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Vegetation Zones (vegetation + zone)
Selected AbstractsModern pollen precipitation from an elevational transect in central Jordan and its relationship to vegetationJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10 2001Caroline P. Davies Aim To explore the relationship between modern pollen precipitation and vegetation patterns in an arid region of the Middle East. Location Data come from the central Jordan Rift from 1700 m elevation in the highlands to 300 m below sea level in the Dead Sea basin. Methods Modern pollen samples and descriptive vegetation data were collected from twenty-one locations at 100 m elevational intervals from the highest elevations on the eastern side of the rift valley, where woodlands grow, to the lowest elevation desert on earth, characterized by drought and salt tolerant plants. Pollen percentage data from each vegetation zone are compared descriptively and numerically using cluster and Principal Components Analyses (PCA). Results Three major vegetation zones: woodland, shrub steppe, and desert scrub, are identified by their dominant plant species. The widely spaced tree, Quercus calliprinos Webb, defines the Quercus L. woodland that grows above 1500 m elevation. The shrub steppe can be divided into two subzones found between about 1500 and 900 m elevation: Artemisia herba-alba Asso shrub steppe and Artemisia L. shrub steppe with Juniperus phoenica L. Desert scrub dominates the lower elevation landscape with Hammada salicornia (Moq.) Iljin the dominant shrub between 900 and 200 m and Haloxylon persicum Bge. found below 200 m elevation. Pollen spectra reflect the elevational vegetation zones. In particular, Quercus L., Juniperus L. and Tamarix L. pollen are abundant where the trees grow. Highly variable amounts of non-arboreal pollen taxa , primarily Artemisia L. and Chenopodiaceae Vent. , differentiate shrub steppe from desert scrub vegetation. Cluster and PCA of pollen data support the qualitative vegetation zonation. Main conclusions The main vegetation zones along the Jordan Rift from 1700 to ,300 m elevation can be distinguished by their modern pollen precipitation. Open vegetation types, in particular, can be recognized by their pollen spectra. High amounts of Artemisia L. pollen distinguish the moister upper elevations where Artemisia L. steppe grows. In contrast, greater amounts of Chenopodiaceae Vent. pollen characterize the drier, lower elevation deserts. [source] The distribution and diversity of amphibian fauna of Lake Nabugabo and surrounding areasAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2004M. Behangana Abstract Six major vegetation types surrounding Lake Nabugabo were sampled for amphibians. These types were: shoreline zone (habitat type code A) representing vegetation on the shoreline about 2 m from the shoreline; Miscanthidium violaceum (B); Eragrostis-Loudetia (C); swamp forest (D); Cyperus papyrus (E); and medium altitude evergreen forest (F). A total of 168 days were spent in the field with a total of 288 1 h counts. Forty-eight counts were carried out in each vegetation type. Sampling was carried out between 17.00 and 24.00 h to coincide with the time amphibians are very active. Twenty-four species were recorded during the study period. These account for about 27.9% of total number of amphibian species recorded in Uganda. Four families were identified, which included: Ranidae (12 spp.), Hyperolidae (8 spp.), Bufonidae (3 spp.) and Pipidae (1 sp.). There was substantial variation in observed species composition among vegetation types. The most species rich habitat was the Eragrostis-Loudetia vegetation zone (17 spp.), followed by the swamp forest zone (14 spp.), then the M. violeceum swamp (11 spp.) and the shoreline (10 spp.). The most species poor sites were C. papyrus swamp (6 spp.) followed by the medium altitude forest (7 spp.). In terms of species abundance, the swamp forest and the M. violecium zones were the most important amphibian habitats for the common species while the Eragrostis-Laudetia zone stood out as the most important for the rare species. From the data collected, it can be deduced that the three most important habitats for the conservation of amphibian fauna in the study area are the Eragrostis-Laudetia, M. violeceum and the swamp forest zones. [source] Vegetation transition following drainage in a high-latitude hyper-oceanic ecosystemAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010Anna Maria Fosaa Abstract Questions: How does draining affect the composition of vegetation? Are certain functional groups favoured? Can soil parameters explain these differences? Location: Central Faroe Islands, treeless islands in the northern boreal vegetation zone. Since 1987, an area of 21 km2 at 100,200 m a.s.l. was drained in order to provide water for hydro-electric production. Method: Vegetation and soil of a drained area and a control, undrained neighbouring area of approximately the same size were sampled in 2007. Six sites were sampled in each area. The vegetation was classified with cluster analysis. Results: Four plant communities were defined in the area: Calluna vulgaris,Empetrum nigrum,Vaccinium myrtillus heath, Scirpus cespitosus,Eriophorum angustifolium blanket mire, Carex bigelowii,Racomitrium lanuginosum moss-heath, Narthecium ossifragum,Carex panacea mire. Heath was more extensively distributed within, and was the dominant community of the drained area, whereas moss-heath was more extensive in the undrained area. Blanket mire and mire had approximately the same distribution in both areas. For the blanket mire, species composition indicated drier conditions in the drained than in the undrained area. The drained area had higher frequencies of woody species and lichens, grasses had finer roots and available soil phosphate was considerably higher, whereas the undrained area had higher frequencies of grasses and sedges. Conclusion: The dominant plant communities were different in the two areas, which indicated that the blanket mire was drying in the drained area. Higher concentration of soil phosphate in the drained area also indicated increased decomposition of organic soils owing to desiccation. [source] Nestedness, SLOSS and conservation networks of boreal herb-rich forestsAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009Päivi J. Hokkanen Abstract Question: Herb-rich patches are biodiversity hotspots for vascular plants in boreal forests. We ask: Do species occurrences on herb-rich patches show a non-random, nested structure?; Does patch size relate to richness of edaphically demanding and red-listed species?; Does a set of small patches support more edaphically demanding and red-listed species than a few large patches of the equal area? Location: Eastern Finland (63°04,N, 29°52,E), boreal vegetation zone. Data: Vegetation mapping of 90 herb-rich sites, varying from 0.05 to 6.93 ha in size and belonging to six different, predetermined forest site types. Results: Using the RANDNEST procedure, only one site type showed a significantly nested pattern, and patch area was not related to "nestedness" in any of the site types. The number of edaphically demanding and red-listed plant species was positively correlated with a patch size in three forest site types. In all site types, a set of small patches had more edaphically demanding and red-listed species than did a few large patches of the equal total area. Conclusions: For conservation, it is essential to protect representative sets of different herb-rich forest site types because flora varies between the site types. Within herb-rich forest site types, several small areas may support representative species composition. However, successful conservation requires thorough species inventories, because of the high level of heterogeneity between the herb-rich patches. [source] Detection of vegetation change using reconnaissance imageryGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Herman H. Shugart Summary Vegetation occurs at its highest elevations on equatorial mountains. Inspection of archival and recent high-resolution reconnaissance imagery of tropical mountains shows, in all cases, features indicating an increase in the elevation of mountain vegetation zones and an increase in vigour in the high-elevation vegetation. These changes are consistent with an increased plant performance from increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as with a warmer or more favourable climate. [source] Anthropogenic and climatic impacts on surface pollen assemblages along a precipitation gradient in north-eastern ChinaGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Yun Zhang ABSTRACT Aim, To understand the scenarios of ,anthropogenic biomes' that integrate human and ecological systems, we need to explore the impacts of climate and human disturbance on vegetation in the past and present. Interactions among surface pollen, modern vegetation and human activities along climate and land-use gradients are tested to evaluate the natural and anthropogenic forces shaping the modern vegetation, and hence to aid the reconstruction of vegetation and climate in the past. This in turn will help with future predictions. Location, The North-east China Transect (NECT) in north-eastern China. Methods, We analysed 33 surface pollen samples and 213 quadrats across four vegetation zones along the moisture/land-use gradients of the NECT. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) of 52 pollen taxa and three environmental variables were used to distinguish anthropogenic and climatic factors that affect surface pollen assemblages along the NECT. Results, The 33 surface samples are divided into four pollen zones (forest, meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe) corresponding to major vegetation types in the NECT. Variations in pollen ratios of fern/herb (F/H), Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) and arboreal pollen/non-arboreal pollen (AP/NAP) represent the vegetation and precipitation gradient along the NECT. DCA and RDA analyses suggest that surface pollen assemblages are significantly influenced by the precipitation gradient. Changes in the abundance of Chenopodiaceae pollen are related to both human activities and precipitation. Main conclusions, Surface pollen assemblages, fossil pollen records, archaeological evidence and historical documents in northern China show that a large increase of Chenopodiaceae pollen indicates human-caused vegetation degradation in sandy habitats. The A/C ratio is a good indicator of climatic aridity, but should be used in conjunction with multiple proxies of human activities and climate change in the pollen-based reconstruction of anthropogenic biomes. [source] A new method of vegetation,climate classification in ChinaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2008Sun Yanling Abstract Coefficient C is a synthetic index from the third correlative equation, which represents the state of moisture in a region and may be used for assigning vegetation zonality. The third correlative equation is a new equation concerning heat and water balance from knowledge of evaporation on land. In this article, coefficient C and accumulated temperature over 5 °C (AT5) are combined to predict the distribution of vegetation zones in China. Predictions of vegetation distribution are made using observational climate data interpolated into a 25 × 25 km grid. The overall impression from examining the resulting vegetation map is that the location and distribution of vegetation zones in China are predicted fairly well. Comparison between the predicted vegetation map and the vegetation regionalization map are based on Kappa statistics and indicate very good agreement for the cold,temperate coniferous forest zone, the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest zone, and the temperate mixed coniferous,broadleaved forest zone. Agreement is good for the warm,temperate deciduous broadleaved forest zone, the temperate steppe zone, the temperate desert zone, and the Tibetan high-cold plateau zone. Agreement between the regionalization map and the produced map is fair for the tropical rainforest and monsoon forest zone. Compared with those produced by the Holdridge, Thornthwaite, Penman, and the Kira models, as well as the Budyko method, the Kappa statistics in this article are all better except for the cold,temperate (boreal) coniferous forest zone and the temperate desert zone. The results are particularly superior for the Tibetan high-cold plateau zone. Coefficient C provides important information for predicting the distribution of vegetation zones in China, and this article attempts to study vegetation,climate classification on a large scale using coefficient C and AT5. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Infectivity of soilborne Frankia and mycorrhizae in Discaria trinervis along a vegetation gradient in Patagonian soilJOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Eugenia Esther Chaia The infective capacities of the nitrogen fixing Actinomycete Frankia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from soils near watercourses, along a vegetation gradient, were studied using plant bioassays. Frankia and arbuscular mycorrhizas capable of infecting Discaria trinervis were found at seventeen sites sampled. More specific enumeration of the infective capacities of both microorganisms in relation to environmental factors was performed in seven representative soils of the analysed vegetation zones (rainforest, xeric forest and steppe) using the most probable number method. The highest nodulation capacities ranged from 340 infective units g,1 soil, in a steppe marsh devoid of actinorhizas, to 61 in a coastal actinorhizal scrub (in xeric forest). The highest number of infective mycorrhizal units , also found in marsh , was 145. In general, rainforest soils had the lowest values for both microorganisms. Infective units of Frankia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil were positively correlated (r = 0.89, P < 0.05). Both soilborne symbionts showed the highest infective capacity in semi-arid conditions nearby watercourse and at the valley bottom location. Tripartite symbiosis was effective in plants inoculated with steppe and xeric forest soils and plants inoculated with Frankia BCU110501 and Glomus mosseae. Interaction between both symbionts and influence of environmental conditions, in general, would contribute to define comparable trends of their infective capacities. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Post-Hypsithermal plant disjunctions in western Alberta, CanadaJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2003W. L Strong Abstract Aim, Evaluate the hypothesis that nine disjunct vascular plant species along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and in the Peace River District of west-central Alberta represent remnants of more southerly vegetation that occupied these areas during the Holocene Hypsithermal (9000,6000 yr bp). Alternatively, these plants represent populations that became established because of independent chance dispersal events. Location, This study focuses on the area east of the Rocky Mountain Continental Divide in the Province of Alberta and the State of Montana in western Canada and USA, respectively. Methods, Disjunct species were identified and their distributions mapped based on a review of occurrence maps and records, botanical floras and checklists, herbaria specimens, ecological and botanical studies, and field surveys of selected species. A disjunct species was defined as a plant population separated from its next nearest occurrence by a distance of > 300 km. Evaluation of the hypothesis was based on a review of published and unpublished pollen stratigraphy and palaeoecological studies. The potential geographical distribution of Hypsithermal vegetation was based on modern regional-based ecosystem mapping and associated monthly temperature summaries as well as future climatic warming models. Results, The hypothesis was compatible with Holocene pollen stratigraphy, Hypsithermal permafrost and fen occurrence, and palaeosol phytolith analyses; and future global climatic warming models. Modelled regional Hypsithermal vegetation based on a 1 °C increase in July temperatures relative to current conditions, indicated that much of the boreal forest zone in Alberta could have been grassland, which would explain the occurrence of Prairie species in the Peace River District. This amount of latitudinal vegetation shift (6.5°) was similar to an earlier Hypsithermal permafrost zone location study. An equivalent shift in vegetation along the eastern Cordillera would have placed south-western Montana-like vegetation and species such as Boykinia heucheriformis (Rydb.) Rosend. and Saxifraga odontoloma Piper within the northern half of the Rocky Mountains and foothills in Alberta, which represents the location of modern-day disjunct populations of these species. Main conclusions, Warmer and drier climatic conditions during the Holocene Hypsithermal resulted in the northward displacement of vegetation zones relative to their current distribution patterns. Most of Alberta was probably dominated by grasslands during this period, except the Rocky Mountains and northern highlands. Modern-day species disjunctions within the Rocky Mountains and Peace River District as well as more northerly areas such as the Yukon Territory occurred when the vegetation receded southward in response to climatic cooling after the Hypsithermal. Wind dispersal was considered an unlikely possibility to explain the occurrence of the disjunct species, as most of the plants lack morphological adaptations for long distance transport and the prevailing winds were from west to east rather than south to north. However, consumption and transport of seeds by northward migrating birds could not be excluded as a possibility. [source] Modern pollen precipitation from an elevational transect in central Jordan and its relationship to vegetationJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10 2001Caroline P. Davies Aim To explore the relationship between modern pollen precipitation and vegetation patterns in an arid region of the Middle East. Location Data come from the central Jordan Rift from 1700 m elevation in the highlands to 300 m below sea level in the Dead Sea basin. Methods Modern pollen samples and descriptive vegetation data were collected from twenty-one locations at 100 m elevational intervals from the highest elevations on the eastern side of the rift valley, where woodlands grow, to the lowest elevation desert on earth, characterized by drought and salt tolerant plants. Pollen percentage data from each vegetation zone are compared descriptively and numerically using cluster and Principal Components Analyses (PCA). Results Three major vegetation zones: woodland, shrub steppe, and desert scrub, are identified by their dominant plant species. The widely spaced tree, Quercus calliprinos Webb, defines the Quercus L. woodland that grows above 1500 m elevation. The shrub steppe can be divided into two subzones found between about 1500 and 900 m elevation: Artemisia herba-alba Asso shrub steppe and Artemisia L. shrub steppe with Juniperus phoenica L. Desert scrub dominates the lower elevation landscape with Hammada salicornia (Moq.) Iljin the dominant shrub between 900 and 200 m and Haloxylon persicum Bge. found below 200 m elevation. Pollen spectra reflect the elevational vegetation zones. In particular, Quercus L., Juniperus L. and Tamarix L. pollen are abundant where the trees grow. Highly variable amounts of non-arboreal pollen taxa , primarily Artemisia L. and Chenopodiaceae Vent. , differentiate shrub steppe from desert scrub vegetation. Cluster and PCA of pollen data support the qualitative vegetation zonation. Main conclusions The main vegetation zones along the Jordan Rift from 1700 to ,300 m elevation can be distinguished by their modern pollen precipitation. Open vegetation types, in particular, can be recognized by their pollen spectra. High amounts of Artemisia L. pollen distinguish the moister upper elevations where Artemisia L. steppe grows. In contrast, greater amounts of Chenopodiaceae Vent. pollen characterize the drier, lower elevation deserts. [source] Ecological aspects of seed desiccation sensitivityJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2003John C. Tweddle Summary 1The ability of seeds to survive desiccation is an important functional trait and is an integral part of plant regeneration ecology. Despite this, the topic has received relatively little attention from ecologists. In this study, we examine the relationships between seed desiccation tolerance and two important aspects of plant regeneration ecology: habitat and dormancy. This is done by comparative analysis of a data set of 886 tree and shrub species from 93 families. 2The proportion of species displaying desiccation sensitive seeds declines as the habitat becomes drier, and possibly also cooler, although the latter observation requires cautious interpretation. Desiccation sensitivity is most common in moist, relatively aseasonal vegetation zones, but is infrequent in, though not absent from arid and highly seasonal habitats. 3The highest frequency of desiccation sensitivity occurs in non-pioneer evergreen rain forest trees, although 48% of the species examined have desiccation tolerant seeds. In contrast, all pioneer taxa within the data set have drying tolerant seeds. 4Desiccation sensitivity is more frequent in seeds that are non-dormant on shedding (c. 31%), than dormant (c. 9%). Highest frequencies of drying tolerance occur in seeds with physical or combinational dormancy, at 99% and 100%, respectively. 5Although there is an association between non-dormancy and desiccation sensitivity in both tropical and temperate zones, the relationship does not appear to be causal. 6Working from the hypothesis that seed desiccation sensitivity represents a derived state in extant species, we use the results to investigate and discuss possible ecological trade-offs and associated fitness advantages. These may explain the hypothesized repeated loss of this trait. The frequent association between large seed size and desiccation sensitivity is also considered. [source] Detecting Holocene movements of the woodland,steppe ecotone in northern China using discriminant analysisJOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 3 2001Hongyan Liu Abstract Discriminant functions link vegetation zones and surface pollen along the woodland,steppe ecotone in northern China. These links were utilised to reconstruct palaeovegetation using fossil pollen data from four lake sediment sites within the ecotone. Holocene movements of the vegetation zones were derived from the above results and were interpreted as the results of climatic, topographic and edaphic factors. This study shows that climatic change was the driving factor for ecotonal movement, but that the positions of vegetational zones were nevertheless controlled by topographical and edaphic conditions, and consequently boundaries between different vegetational zones responded individualistically. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Naturally Saline Boreal Communities as Models for Reclamation of Saline Oil Sand TailingsRESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Brett G. Purdy Abstract Reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining have saline soils; yet, they are required to have similar biodiversity and productivity as the predisturbance nonsaline landscape. Given that many species in the boreal forest are not tolerant of salinity, we studied the effects of soil salinity on plant communities in natural saline landscapes to understand potential plant responses during the reclamation process. Vegetation,soil relationships were measured along transects from flooded wetlands to upland forest vegetation in strongly saline, slightly saline, nonsaline, and reclaimed boreal landscapes. In strongly saline landscapes, surface soil salinity was high (>10 dS/m) in flooded, wet-meadow, and dry-meadow vegetation zones as compared to slightly saline (<5 dS/m) and nonsaline (<2 dS/m) landscapes. Plant communities in these vegetation zones were quite different from nonsaline boreal landscapes and were dominated by halophytes common to saline habitats of the Great Plains. In the shrub and forest vegetation zones, surface soil salinity was similar between saline and nonsaline landscapes, resulting in similar plant communities. In strongly saline landscapes, soils remained saline at depth through the shrub and forest vegetation zones (>10 dS/m), suggesting that forest vegetation can establish over saline soils as long as the salts are below the rooting zone. The reclaimed landscape was intermediate between slightly saline and nonsaline landscapes in terms of soil salinity but more similar to nonsaline habitats with respect to species composition. Results from this study suggest it may be unrealistic to expect that plant communities similar to those found on the predisturbance landscape can be established on all reclaimed landscapes after oil sands mining. [source] Response to cutting of Larrea divaricata and L. cuneifolia in ArgentinaAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 1 2002E. Martinez Carretero Abstract. The response of Larrea divaricata and L. cuneifolia to cutting stems 0,20 cm above the ground was studied in the arid piedmont area west of Mendoza, Argentina. The species occur at different elevations and in vegetation zones: L. cuneifolia < 1250 m; L. divaricata between 1250 and 2500 m. Four treatments with 10 replicates were analysed in randomly chosen plants: cut at ground level with lopping shears; cut at ground level with a pick; cut at 10 cm with lopping shears; and cut at 20 cm with lopping shears. The initial and final height, volume, and dry matter (above- and below-ground) were determined. The relation between volume and initial and final dry matter and height was analysed through a factorial MANOVA (p < 0,05), and the functional relation between volume, dry matter and height was estimated by adjusting a regression model. In both species, maximum recovery was reached when cut with shears, and predicted recovery (turnover) was 17-18 yr. In the two last treatments height was a useful predictor of dry matter. L. divaricata -dominated plots have a lower biomass, growth rate, and allocation to stems and root than L. cuneifolia -dominated plots. Regrowth following clipping on an area of 3,10 ha, is sufficient to support the annual needs (cooking and heating) of one family. [source] | ||||||||||||||||