica) were associated with a loss of plant diversity within rubber plantations. In conclusion, not only environmental factors (such as elevation and latitude), but also exotic species were the main factors affecting diversity of these artificial stands. Much more effort should be made to balance agricultural production with conservation goals in this region, particularly to minimize the diversity loss in Vietnam and Cambodia.


2022 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 332-338
Author(s):  
Laimi Erckie ◽  
Opeyemi Adedoja ◽  
Sjirk Geerts ◽  
Ernita van Wyk ◽  
J. Stephen Boatwright

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Antonio T. Monteiro ◽  
Paulo Alves ◽  
Claudia Carvalho-Santos ◽  
Richard Lucas ◽  
Mario Cunha ◽  
...  

The spatial monitoring of plant diversity in the endangered species-rich grasslands of European mountain pastoral systems is an important step for fairer and more efficient Agri-Environmental policy schemes supporting conservation. This study assessed the underlying support for a spatially explicit monitoring of plant species richness at parcel level (policy making scale) in Southern European mountain grasslands, with statistical models informed by Sentinel-2 satellite and environmental factors. Twenty-four grassland parcels were surveyed for species richness in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, northern Portugal. Using a multi-model inference approach, three competing hypotheses guided by the species-scaling theoretical framework were established: species–area (P1), species–energy (P2) and species–spectral heterogeneity (P3), each representing a candidate spatial pathway to predict species richness. To evaluate the statistical support of each spatial pathway, generalized linear models were fitted and model selection based on Akaike information criterion (AIC) was conducted. Later, the performance of the most supported spatial pathway(s) was assessed using a leave-one-out cross validation. A model guided by the species–energy hypothesis (P2) was the most parsimonious spatial pathway to monitor plant species richness in mountain grassland parcels (P2, AICc = 137.6, ∆AIC = 0.0, wi = 0.97). Species–area and species–spectral heterogeneity pathways (P1 and P3) were less statistically supported (ΔAICc values in the range 5.7–10.0). The underlying support of the species–energy spatial pathway was based on Sentinel-2 satellite data, namely on the near-infrared (NIR) green ratio in the spring season (NIR/Greenspring) and on its ratio of change between spring and summer (NIR/Greenchange). Both predictor variables related negatively to species richness. Grassland parcels with lower values of near-infrared (NIR) green ratio and lower seasonal amplitude presented higher species richness records. The leave-one-out cross validation indicated a moderate performance of the species–energy spatial pathway in predicting species richness in the grassland parcels covered by the dataset (R2 = 0.44, RMSE = 4.3 species, MAE = 3.5 species). Overall, a species–energy framework based on Sentinel 2 data resulted in a promising spatial pathway for the monitoring of species richness in mountain grassland parcels and for informing decision making on Agri-Environmental policy schemes. The near-infrared (NIR) green ratio and its change in time seems a relevant variable to deliver predictions for plant species richness and further research should be conducted on that.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 11-39
Author(s):  
Michele Dani Sanchez ◽  
Colin Clubbe ◽  
Nancy Woodfield-Pascoe ◽  
Sara Bárrios ◽  
Joseph Smith Abbott ◽  
...  

The global loss of biodiversity is a pressing and urgent issue and halting loss is the focus of many international agreements and targets. However, data on species distribution, threats and protection are limited and sometimes lacking in many parts of the world. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), part of the Puerto Rican Bank Floristic Region in the Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot, is rich in plant diversity and regional endemism. Despite the established network of National Parks in the BVI and decades of botanical data from international collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Parks Trust of the Virgin Islands, there was a need for consolidated data on species distribution across the archipelago and national lists for threatened and rare plants of conservation concern. The process of identifying the network of 18 Tropical Important Plant Areas (TIPAs) in the BVI, completed in 2018, delivered national lists and accurate data for all 35 Species of Conservation Concern. These data (3688 georeferenced records) are analysed here to reveal species distribution across the archipelago, within the TIPAs network and the National Parks System. The TIPAs network contained all 35 Species of Conservation Concern and 91% of all the records, as expected. Ten out of the 21 National Parks had one or more of the species present. Most species occur across the archipelago, while some are restricted range and/or endemics. These new data will help management of plant conservation efforts and resources in the BVI, contributing to the revision of the Protected Areas System Plan and local environmental policies and have relevance to the wider Caribbean Region.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Blaise ◽  
Christophe Mazzia ◽  
Armin Bischoff ◽  
Alexandre Millon ◽  
Philippe Ponel ◽  
...  

Abstract The decline of arthropod populations observed in many parts of the world is a major component of the sixth mass extinction with intensive agriculture being one of its main drivers. Biodiversity-friendly farming practices are taking centre stage in the recovery process. In vineyards, vegetation cover is commonly used for production purposes, to reduce soil compaction by machinery use and soil erosion. Here we examined the effects of vegetation cover and soil management on the abundance of ground- (spiders, beetles, Hemiptera and harvestmen) and canopy-dwelling (wild bees, green lacewings, beetles and Hemiptera) arthropods in three categories of vineyards: (i) vineyards with no vegetation, (ii) partially vegetated (every second inter-row is vegetated) and (iii) all inter-rows are vegetated. We recorded a general positive effect of a decrease in soil perturbation intensity and corresponding higher vegetation cover on arthropod abundance. Plant species richness was the most important vegetation parameter, with a positive effect on spiders, harvestmen, hemipterans and beetles (ground and canopy) abundances. Using a path analysis, we also highlighted the central role of inter-row vegetation management in trophic and non-trophic relationships between vegetation and arthropods, and between arthropod groups. Our results demonstrate the benefits of a softer soil management preserving a diverse vegetation cover for the conservation of arthropods in Mediterranean vineyards.


2021 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 108297
Author(s):  
Elvis Tangwa ◽  
Wiktor Tracz ◽  
Vilém Pechanec ◽  
Yisa Ginath Yuh

2021 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 108288
Author(s):  
Ying Sun ◽  
Yuan Sun ◽  
Shuran Yao ◽  
Muhammad Adnan Akram ◽  
Weigang Hu ◽  
...  

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