Bryophytes and ecological niche theory

Classical niche theory, particularly in terms of competitive exclusion, does not appear to apply as well to bryophytes as to other organisms. Bryophyte communities, as well as those of other plants and of animals, can be thought of in terms of individual species each utilizing particular portions of various resource or habitat continua. Quantitative studies carried out since 1981, particularly those involving niche breadth and overlap, are reviewed. Special attention is given to niche diversification in Sphagnum , Splachnaceae, bryophyte communities in streams, and to ephemeral bryophyte communities. Some bryophyte communities appear to have equilibrium characteristics and to contain species with relatively narrow niche breadths and with no or only partial niche overlap. In many habitats, however, bryophyte communites have non-equilibrium characteristics and diversification of species in microhabitats is opportunistic. Do any bryophyte communities persist long enough for complete saturation by species which have realized niches determined by competitive interactions? Recent studies indicate that this is the case for at least some Sphagnum communities, but that it is the exception not the rule for bryophytes.     

Bryophyte phytomass in tropical ecosystems

Knowledge about bryophyte production and phytomass in the tropics is poor and has been derived principally from studies of epiphytic bryophytes. Such work has been undertaken in Transvaal, Tanzania, Venezuela, Peru and Borneo. Except for the studies in Peru and Borneo, the vegetation types studied and the methods used have been too variable to allow many comparisons or generalizations to be made. However, in general it can be stated that phytomass of epiphytic bryophytes in equatorial latitudes increases from the tropical lowlands to the foreslline. This striking phenomenon has been hypothetically explained by gradients of factors such as precipitation, humidity, temperature and desiccation, or combinations of these. Recent experiments on the gas exchange of tropical-montane bryophytes have revealed that the rate of net assimilation decreases dramatically above 25^oC and that high temperature combined with low light intensities, as realized in the tropical lowland forest, results in high rates of respiration and insufficient net photosynthesis. Experiments with temperate bryophytes show the same results. If can be assumed that tropical lowland species have special physiological adaptations to survive these unfavourable conditions, such as a specialized phytochrome system or effective storage of photosynthetic products. Additional factors could include the relatively high nutrient supply provided by abundant precipitation in tropical montane forests, and damage to cells by strong desiccation in the tropical lowlands.     

High diversity and low specificity of fungi associated with seedless epiphytic plants

Epiphytes, which grow on other plants for support, make up a large portion of Earth's plant diversity. Like other plants, their surfaces and interiors are colonized by diverse assemblages of fungi that can benefit their hosts by increasing tolerance for abiotic stressors and resistance to disease or harm them as pathogens. Fungal communities associated with epiphytic plants and the processes that structure these communities are poorly known. To address this, we sampled seven epiphytic seedless plant taxa in a Costa Rican rainforest and examined the effects of host identity and microhabitat on external and endophytic fungal communities. We found low host specificity for both external and endophytic fungi and weak differentiation between epiphytic and neighboring epilithic plant hosts. High turnover in fungi within and between hosts and habitats reveals that epiphytic plant-associated fungal communities are highly diverse and suggests that they are structured by stochastic processes.     

Vegetation of a coastal sand dune system in southern New Zealand

The introduction of vigorous exotic species has destroyed much of the native sand dune vegetation along the coasts of South Island, New Zealand. However, some dunes built by the native cyperad Desmoschoenus spiralis still remain in the southwest. The dunes at Cole Creek, on the West coast of South Island, were chosen as a relatively pristine study area. 15 transects were laid through semi-fixed dunes into dwarf forest. Environmental measurements were taken at regular intervals through the dunes: pH, soil moisture, organic matter, conductivity, nutrient status and elevation. Classification and ordination of these data demonstrated that two major environmental areas were present - open dune and dwarf forest - with an abrupt ecotone between them. Vegetation analyses revealed a loosely-banded pattern, parallel to the sea. Vegetation types with few but constant species such as Desmoschoenus spiralis and Calystegia soldanella, predominated in the open dune. Forest species were rarely found seaward of the dune/forest boundary, though there was evidence the Spatial Mass Effect was operating. Multiple regression and canonical correlation of the vegetation and environmental factors showed that the main factors affecting vegetation patterns were the environmental complex related to distance from the sea, elevation above mean tide, soil alkalinity and moisture.     

Effects of paper mill effluents on the fish fauna of stony shores of Lake Päijänne

The fish fauna of the stony littoral in the central parts of L. Päijänne was studied by electric fishing on four occasions during 1988–1989. Ten fish species and 1681 individuals (14.5 kg) were caught in the 15 fishing sites (4096 m²) which gives a mean density of 0.41 ind. m^–2 and biomass of 3.5 gm^–2. Effluent from two large paper mills causes a clear zonation of the fish fauna in the area. In the most polluted shores, only burbot and perch occurred regularly and the reproduction of other species was inhibited. In the semipolluted area (5–15 km from the Kaipola paper mill), burbot and stone loach occurred regularly, but owing to low numbers of perch and bullhead the total densities were usually low.The clean shores were characterized by an abundance of stone loach and bullhead and locally also of minnow, which seemed to be very sensitive to pollution. The strong floods during summer 1988 had positive effects on the reproduction of perch and pike, but the densities of other species were highest during the normal water level in autumn 1989.     

Liverwort genomes display extensive structural variations

PIKE, L. M., HU, A., RENZAGLIA, K. S. & MUSICH, P. R., 1992. Liverwort genomes display extensive structural variations. Analyses of the total genomic DNA of eight species of liverworts and two species of green algae by thermal denaturation and CsCl buoyant density gradient centrifugation reveal a high degree of structural complexity and interspecific heterogeneity. The hepatic taxa exhibit two or more DNA components of varying base composition. Average G4-C contents of total cellular DNA calculated from melting profiles are similarly variable, ranging from 38% to 53% G + C. The green alga Chara , a member of the ancestral line to land plants, shows similarities with liverworts in possessing multiple DNA components of comparable complexity, whereas Hydrodiciyon DNA displays a single component. Detailed hybridization analyses of individual density gradient fractions using α-tubulin, rRNA and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL) gene probes were performed to locate the low-copy number and moderately repetitive nuclear genes, and the chloroplast chromosome, respectively. The location of each gene within the density gradient is highly variable among the organisms examined; a-tubulin occurs in fractions ranging from 44–64% G + C, rDNA in 50–64% G + C fractions, and the RbcL gene is located in fractions from 30–59% G + C. For a given species, the two nuclear genes normally overlap in their distributions within the gradient. In most instances, neither gene occurs in the major DNA components, indicating that these components may contain repetitive DNAs. The observed variation in the density of the rbcL gene implies substantial reorganization of the chloroplast genome. The overall differences in the genomic components within and between taxa provide insight into the dynamics of DNA structure that have occurred during the extended evolutionary history of these organisms.     

鄂西南国家级自然保护区群——苔藓植物多样性保护的重要场所

鄂西南地区密集分布有后河、木林子、七姊妹山和星斗山四大国家级自然保护区,共同形成了一个珍稀动植物大体相近、互相补充的保护区群,为摸清鄂西南保护区群的苔藓植物组成,该文采用野外调查和文献资料整理相结合的方法,对鄂西南国家级自然保护区群内的苔藓植物丰富度和组成特征进行了分析,并与渝东南、湘西北的苔藓植物多样性进行了比较。结果表明:(1)鄂西南国家级自然保护区群共有苔藓植物77科197属601种,物种数分别占中国和湖北苔藓总数的19.89%和71.46%。其中,中国特有种27种,仅含1种的科有15科,仅含1种的属有91属。(2)鄂西南国家级保护区群内的各保护区之间的苔藓物种存在一定的相似性与互补性,符合我国生物多样性保护原则。(3)鄂西南国家级自然保护区群苔藓植物区系类型全面,物种数量也显著高于同处武陵山区的渝东南、湘西北等地区。因此,鄂西南国家级自然保护区群不仅有效地保护了大型珍稀濒危动植物,而且还孕育了丰富多彩的苔藓植物类群为苔藓植物营造了良好的居住环境,是苔藓植物多样性保护的重要场所。     

Impacts of alien plants and man‐made disturbance on soil‐growing bryophyte and lichen diversity in coastal areas of Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

Seventy phytosociological relevés were performed in 1 m × 1 m plots at 14 study sites spread along sandy shores in northern and southern Sardinia (Italy). The plots were selected in different habitat types (open dunes, native Juniperus woodlands, maquis, and plantations with Acacia, Eucalyptus and Pinus) according to a stratified sampling method in order to investigate impacts deriving from different levels of Carpobrotus spp. cover, dry litter from exotic trees, and other disturbance types. The quantile regression and logistic regression analyses revealed that the reduction in the amount of bryophyte and lichen cover on sand dunes of the study area is caused either by a high cover of Carpobrotus spp. mats or by a high cover of dry exotic litter in dense, unmanaged or poorly managed forest plantations. Additional detrimental effects are often driven by other kinds of man‐made disturbances. Forest management in the coastal areas of Sardinia should be gradually modified to take into account the conservation of bryophytes and lichens. Some of the biological indicators used are quite widespread in the Mediterranean coastal habitats or are exclusively associated with sand dunes; therefore, they can also be conveniently used as indicators of biological impacts in other countries or islands of the same biogeographical region.     

Diversity of saproxylic bryophytes in old‐growth and managed beech forests in the central Balkans

Abstract

The diversity of saproxylic bryophyte species in beech forest stands from the wide region of the central Balkans (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro) was studied, and this study is the first of such a type in SE Europe. Comparison of preserved old‐growth and managed forests were made. Bryophyte species diversity is higher in primeval forest stands where the spectra of dead wood in various decaying stages of its dynamics are present. The ecological group of epixylic specialists is predominant among the bryophytes recorded. Threatened bryophyte species occur in old‐growth beech stands. The dead wood as habitat together with some other factors are extremely important for the surviving of epixylic bryophyte; so these species can be used as bioindicator bryophyte species of old‐growth or managed and structured forest ecosystems.     

Bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations as regulators of the northern latitude carbon balance in response to global change

Ecosystems in the far north, including arctic and boreal biomes, are a globally significant pool of carbon (C). Global change is proposed to influence both C uptake and release in these ecosystems, thereby potentially affecting whether they act as C sources or sinks. Bryophytes (i.e., mosses) serve a variety of key functions in these systems, including their association with nitrogen (N₂)‐fixing cyanobacteria, as thermal insulators of the soil, and producers of recalcitrant litter, which have implications for both net primary productivity (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration. While ground‐cover bryophytes typically make up a small proportion of the total biomass in northern systems, their combined physical structure and N₂‐fixing capabilities facilitate a disproportionally large impact on key processes that control ecosystem C and N cycles. As such, the response of bryophyte‐cyanobacteria associations to global change may influence whether and how ecosystem C balances are influenced by global change. Here, we review what is known about their occurrence and N₂‐fixing activity, and how bryophyte systems will respond to several key global change factors. We explore the implications these responses may have in determining how global change influences C balances in high northern latitudes.