understorey plants
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Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Mateja Grašič ◽  
Maja Dacar ◽  
Alenka Gaberščik

Helleborus niger is an evergreen species, while H. odorus is an herbaceous understorey species. They both develop flowers before the forest canopy layer closes. Their sepals remain after flowering and have multiple biological functions. To further elucidate the functions of sepals during flower development, we examined their optical and chemical properties, and the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II in the developing, flowering, and fruiting flowers. Sepals of the two species differed significantly in the contents of photosynthetic pigments and anthocyanins, but less in the UV-absorbing substances’ contents. Significant differences in photosynthetic pigment contents were also revealed within different developmental phases. The sepal potential photochemical efficiency of photosystem II was high in all developmental phases in H. odorus, whereas in H. niger, it was initially low and later increased. In the green H. odorus sepals, we obtained typical green leaf spectra with peaks in the green and NIR regions, and a low reflectance and transmittance in the UV region. On the other hand, in the white H. niger sepals in the developing and flowering phases, the response was relatively constant along the visible and NIR regions. Pigment profiles, especially chlorophylls, were shown to be important in shaping sepal optical properties, which confirms their role in light harvesting. All significant parameters together accounted for 44% and 34% of the reflectance and transmittance spectra variability, respectively. These results may contribute to the selection of Helleborus species and to a greater understanding of the ecological diversity of understorey plants in the forests.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Olszewski ◽  
Radosław Puchałka ◽  
Piotr Sewerniak ◽  
Marcin Koprowski ◽  
Werner Ulrich

Abstract Increasing evidence points to the major impact of intraspecific variability in species characteristics on community assembly. Contrasting theories predict that high trait variability might either steepening dominance orders or promote diversity. Here, we try to test these predictions with understorey plants in a Polish mixed temperate forest. We focus on four important traits (leaf dry mass LDW, plant height SH, specific leaf area SLA, and number of flowers NF) of the small balsam Impatiens parviflora, the dominant species in this forest system. We relate trait variability to community species richness and abundances, as well as to soil characteristics. The variance – mean relationships of LDW, LH, and NF, but not of SLA, closely followed power functions with slopes > 1.5. Contrary to theory, abundances but not species richness of non-I. parviflora species significantly decreased within increasing variance in I. parviflora trait expression. High trait variability prevailed a higher species richness. Trait variability did not significantly influence species composition and was not significantly correlated with soil characteristics. Our results emphasis the need to study trait variability in terms of appropriate statistical standards as provided by the allometric variance - mean relationship. We argue that an individual based study of local trait variability might return important insights into the composition and assembly of local communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 912 (1) ◽  
pp. 012039
Author(s):  
R Rambey ◽  
A Sitio ◽  
A Susilowati ◽  
A B Rangkuti ◽  
Onrizal

Abstract The Sibolangit Nature Park area is one of the Nature Parks in North Sumatra which has various types of diverse plants ranging from understorey, epiphytes and various endemic tree species. The purpose of this study was to see the diversity of understorey species found in the Sibolangit Nature Park and its benefits. The results showed that there were 27 types of understorey plants from 18 families. Based on the family, the most commonly found were the Araceae family, namely 6 species (22.22%) and Zingiberaceae (11.11%). The understorey has the potential for medicinal plants, ornamental plants, poisonous plants, etc. The results showed that there were 15 species (55.5%) which were included in the category of ornamental plants, 7 species (25.92%) were included in medicinal plants, 1 species of poisonous plants (3.70%), 1 species of spice plants (3,70%), and 1 species (3.70%) protected plants and 2 species (7.40%) could not be explained scientifically. A protected and endangered plant species is Amorphophallus titanum


2021 ◽  
Vol 912 (1) ◽  
pp. 012016
Author(s):  
M Zahrah ◽  
R Batubara ◽  
R Ardi ◽  
M I Maulana ◽  
N L Auliah ◽  
...  

Abstract Medan Zoo is an ex situ conservation area for several wildlife species, covering an area of approximately 30 hectares, most of which are green open space and provide a forage garden for Sumatran elephants. This study aims to determine the characteristics of vegetation and the diversity of natural food types for elephants available in the Medan Zoo. Data collection using purposive sampling method, carried out in the forage garden which located in several points of elephant free-range. Based on the calculation of the Shannon-Wienner index, the overall diversity of plant species at the research location is 3.7 which can be categorized as high. The dominant understorey plants in the elephant forage garden are species from the family of Poaceae, namely Paspalumconjugatum, Eragrotisamabilis, Ottochloanodosa. Meanwhile, for speciesof trees habitus, the dominance for each level of vegetation starting from the tree, poles and saplings were: Meliaazedarach, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Cassia sp. There are types of elephant feed plants, classified into 8 families.The dominant type of natural feed is from the family of Poaceae.


2021 ◽  
Vol 912 (1) ◽  
pp. 012082
Author(s):  
S H Sidabukke ◽  
T A Barus ◽  
B Utomo ◽  
Delvian ◽  
F R Aulin

Abstract Species association is a reciprocal relationship among species within a community and can estimate the community composition. This research aimed to obtain information regarding the level of dominance and plant species association in each forest land allocation. Data analysis tested in this study constituted an analysis of the importance value index and association analysis performed on the main constituent species with INP > 10% using a 2x2 Contingency Table. The research revealed that species association in understorey plants in plantation forests contained one pair with real associations, five with unreal associations, six with positive associations, and none with negative associations. Meanwhile, there were no real associations in protected forest areas, ten pairs with unreal associations, four pairs with positive associations, and six pairs with negative ones. There were two pairs with real associations in natural forests outside the company’s concessions, 13 species with unreal associations, four pairs with positive associations, and 11 pairs with negative associations.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1198
Author(s):  
Juan F. Maciel-Nájera ◽  
M. Socorro González-Elizondo ◽  
José Ciro Hernández-Díaz ◽  
Carlos A. López-Sánchez ◽  
Claudia Edith Bailón-Soto ◽  
...  

Background: Understorey plants are key to maintaining forest structure and functioning. They protect the soil, improve its structure and fertility, reduce water run-off and sustain the below-ground biota, amongst other ecological services. However, little is known about the environmental conditions that regulate the occurrence of these plants. This study focuses on determining how canopy cover influences the occurrence of understorey species and identifying the most important soil properties that affect these species. The study area was a pine-oak forest in the Sierra Madre Occidental, an important source of ecological services for northwestern Mexico. Methods: To assess the conditions influencing the presence of herbaceous and shrub species, 25 soil variables were examined in relation to the species occurring in forest gaps and under the canopy. Sampling was conducted in five plots, each of 100 × 100 m. In each plot, 4 subplots, each of 20 × 20 m, were each subdivided in a grid of 2 × 2 m units, in which the presence-absence of herbaceous and shrub species was recorded (2000 units in total). Soil samples were extracted for analysis from the central point in each subplot. Data were analyzed using a Binomial Logistic Model (BLM) and Random Forest (RF) classification. Results: Understorey species were more strongly affected by soil variables than by their location in gaps or below canopy. The concentrations of Ca, P, K, Fe, Na, C, Zn, Mn, nitrates, organic matter, sand, silt, and percentage water saturation were statistically significantly associated with the presence of some plant species, whilst no significant differences were found in regard to preference for gaps or canopy, although several species were more frequent in open areas. Conclusions: Given the importance of the understorey cover in forest system functioning, we propose that understorey should be considered in integrated management and conservation practices for the temperate forests of northern Mexico.


Oikos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Ulrich ◽  
Piotr Olszewski ◽  
Radosław Puchałka ◽  
Piotr Sewerniak ◽  
Marcin Koprowski

Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Wallace M. Meyer ◽  
Lily M. Evans ◽  
Connor J.K. Kalahiki ◽  
John Slapcinsky ◽  
Tricia C. Goulding ◽  
...  

Abstract The Hawaiian archipelago was formerly home to one of the most species-rich land snail faunas (> 752 species), with levels of endemism > 99%. Many native Hawaiian land snail species are now extinct, and the remaining fauna is vulnerable. Unfortunately, lack of information on critical habitat requirements for Hawaiian land snails limits the development of effective conservation strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine the plant host preferences of native arboreal land snails in Puʻu Kukui Watershed, West Maui, Hawaiʻi, and compare these patterns to those from similar studies on the islands of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi. Concordant with studies on other islands, we found that four species from three diverse families of snails in Puʻu Kukui Watershed had preferences for a few species of understorey plants. These were not the most abundant canopy or mid canopy species, indicating that forests without key understorey plants may not support the few remaining lineages of native snails. Preference for Broussaisia arguta among various island endemic snails across all studies indicates that this species is important for restoration to improve snail habitat. As studies examining host plant preferences are often incongruent with studies examining snail feeding, we suggest that we are in the infancy of defining what constitutes critical habitat for most Hawaiian arboreal snails. However, our results indicate that preserving diverse native plant assemblages, particularly understorey plant species, which facilitate key interactions, is critical to the goal of conserving the remaining threatened snail fauna.


2021 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 05013
Author(s):  
Miswarti ◽  
Andi Ishak ◽  
Wahyuni Amelia Wulandari ◽  
Jhon Firison ◽  
Siti Rosmanah ◽  
...  

The objectives of this study was to determine soil fertility and types of plants in understorey ecosystems in oil palm plantation stand which are managed in different ways. The data collection method was a direct observation on smallholder oil palm plantation at 15 years of age with different management, namely: 1) weed control using herbicides, 2) without management, and 3) used for beef cattle grazing. The data consisted of soil fertility and identification of understorey species in each management. The soil samples were taken in a composite manner and analyzed in the laboratory, while the plant species samples were gathered using the 1x1 m2 method and identified using an identification manual. From the results, weed control in oil palm plantation with cattle grazing has a positive impact on soil fertility compared to the use of herbicides and without control. The diversity of understorey species in cattle grazing locations is less, namely, as much as 11 species compared to the use of herbicides (15 species) and without control (22 species). Weed management by grazing cows in the oil palm plantation increased land fertility and the dominance of understorey plants as a source of animal feed.


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