Woody plant communities of Comoe-Leraba reserve: Characterisation and impact of soils on their distribution

The protected areas are worth great in vegetation conservation; this supported their interest in scientific research on the tools being able to be used for their sustainable management. The present study enters within the framework of a better knowledge of Comoé-Léraba reserve plants communities’ and the soils conditions which explained their distribution, in the aim to make better decisions for it conservation. The objective of the survey is to discriminate the plants communities in relation to soils’ physicals and chemicals parameters which control their distribution. Thus, 368 physociological plots have been done in the field by applying Braun-Blanquet (1932) method and then the plants communities’ package has been carried out in CANOCO software. In related to each ecosystem, 11 plants communities’ have been clearly defined, according the phytosociological statements (DCA). Among these communities four news syntaxons were determined based on previous studies in the same phytogeographical zones. Then their direct ordination (CCA) with soil’s (physical and chemical) parameters, shows that plants communities’ distribution is governed mainly by the water regulation on the ground and also its texture. The obtained results will certainly contribute to lay down a constant policy maker in biodiversity conservation. Lieux de refuge et de conservation de la végétation, les aires protégées sont des zones potentiellement diversifiées. Elles suscitent un grand intérêt pour la recherche en vue de découvrir des outils pouvant servir à leur gestion durable. La présente étude entre dans le cadre d’une meilleure connaissance des communautés végétales de la réserve de la Comoé-Léraba et des conditions édaphiques qui sous-tendent leur installation en vue de faciliter les prises de décisions entrant dans le cadre de sa conservation. Ainsi, l’objectif était de discriminer les groupements végétaux en relation avec les paramètres édaphiques qui gouvernent leur distribution. Sur le terrain, 368 relevés physociologiques ont été réalisés en appliquant la méthode de Braun Blanquet (1932) et l’individualisation des groupements végétaux a été réalisée grâce au logiciel CANOCO. L’analyse a permis de discriminer 11 groupements végétaux dont la classification syntaxonomique révèle quatre nouveaux taxons comparativement aux études réalisées dans les zones phytogéographiques similaires. L’ordination directe (CCA) intégrant les paramètres physiques et chimiques des sols, permet de considérer la texture et les paramètres hydriques des sols comme étant les plus efficients dans la distribution des groupements végétaux. Les résultats obtenus contribueront certainement à définir une politique soutenue de la conservation de la biodiversité.

Soil Factors are the Drivers for Wetlands Colonization by Pneumatopteris afra in Nigeria

The relationships between soil factors and plant community characteristics of some wetlands invaded by Pneumatopteris afra and non-invaded ones were investigated. Sixty soil samples were obtained from six wetlands comprising three invaded and three non-invaded in Lafia, Nigeria using sixty quadrants arranged on six 200 m transects. The samples, after air-dried and sieved using 2 mm mesh were analysed for the physico-chemical properties which include pH, organic matter (OM), percentage nitrogen (% N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), exchangeable acidity (EA), percentage base saturation (% BS), particle size, porosity, bulk density (BD), hydraulic conductivity (HC), and moisture content (MC) using standard methods. Direct ordination in canonical correspondence analysis was used to determine the influence of these soil factors on P. afra abundance, Shannon diversity, and species richness of both invaded and non-invaded sites. All sites differ from each other in terms of their physico-chemical parameters. The invaded sites appeared to be more acidic (pH = 3.22), less sandy, more porous (38.11%), low HC (1.23) as compared with non-invaded ones. Soil factors that favoured abundance of P. afra(% OM and EA) correlated negatively with Shannon diversity index of invaded sites which was positively influenced by % N, pH, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). At the non-invaded sites, Shannon index and density were influenced positively by % BS, pH, AP, and % N. All these observations showed that the soil factors played significant roles in the establishment of P. afra at the invaded sites, and also on the plant diversity at non-invaded sites.

Examining the assumptions of heterogeneity-based management for promoting plant diversity in a disturbance-prone ecosystem

Background Patch-burn management approaches attempt to increase overall landscape biodiversity by creating a mosaic of habitats using a patchy application of fire and grazing. We tested two assumptions of the patch-burn approach, namely that: (1) fire and grazing drive spatial patch differentiation in community structure and (2) species composition of patches change through time in response to disturbance. Methods We analyzed species cover data on 100 m2 square quadrats from 128 sites located on a 1 × 1 km UTM grid in the grassland habitats of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. A total of 20 of these sites were annually sampled for 12 years. We examined how strongly changes in species richness and species composition correlated with changes in management variables relative to independent spatial and temporal drivers using multiple regression and direct ordination, respectively. Results Site effects, probably due to edaphic differences, explained the majority of variation in richness and composition. Interannual variation in fire and grazing management was relatively unimportant relative to inherent site and year drivers with respect to both richness and composition; however, the effects of fire and grazing variables were statistically significant and interpretable, and bison management was positively correlated with plant richness. Conclusions There was some support for the two assumptions of patch-burn management we examined; however, in situ spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity played a much larger role than management in shaping both plant richness and composition. Our results suggest that fine-tuning the application of fire and grazing may not be critical for maintaining landscape scale plant diversity in disturbance-prone ecosystems.

The vegetation on railway embankments of the Kursk region

The present paper deals with the classification of the plant communities developed on the railway embankments in Kursk region. This type of vegetation is still poorly studied in Russia although some floristic information is available for various regions. Kursk region is located between 50°542–52°262 N and 34°052–38°312 E. Its area is 29 800 km2. Zonal vegetation is represented by broad-leaved forests on dark-gray forest soils and meadow steppes on chernozems. The vegetation of the railway embankments was being studied in Kursk region since 2003. Railway embankment sections were surveyed in the city of Kursk, the towns of Dmitriev, Lgov, Oboyan, Rylsk, Shchigry, and urban settlements of Konyshevka, Kshenskiy, Ponyri, Pristen. The upper parts of railway embankments, slopes and nearby sites, stations, and areas between roadbeds were studied. Classification according to Braun-Blanquet approach, with the use of “deductive method” (Kopeсký, Hejný, 1974), is based upon 120 relevés. The data were treated by software package IBIS 7.2 (Zverev, 2007). The names of the higher syntaxa are given according to “Vegetation of Europe…” (Mucina et al., 2016). Direct ordination of relevés by soil moisture and nitrogen content factors (scales after H. Ellenberg et al. (1992)) was conducted to distinguish ecological specificity of the communities on railway embankment and those outside railways. The vegetation of the urbanized territories under strong man impact in general and in particular around railway stations is highly diverse. The plant cover regularly destroyed by herbicides re-establishes in different ways depending on the distance from the stations. The mostly diverse are communities on the railway slopes wh ere the late successional stages are present due to the poorer pressure, These communities were compared with the undestroyed ones occurring beyond railways (Arepieva, 2015). Syntaxonomy of railway embankment vegetation in Kursk region includes 3 classes, 4 orders, 4 alliances, 9 associations, 2 subassociations, 4 variants and 3 communities. Phytocoenoses of the railway embankments are formed under specific conditions resulting in their floristic composition and structure being different from those beyond the railways due to the man impact, moisture, trophicity and substrate mechanical composition. The suggested syntaxonomy of the vegetation of railway embankments is not yet complete. New syntaxa would be established along with the data accumulation.

Acer-Fraxinus dominated woods of the Italian peninsula: a floristic and phytogeographical analysis

Forest communities dominated by noble broad-leaved trees (maple, lime and ash) in Europe are of elevated scientific and con­servation interest for the European Union. In this paper, we first present a synthesis of the maple and ash forests in peninsular Italy. By classifying these forests, we distinguish seven main groups for the territory, which only broadly match the syntaxa proposed in the literature. The variability of the Apennine data is then analysed floristically and phytogeographically (using chorological components) in a central-southern European context, using numerical classification, INSPAN, and direct ordination of several synoptic tables. These analyses allow us to identify six different groups of European <em>Acer-Fraxinus </em>communities. Canonical Vari­ates Analysis (CVA) of the geographical components confirms the existence of distinct phytogeographical groups. In particular, we highlight the clear distinction between central European (including the Alps) and southern European coenoses. Among the latter there was a clear floristic and chorological distinction between Balkan and Apennine groups. These results reflect the biogeographical subdivisions of Europe, but do not support the syntaxonomical schemes proposed by other authors, which are based only on floristic-ecological information or (recently) use a smaller data set of Italian relevés. This study also shows that syntaxonomical schemes above the association level should pay more attention to phytogeographical aspects rather than focus on floristic-ecological information alone, in order to propose models that are of value on a geographical scale.

Pattern of elevational distribution and richness of non volant mammals in Itatiaia National Park and its surroundings, in Southeastern Brazil

Itatiaia National Park (PNI) and its surroundings present a unique fauna due to different forest formations with well-defined climatic and vegetation bands. The Itatiaia massif has four vegetation types that follow an altitudinal gradient: lower montane forest, montane forest, upper montane forest, and Campos de Altitude. Hence, this region is ideal for studying geographical variation in biological diversity. The main objectives of this study were to report on nonvolant mammal species known to occur in Itatiaia National Park and its surroundings and to determine if their distributional pattern is related to elevation. A review of the literature and a complete survey of specimens deposited in museums, as well as small-mammal trapping were carried out in order to obtain a complete record of the species from the region. Precise locality data were obtained for all specimens recorded, allowing the inclusion of each collected or observed individual in an altitude and vegetational class. We made a direct ordination gradient of marsupial, primate, and rodent species abundance with the altitude. Sixty-nine mammal species were collected or reported for the Itatiaia massif, belonging to seven orders and 20 families. Of these, 33 species (47.8%) are included in the official list of threatened or believed-to-be threatened species in Rio de Janeiro State. The orders Rodentia, Carnivora, and Didelphimorphia had the highest species richness, with 25, 14, and 13 species respectively. When species were grouped according to the vegetation, 16 species occured in the lower montane, 56 in the montane forest, five in the upper montane, and 21 in the high-altitude fields (Campos de Altitude). The communities of marsupials, primates, and rodents have an ordination pattern related to the altitude. Species richness was higher between 500 m and 1,500 m above sea level in montane forest, which is in agreement with recent studies showing that species richness can reach its maximum at mid-elevations.

The analysis of mesophytic broad-leaved forest associations in the center of European Russia

The comparative analysis of floristic composition of the Russian Plain center broad-leaved forests of the alliance Carpinion betuli Issler 1931 em. Meyer 1937 was carried out by means of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and direct ordination along ecological factor scales. The three associations representing the proper zonal units of the area, namely Querco-Tilietum cordatae Laivinš 1983 in the hemiboreal forest zone, Aceri campestris—Tilietum cordatae ass. nov. hoc loco in the broad-leaved forest zone, and Aceri campestris—Quercetum roboris Bulokhov et Solomeshch 1991 in the forest-steppe zone are characterized. Although all the forest stands described are small geographically isolated fragments, their floristic composition demonstrates the existence of syntaxonomic continuum and seems to be influenced by landscape features and anthropogenic disturbance just as strong as by zonal climatic factors. As a result of the undertaken analysis, the syntaxonomical revision of the Central-Russian broad-leaved forests of the alliance Carpinion betuli Issler 1931 em. Meyer 1937 is proposed.