Ecological index of maturity to evaluate the vegetation disturbance of areas affected by restoration work: a practical example of its application in an area of the Southern Alps

This paper presents the ecological index of maturity (EIM), a new index for evaluating the vegetation disturbance of an area affected by environmental restoration measures based on the study of plant communities. The EIM is the result of the unification and development of some floristic‐vegetational indices devised by Taffetani and Rismondo (2009) and Rismondo et al. (2011) to assess the ecological functionality of agro‐ecosystems. The EIM provides a value between 0 (high vegetation disturbance) and 9 (undisturbed vegetation), obtained by considering three distinct variables of the species of a plant community: phytosociological class, chorotype, and coverage. Starting from the measure of the degree of maturity of the vegetation (dynamic stage of succession), EIM values tend to decrease the greater the coverage of exotic species and the lower the coverage of endemic species present in the plant community. A practical example, in which the EIM is applied to a mountainous area in the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) that, following a landslide, was subject to soil bioengineering work aimed at slope stabilization and environmental restoration, is provided in order to understand the importance and features of the EIM.     

云南蕨类植物的物种多样性和区系组成

在一定实地调查和分类的基础上,采用统计分析及区系地理分析法,对云南地区蕨类植物进行研究。结果表明:云南地区共有蕨类植物60科193属1 530种(包括变种和变型),科、属、种分别占中国蕨类植物科总数的58.8%,属的83.9%和种的95.2%;在这60个科中含30种以上的有13个,含5个属以上的有11个,分别占该蕨类植物区系属、种数的56.5%和79.2%,特别是鳞毛蕨科、蹄盖蕨科、水龙骨科和金星蕨科,这4个科共拥有70属761种,分别占总属数、总种数的36.3%、49.7%;193属中含30种以上的有11个,分别占总属、总种数的5.7%和41.7%,最具优势的是鳞毛蕨属和耳蕨属、蹄盖蕨属、铁角蕨属、卷柏属,这5个属共有403种,占总种数的26.3%;该区系中无云南特有科,但具有4个亚洲特有科:雨蕨科、稀子蕨科、柄盖蕨科和骨碎补科;该区系以热带、亚热带性质为主,科的区系成分中热带亚热带分布的科占66.6%,热带成分的属有112个,占68.7%(除世界分布类型);该区系是东亚地区蕨类植物区系的重要组成部分,东亚分布31属和中国特有分布6属,分别占总属数(除世界分布属外)的19.0%和3.7%;该地区蕨类植物区系与西藏、台湾具有共同的区系起源和物种分化形成的背景,属的相似性系数约为70%,种的相似性系数约为30%,均起源于热带亚热带地区;属的热带区系成分与温带区系成分所占比例分别为68.7%和27.6%,存在一定的区系过渡性;该区系科的分化强度为3.2,属的分化强度为7.9,在科、属水平上均表现出较强的区系分化特征。     

Anthropozoic impacts on forest ecosystems: Case of the Zloul Valley (Ribat Al Khair Region,Morocco)

Over the second half of the past century, the Zloul Valley has undergone rapid and intense changes, such as deforestation and massive clearing as well as a grazing ban in olive plots since the introduction of olive cultivation approximately 30 years ago. The aim of this study was to explore these rapidly changing ecosystems. The floristic analysis revealed a more pronounced anthropozoic impact on the Chamaerops humilis and Ampelodesmos mauritanicus steppe group, which displayed the lowest floristic diversity, with a Shannon–Weaver index of 3.72, and a very high disturbance, of 68.85%. The grazing ban in olive plots had a positive effect on floristic richness and diversity, with the Shannon–Weaver index reaching a maximum value of 4.67. However, the floristic composition remained unbalanced, with an equitability index of 0.61 and a perturbation index of 70.8%. Therefore, these ecosystems have not been able to recover their initial equilibrium despite being under protection for long. The ecosystems of the Zloul Valley demonstrated alarming levels of degradation, especially on the southern slopes of Jbel Ikraa and Jnab Diss. Urgent measures must be taken to mitigate biodiversity loss and soil erosion as a matter of priority.     

Resilience of tropical rain forests: tree community reassembly in secondary forests

Understanding the recovery dynamics of ecosystems presents a major challenge in the human-impacted tropics. We tested whether secondary forests follow equilibrium or non-equilibrium dynamics by evaluating community reassembly over time, across different successional stages, and among multiple life stages. Based on long-term and static data from six 1-ha plots in NE Costa Rica, we show that secondary forests are undergoing reassembly of canopy tree and palm species composition through the successful recruitment of seedlings, saplings, and young trees of mature forest species. Such patterns were observed over time within sites and across successional stages. Floristic reassembly in secondary forests showed a clear convergence with mature forest community composition, supporting an equilibrium model. This resilience stems from three key factors co-occurring locally: high abundance of generalist species in the regional flora, high levels of seed dispersal, and local presence of old-growth forest remnants.     

Impact of tree species on nutrient and light availability: evidence from a permanent plot study of old-field succession

This paper compares vegetation composition, light availability, carbon and nutrient pools and Ellenberg indicator values among four old-field successional permanent plots that have received an initial treatment (ploughing, herbicide or sterilisation) prior to being left undisturbed in 1969, a second set of six plots received additional treatments (continued ploughing or mulching until 1982). On all plots species rich pioneer forests developed. Vegetation still varies among plots with different initial treatments: Sterilised plots can be distinguished from the others by dominance of Betula pendula, ploughed plots by Fraxinus excelsior, whereas herbicide-treated plots are intermediate with proportions of both species. By affecting light availability at the ground, tree species in turn influences ground vegetation and soil properties. Light availability turned out to be the dominant factor determining the composition of the vegetation in old-field succession.     

Landscape patterns of indicator plants for soil acidity in the Bavarian Alps

Aim Electronic distribution atlases and lists of ecological indicator values are becoming important tools in plant geography. In this contribution, we combine a geographical and an ecological data bank, and map out patterns of indicator value spectra (instead of single or average values) across a physiographically complex landscape. For our study, we select indicators of soil pH and carbonate content as key environmental factors that strongly affect overall plant diversity patterns in the temperate zone. Our goal is to relate the distribution and diversity of plant groups that are indicators of soil pH and carbonate content to environmental controls at the landscape‐scale, and thus contribute to a causal understanding of species pools. Location We studied the Bavarian Alps, which represent the German portion of the Northern Alps. Methods Based on the existing floristic survey, we calculated relative frequencies of nine classes of indicator plants for soil pH and carbonate content in grid cells. The resulting attribute matrix (cells by indicator class frequencies) was subjected to principal components analysis and to k‐means clustering. Results were compared and mapped out in the grid array of the whole region, resulting in continuous and discrete representations of species pool structure. We used a geographical information system to derive physiographical landscape properties from a geological map and a digital elevation model, and analysed their statistical relationship with the shapes of indicator spectra. Results and Main conclusions Averages of indicator values for soil pH and carbonate content follow the geological structure quite closely. Surprisingly, the diversity of indicator plant groups does not appear to be a function of geological or topographic heterogeneity. Rather, it seems to be related to areas of high elevation with uniform geology. The effect is a matter of additional acidophytes in high mountain areas and, in the high calcareous Alps, extreme calciphytes, while species with intermediate requirements are rarer than usual. For explanation, we suggest two facts: (1) a frequent lack of mature soils at high elevations and (2) particularities in soil genetic processes occurring under the harsh climatic conditions of high mountains.     

海南和台湾蕨类植物多样性及其大陆性特征

海南和台湾是我国南部和东部两个最重要的大陆性岛屿,具有极为丰富的蕨类植物多样性。特有现象揭示着植物区系和植物多样性的历史,间断分布揭示着与邻近或相关植物区系的联系;特别是在岛屿地区,这种现象和意义尤其明显。海南有蕨类植物区系55科、135属、466种,其中特有种有32种,台湾蕨类植物区系57科、142属、599种,其中特有种达66种。在海南与台湾两地,有共有属104属,共有种仅有176种。台湾海峡出现始于晚白垩世,持续至第四纪;琼州海峡出现于早第四纪,因此,两地的特有现象远少于种子植物(台湾有801种,海南有501种),原因与蕨类植物具有更广的散布性相关,而且在被子植物中起重要作用的物种生物学障碍(机制)在蕨类是缺乏的;形态学的、生殖生物学特征导致蕨类植物具有较缓慢的物种演化历史和较低的灭绝率(Smith,1972)。海南和台湾蕨类植物区系的比较还表明,地理位置和海拔高度对植物区系的物种分化和物种多样性产生了极大的影响。     

青海湟水流域植物区系研究

湟水流域位于青海省的东部,约处于北纬35°56′～37°38′,东经100°35′～103°05′。属于青藏高原和黄土高原的过渡地带,海拔1650～4395m,全区面积约16600km~2,属于大陆性气候和高原大陆性气候类型。本区共有野生种子植物83科、400属、1234种。分别占本区所属的青藏高原植物亚区唐古特地区总科数的92.22％、总属数的78.74％、总种数的54.00％。研究表明,湟水流域植物区系特征为:①在唐古特地区中种类相对较丰富;②温带成分占92.80％,以绝对优势确定了本区系为明显的温带性质(属于以北温带成分,特别是欧亚大陆温、寒地带典型成分为优势的,兼具温性、寒温和高寒类型的温带区系性质,或可称为在温带区系中的过渡区系所具有的“复合型”区系特征);③木本类型少,大多数种类为多年生草本植物,缺乏古老和原始类群,一些中国特有种衍生于其广布的亲缘种中,表明本区系具有年轻和衍生的性质;④我国西南高山区系和华北区系对该区系具有双重影响;⑤为青藏高原植物亚区唐古特植物地区同华北植物地区相互过渡的代表区系之一;⑥特有属和特有种少。在中国种子植物区系分区中,本区属于青藏高原植物亚区中的唐古特地区。