Terrestrial Arthropods as Indicators of Ecological Restoration Success in Coastal Sage Scrub (California, U.S.A.)

Abstract Ecological restoration enjoys widespread use as a technique to mitigate for environmental damage. Success of a restoration project often is evaluated on the basis of plant cover only. Recovery of a native arthropod fauna is also important to achieve conservation goals. I sampled arthropod communities by pitfall trapping in undisturbed, disturbed, and restored coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California. I evaluated arthropod community composition, diversity, and abundance using summary statistics, cluster analysis, and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and investigated influence of vegetation on arthropod communities with multiple regression analysis. Arthropod diversity at undisturbed and disturbed sites was greater than at sites that were 5 and 15 years following restoration ( p < 0.05). Number of arthropod species was not significantly different among undisturbed, disturbed, and restored sites, and two restoration sites had significantly more individuals than other sites. Vegetation at disturbed and undisturbed sites differed significantly; older restorations did not differ significantly from undisturbed sites in diversity, percent cover, or structural complexity. In multiple regression models, arthropod species richness and diversity was negatively related to vegetation height but positively related to structural complexity at intermediate heights. Exotic arthropod species were negatively associated with overall arthropod diversity, with abundance of the earwig Forficula auricularia best predicting diversity at comparison (not restored) sites (r² = 0.29), and abundance of the spider Dysdera crocata and the ant Linepithema humile predicting diversity at all sites combined (r² = 0.48). Native scavengers were less abundant at restored sites than all other sites and, with a notable exception, native predators were less abundant as well. DCA of all species separated restored sites from all other sites on the first axis, which was highly correlated with arthropod diversity and exotic arthropod species abundance. Lower taxonomic levels showed similar but weaker patterns, with example families not discriminating between site histories. Vegetation characteristics did not differ significantly between the newly restored site and disturbed sites, or between mature restoration sites and undisturbed sites. In contrast, arthropod communities at all restored sites were, as a group, significantly different from both disturbed and undisturbed sites. As found in other studies of other restoration sites, arthropod communities are less diverse and have altered guild structure. If restoration is to be successful as compensatory mitigation, restoration success standards must be expanded to include arthropods.     

Ants as Indicators of Restoration Success: Relationship with Soil Microbial Biomass in the Australian Seasonal Tropics

Ants are widely used as bioindicators in Australian land assessment and monitoring programs, particularly in relation to ecosystem restoration following mining. Little is known, however, about the relationship between ant community development and key ecological processes such as nutrient cycling. We have examined the relationship between ant species richness and soil microbial biomass at 17 sites subject to disturbance by mining in the Kakadu region of Australia's Northern Territory. The number of ant species recorded ranged from 7 at an unvegetated site undergoing restoration to 43 at a site that was undisturbed except for edge effects. Soil microbial biomass ranged from 19.3 to 134.3 μgC/g. Ant species richness was positively correlated with soil microbial biomass (r= 0.638), more so than was plant species richness (r= 0.342 for total plant species, r= 0.499 for woody species only). Our findings demonstrate a correlation between aboveground ant activity and belowground decomposition processes at disturbed sites, thereby providing support for the use of ants as indicators of restoration success following disturbance. Interestingly, when a range of undisturbed sites in the region was considered, a negative rather than positive relationship between ant richness and soil microbial biomass was found. This illustrates the importance of distinguishing between variation within a habitat due to disturbance and variation across different habitats when searching for indicators of ecological change.     

Ants as Indicators of Restoration Success at a Uranium Mine in Tropical Australia

The composition and structure of ant communities were used to assess the success of the preliminary restoration program at Ranger uranium mine in the seasonal tropics of northern Australia. Ants were surveyed at eight sites, including two relatively undisturbed control sits, within the Ranger lease. The revegetated sites represented a range of variables likely to influence restoration success: revegetation age (two, four, and eight years), proximity to undisturbed sites (which act as potential sources of recolonization), and burning treatment. Revegetation at most sites was dominated by fast-growing species of Acacia. There was a clear succession of ant species across revegetated sites. Initial colonization was by species of Iridomyrmex, but as plant cover and litter development increased these were replaced by broadly adapted, opportunist species, especially the introduced Paratrechina longicornis. Ant recolonization was very slow at isolated sites, with only 12 species present after eight years (the oldest site available). This compares with 21 species after only four years at a site located close to potential sources of recolonization. The ant community at this site, however, was very similar to that at another site located close to colonization sources, but eight years old. Ant succession therefore appeared to have stalled at this point, with species richness and composition bearing little resemblance to that at control sites. The heavy shade and litter produced by acacias were considered to be the major impediment to further change. Results from a site that had undergone a prescribed burn after two years, thereby breaking dominance by acacias and allowing for the establishment of a wide variety of plant taxa, suggest that such management practices may promote further colonization by ant species.     

Testing the Home‐Site Advantage in Forest Trees on Disturbed and Undisturbed Sites

Restoration of plant populations is often undertaken using seed or plants from local sources because it is assumed they will be best adapted to the prevailing conditions. However, the effect of site disturbance on local adaptation has rarely been examined. We assessed local adaptation in three southwestern Australian forest tree species (Eucalyptus marginata, Corymbia calophylla, and Allocasuarina fraseriana) using reciprocal transplant trials at disturbed and undisturbed sites. Performance of plants within the trials was assessed over 2 years. Planting location accounted for the majority of the variation in most measures of performance, although significant variation of percent emergence among source populations was also detected. In all species, percent emergence and survival of plants sourced from Darling Range populations was significantly higher than that of plants from the Swan Coastal Plain, regions of contrasting edaphic and climatic environment. Survival of E. marginata over the first 18 months and emergence of C. calophylla were both higher in local plants, providing at least weak evidence for local adaptation. Where a local advantage was observed, the relative performance of local and nonlocal seed did not vary among disturbed and undisturbed sites. Evidence for enhanced establishment from local seed in at least one species leads us to recommend that where sufficient high‐quality seed supplies exist locally, these should be used in restoration. We also recommend longer‐term studies to include the possibility of local adaptation becoming evident at later life history stages.     

青藏高原多年冻土区不同草地生态系统恢复能力评价

草地生态系统恢复能力是评价人类工程活动对青藏高原多年冻土生态系统影响的重要组分.分析了不同草地生态系统干扰带和非干扰带群落特征、植物多样性、草地初级生产力和经济类群,综合评价了青藏高原多年冻土区地上植被在受工程活动干扰后的综合恢复能力.结果表明:经过近20多年的自然恢复,青藏苔草草原、紫花针茅草原、扇穗茅草原、高山嵩草草甸、矮蒿草草甸和藏蒿草沼泽化草甸6种草地的盖度和物种组成均有一定程度的恢复,且草原群落的恢复程度好于草甸群落,但干扰群落仍低于未干扰群落;紫花针茅草原分布区物种多样性恢复好于其他草地类型分布区;干扰带由最初的地上植物生物量全部为0恢复到148.8～489.6 g·m^-2,其中藏嵩草沼泽化草甸干扰带恢复最好,生物量达489.6 g·m^-2;除藏嵩草恢复群落的饲用植物类群组成相对稳定外,干扰后的其他5种草地类型饲用价值降低.高寒草原生态系统的植被综合恢复能力显著高于草甸生态系统.     

Impact of land use on the ecology of uncultivated plant species in the Rwenzori mountain range,mid western Uganda

Rwenzori mountain range is important for its high diversity of unique species and as a water catchment area and yet very fragile to human interference. The study documented the impact of land use on ecology of uncultivated plant species in the Rwenzori mountain range using Bugoye sub‐county as a reference site. The ecological aspects of the plants studied included distribution, abundance and diversity of the plant species in and around the various land uses as well as in degraded, disturbed and undisturbed areas. Land uses identified were; agriculture, built up area and land with other activities (conservation and abandoned fields). The study revealed that agriculture was the main land use category taking up 69.7% of land use area. Plants distributed in and around the land uses were mainly trees with species diversity of 34.5%. Generally, there was no relationship in the distribution of plant species in degraded, undisturbed and disturbed areas (a = 0.01). In disturbed areas, there was vegetation cover especially of plant species that occur as secondary re‐growth, and in degraded areas, the ground was sparsely covered by primary succession species while in the undisturbed areas, plant species growing in a ‘natural. habitat dominated and most of them were climax species.     

Long‐term regeneration of a tropical plant community after sand mining

Sandy coastal plant communities in tropical regions have been historically under strong anthropic pressure. In Brazil, these systems shelter communities with highly plastic plant species. However, the potential of these systems to regenerate without human assistance after disturbances has hardly been examined. We determined the natural regeneration of a coastal sandy plain vegetation (restinga) in Brazil, 16 years after the end of sand removal. We inventoried 38 plots: 20 within a sand‐mined site and 18 in an adjacent undisturbed site. We expected lower diversity values in the sand‐mined site compared to the undisturbed site, but similar species composition between the two sites due to the spatial proximity of the two sites and the high plasticity of restinga species. Species were ranked using abundance and importance value index in both sites, and comparisons were performed using Rényi entropy profiles, rarefaction curves, principal component analysis, and redundancy analysis. Species composition and dominant species differed markedly between the two sites. Bromeliads and Clusia hilariana, well‐known nurse plants, dominated the undisturbed site but were almost absent in the regenerating site. Species richness did not differ between both sites, but diversity was higher in the undisturbed site. Within‐site composition differences in the mined area were associated with field characteristics. Interestingly, species classified as subordinate or rare in the undisturbed site became dominants in the regenerating site. These newer dominants in the sand‐mined site are not those known as nurse plants in other restingas, thus yielding strong implications for restoration.     

Effects of human disturbance on composition and structure of Brachystegia woodland in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya

We examined tree species diversity, density, dispersion patterns and size class distributions in Brachystegia woodland of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Kenya. The metrics varied with human disturbance (disturbed versus relatively undisturbed areas). Julbernardia magnistipulata Harms occurred only in the undisturbed site. Brachystegia spiciformis Benth. had the highest importance value (IV) at both study sites, whereas the IVs for the other tree species were greater within the undisturbed than the disturbed sites. Simpson's Diversity Index and tree densities were greater in the undisturbed site than in the disturbed site. All seven tree species exhibited random dispersions in the disturbed site, but three species were clumped in the undisturbed areas. Smaller individuals of B. spiciformis were over-represented in the disturbed habitat relative to the undisturbed habitat. In contrast, J. magnistipulata , Lannea schweinfurthii Engl. and Mimusops obtusifolia Wall. exhibited a greater proportion of smaller trees in the undisturbed site. The tree size class distributions may provide an index of regeneration for these four tree species in the disturbed and undisturbed sites respectively. Active management and restoration may be desirable for J. magnistipulata but appears unnecessary for the remaining common tree species. Illegal logging has persisted in the forest despite its conservation status over many decades. If logging activities cease, it would be instructive to document changes in vegetation composition and structure over time.     

Surprising low diversity of the plant pathogen Phytophthora in Amazonian forests

The genus Phytophthora represents a group of plant pathogens with broad global distribution. The majority of them cause the collar and root-rot of diverse plant species. Little is known about Phytophthora communities in forest ecosystems, especially in the Neotropical forests where natural enemies could maintain the huge plant diversity via negative density dependence. We characterized the diversity of soil-borne Phytophthora communities in the North French Guiana rainforest and investigated how they are structured by host identity and environmental factors. In this little-explored habitat, 250 soil cores were sampled from 10 plots hosting 10 different plant families across three forest environments (Terra Firme, Seasonally Flooded and White Sand). Phytophthora diversity was studied using a baiting approach and metabarcoding (High-Throughput Sequencing) on environmental DNA extracted from both soil samples and baiting-leaves. These three approaches revealed very similar communities, characterized by an unexpected low diversity of Phytophthora species, with the dominance of two cryptic species close to Phytophthora heveae. As expected, the Phytophthora community composition of the French Guiana rainforest was significantly impacted by the host plant family and environment. However, these plant pathogen communities are very small and are dominated by generalist species, questioning their potential roles as drivers of plant diversity in these Amazonian forests.     

Effects of rainforest fragmentation and shade-coffee plantations on spider communities in the Western Ghats,India

Studies on the effects of tropical rainforest fragmentation and disturbance have often focussed on plants and vertebrates such as birds and mammals and seldom on invertebrates, despite the latter being among the most biologically diverse groups in these ecosystems. Spiders are one such group of invertebrate predators that are known to be sensitive indicators of environmental change in tropical ecosystems. The present study assesses the spider community structure and responses to rainforest fragmentation and degradation and conversion to shade-coffee plantations in the Anamalai hills, southern Western Ghats, India. Ten rainforest fragments ranging in size from 11 ha to 2,600 ha under varying levels of degradation within the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and private lands of the Valparai plateau, and two shade-coffee plantation sites were sampled for spiders using visual searches along time-constrained belt transects between January and May 2005. Within a total sampled area of 5.76 ha, 4,565 individual spiders (4,300 detections) belonging to 156 morphospecies within 21 families and 8 functional groups were recorded. The estimated total number of understorey spider species in the study area was 192 (±5.15 SD) species, representing around 13% of the total number of spider species so far described from India. Overall spider density, species richness, and species density showed no trend in relation to fragment area across all sites. Specific comparisons among undisturbed sites indicated however that high altitude sites had fewer species than mid-altitude sites and fragments had fewer species than relatively larger continuous forest sites. In contrast to the lack of trend in overall species richness and abundance, species composition changed substantially in relation to habitat alteration and altitude. Cluster analysis of Bray-Curtis similarities among sites in spider species composition revealed four distinct clusters: high altitude undisturbed sites, mid-altitude disturbed sites with an undisturbed mid altitude site, mid-altitude highly disturbed sites with a disturbed site, and shade-coffee plantation sites. Spider species, such as Psechrus torvus and Tylorida culta, that contributed significantly to the dissimilarity between undisturbed and disturbed rainforest sites, and rainforest and shade-coffee sites were identified that serve as useful indicators of habitat alteration.     

Species turnover of monkey beetles (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini) along environmental and disturbance gradients in the Namaqualand region of the succulent Karoo, South Africa

Species turnover of monkey beetle (Scarabaeidae: Hopliini) assemblages along disturbance and environmental gradients was examined at three sites within the arid, winter rainfall Namaqualand region of the succulent Karoo, South Africa. At each site two study plots with comparable vegetation and soils but contrasting management (grazing) histories were chosen, the disturbed sites having fewer perennial shrubs and generally more annuals and bare ground. Beetles collected using coloured pan-traps showed a consistently higher abundance in disturbed sites. Lepithrix, Denticnema and Heterochelus had higher numbers in disturbed plots, while Peritrichia numbers were lower in disturbed areas. Measures of species richness and diversity were consistently higher in the undisturbed sites. Distinctive assemblages of monkey beetles and plants occurred at each site. A high compositional turnover ( diversity) was recorded for both monkey beetles and plants along a rainfall gradient; between-site diversity values ranged from 0.7 to 0.8 (out of a maximum of 1.0). Species turnover of beetles was higher between the disturbed sites along the environmental gradient than the corresponding undisturbed sites. The high monkey beetle species turnover is probably linked to the high plant species turnover, a distinctive feature of succulent Karoo landscapes. Monkey beetles are useful indicators of overgrazing disturbance in Namaqualand, as their pollinator guilds are apparently disrupted by overgrazing. A shift away from perennial and bulb pollinator guilds towards those favouring weedy annuals was observed in disturbed areas. The consequences to ecosystem processes due to the effects of disturbance on monkey beetle communities and the role of monkey beetles as indicators of disturbance is discussed, as well as the implications of disturbance on monkey beetle pollination guilds.     

Correlation of diversity of rust fungi and their host plants with disturbance and conservation of vegetation in western Panama

The occurrence of rust fungi (Basidiomycota) infecting vascular plants on 14 sites in western Panama differing in altitude, climate, and vegetation type was analyzed. Three vegetation-types are investigated: (1) Disturbed sites where Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae are most speciose, (2) slightly disturbed high canopy forests with sparse herbaceous undergrowth and no dominant plant family, and (3) relatively undisturbed forests with rich herbaceous undergrowth where Orchidaceae and ferns are most speciose. The majority of species of Pucciniales were found in disturbed sites on Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae, whereas high canopy forests with sparse herbaceous layers yielded only few species of Pucciniales that were not common on any specific plant family. In undisturbed forests, a higher number of Pucciniales was found infecting mostly pteridophytes and Orchidaceae. Generally, undisturbed sites yielded a lower number of Pucciniales in relation to the number of plant species of which several species have a wide host range within the same site, and a low percentage of samples containing teliospores. Disturbed sites yielded a high number of Pucciniales in relation to the number of plant species, many rusts having a wide geographical distribution and a wide host range outside the sites, and a higher percentage of samples containing teliospores.     

Communication breakdown? Habitat influences on black-capped chickadee dawn choruses

The dawn chorus of the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a communication network that functions in the dissemination of essential information for both males and females. Habitat type may influence the performance of this network, and if recognized, chickadees may attempt to behaviorally compensate for detrimental changes in the form of increased movement. We studied the dawn chorus of 66 black-capped chickadees in two adjacent, yet structurally different, habitats (disturbed and undisturbed) during the summers of 2000–2003 and recorded via point counts the number of neighboring males heard singing simultaneously while following a focal chorusing male and observing his movement. A transmission study to detect differential degradation due to habitat type was also conducted within the same research site. Observers in the disturbed sites heard significantly fewer neighboring males in the focal male's territory than in the undisturbed site, yet individual movement did not differ between habitat types. Propagation of song of varying frequencies, as measured by entropy, suffered less degradation in the disturbed site for high-frequency songs, but there was no effect of habitat on low- or mid-frequency songs. Greater interneighbor distance in the disturbed site likely explains some of the reduction in audibility of neighboring males during the dawn chorus, but the reduced condition of birds in the disturbed site (implicated from other studies) may also be a factor in explaining the difference in networks. The findings of this study suggest that chickadees in the disturbed habitat are experiencing a compromised communication network, which could impact breeding and other social behaviors.     

Ectopic expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dahlia merckii</Emphasis> defensin <Emphasis Type="Italic">DmAMP</Emphasis>1 improves papaya resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora palmivora</Emphasis> by reducing pathogen vigor

Phytophthora spp., some of the more important casual agents of plant diseases, are responsible for heavy economic losses worldwide. Plant defensins have been introduced as transgenes into a range of species to increase host resistance to pathogens to which they were originally susceptible. However, the effectiveness and mechanism of interaction of the defensins with Phytophthora spp. have not been clearly characterized in planta. In this study, we expressed the Dahlia merckii defensin, DmAMP1, in papaya (Carica papaya L.), a plant highly susceptible to a root, stem, and fruit rot disease caused by Phytophthora palmivora. Extracts of total leaf proteins from transformed plants inhibited growth of Phytophthora in vitro and discs cut from the leaves of transformed plants inhibited growth of Phytophthora in a bioassay. Results from our greenhouse inoculation experiments demonstrate that expressing the DmAMP1 gene in papaya plants increased resistance against P. palmivora and that this increased resistance was associated with reduced hyphae growth of P. palmivora at the infection sites. The inhibitory effects of DmAMP1 expression in papaya suggest this approach has good potential to impart transgenic resistance against Phytophthora in papaya.     

A Bryophyte flora of Kent. II. Hepaticae

Abstract

The military training area on Salisbury Plain contains the largest area of chalk grassland in western Europe. The grassland swards, though relatively tall, are often rich in flowering plant species. The bryophyte flora of areas disturbed in five different ways (prehistoric earthworks, twentieth century rifle ranges, ant-hills, vehicle tracks and shell-holes) was compared to that of adjacent, relatively undisturbed grassland. There was no significant difference in bryophyte cover between quadrats on disturbed ground and the controls, but the disturbed sites supported more bryophyte species per quadrat. Of the 55 taxa recorded, 38 species were at least three times more frequent in the disturbed than the undisturbed sites, compared to four which were at least three times more frequent in the control sites. The species favouring disturbed conditions included several bryophytes characteristically associated with chalk soils in southern England, including some that fruit freely (e.g. Microbryum curvicollum, Tortula lanceola) and others that fruit very rarely (e.g. Abietinella abietina, Entodon concinnus). These results are discussed in relation to the conservation of bryophytes and other disturbance-tolerant and disturbance-dependent species on Salisbury Plain and in the wider context of the protection of the bryophytes of chalkland habitats.     

Life History and Secondary Production of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) Indicate Disturbance in Two Small Carpathian Streams

The life histories and the secondary production of 9 mayflies (Ephemeroptera) species were studied at two sites in a submountain stream (West Carpathians, Slovakia). The disturbed site has a deforested and converted to meadows and pastures catchment and the undisturbed one is a well‐preserved submountain stream with 60% of the catchment covered by spruce forests. Differences in the forest cover and in the thermal regime of both streams were reflected in the structural as well as the functional measures. At the undisturbed site, the total secondary production of mayfly community was more than two times higher (3568 mg DW m^–2 y^–1) than at the disturbed site (1446 mg DW m^–2 y^–1). Species could be divided according to their affinity to particular disturbance level. Ecdyonurus picteti, Rhithrogena carpatoalpina, Habrophlebia lauta and Habroleptoides confusa appeared to prefer undisturbed conditions. On the contrary, Ecdyonurus aurantiacus and Habrophlebia fusca occurred only at the disturbed site. The dominant species Baetis rhodani and Electrogena samalorum did not show any clear preference regarding the catchment disturbance. However, nymphs of Electrogena samalorum seem to be more successful at the disturbed site, where they reached bigger body sizes (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A New Approach for Tracking Vegetation Change after Restoration: A Case Study with Peatlands

Developing objective tools for tracking progress of restored sites is of general concern. Here, we present an innovative approach based on principal response curves (PRC) and species classification according to their preferential habitats to monitor changes in community composition. Following large‐scale restoration of a cut‐over peatland, vegetation was surveyed biannually over 8 years. We evaluated whether the establishing plant communities fell within the range of natural variation. We used both general diversity curves and PRC applied on plant species grouped by preferred habitat to compare restored sites and unrestored sites to a reference ecosystem. After 8 years, diversity and richness differed between the sites, with Forest and Ruderal species more prominent in unrestored sites, and Peatland, Forest, and Wetland species dominant in restored sites. The PRC revealed that the restored site became rapidly dominated by typical peatland plants, the main drivers of temporal changes being Sphagnum rubellum, Pohlia nutans, and Mylia anomala. Some differences remained between the restored and the undisturbed species pools: the former had more herbaceous species associated with wetlands such as Calamagrostis canadensis and Typha latifolia and the latter had more forested species like Kalmia angustifolia throughout the study. PRC revealed to be an efficient tool identifying species driving changes at the community level after restoration. In our case study, examining PRC scores after classifying species according to their preferred habitat allowed to illustrate objectively how restoration promotes target species (associated to peatlands) and how lack of intervention benefits ruderal species.     

Root pathogen diversity and composition varies with climate in undisturbed grasslands,but less so in anthropogenically disturbed grasslands

Soil-borne pathogens structure plant communities, shaping their diversity, and through these effects may mediate plant responses to climate change and disturbance. Little is known, however, about the environmental determinants of plant pathogen communities. Therefore, we explored the impact of climate gradients and anthropogenic disturbance on root-associated pathogens in grasslands. We examined the community structure of two pathogenic groups—fungal pathogens and oomycetes—in undisturbed and anthropogenically disturbed grasslands across a natural precipitation and temperature gradient in the Midwestern USA. In undisturbed grasslands, precipitation and temperature gradients were important predictors of pathogen community richness and composition. Oomycete richness increased with precipitation, while fungal pathogen richness depended on an interaction of precipitation and temperature, with precipitation increasing richness most with higher temperatures. Disturbance altered plant pathogen composition and precipitation and temperature had a reduced effect on pathogen richness and composition in disturbed grasslands. Because pathogens can mediate plant community diversity and structure, the sensitivity of pathogens to disturbance and climate suggests that degradation of the pathogen community may mediate loss, or limit restoration of, native plant diversity in disturbed grasslands, and may modify plant community response to climate change.Subject terms: Fungal ecology, Soil microbiology, Grassland ecology     

Molecular characterization of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria that enhance peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities in chile (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annuum</Emphasis> L.) and tomato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycopersicon esculentum</Emphasis> Mill.)

Pythium and Phytophthora species are associated with damping-off diseases in vegetable nurseries and reduce seedling stand and yield. In this study, bacterial isolates were selected on the basis of in vitro antagonism potential to inhibit mycelial growth of damping-off pathogens along with plant growth properties for field assessment in wet and winter seasons. We demonstrate efficacy of bacterial isolates to protect chile and tomato plants under natural vegetable nursery and artificially created pathogen-infested (Pythium and Phytophthora spp.) nursery conditions. After 21 days of sowing, chile and tomato plants were harvested and analysed for peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities. Pseudomonas sp. strains FQP PB-3, FQA PB-3 and GRP₃ were most effective in increasing shoot length (P > 0.05%) in both artificial and natural field sites. For example, Pseudomonas sp. FQA PB-3 treatment increased shoot length by 40% in the artificial Pythium 4746 infested nursery site in chile plants in the wet season. The bacterial treatments significantly increased the activity of peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in chile and tomato plant tissues, which are well known as indicators of an active lignification process. Thus, we conclude that treatment with potential bacterial plant growth promoting agents help plants against pathogen invasion by modulating plant peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activities.     

Attenuated tree species diversity in human-impacted tropical evergreen forest sites at Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, India

Tree diversity (30 cm gbh) in undisturbed and human-impacted tropical evergreen forest sites was investigated in the Kolli hills, Eastern Ghats, India. Four 2-ha contiguous permanent plots were erected, one each in Perumakkai shola (site PS), Vengodai shola (VS), Kuzhivalavu shola (KS) and Mottukkadu shola (MS) at 1000, 1050, 1200 and 1250 m elevation, with increasing human disturbance, to evaluate the difference in tree species composition, stand structure and dynamics. This paper discusses the results of the first survey. A total of 3825 individuals and 78 species from 61 genera and 36 families were enumerated in the 8 ha area. Among the four 2-ha sites, species richness was greatest (58) in the undisturbed site PS and lowest (39) in the highly disturbed site MS. Shannon, Simpson, Hill diversity and evenness indexes revealed a progressive reduction in diversity with increasing disturbance. The asymptote species-area curves imply adequate site sampling. Tree density (1151 to 651 trees ha^–2) and basal area (106 to 46.6 m² ha^–2) decreased from undisturbed to disturbed site, due to selective felling. Single species, Memecylon umbellatum dominated sites MS (39%) and VS (26%), while Nothopegia heyneana, Memecylon umbellatum and Diospyros ovalifolia were dominant in PS, and Meliosma simplicifolia, Myristica dactyloides and Phoebe wightii in KS. Based on species abundance, we classify the study area as Memecylon–Phoebe–Beilschmiedia association with Neolitsea and Myristica as codominants. Tree population structure revealed a step-wise decline in girth frequencies with increasing size class in undisturbed site PS, whereas tree density fell sharp (>50%) in medium girth class in the disturbed site MS. Population of the dominant species varied widely. The diversity values of this inventory are compared with similar studies in India and other tropical forests. Evidently, the reduction in species richness (by 52%), basal area (56%) and tree density (58%) in disturbed sites, with 57.6% of species rarity of this tropical evergreen forest, in secluded patches (sholas) of Kolli hills, underlines conservation need to prevent species loss.