The mosaic diversity of field layer vegetation in the natural and exploited forests of Białowieża

The main focus of the study was to find out whether and how the forestry management in the Biaowiea Forest has influenced the mosaic diversity of field layer vegetation and habitat heterogeneity in the temperate hard wood forest (Tilio-Carpinetum). Five belt-transects represent natural and semi-natural old-growths in Biaowiea National Park (BNP), the commercial forest (CF), and secondary stands in the CF. Along the transects, distinct patches of field layer vegetation were identified and delimited, and their species composition was assessed. Along central lines of the transects the environmental data was collected from sample points established at regular intervals: soil pH and the distances to the 4 closest trees, their species, and dbh (diameter at the breast height=135 cm). The group of patches (on average 50 per transect) was subjected to the dichotomous classification in order to identify a number of characteristic types of microphytocoenoses – synusiae. Beta-diversity of the vegetation was expressed with the Simpson diversity index calculated on the basis of areas occupied by synusiae. The most structurally diversified were the transects representing natural old-growths in the BNP. A calculation of similarity coefficients between the transects on the basis of their mosaic composition displayed sharper differences between old-growth and secondary communities in summer than those found in spring. Forestry management has seriously modified the tree species composition in two studied stands, through planting oak or initiating succession. This resulted, both in plantation and pioneer stand, in loss of the main components of natural old-growths: hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Norway spruce (Picea abies), lime (Tilia cordata) and maple (Acer platanoides). Significantly a wider range of soil pH values in natural old-growths coincided with a higher diversity of herbaceous mosaics comparing to secondary stands. The elimination of spruce (the species being most commonly blown down, projecting an acid canopy shadow) in two studied areas, elimination of dead wood, and destruction of humus layers through ploughing, could contribute to a reduction of specific microenvironments. A lower mosaic diversity of secondary stands coinciding with the unification of environmental conditions along the transects may indicate that forestry management can lead to the disappearance of a highly structural character in natural forest communities.Nomenclature: Flora europaea; Sokoowski (1993).     

Distribution of the stands with Urtica dioica L. along the Lužnice River floodplain on the border between Austria and Czechoslovakia and land management

The effects of different management practices (mainly mowing, grazing, nutrient enrichment) on floodplain vegetation were compared between the Austrian and Czech part of the Lunice River floodplain using nitrophilous vegetation with Urtica dioica. The vegetation samples situated on crosswise transects (40 in total) were used for the analysis of vegetation. Correlations between the floodplain width on these transects and the proportions (expressed as percentage of the total floodplain width) of selected characteristics (Urtica dioica and Phalaris arundinacea stands and managed areas) were not statistically significant. Differences in the proportions of selected characteristics between the two parts of the floodplain were not significant either, except differences in the proportion of managed areas and species richness (higher species richness and proportion of managed areas are in the Austrian part of the floodplain). The different environmental variables were used in ordinations (DCA and CCA) of vegetation samples. In the DCA, four groups of samples were interpreted. In the CCA changes the moisture gradient was the most important one. The transect distance (from the first transect in Austria) and the soil moisture had the closest relationship to the species data.     

On the nature of vegetation boundaries,undisturbed flood plain forest communities as an example — a contribution to the continuum/discontinuum controversy

The goal of the present study resides in the attempt to falsify the discontinuum hypothesis. To this end the local variation in vegetation structure along a continuously changing environmental gradient was studied. The object under study was a 116 m long transect in the unspoiled flood plain forests of the Sava valley in Croatia, which contains stands of three widespread forest community types. The soil water conditions function as an independent variable of the physical-chemical environment, influencing the vegetation structure. It gradually changes within the transect according to relief height. By contrast ceteris paribus conditions obtain for climatic relations and nutrient supply. The investigation is based on 116 sample plots in all, each of 8 square metres in area. The type of structural change is elucidated by means of a vegetation table, presentation of the frequency distribution of plant species, a contingency table, non-metric multidimensional scaling, a discriminant function and a cluster analysis. Variation in relief height produces a continuous change in the forest vegetation. Nevertheless, there are clearly recognisable leaps between, and a clear clustering of plant species within, the stands of the various community types. The type of structural change corresponds to the Non-linear and continuous — Tendency for association model, and the pattern of distribution of plant species corresponds to the Clustered distributions model of Scott (1974). In this connection, discussion is conducted about the question of the organisation of plant communities and whether it is possible to classify them.     

Terrestrial transects for global change research

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Program has proposed a set of large-scale terrestrial transects to study the effects of changes in climate, land use, and atmospheric composition (global change) on biogeochemistry, surface-atmosphere exchange, and vegetation dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. The transects ( 1000 km) will be located along existing environmental and land use intensity gradients that span transitions between biomes in regions likely to be widely affected by forcing from components of global change or where the impacts of global change are likely to feed back to affect atmospheric, climatic, or hydrologic systems. Experimental studies on the transects will examine short-term changes in ecosystem function and biosphere-atmosphere interaction in response to variation in primary controlling variables. A hierarchy of modeling approaches will develop predictions of long-term changes in biome boundaries and vegetation distribution. The proposed initial set of IGBP terrestrial transects are located in four key regions: (1) humid tropical forests undergoing land use change, (2) high latitudes including the transition from boreal forest to tundra, (3) semi-arid tropical regions including transitions from dry forest to shrublands and savannas, and (4) mid latitude semi-arid regions encompassing transitions from shrubland or grassland to forests. We discuss here the rationale and general research design of transect studies proposed for each of these priority regions.GCTE Focus 1 Office     

An application of ordination to the identification of forest types

Summary The problems of allocating new vegetation stands to an existing classification are outlined. As one solution, the vegetation samples from an area may be ordinated by reciprocal averaging and classified by dividing the ordination into community-types. The ordination scores for a short list of species present in a new sample may then be averaged to locate that sample on the ordination axes and in one of the community-types. The method is tested by comparing estimates from incomplete species lists with that from a complete list of species in an forest stand in southern Ghana.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mr. M.O. Hill in the correct formulation of the coordinate estimation procedure.     

Dynamics of holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppices after clearcutting in southern France

Holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) forest is one of the most widespread biocoenoses in the southern part of France. Until recently, clearcutting of wood for domestic use was carried out every 20 years or so in these coppice stands. In order to study coppice stand dynamics after cutting this paper presents results of observations of some items describing the vegetation structure, the floral composition, and the life cycles in a holm oak coppice stand during a six year period after clearcutting. One of the questions addressed in this study was whether these coppice stands reach a steady state based on auto-succession, or if they continue to change. The results of the floristic changes after cutting suggest that the model of auto-succession best fits with the vegetation dynamics, even if changes in the density and life cycles of herbaceous species still exist six years after clearcutting.     

A numerical phytoclimatic classification of China

The relationship is examined between vegetation and climate using climatic variables collected from 644 meteorological stations located throughout China. Multivariate methods are applied directly to the raw climatic data in order to define climatic clusters and to examine the relationship between the clusters and vegetation types. This approach is based on the concept of multidimensional climatic space defined by the combination of climatic variables. Phytoclimatic classes are defined on the basis of the distribution of vegetation types in climatic clusters and a new phytoclimatic classification of China is proposed. Patterns of climatic changes between neighbouring phytoclimatic classes are described. Two indexes of the influence of climate on vegetation are proposed based on discriminant analysis.     

Comparison of floristic and structural classification of vegetation

A comparison is made between floristic and structural-physiognomic classifications of a tropical dry, semi-evergreen forest and thicket vegetation of south-eastern India. The classifications are strikingly similar in their main groupings which are ecologically meaningful; the differences between the classifications are virtually limited to allocation of some stands to different subcommunities. It is concluded that the use of structural-physiognomic criteria allows a detailed and ecologically significant classification of vegetation. Fairly advanced calculation facilities are necessary, however, to reach such a classification, since the structural-physiognomic differences between the resulting groupings are largely of a quantitative and not of a qualitative nature. This is a consequence of the general occurrence in all stands of the vegetation of the very great majority of the characters used in this study.Nomenclature follows Sprangers & Balasubramanian (1978) who give a complete list of authorities.     

Spatial variation in vegetation structure coupled to plant available water determined by two-dimensional soil resistivity profiling in a Brazilian savanna

Tropical savannas commonly exhibit large spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure. Fine-scale patterns of soil moisture, particularly in the deeper soil layers, have not been well investigated as factors possibly influencing vegetation patterns in savannas. Here we investigate the role of soil water availability and heterogeneity related to vegetation structure in an area of the Brazilian savanna (Cerrado). Our objective was to determine whether horizontal spatial variations of soil water are coupled with patterns of vegetation structure across tens of meters. We applied a novel methodological approach to convert soil electrical resistivity measurements along three 275-m transects to volumetric water content and then to estimates of plant available water (PAW). Structural attributes of the woody vegetation, including plant position, height, basal circumference, crown dimensions, and leaf area index, were surveyed within twenty-two 100-m² plots along the same transects, where no obvious vegetation gradients had been apparent. Spatial heterogeneity was evaluated through measurements of spatial autocorrelation in both PAW and vegetation structure. Comparisons with null models suggest that plants were randomly distributed over the transect with the greatest mean PAW and lowest PAW heterogeneity, and clustered in the driest and most heterogeneous transect. Plant density was positively related with PAW in the top 4 m of soil. The density-dependent vegetation attributes that are related to plot biomass, such as sum of tree heights per plot, exhibited spatial variation patterns that were remarkably similar to spatial variation of PAW in the top 4 m of soil. For PAW below 4 m depth, mean vegetation attributes, such as mean height, were negatively correlated with PAW, suggesting greater water uptake from the deep soil by plants of larger stature. These results are consistent with PAW heterogeneity being an important structuring factor in the plant distribution at the scale of tens of meters in this ecosystem.     

GEMI: a non-linear index to monitor global vegetation from satellites

Knowledge about the state, spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the vegetation cover is of great scientific and economic value. Satellite platforms provide a most convenient tool to observe the biosphere globally and repetitively, but the quantitative interpretation of the observations may be difficult. Reflectance measurements in the visible and near-infrared regions have been analyzed with simple but powerful indices designed to enhance the contrast between the vegetation and other surface types, however, these indices are rather sensitive to atmospheric effects. The correction of satellite data for atmospheric effects is possible but requires large data sets on the composition of the atmosphere. Instead, we propose a new vegetation index which has been designed specifically to reduce the relative effects of these undesirable atmospheric perturbations, while maintaining the information about the vegetation cover.     

Pattern diversity analysis of a clearing in a Quercus cerris wood

Linear transects were used to examine the spatial structure of the vegetation in a clearing in a Quercus cerris wood in Central Italy. A grassland-margin-shrubland-woodland gradient was identified.Multivariate classification and ordination methods and pattern diversity analysis were used to detect both floristic variation and spatial organization. One of the transects shows a clear gradient of variation as a function of space, crossing the floristically and structurally most heterogeneous part of the clearing. For the detailed analysis of this transect a sectorization is achieved. Each sector is characterized according to its floristic types and to the internal spatial organization.The pieces of information derived from the different analyses were concordant. In particular, the validity of the floristic types in the qualification of the different forms of spatial organization is confirmed.     

An outline for data analysis in phytosociology: past and present

As vegetation science develops its formalized methodology increased in importance. At the beginning of the century traditional European schools of phytosociology applied an intuitive classification and ordering scheme to establish vegetation units. The introduction of computer-supported data analysis into vegetation science accelerated the formalization. The present paper presents a formal outline for phytosociology and community analysis. In this scheme we distinguish different data states which are connected by active data handling. Data sampling and subsequent analysis can be understood as filtering processes, making theoretical assumptions in vegetation science very important. The model implied provides a basis for discussing potential problems and possibilities in vegetation science.Abbreviations PCA = Principal Component Analysis     

A phytogeographic analysis of birch woodlands in the southern part of West Siberia

A minimum variance cluster analysis of 87 species of vascular plants occurring in south Siberian birch woodlands, based on their total distribution ranges, grouped them into 9 phytogeographic elements. The main distribution patterns of each element are illustrated by means of maps obtained by automatic mapping programs, showing the joint occurrence of the species of each element on a world scale. The results indicate a predominance of Eurasiatic-temperate taxa. The south Siberian birch woodlands can be considered as the easternmost extensions of the European deciduous forest belt, which in Siberia is compressed between the taiga biome in the north and the steppe biome in the south. The marginal position of Siberian Betula stands is reflected by the persistence of plants which are ecologically marginal with respect to true forest vegetation; most of the Eurasiatic species are typical, in Europe, of forest-meadows and forest-margins.     

Moss synusiae in South Estonian forests

On the Karula Upland, South Estonia, the forest moss layer was analysed using a transect of 726 contiguous 0.2×0.2 m plots. The sample plots were classified according to a multistage clustering procedure based on the sequential use of algorithms with different criteria. Several obtained clusters are rather similar in species composition, but abundance relationships among dominant species are distinctly different. For detailed analysis of mutual relations among societies a formal definition of adjacency is proposed, and two aspects of the cluster continuum — transitionality and distinctness — are estimated. It appears that almost all resulting societies are very distinct (P<0.05), but at the same time can be continual in the sense of transitionality. Spatial changes in vegetation along transects are also discontinuous. The null hypothesis assuming the independency of neighbouring sample plots type was refuted withP=0.01. The spatial extent of different synusiae is typically several times larger than it should be if there were no structure in moss vegetation.     

How forest edge-center transitions in the herb layer interact with beech dominance versus tree diversity

Aims Forest fragmentation and the associated augmentation of forest edge zones are increasing worldwide. Forest edges are characterized by altered plant species richness and community composition. As the tree layer and its species composition has been shown to influence herb layer composition, changes in tree species composition or richness may weaken or strengthen edge effects in forest ecosystems. We studied effects of the edge–center transition, tree species composition and their potential interaction on the understory vegetation in the Hainich National Park, Germany's largest connected deciduous forest, allowing to cover large edge–center transects.Methods We established 12 transects in an area of 75 km 2 of continuous forest, 6 beech-dominated and 6 in multispecies forest stands. Each transect reached from the forest edge up to 500 m into the forest interior. Vegetation relevés were conducted in regular, logarithmic distances along each transect.Important findings Herb species richness was influenced by an interaction of edge effects and tree diversity level. With increasing distance from the forest edge, herb species richness remained constant in multispecies forest stands but rapidly decreased in beech-dominated forest stands. Further, herb richness was higher in the interior of multispecies forest stands. Percent forest specialists increased and percent generalists decreased with distance from the edge and this contrasting pattern was much more pronounced in beech-dominated transects. By using structural equation modeling, we identified litter depth mediated by tree species composition as the most important driver of herb layer plant species richness.     

An integrated approach to hydropower impact assessment

The submerged aquatic vegetation of 17 Norwegian lakes is described and related to the environmental impacts that result from hydro-electric power (HEP) use of these lakes. Largely based upon physiognomical features, three main community types are discerned. These are denoted as (a) shallow-water, (b) mid-depth, and (c) deep-water community, respectively. The aquatic macrophytes are classified into a plant strategy framework. This classification suggests that these macrophytes frequently exhibit combined traits of the S (stress-tolerating), R (ruderal), and C (competitive) strategies. A plant-strategy index for the lakes is derived from the species classification and related to their HEP use.Broadly, the response features of hydrolake vegetation are: (1) a decline in species richness; (2) the gradual disappearance of the shallow-water and mid-depth communities; (3) a conspicuous absence of vascular submerged macrophytes in storage hydrolakes when lake levels change more than 7 m annually, and; (4) an increased incidence of species possessing plant strategies of the ruderal (R) type. The implications of these results for an environmental impact assessment of hydropower schemes are discussed.     

Spatial zonation of macrobenthic fauna in Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserve, Guangdong, China

The spatial zonation of macrobenthic fauna in the core region of Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserve was studied with two transects vertical to the shoreline. The first transect was near Deyao Village where three faunal zones of the mangrove swamp could be divided into the following types from the high tide part to the low tide part: the Assiminea lutea-Uca arcuata-Paracleistostoma crassipilum zone, the Cleistostoma dilatatum-Macrophthalmus erato-Littoraria melanostoma zone, and the Paracleistostoma depressum-Cerithidae cingulata zone. Mollusck and crustacean exhibited the highest individual density in this transect. Mollusck mainly influenced the dynamics of community biomass as well as the species diversity index. In the second transect near Hongzhai Village, the following four faunal zones could be determined: the Littoraria melanostoma-Pseudoringicula sinensis-Ceratonereis burmensis zone, the Assiminea lutea-Cleistostoma dilatatum zone with a dominant species belonging to the Ellobiidae, Upogebia sp.-Paracleistostoma depressum zone, and the Metaplax sheni-Cerithidae cingulata zone. The crustacean showed the highest individual density in this transect. Similar to the Deyao transect, dynamics of community biomass and the species diversity index of the Hongzhai transect were mainly influenced by mollusck. By hierarchical clustering and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, the macrobenthic fauna communities could be divided into three and four groups in the Deyao and Hongzhai transects, respectively. These groups corresponded to different types of vegetation of the mangrove swamp. Taken together, our observations indicated that the spatial zonation of the macrobenthic fauna was mainly affected by the characteristics of the mangrove community, sediment characteristics and the tidal line.     

三江并流地区干旱河谷植物物种多样性海拔梯度格局比较

在滇西北三江并流地区典型干旱河谷段, 在怒江、澜沧江和金沙江的东、西坡共设置了6条海拔梯度样带, 通过标准样地的植物群落调查, 分析各条样带植物的物种丰富度、物种更替率的海拔梯度格局, 并比较了地理和植被变量对分布格局的解释。干旱河谷植被带位于海拔3,000 m以下, 以灌丛和灌草丛为主, 其在各河谷的分布上限自西向东依次升高。植物物种丰富度的分布主要与海拔、流域、经纬度和植被带有关, 沿纬度和海拔梯度升高而显著增加的格局主要表现在草本层和灌木层, 灌木物种丰富度还呈现自西向东显著增加的趋势。怒江的灌木和草本种物种丰富度显著高于金沙江和澜沧江, 三条江的乔木种丰富度差异则不显著。森林带的样方草本物种丰富度显著低于灌草丛带样方, 并且还拥有后者没有的乔木种。不同样带的植物物种更替速率呈现了不一致的海拔梯度格局, 但均在样带海拔下部的灌草丛群落与海拔上部森林群落之间的交错带出现峰值。森林-灌草丛植被交错带在怒江样带处于海拔1,900-2,100 m处, 在澜沧江河谷位于海拔2,300-2,400 m, 在金沙江河谷位于海拔2,700-2,900 m。所有海拔样带的森林段或灌草丛段相对于同一样带不同植被段之间的物种更替程度为最小, 不仅小于同一流域不同样带相同植被段之间物种更替率的均值, 更小于所有样带相同植被段之间的更替率均值。在三条河流6条海拔样带的12个植被带段之间的物种更替变化中, 空间隔离因素可以解释34.2%, 而植被类型差异仅能解释不到0.5%。本研究结果显示了环境差异对不同植被类型物种丰富度的首要影响, 和各河流之间的空间隔离对植物群落构建和物种构成的主要作用。     

Spatial zonation of macrobenthic fauna in Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserve, Guangdong, China

The spatial zonation of macrobenthic fauna in the core region of Zhanjiang Mangrove Nature Reserve was studied with two transects vertical to the shoreline. The first transect was near Deyao Village where three faunal zones of the mangrove swamp could be divided into the following types from the high tide part to the low tide part: the Assiminea lutea-Uca arcuata-Paracleistostoma crassipilum zone, the Cleistostoma dilatatum-Macrophthalmus erato-Littoraria melanostoma zone, and the Paracleistostoma depressum-Cerithidae cingulata zone. Mollusck and crustacean exhibited the highest individual density in this transect. Mollusck mainly influenced the dynamics of community biomass as well as the species diversity index. In the second transect near Hongzhai Village, the following four faunal zones could be determined: the Littoraria melanostoma-Pseudoringicula sinensis-Ceratonereis burmensis zone, the Assiminea lutea-Cleistostoma dilatatum zone with a dominant species belonging to the Ellobiidae, Upogebia sp.-Paracleistostoma depressum zone, and the Metaplax sheni-Cerithidae cingulata zone. The crustacean showed the highest individual density in this transect. Similar to the Deyao transect, dynamics of community biomass and the species diversity index of the Hongzhai transect were mainly influenced by mollusck. By hierarchical clustering and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, the macrobenthic fauna communities could be divided into three and four groups in the Deyao and Hongzhai transects, respectively. These groups corresponded to different types of vegetation of the mangrove swamp. Taken together, our observations indicated that the spatial zonation of the macrobenthic fauna was mainly affected by the characteristics of the mangrove community, sediment characteristics and the tidal line.