Fire Frequency and Mosaic Burning Effects on a Tallgrass Prairie Ground Beetle Assemblage

Fire frequency has significant effects on the biota of tallgrass prairie, including mammals, vascular plants and birds. Recent concern has been expressed that widespread annual burning, sometimes in combination with heavy livestock grazing, negatively impacts the biota of remaining prairie remnants. A common management recommendation, intended to address this problem, is to create a landscape with a mosaic of different burn regimes. Pitfall trapping was used to investigate the impacts of fire pattern on the diversity and species composition of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) at Konza Prairie Biological Station in eastern Kansas, USA. Trapping was conducted over three seasons in landscape units burned on average every 1, 4, or 20 years, and in a fourth season across the available range of vegetative structure to assess the variability of the community within the study system. In the fifth season communities were also followed immediately after two fire events to detect within-season effects of fire and to study short-term patterns of post-disturbance community assembly. Fire frequency had comparatively minimal effects on ground beetle diversity measures, and most numerically common species were observed widely across habitat and management types. Fire frequency effects were manifested primarily in changes in abundance of common species. Colonization of burned areas apparently did not occur from juxtaposed non-burned areas, but from underground or from long distances. While these results suggest that widespread annual burning of tallgrass prairie remnants may not have dramatic effects on prairie ground beetles, we urge caution regarding the application of these results to other taxa within tallgrass prairie.     

Effects of small mammal and invertebrate herbivory on plant species richness and abundance in tallgrass prairie

Summary A factorial field experiment was designed to test the effects of small mammals and above- and below-ground invertebrates on plant species richness and composition in native tallgrass prairie at Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, northeast Kansas. Over a 4-year period, Microtus ochrogaster densities were maintained by live-trapping in fenced plots, and invertebrate levels were reduced using the pesticides carbaryl for above-ground invertebrates and an organophosphate (isofenphos) for belowground invertebrates. ANOVA according to a split-plot design of plant species biomass data harvested in 1984 and 1986 revealed few significant effects of either small mammal densities or pesticide application. Of 54 species harvested from both sample dates, only 10 were significantly affected by either treatment. Analysis of species richness according to 8 life-form classes provided a clearer pattern of response than did biomass either by species or life-form class. For example, numbers of C4 grasses were reduced by increasing small mammal densities, whereas numbers of C4 annual forbs were lowest when above-ground herbivory was reduced. While consumers have been shown to have strong effects on successional communities, the few significant results observed in this study suggests that the manipulated levels of small mammals and insects had few effects on a mature tallgrass prairie.Deceased May, 1986     

Regional and local variation in tallgrass prairie remnants of Iowa and eastern Nebraska

Tallgrass prairie vegetation, persisting as numerous small relics scattered across central North America, exhibits a complex pattern of community structure and composition. We sampled vegetation from 11 prairie preserves in Iowa and eastern Nebraska spanning three physiographic regions and a wide variety of upland habitats. Numerical classification and partitioned ordination revealed a complex pattern of both local and geographical variation in the vegetation. The primary coenocline is a complex topographic-moisture gradient. Secondary factors influencing the vegetation include subsoil permeability, chorological differences, and local peculiarities of stand history and dynamics. Local patterns of interaction between the primary and secondary environmental factors vary among Quaternary landscapes resulting in regional vegetation complexity.Nomenclature follows Gleason (1952) except for the grasses which follow Pohl (1966).Supported by the National Science Foundation (No. GU 2795 and GU 3373), The Nature Conservancy, and the Iowa State Advisory Board for Preserves. We thank T. L. Roberts, S. Taylor, and S. Lundquist for help with field work, and R. K. Peet, A. T. Harrison, and J. K. White for advice, comments, and criticisms.     

Interacting influence of mycorrhizal symbiosis and competition on plant diversity in tallgrass prairie

In tallgrass prairie, plant species interactions regulated by their associated mycorrhizal fungi may be important forces that influence species coexistence and community structure; however, the mechanisms and magnitude of these interactions remain unknown. The objective of this study was to determine how interspecific competition, mycorrhizal symbiosis, and their interactions influence plant community structure. We conducted a factorial experiment, which incorporated manipulations of abundance of dominant competitors, Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, and suppression of mycorrhizal symbiosis using the fungicide benomyl under two fire regimes (annual and 4-year burn intervals). Removal of the two dominant C₄ grass species altered the community structure, increased plant species richness, diversity, and evenness, and increased abundance of subdominant graminoid and forb species. Suppression of mycorrhizal fungi resulted in smaller shifts in community structure, although plant species richness and diversity increased. Responses of individual plant species were associated with their degree of mycorrhizal responsiveness: highly mycorrhizal responsive species decreased in abundance and less mycorrhizal responsive species increased in abundance. The combination of dominant-grass removal and mycorrhizal suppression treatments interacted to increase synergistically the abundance of several species, indicating that both processes influence species interactions and community organization in tallgrass prairie. These results provide evidence that mycorrhizal fungi affect plant communities indirectly by influencing the pattern and strength of plant competitive interactions. Burning strongly influenced the outcome of these interactions, which suggests that plant species diversity in tallgrass prairie is influenced by a complex array of interacting processes, including both competition and mycorrhizal symbiosis. Received: 7 April 1999 / Accepted: 30 July 1999     

Effects of detrending and rescaling on correspondence analysis: solution stability and accuracy

Detrending and non-linear axis rescaling potentially improve the accuracy of gradient recovery in correspondence analyses but also reduce the stability or consistency of solutions. Variation among bootstrapped ordination solutions was compared across methods in analyses of both field and simulated data. Solution accuracy, measured with mean squared errors from Procrustes analysis, was compared using simulated data with known structure.Standard detrending-by-segments combined with non-linear rescaling entailed some cost in solution stability, but could improve the accuracy of solutions for long gradients. Without non-linear rescaling these solutions were usually less stable and less accurate. Although detrending-by-polynomials might be preferable on other grounds, it did not produce more accurate or stable solutions than detrending-by-segments.Abbreviations CA = correspondence analysis - DCA = detrended correspondence analysis - MSE = Procrustes mean squared error statistic - SD = standard deviation units of species turnover - SRV = scaled variance in species ranks     

DCCA排序轴分类及其在关帝山八水沟植物群落生态梯度分析中的应用

首次在ＤＣＣＡ排序的基础上使用排序轴分类法（ＯＡＣ）,将其发展为一个新的典范分类方法,并应用这种方法对山西关帝山八水沟的植物群落进行了数量分类,共划分出５类,效果较好。方差分析与多重比较表明,环境与群落结构因子在不同群落之间存在较为显著的差异,表明ＤＣＣＡ排序轴分类法能较好地反映群落与环境的变异。因为ＤＣＣＡ排序轴分类同时结合了植被因子与环境因子,所以它能较好地表达植物群落的环境梯度和结构梯度,反     

对应分析和去趋势分析在有蹄类取食模式研究中的应用

本研究将2009年1月和2010年1月小兴安岭大沾河湿地自然保护区二可河林场内驼鹿冬季食性作为原始数据,分别以对应分析（CA）、去趋势分析（DCA）,并将数据以样本为单位进行标准化后,再进行去趋势分析（DCA_std）3种排序方法,对驼鹿冬季取食模式进行了研究,后通过普鲁克分析,比较了不同排序方法对大型有蹄类取食模式研究的效果。结果表明,3种排序法的1轴和2轴均能涵盖绝大多数信息量,CA涵盖79.27%,DCA涵盖66.65%,DCA_std涵盖68.22%;3种方法均能够在1轴上区分针叶树和落叶乔木类食物,在2轴上,3种方法主要能够达到针叶树种与除落叶乔木外的其他植物类别的区分。虽三者均能够展现有蹄类取食模式,但在图形可视化后,仅DCA_std无明显的弓形效应。普鲁克分析结果表明,DCA_std样本位移平方和与CA和DCA均有很大差异,即将数据先进行标准化再进行DCA分析能够有效去除弓形效应。因此,在由多度组成的食性数据在进行标准DCA分析前,应对数据进行前期处理会得到更好的效果。同时,以样本为单位的标准化将使排序分析结果生态学意义更明确。     

试用多元分析方法研究植物形态结构与生态环境的关系

应用多元分析方法对栎属高山栎组不同环境条件下的３３个植物样品的形态解剖性状的１７个指标进行了综合分析．结果表明,二元指示种分析（ＴＷＩＮＳＰＡＮ）聚类的结果能很好地把相似生态环境条件下的样品聚在一起,对样品进行无趋势对应分析（ＤＣＡ）和主成分分析（ＰＣＡ）都得到了满意结果．植物形态解剖性状的聚类、排序分析也可用来研究个体性状之间变异的连续性和间断性,进而有助于分类学的研究．     

Bootstrapped ordination: a method for estimating sampling effects in indirect gradient analysis

Indirect gradient analysis, or ordination, is primarily a method of exploratory data analysis. However, to support biological interpretations of resulting axes as vegetation gradients, or later confirmatory analyses and statistical tests, these axes need to be stable or at least robust into minor sampling effects. We develop a computer-intensive bootstrap (resampling) approach to estimate sampling effects on solutions from nonlinear ordination.We apply this approach to simulated data and to three forest data sets from North Carolina, USA and examine the resulting patterns of local and global instability in detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) solutions. We propose a bootstrap coefficient, scaled rank variance (SRV), to estimate remaining instability in species ranks after rotating axes to a common global orientation. In analysis of simulated data, bootstrap SRV was generally consistent with an equivalent estimate from repeated sampling. In an example using field data SRV, bootstrapped DCA showed good recovery of the order of common species along the first two axes, but poor recovery of later axes. We also suggest some criteria to use with the SRV to decide how many axes to retain and attempt to interpret.Abbreviations DCA= detrended correspondence analysis - SRV= scaled rank variance     

Effects of fire,topography and year-to-year climatic variation on species composition in tallgrass prairie

Native unploughed tallgrass prairie from Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA is described with respect to plant species compositional changes over a five year period in response to fire and topography. The principal gradient of variation in the vegetation is related to time since burning. Species show an individualistic response in terms of relative abundance to this gradient. Both the percentage of and cover of C₄ species and all grasses decrease as the prairie remains unburnt. Forb and woody plant species numbers and abundance increase along this gradient. A secondary gradient of variation reflects topography (i.e. upland versus lowland soils). Upland soils support a higher species richness and diversity. Upland and lowland plant assemblages are distinct except on annually burnt prairie. The interaction between burning regime, topography and year-to-year climatic variation affects the relative abundance of the plant species differentially. The most dominant species overall, Andropogon gerardii, was affected only by year-to-year variation (i.e. climate). Its position at the top of the species abundance hierarchy was unaffected by burning regime or soil type. The other dominant species showed a suite of varying responses to these factors.Deceased May, 1986.     

Experimental analysis of patch dynamics and community heterogeneity in tallgrass prairie

Effects of fire and small-scale soil disturbances on species richness, community heterogeneity, and microsuccession were investigated in a central Oklahoma tallgrass prairie. In the fall of 1985, 0.2 m² soil disturbances were created on burned and unburned tallgrass prairie. Vegetation on and off disturbances was sampled at monthly intervals over two growing seasons. During the first growing season, the cover of forbs and annuals, and species richness were significantly greater on versus off disturbances, but these differences did not persist through the second year. The variation in species composition among disturbed plots (heterogeneity) was significantly greater compared to undisturbed areas throughout the study. Fire had no consistent effect on richness and heterogeneity of vegetation on soil disturbances but fire reduced heterogeneity on undisturbed vegetation. Rate of succession, based on an increase in cumulative cover of perennial grasses over time, did not differ among treatments during the first growing season. During the second year, rate of succession was significantly greater on burned soil disturbances compared to unburned soil disturbances. These results suggest that while small-scale soil disturbances have primarily short-lived effects on grassland community structure, disturbances do help to maintain spatial and temporal variation in tallgrass prairie communities. Unlike in undisturbed vegetation, however, species richness and heterogeneity on soil disturbances were little effected by fire, but the rate of colonization onto disturbances appeared to be enhanced by fire.     

中国葡萄属植物形态学聚类分组研究

对《中国葡萄志》描述的38个中国葡萄属野生种和1个栽培种,按照《葡萄种质资源描述规范和数据标准》的要求,对18个描述符用代码数量化并进行聚类分析,根据形态特征的相似程度,将我国葡萄属野生种和欧亚种划分为8个组和5个亚组。第1组包含毛葡萄、腺枝葡萄、龙泉葡萄、美丽葡萄和庐山葡萄,第2组包含麦黄葡萄和小叶葡萄,第3组包含5个亚组21个种类,其中亚组1包含山葡萄、陕西葡萄、浙江蘡薁、蘡薁和湖北葡萄,亚组2包含绵毛葡萄和勐海葡萄,亚组3包含小果葡萄、云南葡萄和葛藟葡萄,亚组4包含毛脉葡萄、华东葡萄、武汉葡萄和井冈葡萄,亚组5包含刺葡萄、秋葡萄、桦叶葡萄、网脉葡萄、蒙自葡萄、凤庆葡萄和河口葡萄,第4组仅包含欧洲葡萄,第5组包含温州葡萄、红叶葡萄、复叶葡萄、乳源葡萄和狭叶葡萄,第6组包含东南葡萄、罗城葡萄和闽赣葡萄,第7组仅包含菱叶葡萄,第8组仅包含鸡足葡萄一个种。     

Effects of Species Richness on Resident and Target Species Components in a Prairie Restoration

The ecological role of biodiversity in achieving successful restoration has been little explored in restoration ecology. We tested the prediction that we are more likely to create persistent, species‐rich plant communities by increasing the number of species sown, and, to some degree, by varying functional group representation, in experimental prairie plantings. There were 12 treatments consisting of 1‐, 2‐, 3‐, 4‐, 8‐, 12‐, and 16‐species mixtures of native perennials representing four functional groups (C₄ grasses, C₃ grasses, nitrogen‐fixing species, and late‐flowering composites) that predominate within Central Plains tallgrass prairies. In 2000, species were seeded into square plots (6 × 6 m), with five replicates per treatment, on former agricultural land. Annually, we measured total species richness and evenness, target species richness and cover, and richness and cover of resident species (i.e., those emerging from the seed bank). Both target species richness and rate of establishment of target communities were highest in the most species‐rich mixtures, but there was no additional benefit for treatments that contained more than eight species. Richness of resident species did not vary with target species richness; however, cover by resident species was lower in the higher target species treatments. Our results, indicating that establishment of species‐rich prairie mimics can be enhanced by starting with larger numbers of species at the outset, have implications for grassland restoration in which community biodiversity creation and maintenance are key goals.     

Integrating ecological features of species in spatial pattern analysis of a plant community

Objective: This empirical study was designed to explore the role of ecological features of species in the spatial patterning of a grassland community. Location: Banks of the river Rhône in France. Material and Methods: First, we explored the spatial pattern of 29 species recorded in the community using spatial autocorrelation analysis of species cover values. Second, we then explored the relationship between the patterns found and a set of life attributes that characterized the ecological features of species for resource foraging or dispersion. Finally, we explored the spatial relationship of groups of species that shared the same ecological features using cross‐correlation analysis. Results: We found a significant relationship between the spatial pattern and life attributes of the species highlighting three groups of species: (1) species characterized as competitors, reproducing by runner clonal organs and forming large, dense patches; (2) species characterized as competitive‐rud‐erals, dispersing exclusively by seed production and forming small periodic patches; and (3) species classified as CSR, characterized by rosette morphology and short rhizomes as clonal organs without any significant spatial autocorrelation. Spatial segregation was found between group 1 and group 2 up to 14 m; no significant cross‐correlation between groups 1 and 3 between 0 and 3.5 m, and association between groups 2 and 3 up to 14 m. Conclusions: These results helped to understand how species attributes (relative to stature or dispersion abilities); external factors (such as disturbance) and biotic processes (competition) interplay in structuring the plant community under study in space.     

以林相图为基础的不同取样方式对植被排序分析结果的影响

以6种不同方式对林相图中同一样带取样,采用CA、DCA和CCA 3种排序方法,研究了取样方式对排序轴的解释效果、物种与环境因子、环境因子之间、环境因子与坐标轴之间关系的影响.结果表明,样方大小和形状的变化在不同程度上改变了排序结果.大样方和长方形样方都增强了排序轴的解释效果,并对双序图中稀有种、独特种的位置有较大的影响;环境因子中土壤因子对样方的大小和形状都很敏感,坡度、经纬度只对样方大小敏感,坡位、海拔、温度和降水则对样方形状敏感;随着样方面积的增加,海拔、温度和降水的作用降低,而坡向的作用增加.     

荒漠啮齿动物群落与植物群落的对应分析

动物与其生存环境变量之间的关系一直是生态学家们广泛关注的问题.啮齿动物作为荒漠生态系统中重要的功能群,其数量大小和生态功能对生态系统的平衡和稳定具有重要意义.生境中的植被为啮齿动物提供赖以生存的食物资源和栖息地,了解啮齿动物群落与植被特征之间的关系对于理解动物群落变动规律具有重要意义.不同植被条件下啮齿动物群落的结构不同,Hernández等(2005)研究发现北美Chihuahuan荒漠的灌木生境中啮齿动物密度高于草地生境.     

Impact of pocket gopher disturbance on plant species diversity in a shortgrass prairie community

Summary We examined the impact of pocket gopher disturbances on the dynamics of a shortgrass prairie community. Through their burrowing activity, pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) cast up mounds of soil which both kill existing vegetation and create sites for colonization by competitively-inferior plant species. Three major patterns emerge from these disturbances: First, we show that 10 of the most common herbaceous perennial dicots benefit from pocket gopher disturbance; that is, a greater proportion of seedlings are found in the open space created by pocket gopher disturbance than would be expected based on the availability of disturbed habitat. Additionally, these seedlings exhibited higher growth rates than adjacent seedlings of the same species growing in undisturbed habitat. Second, we tested two predictions of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis and found that species diversity was greatest for plots characterized by disturbances of intermediate age. However, we did not detect significant differences in diversity between plots characterized by intermediate and high levels of disturbance, indicating that many species are adapted to or at least tolerant of high levels of disturbance. Third, we noted that the abundance of grasses decreased with increasing disturbance, while the abundance of dicots increased with increasing disturbance.     

MacroCAIC: revealing correlates of species richness by comparative analysis

Abstract. Studies of species richness have been hampered by the use of methods that fail to account for phylogenetic non-independence of character states. MacroCAIC is a computer program that extends the method of phylogenetically independent contrasts to encompass species-richness data. It examines user-selected characters for correlation with species richness, thus allowing clearer identification of the factors driving large-scale patterns of diversity.     

Legacy effects of afforestation on prairie plant and seed bank communities in a northern Canadian prairie

Afforestation resulting from fire suppression, modified grazing, plantation establishment and climate change poses a threat to northern prairie ecosystems. Trees alter the composition and function of plant and soil fauna communities and can compromise the restoration of afforested prairies. To evaluate the hypothesis that legacies of afforestation persist in restored prairie communities and decrease the potential for restoration, we examined the composition, structure, and diversity of plant and seed bank communities along a 20 year chronosequence of plantation tree removal from a northern fescue prairie in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, Canada. Tree removal increased the abundance of weedy species in the plant and seed bank communities of restored prairies and plant diversity peaked and declined over the 20 year period of passive restoration. As a result, time since tree removal and the encroachment of invasive species were key in explaining the composition of restored prairie communities. Low correlation between the species composition of plant and seed bank communities, including the complete absence of Festuca hallii in restored treatments, demonstrated that legacies of afforestation compromised the potential of seed banks to facilitate prairie restoration. We conclude that tree removal alone is insufficient for the restoration of northern fescue prairies and that, in the absence of active management, the persistence of low-diversity plant and seed bank communities constitutes an important legacy of afforestation and an important barrier to future restoration.