Numerical analysis of vegetation complexes and community diversity of major coastal dinaric mountains

Abstract. This study includes 24 transects on slopes of the Velebit, Biokovo and Orjen mountains, the tallest coastal mountains along the Adriatic Sea, with a very high species richness according to European standards and having the largest regional concentrations of endemics. Within each transect the presence or absence of phytosociological alliances, according to the Zürich-Montpellier School, was interpreted from local studies. The alliance composition of the transects was compared with methods used in numerical syntaxonomy. Three types of vegetation complexes (N. Dinaric inland, transitional and S. Dinaric coastal) were derived from a numerical classification of the transects; they were defined on the basis of their characteristic alliances. The maritime impact affecting the mountains through the river canyons reduces the contrast in vegetation between inland and coastal slopes. The existence of a climatic macrogradient is indicated by seriation of the basic alliance/transect data matrix leading to a diagonal structure, by a gradual shift of the alliance composition within the same vegetational type, and by the distribution of the transects and alliances along the first axis of a Correspondence Analysis ordination. Transect scores on the second ordination axis are negatively correlated with transect vegetational diversity (number of alliances per transect); this axis may reflect a decrease in humidity and temperature range. This interpretation is supported by the result of a comparison of the total mountain vegetational diversity (Mann-Whitney test), which showed that Orjen is the most diverse mountain ridge. The expected correlation between plant community diversity and altitude of the transects is blurred, probably due to the impact of the cold Bora wind and subsequent compression of vegetational zones.     

Evidence for constraint on species coexistence in vegetation of the Park Grass experiment

Repeated patterns, of a type that would be expected to result from limitations to species coexistence (i.e. assembly rules) were sought in the Park Grass experiment. This classical grassland experiment was sampled in two years, using replicated biomass samples. Variance in a number of measures was examined, and compared to the variance expected under appropriate null models, the latter based on assumptions of no interactions between species. In each case, an assembly rule would result in low variance. Examining variance in species richness between quadrats within a treatment, there was no indication of constraint on species co-occurrences; variance in richness was actually greater than expected under the null model, attributable to environmental variation or perhaps positive interactions between species. However, there was control on biomass, evidenced by variance in total biomass (i.e. over all species) within a treatment being significantly lower than expected under the null model. There was no indication of community structure based on guilds (i.e. functional types). Although there was in 1991 some, non-significant, indication of a constant proportion of species from the legume guild, there was no sign of such an effect in 1992. Searches for intrinsic guilds failed to converge. There was no indication at all of constancy in the proportional representation of guilds by biomass. Thus, there is good evidence for competitive control on plant growth, but none for control of species occurrences. There is no convincing evidence for guild structure in this community at the scale sampled. Possible conflict is discussed between the existence of evidence for temporal stability but the absence of evidence for spatial uniformity. It is concluded that most of the mechanisms proposed for temporal stability will not necessarily lead to control on spatial variation. For many mechanisms, this would depend on the spatial scale examined.     

Use of paired plots and multivariate analysis for the determination of goat grazing preference

Abstract. Goat grazing is examined as a possible tool for grassland management. In this paper, goat grazing preferences are described. The proportion of biomass of particular species eaten by a goat was estimated on the basis of comparison of paired quadrats. The control quadrats were clipped before grazing and their biomass was compared with the biomass in grazed quadrats. Estimates of the proportion consumed were calculated for frequent species; they were significantly different among species; the most preferred species was Polygonum bistorta, a species with broad, soft, nutritious leaves. The least grazed species were Agrostis tenuis and Galium harcynicum. Various indices of food selectivity (e.g. forage ratio, electivity index) were calculated and their behaviour was compared. Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Redundancy Analysis with appropriate covariates reflecting the block design of the experiment were used to evaluate overall changes in species composition and yielded results similar to those from the direct estimation of the proportion consumed.     

A new null hypothesis for measuring the degree of plant community organization

An attempt is made to derive a measure for the degree of plant community organization, which would not be based on species co-occurrence and co-abundance. The use of the independent random distribution hypothesis (IRDH) is suggested for this purpose. The hypothesis is expected to be valid, if no deterministic phytosociological-structure-generating mechanism is present. If structural variability is used as a statistic for testing the hypothesis, deviances from the conditions of IRDH (species distributions are independent from each other, environmental gradients are lacking) will be attributable either to species interactions (smaller structural variability than expected), or to environmental heterogeneity (greater structural variability than expected). Structural variability is evaluated as the variance of species diversity, the indexN=exp(H') is used for measuring diversity. The precise measure of the degree of community organizationW is computed as the shift between two empirical distributions:D ^* (VN) or Bootstrap distribution of variance of diversity in the community, andD ^o (VN) or the random community variability distribution, which is evaluated after simulating the IRDH conditions.A satisfactory interpretation can be given to the results of evaluatingW for 11 data sets of 10 relevés each.Abbreviation IRDH Independent random distribution hypothesis     

Gaps in the canopy: the missing dimension in vegetation dynamics

Canopy gaps are important as entry points for new genotypes and new species into many types of vegetation, yet little is known about them in any type of vegetation but forests. Forest gaps are too large for manipulative experiments to be readily undertaken, and hitherto grassland gaps have been too small to be easily mapped. Preliminary results from mapping small (>1 cm) grassland gaps with a new fibre-optic device suggest that experiments need to be performed at a smaller physical scale than has hitherto been achieved.     

Estimation of phenological stages and physiological states of grasslands from remote sensing data

Two radiometers measuring reflectance factors have been used at a height of 1.50 m above some grasslands in C. France. The results show that both spectral data are sensitive to the photosynthetic activity of the grassland. Measurements made in April, May, June and July show that grasslands have quite different spectral behaviour according to soil conditions or to grazing level. Grasslands on dry or wet soils may be separated from those of normal soils for which overgrazing and trampling affecting the growth of species, are shown by the different spectral values. Such on the ground remote sensing measurements may then be proposed for evaluating the range of growth and development of different grasslands.Convention C.N.E.S./I.N.A.P-G. ref.: 80/CNES/24 I thank CNES and IGN for the facilities given to assume this experiment. Many thanks to Lynn Erselius, who revised the text. Mr. Lecordix, a student from the Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques and Mr. Besnard, a student from the Orsay University (Plant Biology) helped in the collection and handling of spectral resp, floristical data.     

Floristic groups and plant communities of southeastern Santa Fe,Argentina

This paper is a survey of the vegetation of the southeastern departments in the Province of Santa Fe (Argentina). The vegetation was analyzed following Braun-Blanquet's approach modified by Mueller-Dombois & Ellenberg (1974). The most relevant species of the region were placed in 25 groups according to their requirements or general behaviour. Most of the communities are herbaceous, and apart from the woody and some other miscellaneous ones they were grouped into three ecologically and floristically defined sets. The first set, the Stipa grasslands and related communities, which are characterized by the more or less abundant presence of Stipa hyalina, Stipa neesiana and Stipa papposa, comprises five different communities. The second, the halophilous communities, comprises five communities, the two Spartina ssp. grasslands, the halophilous prairies of Distichlis spicata, the short sedge Scirpus americanus communities and the ‘pela-dales’. The third, the hygrophilous communities, comprises nine communities which are not so well defined as the ones in the other sets. Besides, two further communities have been included, the Paspalum quadrifarium and the Melica macra tall grasslands.     

Nitrate production in the rhizosphere of Plantago species

Summary The production of nitrate in an old established dune grassland soil and its uptake by plants was studied by comparing amounts of mineral nitrogen and numbers of nitrifying bacteria in the rhizosphere on the one hand, and on the other accumulated nitrate and levels of nitrate reductase (NaR) of individual plants of three Plantago species,i. e., P. major, P. lanceolata andP. coronopus. For these three Plantago species andP. media basal levels of NaR in the absence of nitrate were determined in plants grown in culture solutions. The basal NaR levels ofP. major andP. media (species occurring on nutrient-rich soils) were significantly higher than those ofP. lanceolata andP. coronopus (species found on nutrient-poor soils). NaR activity increased in the presence of nitrate and was suppressed by ammonium.From the numbers of nitrifying bacteria in the rhizosphere and NaR activity in the leaves it was concluded that nitrate was produced in the root environments of the three Plantago species and that the compound was taken up by the plants. NaR activities and numbers of nitrifying bacteria were higher for individuals ofP. major than for those ofP. lanceolata andP. coronopus. No correlation was found between the ammonium levels and the numbers of nitrifying bacteria in the soil, and no indications of inhibition of nitrifying bacteria in the rhizosphere were obtained. For individuals ofP. lanceolata a correlation was found between the numbers of nitrifying bacteria in the soil and NaR activity in the leaves. The results are discussed in relation to the ecological habitats of the three species.Grassland Species Research Group Publication No.38.     

Succession,diversité et amplitude de niche dans les påturages du centre de la péninsule ibérique

Some diversity and niche amplitude parameters were applied to rangeland pastures of the Central Iberian Peninsula and to their succession stages after the periodical ploughing typical of the traditional management of these areas. Four different slopes within a large area of undulating terrain were selected for the monitoring of succession as they contained the characteristical geomorphological pattern of the area (denudation, transport and accumulation sectors).If we consider the total entropy theorem, H (E.P.)=H(E)+H(P/E), the total entropy of the slope H(E.P) and the entropy of species H(E) increase as succession progresses. As the value of the entropy of the sampling plots conditioned by the species H(P/E) is affected by the number of plots utilized, we employed the expression A=H(P/E)/log₂ number of plots, similar to Pielou's index for niche amplitude, W=H(P/E)/H(P).This values decreases with succession, indicating that plant species tend to occupy more definite sectors along the slope. The number of low entropy species H(P/E) _i or specialist species, confined to narrow sectors also increases. When computed separately within the different sectors niche amplitude results in small values for the low slope regions (accumulation sector). This effect becomes more pronounced when succession advances.

Nous remercions le Conseil d'Administration de La Paranza, propriétaire du Castillo de Vañuelas, et particulièrement Mrs. C. Hernandez-Ros et J. A. Léon-Vrquijò, pour les faeilités qu'ils ont données à cette équipe durant la réalisation de ce travail.