Restoring the Vegetation of Mined Peatlands in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S.A.

South Park is a high‐elevation, semi‐arid, treeless intermountain basin in central Colorado. A few extreme rich fens occur on the western margin and in the center of South Park where regional and local groundwater flow systems discharge to the ground surface. Over the past 40 years there has been extensive peat mining in these fens, but restoration methods have yet to be developed and successfully applied. The first part of this study compared the naturally reestablished vegetation on six mined peatlands with six pristine sites, while the second part of the study tested different revegetation techniques in 27 plots with varying depths to the water table. The six mined sites had only 30 plant species as compared with 122 species in the unmined sites; 43% of the species in the mined sites were not present in the undisturbed fens. Even after 40 years the sedges and willows that dominate the undisturbed sites were largely absent on the mined sites. The revegetation experiments seeded eight species, transplanted Carex aquatilis (water sedge) seedlings, transplanted rhizomes from six species, and transplanted four species of willow cuttings. Of the eight species seeded, only Triglochin maritima (arrowgrass) germinated and established seedlings. C. aquatilis seedlings, rhizome transplants of C. aquatilis, Kobresia simpliciuscula (elk sedge), and Juncus arcticus (arctic rush), and willow cuttings all had differing patterns of survival with respect to the annual maximum height of the water table. These results indicate that the dominant species can be successfully reintroduced to mined surfaces with the appropriate hydrologic conditions, but human intervention will be necessary to rapidly re‐establish these species. The slow rate of peat accumulation means that restoration of the mined fens will require hundreds, if not thousands, of years.     

汾河河口湿地植被数量分类与排序

在群落样方调查基础上,采用双向指示种分析（TWINSPAN）和除趋势对应分析（DCA）对汾河入河口湿地植被群落进行了数量分类和排序。TWINSPAN将78个样方分为18个群丛,并论述了各群丛的群落学特征。DCA排序结果反映了植物群落类型与环境梯度水分之间的关系,表明影响群丛分布格局的主导生态因子为土壤水分。     

Classification and ordination of plant communities along an altitudinal gradient on the Presidential Range,New Hampshire,USA

An analysis of vegetation along an altitudinal gradient on the Presidential Range, New Hampshire, USA, using the Braun–Blanquet approach followed by multivariate data analysis is presented. Twelve main plant communities have been distinguished. Floristic information is presented in twelve tables and one appendix. The relationships of the communities to complex environmental gradients are analyzed using Correspondence Analysis. Floristic composition and community structure are controlled primarily by the altitudinal gradient (temperature, precipitation), and by mesotopographic conditions (snow accumulation, exposure and cryoturbation, slope position, and soil moisture).     

Bighorn Sheep Response to Road-Related Disturbances in Rocky Mountain National Park,Colorado

ABSTRACT Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) use of Sheep Lakes mineral site, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, has decreased since 1996. Officials were concerned that human disturbance may have been contributing to this decline in use. We evaluated effects of vehicular traffic and other road-related disturbance on bighorn use of Sheep Lakes in the summers of 2002 and 2003. We found that the time and number of attempts required by bighorn to reach Sheep Lakes was positively related to the number of vehicles and people present at Sheep Lakes. Further, the number of bighorn individuals and groups attempting to visit Sheep Lakes were negatively affected by disturbance associated with the site. The number of vehicles recorded the hour before bighorn tried to access Sheep Lakes best predicted an animal's failure to cross Fall River Road and reach Sheep Lakes. We conclude that human and road-related disturbance at Sheep Lakes negatively affected bighorn use of the mineral site. Because Sheep Lakes may be important for bighorn sheep, especially for lamb production and survival, the negative influence of disturbance may compromise health and productivity of the Mummy Range bighorn sheep.     

Forest vegetation of the Colorado Front Range: Patterns of species diversity

Summary Plant species diversity patterns of the Rocky Mountain forests were found to be at variance with patterns reported from other regions. The most centrally located forests in terms of elevation, site moisture and successional status were found to have the lowest diversity. In contrast, the peripheral and environmentally more severe sites were found to have relatively high diversity. In particular, the forest-grassland transition and the low elevation riparian forests have species diversity values as high as any yet reported from western North America.When diversity was examined in terms of variation across elevation or moisture gradients, varying results were obtained due to the interaction of these factors. The failure of previous studies to converge on generalizations about plant diversity reflects, in part, the failure of most investigators to view diversity in a regional context of variation across several interacting gradients.Diversity was seen to vary inversely with the degree of development of the forest canopy. The interaction of different components of the forest community is one reason for the failure of general patterns of plant species diversity to emerge from previous studies. A potentially rich herb community can be greatly suppressed by a single species tree stratum.Among the most successful work to date on species diversity is that on birds, a distinct albeit large and functional group. It is unlikely that similar success could have been achieved through work on all animal species simultaneously. This suggests the need to examine plant species diversity, not in terms of total diversity, but in terms of component functional groups, perhaps guilds, growing under similar microclimatic conditions and subject to similar competitive pressures.Nomenclature follows Weber (1976).     

云南大山包黑颈鹤自然保护区草甸植被的数量分类和排序

在法瑞学派样地调查法的基础上,采用双向指示种分析（TWINSPAN）和趋势对应分析（DCA）对大山包黑颈鹤自然保护区草甸植被进行数量分类和排序研究。调查样地包含114个物种,分属31科72属,其中禾本科（14种）、菊科（13种）、蓼科（8种）、石竹科（6种）、玄参科（6种）等科所含物种较多。经TWINSPAN分类,106个样地分为20个聚组,根据其指示种确定为20个群丛。样地DCA和物种DCA排序结果反映了植物群丛与指示种之间的一致关系,排序轴的生态学意义说明水分和海拔两个环境因子同时影响该区草甸植被的分布。     

Historical biogeography of two alpine butterflies in the Rocky Mountains: broad-scale concordance and local-scale discordance

Aim We inferred the phylogeography of the alpine butterfly Colias meadii Edwards (Pieridae) and compared its genetic structure with that of another high elevation, co‐distributed butterfly, Parnassius smintheus Doubleday (Papilionidae), to test if the two Rocky Mountain butterflies responded similarly to the palaeoclimatic cycles of the Quaternary. Location Specimens were collected from 18 alpine sites in the Rocky Mountains of North America, from southern Colorado to northern Montana. Methods We sequenced 867 and 789 nucleotides of cytochrome oxidase I from an average of 19 and 20 individuals for C. meadii and P. smintheus, respectively, from each of the same 18 localities. From the sequence data, we calculated measures of genetic diversity within each population (H, θ), genetic divergence among populations (F_ST), and tested for geographic structure through an analysis of molecular variance (amova ). Population estimates were compared against latitude and between species using a variety of statistical tests. Furthermore, nested clade analysis was implemented to infer historic events underlying the geographic distribution of genetic variation in each species. Then, we compared the number of inferred population events between species using a nonparametric Spearman's rank correlation test. Finally, we ran coalescent simulations on each species’ genealogy to test whether the two species of Lepidoptera fit the same model of population divergence. Results Our analyses revealed that: (1) measures of within‐population diversity were not correlated with latitude for either species, (2) within‐site diversity was not correlated between species, (3) within a species, nearly all populations were genetically isolated, (4) both species exhibited significant and nearly identical partitioning of genetic variation at all hierarchical levels of the amova , including a strong break between populations across the Wyoming Basin, (5) both species experienced similar cycles of expansion and contraction, although fewer were inferred for C. meadii, and (6) data from both species fit a model of three refugia diverging during the Pleistocene. Main conclusions While our findings supported a shared response of the two butterfly species to historic climate change across coarse spatial scales, a common pattern was not evident at finer spatial and temporal scales. The shared demographic history of the two species is consistent with an expanding–contracting archipelago model, suggesting that populations persisted across the geographic range throughout the climate cycles, experiencing isolation on ‘sky islands’ during interglacial periods and becoming connected as they migrated down‐slope during cool, wet climates.     

新疆阿尔泰红山嘴地区的表土孢粉与现代植被

在新疆阿尔泰山中段的红山嘴地区选取一条沿海拔745-2 413 m的不同植被带群落样方进行调查, 对应采集37个表土样品进行孢粉统计和排序分析, 初步探究了红山嘴地区的植被与表土孢粉之间的对应关系, 并将之与新疆阿尔泰西部的喀纳斯西坡孢粉垂直带进行对比。结果表明, 红山嘴地区表土孢粉谱依照海拔高度自上而下划分为4个孢粉组合类型, 分别对应亚高山草甸、山地森林、灌丛草原和荒漠草原。乔木植物中云杉属(Picea)和松属(Pinus)花粉, 灌木植物中麻黄属(Ephedra)及草本植物中的苋科和蒿属(Artemisia)因受到自然风力、水流及人为活动的影响, 表现出明显的超代表性; 乔木植物中的落叶松属(Larix)花粉, 草本植物中的禾本科及莎草科花粉, 却在其自身为优势种的群落中呈现低代表性; 蒿属与苋科花粉百分含量的比值(Ar/Am)能较好地反映该区气候垂直带的干湿状况, 灌丛草原带的Ar/Am低, 在一定程度上反映了人类活动对草原灌丛化的影响。与新疆阿尔泰西部的喀纳斯西坡孢粉垂直带相比, 红山嘴垂直带的孢粉类型偏少, 同时相似的孢粉带在该区的分布高度比喀纳斯西坡高。此外, 排序分析(RDA)结果表明, 年降水量是影响该区表土孢粉组合的主要环境因子。     

Spatial and temporal variation in historic fire regimes in subalpine forests across the Colorado Front Range in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Aim The historical variability of fire regimes must be understood in the context of drivers of the occurrence of fire operating at a range of spatial scales from local site conditions to broad‐scale climatic variation. In the present study we examine fire history and variations in the fire regime at multiple spatial and temporal scales for subalpine forests of Engelmann spruce–subalpine fir (Picea engelmannii, Abies lasiocarpa) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) of the southern Rocky Mountains. Location The study area is the subalpine zone of spruce–fir and lodgepole pine forests in the southern sector of Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO), Colorado, USA, which straddles the continental divide of the northern Colorado Front Range (40°20′ N and 105°40′ W). Methods We used a combination of dendroecological and Geographic Information System methods to reconstruct fire history, including fire year, severity and extent at the forest patch level, for c. 30,000 ha of subalpine forest. We aggregated fire history information at appropriate spatial scales to test for drivers of the fire regime at local, meso, and regional scales. Results The fire histories covered c. 30,000 ha of forest and were based on a total of 676 partial cross‐sections of fire‐scarred trees and 6152 tree‐core age samples. The subalpine forest fire regime of ROMO is dominated by infrequent, extensive, stand‐replacing fire events, whereas surface fires affected only 1–3% of the forested area. Main conclusions Local‐scale influences on fire regimes are reflected by differences in the relative proportions of stands of different ages between the lodgepole pine and spruce–fir forest types. Lodgepole pine stands all originated following fires in the last 400 years; in contrast, large areas of spruce–fir forests consisted of stands not affected by fire in the past 400 years. Meso‐scale influences on fire regimes are reflected by fewer but larger fires on the west vs. east side of the continental divide. These differences appear to be explained by less frequent and severe drought on the west side, and by the spread of fires from lower‐elevation mixed‐conifer montane forests on the east side. Regional‐scale climatic variation is the primary driver of infrequent, large fire events, but its effects are modulated by local‐ and meso‐scale abiotic and biotic factors. The low incidence of fire during the period of fire‐suppression policy in the twentieth century is not unique in comparison with the previous 300 years of fire history. There is no evidence that fire suppression has resulted in either the fire regime or current forest conditions being outside their historic ranges of variability during the past 400 years. Furthermore, in the context of fuel treatments to reduce fire hazard, regardless of restoration goals, the association of extremely large and severe fires with infrequent and exceptional drought calls into question the future effectiveness of tree thinning to mitigate fire hazard in the subalpine zone.     

Quantitative Classification and Ordination of Meadow Vegetation in Dashanbao Black necked Crane Nature Reserve,Yunnan

Based on the Braun Blanquet method of Relev é synthesis, TWINSPAN quantitative classification and DCA ordination of meadow vegetation was studied in Dashanbao Black necked Crane Nature Reserve. Finally, samples contained 114 species which belong to 31 families and 72 genus. The most abundant families were Poaceae, Asteraceae, Polygonaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Scrophulariaceae. One hundred and six samples were categorized into 20 groups and divided into 20 associations according to the indicator species. The result of samples and species DCA ordination inflected the consistent relationship between the associations and indicator species. The ecological explanation of ordination axis illustratted that both of the soil moisture and elevation affected the distribution of meadow vegetation in this area.     

Estimation of Successful Breeding Pairs for Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains,USA

Abstract: Under the Endangered Species Act, documenting recovery and federally mandated population levels of wolves (Canis lupus) in the Northern Rocky Mountains (NRM) requires monitoring wolf packs that successfully recruit young. United States Fish and Wildlife Service regulations define successful breeding pairs as packs estimated to contain an adult male and female, accompanied by ≥2 pups on 31 December of a given year. Monitoring successful breeding pairs will become more difficult following proposed delisting of NRM wolves; alternatives to historically intensive methods, appropriate to the different ecological and regulatory context following delisting, are required. Because pack size is easier to monitor than pack composition, we estimated probability a pack would contain a successful breeding pair based on its size for wolf populations inhabiting 6 areas in the NRM. We also evaluated the extent to which differences in demography of wolves and levels of human-caused mortality among the areas influenced the probability of packs of different sizes would contain successful breeding pairs. Probability curves differed among analysis areas, depending primarily on levels of human-caused mortality, secondarily on annual population growth rate, and little on annual population density. Probabilities that packs contained successful breeding pairs were more uniformly distributed across pack sizes in areas with low levels of human mortality and stable populations. Large packs in areas with high levels of human-caused mortality and high annual growth rates had relatively high probabilities of containing breeding pairs whereas those for small packs were relatively low. Our approach can be used by managers to estimate number of successful breeding pairs in a population where number of packs and their sizes are known. Following delisting of NRM wolves, human-caused mortality is likely to increase, resulting in more small packs with low probabilities of containing breeding pairs. Differing contributions of packs to wolf population growth based on their size suggests monitoring successful breeding pairs will provide more accurate insights into population dynamics of wolves than will monitoring number of packs or individuals only.     

Analysis of nitrogen saturation potential in Rocky Mountain tundra and forest: implications for aquatic systems

We employed grass and forest versions of the CENTURY model under a range of N deposition values (0.02–1.60 g N m^–2 y^–1) to explore the possibility that high observed lake and stream N was due to terrestrial N saturation of alpine tundra and subalpine forest in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Model results suggest that N is limiting to subalpine forest productivity, but that excess leachate from alpine tundra is sufficient to account for the current observed stream N. Tundra leachate, combined with N leached from exposed rock surfaces, produce high N loads in aquatic ecosystems above treeline in the Colorado Front Range. A combination of terrestrial leaching, large N inputs from snowmelt, high watershed gradients, rapid hydrologic flushing and lake turnover times, and possibly other nutrient limitations of aquatic organisms constrain high elevation lakes and streams from assimilating even small increases in atmospheric N. CENTURY model simulations further suggest that, while increased N deposition will worsen the situation, nitrogen saturation is an ongoing phenomenon.     

Regional analysis of inorganic nitrogen yield and retention in high-elevation ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains

Yields and retention of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN: NO₃ ^– + NH₄ ⁺) and nitrate concentrations in surface runoff are summarized for 28 high elevation watersheds in the Sierra Nevada of California and Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. Catchments ranged in elevation from 2475 to 3603 m and from 15 to 1908 ha in area. Soil cover varied from 5% to nearly 97% of total catchment area. Runoff from these snow-dominated catchments ranged from 315 to 1265 mm per year. In the Sierra Nevada, annual volume-weighted mean (AVWM) nitrate concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 13 M (overall average 5.4 M), and peak concentrations measured during snowmelt ranged from 1.0 to 38 M. Nitrate levels in the Rocky Mountain watersheds were about twice those in the Sierra Nevada; average AVWM NO₃ ^– was 9.4 M and snowmelt peaks ranged from 15 to 50 M. Mean DIN loading to Rocky Mountain watersheds, 3.6 kg ha^–1 yr^–1, was double the average measured for Sierra Nevada watersheds, 1.8 kg ha^–1 yr^–1. DIN yield in the Sierra Nevada, 0.69 kg ha^–1 yr^–1, was about 60% that measured in the Rocky Mountains, 1.1 kg ha^–1 yr^–1. Net inorganic N retention in Sierra Nevada catchments was 1.2 kg ha^–1 yr^–1 and represented about 55% of annual DIN loading. DIN retention in the Rocky Mountain catchments was greater in absolute terms, 2.5 kg ha^–1 yr^–1, and as a percentage of DIN loading, 72%.A correlation analysis using DIN yield, DIN retention and surface water nitrate concentrations as dependent variables and eight environmental features (catchment elevation, slope, aspect, roughness, area, runoff, soil cover and DIN loading) as independent variables was conducted. For the Sierra Nevada, elevation and soil cover had significant (p > 0.1) Pearson product moment correlations with catchment DIN yield, AVWM and peak snowmelt nitrate concentrations and DIN retention rates. Log-linear regression models using soil cover as the independent variable explained 82% of the variation in catchment DIN retention, 92% of the variability in AVWM nitrate and 85% of snowmelt peak NO₃ ^–. In the Rocky Mountains, soil cover was significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with DIN yield, AVWM NO₃ ^– and DIN retention expressed as a percentage of DIN loading (%DIN retention). Catchment mean slope and terrain roughness were positively correlated with steam nitrate concentrations and negatively related to %DIN retention. About 91% of the variation in DIN yield and 79% of the variability in AVWM NO₃ ^– were explained by log-linear models based on soil cover. A log-linear regression based on soil cover explained 90% of the variation of %DIN retention in the Rocky Mountains.     

Fire, fuels and restoration of ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests in the Rocky Mountains, USA

Aim Forest restoration in ponderosa pine and mixed ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests in the US Rocky Mountains has been highly influenced by a historical model of frequent, low‐severity surface fires developed for the ponderosa pine forests of the Southwestern USA. A restoration model, based on this low‐severity fire model, focuses on thinning and prescribed burning to restore historical forest structure. However, in the US Rocky Mountains, research on fire history and forest structure, and early historical reports, suggest the low‐severity model may only apply in limited geographical areas. The aim of this article is to elaborate a new variable‐severity fire model and evaluate the applicability of this model, along with the low‐severity model, for the ponderosa pine–Douglas fir forests of the Rocky Mountains. Location Rocky Mountains, USA. Methods The geographical applicability of the two fire models is evaluated using historical records, fire histories and forest age‐structure analyses. Results Historical sources and tree‐ring reconstructions document that, near or before ad 1900, the low‐severity model may apply in dry, low‐elevation settings, but that fires naturally varied in severity in most of these forests. Low‐severity fires were common, but high‐severity fires also burned thousands of hectares. Tree regeneration increased after these high‐severity fires, and often attained densities much greater than those reconstructed for Southwestern ponderosa pine forests. Main conclusions Exclusion of fire has not clearly and uniformly increased fuels or shifted the fire type from low‐ to high‐severity fires. However, logging and livestock grazing have increased tree densities and risk of high‐severity fires in some areas. Restoration is likely to be most effective which seeks to (1) restore variability of fire, (2) reverse changes brought about by livestock grazing and logging, and (3) modify these land uses so that degradation is not repeated.     

Arthropod Trace Fossils of the Upper Lower Cambrian Gog Group,Southern Rocky Mountains of Canada

The upper lower Cambrian Gog Group in the southern Rocky Mountains of Canada displays a high diversity and abundance of arthropod traces. Four ichnogenera, Cruziana, Diplichnites, Monomorphichnus, Rusophycus, and “Indeterminate Arthropod Scratches” are discussed, with a total of 17 different ichnospecies, as follows: Cruziana billingsi Fillion and Pickerill, 1990, Cruziana irregularis Fenton and Fenton, 1937, Cruziana jenningsi Fenton and Fenton, 1937, Cruziana navicella Fenton and Fenton, 1937, Cruziana omanica Seilacher, 1970, Cruziana pectinata Seilacher, 1994, Cruziana penicillata Gibb, Chatterton, and Pemberton, 2009, Cruziana plicata Crimes, Legg, Marcos, and Arboleya, 1977, Cruziana tenella Linnarsson, 1871, Diplichnites twelvetreesi (Chapman, 1928), Monomorphichnus bilinearis Crimes, 1970b, Monomorphichnus lineatus Crimes, Legg, Marcos, and Arboleya, 1977, Rusophycus eutendorfensis (Linck, 1942 Linck, O. 1942. Die spur Isopodichnus. Senckenbergiana, 25: 232–255. [Google Scholar]), and Rusophycus unilobus (Seilacher, 1970 Seilacher, A. 1970. Cruziana stratigraphy of “non-fossiliferous” Palaeozoic sandstones. In Crimes, T. P. and Harper, J. C. (eds.), Trace Fossils. Seel House Press, Liverpool, 447–476. [Google Scholar]). Three new ichnospecies, i.e., Cruziana caputinclinata isp. nov., Rusophycus subnotous isp. nov., and Diplichnites obliquus isp. nov., are proposed, described, and illustrated. The ichnofauna collected from three localities (Lake O'Hara, Mount Babel, and Redoubt Mountain) are predominantly Cruziana. Evidence of nutrient-rich substrates containing microbially induced sedimentary structures and the ichnospecies present confirm that the trace fossil bearing strata are part of the Cruziana ichnofacies and were deposited in a fully marine basin between fair weather wave base and storm wave base.     

Coastal sand dune vegetation of Tabasco and Campeche,Mexico

Abstract. Sand dune vegetation along the coast of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Campeche was sampled by means of 1501 releves and the data were analyzed with classification and ordination programs. 36 community types were distinguished, which were grouped into 10 higher-order groups. The communities are described in a sequence reflecting the main vegetation zonation. Beach, embryo dune and foredune community groups include 12 community types, the sheltered zone includes 16 types and the fixed dunes 8 types. The ordination results reveal one main vegetation gradient corresponding to the increase in mean distance from the shoreline and elevation, and being covariant with species richness, mean vegetation cover and mean vegetation height. Additional differences are related to the geographical transition between the Gulf and Caribbean coastal vegetation and environmental conditions, mainly type of sand, occurring in the study area. Siliceous sand and a Gulf climate are characteristic for most of Tabasco, and calcareous sand and a Caribbean-type climate are characteristic for Campeche. Disturbance caused by coconut plantations, cattle grazing and tourism favours the invasion of ruderal species from waste places behind the dunes, which attain local dominance in the dunes described here. Consequently some separate community types had to be distinguished. The distribution of community types is analyzed in the context of the transitions between calcareous and siliceous substrates in the study area.     

Ecosystem Responses to Nitrogen Deposition in the Colorado Front Range

We asked whether 3–5 kg N y⁻¹ atmospheric N deposition was sufficient to have influenced natural, otherwise undisturbed, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Colorado Front Range by comparing ecosystem processes and properties east and west of the Continental Divide. The eastern side receives elevated N deposition from urban, agricultural, and industrial sources, compared with 1–2 kg N y⁻¹ on the western side. Foliage of east side old-growth Englemann spruce forests have significantly lower C:N and lignin:N ratios and greater N:Mg and N:P ratios. Soil % N is higher, and C:N ratios lower in the east side stands, and potential net N mineralization rates are greater. Lake NO₃ concentrations are significantly higher in eastern lakes than western lakes. Two east side lakes studied paleolimnologically revealed rapid changes in diatom community composition and increased biovolumes and cell concentrations. The diatom flora is now representative of increased disturbance or eutrophication. Sediment nitrogen isotopic ratios have become progressively lighter over the past 50 years, coincident with the change in algal flora, possibly from an influx of isotopically light N volatilized from agricultural fields and feedlots. Seventy-five percent of the increased east side soil N pool can be accounted for by increased N deposition commensurate with human settlement. Nitrogen emissions from fixed, mobile, and agricultural sources have increased dramatically since approximately 1950 to the east of the Colorado Front Range, as they have in many parts of the world. Our findings indicate even slight increases in atmospheric deposition lead to measurable changes in ecosystem properties. Received 16 November 1999; accepted 8 February 2000.     

Influences of transformation of cover values on classification and ordination of lake vegetation

Summary Numerical ordination (Program ORDINA) and classification (Program TABORD) have been applied to vegetation data from a lake in south Sweden.Full percentage values and different transformations of the estimated percented cover scale have been tested on relevés with nymphaeids (+ elodeids) and on relevés containing obly helophytes. The used scales have been: percentage (P), Hult-Sernander-Du Rietz (HSD), Log (%+1) (LP), 1+ log% (L), 100+ % (HP) and Presence/Absence (P/A). The main aim has been to find if there is an optimal transformation regarding both quantitative and qualitative information in vegetation data.In the classification of helophytes a dataset with 87 relevés and 20 species have been used applying P-and L-scales and P/A. The similarity between the different scales has been compared in relation to common relevés between every two corresponding clusters. L and P/A give very similar results, more similar than L and P or PA and P. It is also interesting that the result with P-scale is more similar to L than to P/A. The P-scale neglects with the species with a low cover value, whilst the L-scale takes notice of both quantity and quality.In the classification of 90 nymphaeid relevés containing only 6 species P, HSD, L, HP and P/A were applied. The L-scale (and partly PH-scale) gave a result similar to the most quantitative P-and HSD-scales. P/A-values gave a very deviating result. In the ordination of helophytes only 38 relevés with 18 species, taken along a transcect, were used and P, P/A and 4 different transformations were applied. The similarity between order of relevés in the graphs and real order of relevés along the transect was used as an objective test of the effectiveness of the scale applied. The P-scale gave a bad result, whilst P/A gave the best result. The intermediate scales L and HP gave acceptable results.In the ordination of nymphaeids (+ elodeids) 90 relevés, where only pattern was studied, the L-scale gave the best result most similar to P-and HSD, but applying the two extremes, P-scale and P/A, resulted in large reduction of information.In the submitted ordinations and classifications the applied L-scale (and HP-scale) always gave ecologically interpretable results, but the extreme transformation were less reliable.This work has been supported by grants from the University of Lund, for which I am duty grateful.Nomenclature follows Lid (1974).I am grateful to Professor Nils Malmer, head of the Department of Plant Ecology, Lund, Sweden, Dr. Eddy van der Maarel, University of Nijmegen, Holland, and my colleague Fil. Kand. Stefan Persson for valuable advice and discussions. I also thank my wife Fil. Kand. Eva Waldemarsson Jensén, Institute of Ecological Botany, Uppsala, for valuable discussions, Mr. Tommy Olsson for valuable technical advice, Dr. R.S. Clymo for advice with DIVINF and PCA and correction of the language, Mrs. Mimmi Varga for drawing the figures and Mrs. Brita Billstein for typewriting the text and the tables.