Influence of soil thickness on stand characteristics in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest

Soil thickness can be an important factor influencing vegetation, yet few spatially-explicit studies have examined soil horizon thickness and vegetation composition in summer-drought forests. We compared seismic and soil penetration measurements of combined A + C and Cr horizon thickness, soil moisture and temperature, and stand variables in a contiguous 4-ha mixed-conifer stand of the Sierra Nevada. Thickness of A + C and Cr horizons were highly variable but were not correlated to each other. Total basal area and canopy cover were positively related with A + C horizon thickness, and shrub cover was positively related with Cr horizon thickness. Basal area of white fir [Abies concolor (Gord and Glend) Lindl.] and incense-cedar [Calocedrus decurrens (Torrey) Florin] were positively correlated with A + C horizon thickness, but there was no relationship between A + C or Cr horizon thickness and basal area of Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. and Balf.), sugar pine (P. lambertiana Douglas), or red fir (A. magnifica A. Murray). Both white and red fir seedlings were associated with decreased soil temperature, but only white fir seedlings were positively associated with soil moisture. Soil penetration estimates of soil thickness were similar to seismic estimates for shallow soils (<50 cm depth) but were poorly related on deeper soils. Visual surface conditions and tile probe estimates of soil thickness can be highly misleading because ‘shallow’ areas may have a thick layer of weathered bedrock that can serve as a potential rooting medium for deep-rooted trees and shrubs. In our study only the refraction seismic method had the potential to measure total soil depth that included A + C and Cr horizon thickness.     

Large-scale manipulation of plant litter and fertilizer in a managed successional temperate grassland

Plant litter may play an important role in herbaceous plant communities by limiting primary production and influencing plant species richness. However, it is not known how the effect of litter interacts with fertilization. We tested for the role of litter and fertilization in a large-scale experiment to investigate effects on diversity and biomass of plant species, growth forms, native vs. non-native groups, and abiotic ecosystem components (e.g., soil moisture, PAR). We manipulated plant litter (removed vs. left in situ) and nutrient availability (NPK-fertilized vs. unfertilized) for 4 years in 314-m² plots, replicated six times, in an old-field grassland. While many of our species-level results supported previously published studies and theory, our plant group results generally did not. Specifically, grass species richness and forb biomass was not affected by either fertilization or plant litter. Moreover, plant litter removal significantly increased non-native plant species richness. Relative to native plant species, all of our experimental manipulations significantly increased both the biomass and the species richness of non-native plant species. Thus, this grassland system was sensitive to management treatments through the facilitation of non-native plant species. We coupled biotic and abiotic components within a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) analysis to investigate treatment effects, which revealed that specific treatments altered ecosystem development. These results suggest that fertilization and plant litter may have larger impacts on plant communities and on ecosystem properties than previously understood, underscoring the need for larger-scale and longer-term experiments.     

Linking microbial community composition and soil processes in a California annual grassland and mixed-conifer forest

To investigate the potential role of microbial community composition in soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, we transplanted soil cores between a grassland and a conifer ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada California and measured soil process rates (N-mineralization, nitrous oxide and carbondioxide flux, nitrification potential), soil water and temperature, and microbial community parameters (PLFA and substrate utilization profiles) over a 2 year period. Our goal was to assess whether microbial community composition could be related to soil process rates independent of soil temperature and water content. We performed multiple regression analyses using microbial community parameters and soil water and temperature as X-variables and soil process rates and inorganic N concentrations as Y-variables. We found that field soil temperature had the strongest relationship with CO₂ production and soil NH₄⁺ concentration, while microbial community characteristics correlated with N₂O production, nitrification potential, gross N-mineralization, and soil NO₃^– concentration, independent of environmentalcontrollers. We observed a relationship between specific components of the microbial community (as determined by PLFA) and soil processes,particularly processes tightly linked to microbial phylogeny (e.g. nitrification). The most apparent change in microbial community composition in response to the 2 year transplant was a change in relative abundance of fungi (there was only one significant change in PLFA biomarkers for bacteria during 2 years). The relationship between microbial community composition and soil processes suggests that prediction of ecosystem response to environmental change may be improved by recognizing and accounting for changes in microbial community composition and physiological ecology.     

Short-term responses of the understory to the removal of plant functional groups in the cold-temperate deciduous forest

It is widely believed that functional diversity contributes to the stability of ecosystems. Indeed, greater redundancy among species within functional groups and greater complementarity among functional groups within communities should increase the resistance and resilience of ecosystems. In the present study, we tested for functional group complementarity by examining how the loss of specific functional groups may alter the role that other groups play in ecosystem functions. We removed different functional groups, one at a time, from the understory of three maple-dominated forests in southern Québec (Canada) and followed the understory response over a 2-year period. The experimental design included a control and five removal treatments. Five functional groups were defined: spring-flowering ephemeral species; spring-flowering persistent species; summer-flowering species; fern species; and seedlings and juveniles of woody species. Richness, cover, soil pH and organic matter content were determined after two years of removal. The results of our experiment revealed that richness was significantly lower than what we expected when spring-flowering persistent species or seedlings and juveniles of woody species were removed, suggesting not only direct but also indirect positive effects of both of these groups on understory richness (mostly through effects on summer-flowering species and fern species). Removal of the seedlings and juveniles of woody species and, to a lesser extent, of spring-flowering persistent species and of fern species lead to a decrease in the cover of summer-flowering species, implying a positive effect of the former groups on the latter. The cover–richness relationship in the control and in each one of the five removal treatments was positive and well fitted by a linear regression. Yet, the slope of the relationship differed among treatments, but not between the control and any one of the removal treatments (pair-wise comparisons). Our results suggest that the different functional groups are complementary and that positive interactions predominate over negative ones. Contrary to common belief, understory plants can respond quite rapidly to changes in community functional composition. Although we have not investigated the specific mechanisms responsible for the short-term responses reported here, we suggest that complex intergroup interactions may favour functional diversity and enhance ecosystem functions.     

Influence of overwinteringDaphnia on spring zooplankton communities: An experimental study

To evaluate the influence of overwintering individuals of zooplankton on spring zooplankton communities, the dynamics of zooplankton communities with or without overwintering individuals were observed in experimental ponds from fall to spring. An insecticide, carbaryl, was used to regulate the overwintering individuals. In ponds which received insecticide applications in November or January, all cladoceran and rotiferan species were eliminated by the treatments and did not reappear until late March or early April, even when the chemical disappeared rapidly. The low water temperature may delayed the establishment of the populations from resting eggs. In these ponds, populations of various cladoceran and rotiferan species, which seemed to be originated from resting eggs, were built up in the spring. In control ponds,Daphnia ambigua orD. longispina overwintered as juveniles and adults and established a large spring population earlier than other cladocerans and rotifers overwintering as resting eggs. The latter zooplankters did not increase in the spring probably because their growth was suppressed by the precedingDaphnia species through competition. In nature, even if the number of overwintering individuals is small, they may have a potential to build up a large population earlier than the individuals hatching from resting eggs. As a result, the species which have overwintered as individuals seem to predominate in the spring and have a large influence on the spring zooplankton community.     

Examination of multiple disturbances effects on herbaceous vegetation communities in the Sudanian savanna-woodland of West Africa

In West Africa, policies for prescribed early fire, grazing and selective tree cutting in the savanna-woodlands are rarely based on long-term experimental studies. The purpose of this study was to provide scientific evidence based on field data from two case studies for an informed discussion on the long-term response of herbaceous abundance both at the community and individual species levels to fire, grazing, selective cutting and their interactions. A long-term factorial experiment was established in two State forest reserves in Burkina Faso that mainly differ in their soil attributes. Community abundance data recorded from line intercept sampling over 13 years were analyzed using a multivariate ordination technique known as principal response curves (PRC).     

广东优势群落甜槠林多样性研究

采用每木调查法,对广东粤北石门台和粤中象头山地区甜槠( Castanopsis eyrie (Champ.) Tutch.)林样方内胸径≥ 1 cm的乔、灌木进行测量,记录其种名、胸径、高度和在样方中的坐标位置等指标,对群落的植物组成、区系成分、优势种及物种多样性进行分析。结果显示:石门台样地有维管植物112种,隶属36科54属;象头山样地有维管植物109种,隶属36科59属。两个群落均具有明显的热带向亚热带过渡的性质。其中,石门台样地与华东、华中地区联系紧密;象头山样地则与中国台湾、日本的岛屿联系更多。比较两个地区的群落特征发现,他们的相似性较高,物种多样性指数接近,纬度并不是决定群落植物多样性高低的因素,小环境、群落演替进程及人为因素对群落植物多样性的影响更大。     

Influence of the herbicide glyphosate on soil microbial community structure

The side effects of glyphosate on the soil microflora were monitored by applying a range of glyphosate concentrations (0, 2, 20, and 200 μg g⁻¹ herbicide) to incubated soil samples, and following changes in various microbial groups over 27 days. Bacterial propagule numbers were temporarily enhanced by 20 μg g⁻¹ and 200 μg g⁻¹ glyphosate, while actinomycete and fungal propagule numbers were unaffected by glyphosate. The frequency of three fungal species on organic particles in soil was temporarily enhanced by 200 μg g⁻¹ glyphosate, while one was inhibited. One species was temporily enhanced on mineral particles. However, many of these fungi were inhibited by 200 μg g⁻¹ glyphosate in pure culture. There was little agreement between species responses to glyphosate in incubated soil samples and in pure culture.     

Functional diversity research of forest communities in the Xiaowutai Mountain National Nature Reserve,Hebei

Plant functional traits are the plant physiological characteristics which can response to the changes of the living environment and have a certain impact on the ecosystem structure and function. The objective of our study was to explore characters of present functional diversity indices, the relationships between functional diversity and environmental variables, the relevance of species diversity and functional diversity. In this paper, habitat type, seed dispersal, pollination method, life cycle, life form, leaf form, leaf hair type, flowering period and flowering time were chosen as functional traits, and the research were done in the typical forest communities in the Xiaowutai Mountain National Nature Reserve, Hebei. One hundred and forty-eight quadrats (10 m × 10 m) of forest communities were established along altitude gradients, at the same time, species composition, functional traits, and environmental variables were measured in each quadrat. The results showed that functional diversity indices in forest communities that were calculated by functional distances varied greatly. Functional diversity indices (FAD, MFAD, FDp, FDc, FRic, Rao and FDis) had highly significantly positive correlation with Patrick index and showed a linear increasing trend. All the nine functional diversity indices (FAD, MFAD, FDp, FDc, FRic, Rao, FEve, FDiv, FDis) had significantly correlation with Shannon-Wiener index and Pielou index. Only FDiv showed significantly negative correlation, and the other eight functional diversity indices showed positive correlation. Environmental filtering was important to functional diversity pattern, and functional diversity indices showed correlation with environmental variables. Altitude was a significant factor to functional diversity in forest communities. Except for FDiv, other functional diversity indices displayed a decreasing trend along altitude gradients. Among all the functional diversity indices, only Rao and FDis showed significantly positive correlation with aspect. The functional diversity indices (FAD, MFAD, FDp, FDc, FRic, Rao and FDdis) showed a negative correlation with slope, slope position, litter layer thickness, soil thickness, while, they showed a positive correlation with soil temperature and disturbance. All the nine indices were proved successful in the analysis of functional diversity in forest communities with different effectiveness. They were divided into three categories, functional richness (FAD, MFAD, FDp, FDc, FRic), functional divergence (Rao, FDis), functional evenness (FEve, FDis). Meanwhile, each category was highly inter-correlated and each category was relatively independent with other categories. The study of functional diversity provides a number of ecological indication and monitoring methods for the forest, and it can address a wide range of important ecological questions that links species and ecosystems through mechanisms in biodiversity research.     

加拿大一枝黄花入侵对杭州湾地区土壤线虫群落的影响

近年来随着地下生态学的发展,生态学家们逐渐重视生物入侵导致的地下生物多样性及其相关生态系统功能的改变.为探究加拿大一枝黄花(Solidago canadensis)入侵对土壤线虫的影响,我们在杭州湾地区选取镇海、平湖、慈溪、奉贤、海盐和杭州6个研究地点,比较外来种加拿大一枝黄花群落与土著种芦苇(Phragmites a...     

Impact of postfire logging on soil bacterial and fungal communities and soil biogeochemistry in a mixed-conifer forest in central Oregon

Plant and Soil - Postfire logging recoups the economic value of timber killed by wildfire, but whether such forest management activity supports or impedes forest recovery in stands differing in...     

Structure,diversity, and regeneration of tropical dry deciduous forest of northern India

This study examined the impact of disturbance on the pattern of diversity, forest structure and regeneration of tree species in the Vindhyan dry tropical forest of India. A total of 1500 quadrats distributed over five, 3-ha permanent plots in five sites, differing in degree of disturbance, were used to enumerate and measure the tree species. A total of 65 species with 136,983 individuals were enumerated in the total 15-ha area for stems 30 cm height. The number of species and number of stems ranged from 12 to 50 and 8063–65331 per 3-ha area. The number of species and stems for trees 10 cm dbh ranged from 3 to 28 species, with a mean value of 16 species ha^–1, and from 16 to 477 stems, with a mean value of 256 stems ha^–1, respectively. The adult based PCA ordination indicated uniqueness of sites in terms of species composition and habitat characteristics. PCA ordination also showed uniqueness of sites in terms of seedling composition, but the seedling and adult distributions were not spatially associated. The distinct species composition at the different sites and at the two life-cycle stages on the same site is indicative of marked spatio-temporal dynamics of the dry tropical forest. The density–diameter semi-logarithmic curves ranged from a near linear to an overall concave appearance with a limited plateau in the mid-diameter ranges. The -diversity and its components decreased with increasing disturbance intensity, reflecting enhanced utilization pressure with increasing disturbance. The site-wise and species-wise regression analyses of the number of individuals in different stages of the species revealed that both the level of disturbance and the nature of species strongly affect the regeneration. In conclusion, although the forest is relatively species-poor, the differential species composition on different sites and the temporal dynamics lend a unique level of diversity to the tropical dry deciduous forest.     

Effects of aquatic macrophytes on water quality and phytoplankton communities in shallow lakes

We investigated aquatic macrophytes, water quality, and phytoplankton biomass and species composition in three shallow lakes with different levels of vegetation cover and nutrient concentration in Kushiro Moor, during August 2000. Trapa japonica can live in a wide range of nutrient levels. This species forms an environment with a steeper extinction of light, higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) near the bottom, and lower concentrations of nitrate+nitrite and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) than other vegetation types. The pH was much higher in a Polygonum amphibium community, and the DO near the bottom did not decrease compared to a T.japonica community in the summer. The relationship between chlorophyll a and the limiting nutrient (total phosphorus (TP) when total nitrogen (TN):TPis 10 and TN/10 when TN:TP is <10) significantly differed between lakes with and without submerged vegetation. The chlorophyll a concentrations at a given nutrient level were significantly lower in water with submerged macrophytes than in water without them. Correspondence analysis showed that the difference in phytoplankton community structure across sites was largely due to the presence or absence of submerged macrophytes, and the ordination of phytoplankton species in the lakes with submerged macrophytes is best explained by environmental gradients of TN, chlorophyll, pH and SRP.     

Response of soil bacterial communities to moisture and grazing in the Tibetan alpine steppes on a small spatial scale

As the Third Pole of the world, the Tibetan Plateau provides a typical alpine grassland environment for soil bacteria with its unique frigid and arid climate. Owing to clear changes in spatial moisture and increased grazing intensity, moisture and livestock grazing have become key factors influencing the microbial communities. Accordingly, we investigated the diversity and composition of soil bacteria in a selected alpine grassland within the dual gradients of moisture and grazing using high-throughput sequencing. Our results showed that grazing changed the soil bacterial diversity and composition, whereas moisture only influenced the relative abundance of the segmental community at the small spatial scale. Species richness was found to be increased by moderate grazing compared with that by high or low-grazing intensity. The relative abundance of dominant species and β-diversity of soil bacteria both showed differences with heavy, moderate, and low grazing. Some dominant bacteria were altered with the moisture content. However, there were no significant differences according to the moisture gradient in terms of the overall bacterial β diversity and composition. These results might be taken account into the small spatial scale as well as the compensation of grazing to moisture on this scale. This work provides new insights into the soil bacterial response to moisture gradients and grazing intensity in alpine steppe habitat.     

Landscape patterns of understory composition and richness across a moisture and nitrogen mineralization gradient in Ohio (U.S.A.) Quercus forests

This study quantified relationships of understory vascular plant species composition and richness along environmental gradients over a broad spatial scale in second-growth oak forests in eastern North America. Species frequencies were recorded in 108 25 × 25 m plots in four study sites extending over 70 km in southern Ohio, U.S.A.. The plots were stratified into three long-term soil moisture classes with a GIS-derived integrated moisture index (IMI). In addition to the IMI, the environmental data matrix included eight soil and three overstory variables. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that variations in understory species composition were most strongly related to topographic variations in predicted moisture (IMI), N mineralization rate, nitrification rate, and soil pH. In addition, floristic variation at the regional scale was correlated with variations in soil texture, nitrification, pH, and PO₄ ^–, resulting from differences in the soil parent material complexes among sites. Species richness averaged 65 species/plot, and increased with moisture and fertility. Stepwise regression indicated that richness was positively correlated with N mineralization rate and nitrification rate, and inversely correlated with tree basal area. Greater richness on fertile plots was the largely the result of increasing forb richness. Forb richness per quadrat (2 m²) was most strongly and positively related to N mineralization rate. Conversely, richness of understory individuals of tree species was greatest on xeric, less-fertile plots. Our results describe general, broad-scale species-environment relationships that occurred at both the topographic scale (long-term moisture status and fertility) and the regional scale (geomorphological differences among the sites). Strong species richness-N mineralization correlations indicate an important link between below-ground processes and above-ground biodiversity. Because N availability was a strong correlate to vegetation patterns at a broad-scale, our results suggest that the increasing rates of atmospheric N deposition in the region could have a major impact on understory vegetation dynamics.     

Responses of soil bacterial and fungal communities to reciprocal transfers of soil between adjacent coniferous forest and meadow vegetation in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon

Little information exists on the responses of soil fungal and bacterial communities in high elevation coniferous forest/open meadow ecosystems of the northwest United States of America to treatments that impact vegetation and soil conditions. An experiment was conducted in which soil cores were reciprocally transplanted between immediately adjacent forests and meadows at two high elevation (∼1,600 m) sites (Carpenter and Lookout) in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest located in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Half of the cores were placed in PVC pipe (closed) to prevent new root colonization, whereas the other cores were placed in mesh bags (open) to allow recolonization by fine roots. A duplicate set of open and closed soil cores was not transferred between sites and was incubated in place. After 2 year, soil cores were removed and changes in fungal and bacterial biomasses determined using light microscopy, and changes in microbial community composition determined by PLFA analysis, and by length heterogeneity PCR of the internal transcribed spacer region of fungal ribosomal DNA. At both sites soil microbial community structures had responded to treatments after 2 year of incubation. At Carpenter, both fungal and bacterial community structures of forest soil changed significantly in response to transfer from forest to meadow, with the shift in fungal community structure being accompanied by a significant decrease in the PLFA biomarker of fungal biomass,18:2ω6,9. At Lookout, both fungal and bacterial community structures of forest soil changed significantly in response to open versus closed core treatments, with the shift in the fungal community being accompanied by a significant decrease in the 18:2ω6,9 content of closed cores, and the shift in the bacterial community structure being accompanied by a significant increase in bacterial biomass of closed cores. At both sites, fungal community structures of meadow soils changed differently between open and closed cores in response to transfer to forest, and were accompanied by increases in the18:2ω6,9 content of open cores. Although there were no significant treatment effects on the bacterial community structure of meadow soil at either site, bacterial biomass was significantly higher in closed versus open cores regardless of transfer.     

草海国家级自然保护区水生植物群落的数量分类与排序分析

在群落样方调查的基础之上,采用双向指示种分析法（TW INSPAN）和除趋势对应分析（DCA）对草海国家级自然保护区水生植物群落进行分类和排序。TW INSPAN将50个样方分为17组,根据植被分类的原则划分为17个群丛,论述了各个群丛的群落学特征。50个样方的DCA排序结果反映了植物群落类型与环境梯度之间的关系,表明影响群落分布格局的主导生态因子为水分条件,第一轴反映了各个群落类型所在的水分条件梯度。排序结果与分类结果较吻合,反映出植物群落类型和物种分布随环境因子梯度变化的趋势。     

Influence of soil nutrients on ectomycorrhizal communities in a chronosequence of mixed temperate forests

Many factors associated with forests are collectively responsible for controlling ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community structure, including plant species composition, forest structure, stand age, and soil nutrients. The objective of this study was to examine relationships among ECM fungal community measures, local soil nutrients, and stand age along a chronosequence of mixed forest stands that were similar in vegetation composition and site quality. Six combinations of age class (5-, 26-, 65-, and 100-year-old) and stand initiation type (wildfire and clearcut) were replicated on four sites, each representing critical seral stages of stand development in Interior Cedar-Hemlock (ICH) forests of southern British Columbia. We found significant relationships between ECM fungal diversity and both available and organic P; available P was also positively correlated with the abundance of two ECM taxa (Rhizopogon vinicolor group and Cenoccocum geophilum). By contrast, ECM fungal diversity varied unpredictably with total and mineralizable N or C to N ratio. We also found that soil C, N, available P, and forest floor depth did not exhibit strong patterns across stand ages. Overall, ECM fungal community structure was more strongly influenced by stand age than specific soil nutrients, but better correlations with soil nutrients may occur at broader spatial scales covering a wider range of site qualities.     

Persistent soil seed banks and floristic diversity in Fagus orientalis forest communities in the Hyrcanian vegetation region of Iran

We assessed the size of seed bank, species diversity and similarity between seed bank and standing vegetation in four oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) community types of the central Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran. For this purpose a total of 52 relevés was established in two associations and two subassociations of the beech forests, and six soil samples (20 × 20 cm square and to a depth of 10 cm) were collected in each relevé in mid-spring, after the germination season had ended. Soil seed bank was investigated using the seedling emergence method. A total of 63 species, 57 genera and 36 families was represented in the persistent soil seed bank of the forest communities. The seed bank contained 28 species not found as adult plants in the vegetation, but these were mostly early successional species. Size of the seed bank ranged from 3740 to 4676 individuals m⁻² in the Rusco hyrcani-Fagetum orientalis and Danae racemosae-Fagetum orientalis associations, respectively. Species composition of seed banks and aboveground vegetation had low similarity with an average of 24.3% in the four plant communities, because only 38% of the species were the same in the vegetation and the seed banks. Most seeds in the seed bank were from early successional species, and the only tree with a large persistent seed bank was the fast-growing pioneer Alnus subcordata. DCA ordination also demonstrated low similarity between soil seed bank and vegetation. The soil seed banks of the four beech communities did not differ significantly in size, composition, diversity and uniformity. Although above ground vegetation in the four community types is floristically distinct, there is considerable overlap among the soil seed banks because they contain in a similar way early successional species. Further, the absence of typical forest species in the soil seed bank indicates that restoration of forest tree species cannot rely on the soil seed bank.