A quantitative study of the epiphytic vegetation on pollarded trunks of Fraxinus excelsior at Havrå, Osterøy,western Norway

The epiphytic vegetation on 19 pollarded trees of Fraxinus excelsior at the farm Havrå, Osterøy, western Norway was investigated. Each trunk was divided into a basal zone, a middle zone and a top zone. In each zone the four different aspects were analysed by squares (12 sampling units from each trunk). Within a total of 225 sampling units, 173 taxa were recorded (84 lichens, 72 bryophytes, 17 vascular plants). The epiphytic vegetation was classified into seven TWINSPAN groups, and it is shown by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) that these groups are mainly separated by the first two DCA axes. In an attempt to explain the floristic composition, several environmental variables were measured, and the floristic and environmental data were analysed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). A pollarded tree, depending on its age, represents a continuum of perhaps several hundred years. Some of the recorded epiphytic lichens are very rare in Norway, and the pollarded trees thus contribute greatly to the biodiversity of the old cultural landscape. Several epiphytic species take advantage of favourable light conditions on trunks in the open fields. At Havrå, woodland has developed by tree colonization of old meadows and open fields during the last 40 years after the cessation of earlier managements. Some floristic differences between the epiphytic vegetation on trunks in the open fields and in the woodland are found. This suggests a change in the epiphytic vegetation because of the creation of a more shady habitat in parts of the area during a few decades.     

Multivariate analysis of vegetational variation in different habitats at Omayed,Egypt

The application of indicator species analysis has proved useful in classifying stands into groupings coinciding with topographic variations. 41 indicator pseudo-species are identified in the vegetation along a phytosociological gradient: some are characteristic of specific habitats, and the others indicate transition between groups of habitats.The use of qualitative estimations (transformed density records) in multivariate analysis in the present study indicates that they may be more preferable than quantitative estimations, because of their easy and fast recording in the field, and the less comprehensive computations, while yielding precise results.The X-axis of the reciprocal averaging ordination is related to the salinity and fertility gradients, while the Y-axis reflects soil texture.The phytosociological gradients of the canonical variate axes reflect essentially contrasts between groups of species, each correlated with one or the other of the environmental gradients.Comparing the results obtained by the two ordination methods (reciprocal averaging and canonical variates) we find that the first method detects the overall phytosociological changes along strong environmental gradients which would be helpful in studying large surveys. On the other hand, the second technique, which is mainly predictive, is more sensitive to changes within both the phytosociological and environmental gradients and can detect the impact of these changes on the overall variance of each gradient.Nomenclature follows Täckholm (1964).The authors are grateful to Dr J. Jeffers and Mr and Mrs P. Howard of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, England, for their help with applying the multivariate techniques to the vegetation data.     

Impact of shrub canopies on understorey vegetation in western Eurasian tundra

Question: How does the composition and species richness of understorey vegetation associate with changing abundance of deciduous shrub canopies? What are the species‐specific associations between shrubs and understorey plants? Location: Tundra habitats along an over 1000‐km long range, spanning from NW Fennoscandia to the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Russia. Methods: The data from 758 vegetation sample plots from 12 sites comprised cover estimates of all plant species, including bryophytes and lichens, and canopy height of deciduous shrubs. The relationships between shrub volume and cover of plant groups and species richness of vegetation were investigated. In addition, species‐specific associations between understorey species and shrub volume were analysed. Results: Shrub abundance was shown to be associated with the composition of understorey vegetation, and the association patterns were consistent across the study sites. Increased forb cover was positively associated with shrub volume, whereas bryophyte, lichen, dwarf shrub and graminoid cover decreased in association with increasing volume of deciduous shrubs. The total species richness of vegetation declined with increasing shrub volume. Conclusions: The results suggest that an increase of shrubs – due to climatic warming or a decrease in grazing pressure – is likely to have strong effects on plant–plant interactions and lead to a decrease in the diversity of understorey vegetation.     

Bird community composition in an actively managed savanna reserve, importance of vegetation structure and vegetation composition

The mosaic of trees, shrubs and open grassland in mesic African savannas is highly dynamic and strongly influenced by mammal herbivory and fire. We investigated the bird fauna in four different savanna habitats to help assess the impacts of vegetation change on this component of faunal diversity. Birds were censused, plant species were identified and vegetation structure was measured in four different vegetation types (Acacia nilotica woodland, Acacia nigrescens woodland, broadleaf thicket and open grassland) in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Multivariate ordination analyses were used to determine the relative importance of vegetation structure and floristic composition in defining bird assemblages. The bird communities of the grasslands, the acacia woodlands, and the broadleaf woodlands were clearly separated on the first axis of the detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA). Canopy cover and foliage height diversity (FHD) were strongly correlated with the first axis of DCCA, possibly reflecting a secondary successional series from grassland to woodland, known as bush encroachment. Floristic composition (based on presence–absence data only) seemed to be less important for bird community composition than vegetation structure. The results indicate that changes in vegetation structure, caused by bush encroachment, could cause concomitant changes in bird community composition.     

盐城自然保护区新洋港河口不同生境冬季鸟类群落组成及其梯度变化

沿海湿地是鸟类重要的栖息地,人类活动导致的湿地生境变化对鸟类群落造成了一定的影响。在盐城自然保护区新洋港河口内,人类活动大体上导致了由陆向海方向,形成芦苇沼泽、农田、鱼塘和滩涂4种不同干扰程度的生境。分别在不同生境中设置3条长3 km的样线,对越冬鸟类的种类、数量进行了调查,运用多响应置换过程测试、指示种分析、双向聚类分析和除趋势对应分析等统计方法,研究了不同生境中冬季鸟类的指示物种、群落结构及梯度变化,结果表明:1)4种生境共记录鸟类67种,其中鱼塘生境的鸟类种类最多,为37种;滩涂生境的D'多样性指数在各生境不同时段中为最高,芦苇沼泽生境的H'多样性指数在各生境不同时段中为最高。与其余生境比较,芦苇沼泽、滩涂的均匀度也更高。生境间的差异性与鸟类群落的组成有关。2)MRPP分析表明,芦苇沼泽、农田生境的鸟类组成差异不显著(P0.05);其余组合各生境间的鸟类组成具有显著差异。灰鹤等9种鸟类可分别作为4种不同生境的指示种。3)双向聚类分析法把12种观测条件分为4大类,与生境划分非常吻合。在剩余信息40%水平上,鸟类可聚为7类。利用12种观测条件作为变量进行DCA排序的结果表明,鸟类类群在轴1上可以分为3个集群,分别为适应开阔水域环境的鸟类、依赖水生植被环境的鸟类和依赖陆地植被环境的鸟类。根据结果分析,生境异质性、干扰程度及潮水涨落等与鸟类多样性组成有密切关系;不同生境具有明显的指示种;鸟类群落结构为适应生境变化而出现一定的梯度变化。应加强芦苇沼泽的保护,在开垦农田、鱼塘和在光滩引入互花米草时应考虑到人类活动对鸟类多样性的影响。     

科尔沁沙地不同生境植被凋落物年际及年内动态

凋落物是植被土壤系统之间重要的物质和能量通道之一,在生态脆弱区植被和土壤修复过程中发挥着特殊的功能和作用.以科尔沁沙地流动沙丘、固定沙丘和草地为对象,通过连续测定9个生长季凋落物量,并结合气温与降水量数据,研究沙地生态系统不同生境的凋落物年际和年内动态及其调控因子.结果表明:不同生境植被年凋落物大小依次为:流动沙丘(9.01 g·m^-2)<固定沙丘(67.46 g·m^-2)<草地(119.55 g·m^-2).凋落物总量年际动态波动明显,固定沙丘年际变化呈“双峰”曲线,草地年际变化呈“W”型曲线.凋落物量年内变化均表现为“U”型曲线,在4和9月出现高峰值.降水量和气温对固定沙丘和草地凋落物量月际动态影响显著,而对不同生境条件下凋落物量年际变化影响均不显著.气温是影响该沙地生态系统生长季(4—9月)凋落物量月动态的主要因素.     

Correlation between vegetation and environment at different levels in an arid,mountainous region of China

Vegetation patterns and spatial organization are influenced by the changing environmental conditions and human activities. However, the effect of environment on vegetation at different vegetation classification levels has been unclear. We conducted an analysis to explore the relationship between environment and vegetation in the land use/land cover (LULC), vegetation group, vegetation type, and formation and subformation levels using redundancy analysis with seven landscape metrics and 33 environmental factors in the upper reaches of the Heihe River basin in an arid area of China to clarify this uncertainty. Atmospheric counter radiation was the most important factor at the four levels. The effect of soil was the second determinant factor at three levels (except in vegetation formation and subformation level). The number of variables whose relationship to vegetation reached significant levels varied from 26 to 28, and 20 variables were the same at all four levels. The factors affecting vegetation were basically the same at vegetation group level and vegetation‐type level. It was sufficient to analyze the relationship between environmental and vegetation patterns only in LULC, vegetation group and vegetation formation and subformation level in mountainous regions; different factors should be considered at different vegetation levels.     

Long-term change in the floristic composition and vegetation structure of Carnac Island, Western Australia

Aim To document changes in the floristic composition and vegetation structure of Carnac Island during a period of 40 years. This paper presents a synthesis of all available floristic and vegetational information. Location Carnac Island is 8 km offshore from Fremantle, south‐west Western Australia. Methods Comparison of lists of plant species for 1951, 1958/9, 1966/7, 1975/6 and 1995–6. Comparison of vegetation, based on structural and floristic elements, for 1951, 1965, 1972, 1984 and 1995. Results Floristic composition (both native and exotic species) changed most dramatically in the period 1975/6–1995/6, with a 37% reduction in number of plant species. The number of annual and perennial native species present in 1995/6 was most similar to that in 1951. The most remarkable change in the flora has been the increase in annual exotic species since 1951. Immigration and extinction rates were greatest in the periods 1951–58/9 and 1958/9–1966/7, respectively. Vegetation structure has also altered, involving a reduction in height of dominant species from 3–4 m to 1 m as Acacia rostellifera and Olearia axillaris have declined in distribution. The weed species Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (first recorded 1975) and Malva parviflora (1958) now dominate the vegetation of half the island. Main conclusions Five factors are considered to have contributed to botanical change: nesting seabird populations, eradication of the rabbit in 1969, drought, increased saltload from occasional cyclones in summer or autumn, and competition from increasing dominance of several weed species. Several of these factors have operated in opposing ways with respect to plant species richness and vegetation cover. Experimental studies are required to determine the strength of these interactions. Two weed species, Zantedeschia aethiopica (first recorded 1966) and Lycium ferocissimum (1992) have the potential to dominate the vegetation of the island.     

生态公益林补偿政策对植被覆盖时空格局的影响——以杭州市临安区为例

生态补偿政策绩效评价对完善政策调控和促进植被恢复具有重要意义。分析了临安2001—2015年植被覆盖的时空格局和变化,建立了植被退化地区土地利用变化矩阵。在Arc GIS软件中建立了临安地区归一化植被指数(NDVI)、国家级和省级公益林覆盖边界(重点生态公益林补偿边界)、道路、海拔、中心城镇用地边界、重点森林保护区、河流边界和地形湿度指数的多要素地理空间数据集。采用多元回归模型量化了重点生态公益林补偿政策、自然因素、城市化和其他人类活动对植被覆盖变化的影响。结果表明,2001—2015年间,临安大约有97%的林地呈现出不同程度的退化,其中中等退化程度的林地所占比例最高。多元线性回归模型的结果表明重点生态公益林补偿政策、海拔、河流距离、重点森林保护区距离和中心城镇距离对植被退化有抑制作用,道路和地形湿度指数对植被退化有促进作用。海拔在所有的外部影响因素中对植被退化的影响最大。政策覆盖地区的植被退化面积在每一个退化等级上都小于无政策覆盖地区。生态公益林补偿政策的实施对加强植被的保护,限制不合理的林地利用和改善区域环境质量具有十分重要的积极作用。     

Effects of shallow flooding on vegetation and carbon pools in boreal peatlands

Question: What are the effects of shallow flooding on boreal peatlands on vegetation composition and size of carbon pools in the living and dead vegetation? Location: Lake 979, Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Ontario, Canada. Methods: A boreal basin peatland complex with treed bog, open bog, and open water was experimentally flooded by raising water level ca. 1.3 m. Vegetation and above‐ground biomass were compared between pre‐flood conditions and those nine years after flooding. Peat accumulation since flooding was also quantified. Results: Flooding caused almost all trees to die, leading to a net loss of 86% of the above‐ground living plant biomass after nine years of the flooding. Floating up of peat was rapid in the central part of the basin, and the floating peat mats were characterized by newly established open bog community. Wetland types were diversified from bog into open bog, fen, and marsh, accompanied with great species turnover. Floating open bog community accumulated the greatest amount of peat since flooding. Conclusions: This study shows that shallow flooding of bog vegetation can lead to quick re‐establishment of open bog vegetation upon the floating up of peat mats as well as changes to more diverse vegetation over decadal time spans. We estimate that the carbon pools in 2002 in living and dead plant biomass since 1992 are comparable to what they were in the above‐ground biomass in 1992. Flooding caused an initial net decrease in carbon stores, but carbon in the pre‐flood living plant biomass was replaced by both carbon in dead biomass of the pre‐flood vegetation and newly sequestered carbon in new peat growth and post‐flood living plant biomass. Possible vegetation change toward bog‐dominated system could lead to increasing rate of new peat growth, which could affect future carbon sink/source strength of the system.     

Effects of grazing by re-introduced Equus hemionus on the vegetation in a Negev desert erosion cirque

Abstract. Asiatic wild asses, Equus hemionus, were driven to extinction in Israel in the early 20th century. In 1983, a herd of these animals was re-introduced to the wild in Makhtesh Ramon, a large erosion cirque in the central Negev desert, Israel. The population has grown steadily ever since and now numbers some 100 animals. In order to determine whether the wild asses are having a significant impact on the vegetation, we have monitored the plant communities in Makhtesh Ramon since 1992, using McAuliffe's log-series survey method. Our study involves 11 pairs of plots along the length of the altitudinal gradient in Makhtesh Ramon. The altitudinal gradient results in a rainfall gradient from an average of 95 mm rain per year to an average of about 40 mm per year. Each pair of plots consists of: (1) an unfenced plot, and (2) a fenced plot that excludes wild asses but not the other large mammalian herbivore, the dorcas gazelle Gazella dorcas. The wild asses have not had a significant impact on vegetation cover, species richness, diversity or dominance. Three plant species showed significant increases in percentage cover in fenced plots, while one species showed a significant increase in percentage cover in unfenced plots. Furthermore, eight plant species invaded fenced plots, three species invaded unfenced plots and one species disappeared from unfenced plots during the study. Using Detrended Correspondence Analysis, we found that the major differences among plots are due to position along the altitudinal gradient. The Detrended Correspondence Analyses indicated that the wild asses have had no significant effect on vegetation community structure.     

Sixty years of vegetation dynamics in a south boreal coniferous forest in southern Norway

Abstract. Vegetation data from permanent plots were collected in 1931, 1961 and 1991 in a south boreal forest 20 km north of Oslo in southern Norway. Major changes were found in the vegetation composition during those 60 years. The main changes were a reduction in the frequency of species and the frequency of joint occurrences of vascular species such as Andromeda polifolia, Calluna vulgaris, Cornus suecica, Eriophorum vaginatum, Maianthemum bifolium, Melampyrum pratense, Trientalis europaea, Vaccinium uliginosum and V. oxycoccus, and mosses, e.g. Dicranum fuscescens, Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilidium ciliare and Ptilium crista-castrensis. The observed changes were interpreted as being induced by internal processes e.g. notably a long-term change from paludified forest to mesic forest. In particular the growth of Picea abies seems to be a main driving force. The dominance of Picea abies and Vaccinium myrtillus appears to have rendered the conditions more unfavourable for other species. A doubling of the living stem biomass of P. abies during the last 67 yr shows that this old-growth forest has not yet reached a steady state. It was demonstrated that species such as Deschampsia flexuosa and Molinia caerulea did not increase in frequency in response to nitrogen deposition, as has occurred elsewhere in northern Europe. pH in the humus layer increased with 0.2 unit from 1961 to 1991. The results of this study indicate that protection from logging has initiated the reduction of species in the field layer and bottom layer. This study questions if monitoring of forest vegetation should be restricted to protected forests as is the practice in Scandinavia today. We recommend that also areas with some kind of selective cutting will be used for monitoring of forest vegetation.     

不同空间尺度景观特征对南流江水质的影响差异

流域景观特征决定了非点源污染物来源与地表景观削减消纳能力,但尚缺乏全流域不同空间尺度对二者关联性的认识。以广西北部湾南流江为例,分别在子流域、河岸缓冲带以及监测点圆形缓冲区三种尺度上,基于2020年Landsat 8 OLI遥感影像解译的土地利用类型特征,结合水质监测数据,运用数理统计和GIS空间分析方法,探讨了流域景观特征在不同空间尺度上对河流水质的影响。结果表明：(1)在子流域尺度,土地利用类型以林地为主,而在河岸缓冲带与监测点圆形缓冲区均以耕地为主;(2)水质指标高锰酸盐指数、生化需氧量与景观特征相关性最为显著,耕地、建设用地、其他用地和园地与其呈正相关,是南流江水质污染负荷的重要来源区;景观格局指数中,斑块密度、蔓延度指数、多样性指数、均匀度指数是引起河流水质指标变化的主要景观因子;(3)受流域内或不同子流域间景观特征差异,景观组成面积占比和景观格局指数均在河岸缓冲带尺度对水质状况影响最大,分别可解释57.0%和64.7%的水质指标变化;子流域尺度次之,圆形缓冲区尺度最小,且景观格局指数对水质状况的影响大于景观组成面积占比。建议在河岸带50 m范围内严格控制耕地面积,建设河岸缓...     

The impact of suburbanization on remnant coastal vegetation in Hobart,Tasmania

Abstract. Changes in vascular species composition and abundance were examined in coastal vegetation at Hobart, Tasmania, Australia over a period of 13 yr, during which suburbanization extended to cover a large proportion of its hinterland. There were significant increases in the richness and cover of exotic vascular plant species, most of which derived from the Mediterranean basin or southern Africa. While most of the introduced species were confined to vegetation with a high exotic component, and close to domestic gardens, some, including the South African coastal shrub, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, expanded in otherwise native vegetation relatively remote from gardens. The impact of proximity to gardens on the relative abundance of exotics and natives in coastal vegetation in 1997 best correlated with the pattern of distance from gardens in 1966, suggesting that there is, at least, a 30‐yr lag period in transformation from largely native to substantially exotic vegetation. This lag period provides an opportunity to reduce exotic invasion problems before they become severe.     

南非Hluhluwe-Umfolozi公园植被对非洲狮群大小的影响

非洲狮(Pantheraleo)群处于不断的分裂-聚合过程,其亚群大小与原狮群大小以及诸如狮群捕食成功度、协作幼仔保护及狮群领域防卫等社会性因素有关。我们分析了南非一个保护区(Hluhluwe-Umfolozi公园)15年间的狮群大小,其成年雌狮和成年雄狮群的大小在保护区内呈显著性变化。在开放生境中雌狮结大群,而茂密植被生境中则结小群。雄狮群大小与植被类型无关,但在大的雌狮群分布区域发现大雄狮群。令人惊奇的是,作为幼狮成活率指标的幼狮群大小和雌狮平均幼仔数在保护区内没有显著性差异。我们认为,雌狮群大小的不同是对植被结构的适应,即在开放生境中大群有利于协作狩猎、育幼、共同保护幼仔、应对高强度群间领域防卫竞争。相反,茂密植被中,群间竞争很低,高密度植被覆盖有利于狩猎成功及补偿小狮群对幼仔保护的不足。雌狮平均幼仔数在整个保护区内没有变化,我们认为是由于开放生境和茂密植被对狮群大小起到相似的调节作用     

Vegetation gradients in Atlantic Europe: the use of existing phytosociological data in preliminary investigations on the potential effects of climate change on British vegetation

• 1 This paper aims to demonstrate the use of available vegetation data from the phytosociological literature in preliminary analyses to generate hypotheses regarding vegetation and climate change.
  • 2 Data for over 3000 samples of calcareous grassland, mesotrophic grassland, heath and woodland vegetation were taken from the literature for a region in the west of Atlantic Europe and subjected to ordination by detrended correspondence analysis in order to identify the main gradients present.
    • 3 Climate data were obtained at a resolution of 0.5° from an existing database. The relationship between vegetation composition and climate was investigated by the correlation of the mean scores for the first two ordination axes for each 0.5° cell with the climate and location variables.
      • 4 The ordinations resulted in clear geographical gradients for calcareous grasslands, heaths and woodlands but not for mesotrophic grasslands. Significant correlations were shown between some of the vegetation gradients and the climate variables, with the strongest relationships occurring between the calcareous grassland gradients and July temperature, latitude and oceanicity. Some of the vegetation gradients were also inferred to reflect edaphic factors, management and vegetation history.
        • 5 Those gradients that were related to temperature were hypothesized to reflect the influence of a progressively warmer climate on species composition, providing a baseline for further studies on the influence of climate change on species composition.
        • 6 The validity of the literature data was assessed by the collection of an original set of field data for calcareous grasslands and the subsequent ordination of a dataset containing samples from both the literature and the field. The considerable overlap between the samples from the literature and the field suggest that literature data can be used, despite certain limitations. Such preliminary analyses, using readily available data, can thus achieve useful results, thereby saving lengthy and costly field visits.

     

Response of subarctic vegetation to transient climatic change on the Seward Peninsula in north-west Alaska

Understanding the response of terrestrial ecosystems to climatic warming is a challenge because of the complex interactions of climate, disturbance, and recruitment across the landscape. We use a spatially explicit model (ALFRESCO) to simulate the transient response of subarctic vegetation to climatic warming on the Seward Peninsula (80 000 km²) in north‐west Alaska. Model calibration efforts showed that fire ignition was less sensitive than fire spread to regional climate (temperature and precipitation). In the model simulations a warming climate led to slightly more fires and much larger fires and expansion of forest into previously treeless tundra. Vegetation and fire regime continued to change for centuries after cessation of the simulated climate warming. Flammability increased rapidly in direct response to climate warming and more gradually in response to climate‐induced vegetation change. In the simulations warming caused as much as a 228% increase in the total area burned per decade, leading to an increasingly early successional and more homogenous deciduous forest‐dominated landscape. A single transient 40‐y drought led to the development of a novel grassland–steppe ecosystem that persisted indefinitely and caused permanent increases in fires in both the grassland and adjacent vegetation. These simulated changes in vegetation and disturbance dynamics under a warming climate have important implications for regional carbon budgets and biotic feedbacks to regional climate.