Impacts of trails on cliff-edge forest structure

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 943-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pampang Parikesit ◽  
Douglas W. Larson ◽  
Uta Matthes-Sears
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Environmental Gradient ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Plant Community Structure ◽  
Niagara Escarpment

Plant community structure and soil characteristics were quantitatively studied along forested cliff edges of the Niagara Escarpment in southern Ontario, Canada. The objective of the study was to try to differentiate between the effects of two gradients on vegetation structure: the environmental gradient between the cliff edge and dense forest, and an anthropogenic gradient, generated by the presence of major hiking trails parallel to the cliff edges. Species frequencies were determined along 69 transects distributed over eight sites with different amounts of past and present trampling disturbance. The data were analyzed using cluster and ordination analysis as well as analyses of variance. The results showed that soil characteristics were the major influence organizing the vegetation of cliff-edge forests and that soil properties and plant community structure were more strongly influenced by anthropogenic factors than by the environmental gradient between cliff edge and forest. Trampled plots had some properties in common with cliff-edge plots. Species richness was highest at intermediate trail-use levels; abandonment of heavily disturbed trails resulted in the restoration of species richness, but most new colonizing plants were disturbance-tolerant ruderals. Soil properties did not completely recover even after 10 years of trail abandonment. The results suggest that the current use of cliff edges along the Niagara Escarpment is nonsustainable, and reversing its effects on cliff-edge forest structure may take a considerable amount of time. Key words: Niagara Escarpment, plant community ecology, disturbance, trampling, cluster analysis, ordination.

The effects of partial cutting on forest plant communities of western hemlock – Sitka spruce stands in southeast Alaska

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 2067-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L Deal
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Plant Community Structure ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Clear Cutting

The effects of partial cutting on plant species richness, community structure, and several understory species that are important for deer forage were evaluated on 73 plots in 18 stands throughout southeast Alaska. These partially cut stands were harvested 12–96 years ago when 16–96% of the former stand basal area was removed. The species richness and community structure of understory plants were similar in uncut and partially cut plots. However, plots where more than 50% of the basal area was cut had a significantly different plant community structure. Species composition and abundance also appeared to be distinctly different between hemlock-dominated and spruce-dominated stands. Partial cutting did not significantly change abundance for most of the important forage species for deer. The similarity in plant community structure between partially cut and uncut old-growth stands may be related to forest stand structures. The heterogeneous stand structures that develop after partial cutting are more similar to old-growth stands than to the uniform young-growth stands that develop after stand replacing disturbances such as clear-cutting.

Using Sheep to Control Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Kleppel ◽  
Erin LaBarge
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Lythrum Salicaria ◽  
Purple Loosestrife ◽  
Plant Community Structure ◽  
Wet Meadow ◽  
Upstate New York

AbstractWe investigated the use of sheep for controlling the spread of purple loosestrife in a wet meadow in upstate New York from June to August 2008. Changes in the purple loosestrife population and vascular plant community structure were monitored as a function of the grazing of two ewes, “rotated” through four “experimental” paddocks at 2- to 3-d intervals. Comparative data were collected in “reference” paddocks from which sheep were excluded. Purple loosestrife was heavily grazed and most plants did not flower in experimental paddocks. Purple loosestrife cover declined by 40.7% in the experimental paddocks but did not change significantly in the reference paddocks. After grazing, species richness was 20% higher in experimental than reference paddocks.

Effects of fertilization gradients on plant community structure and soil characteristics in alpine meadow

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 3103-3113 ◽  
Author(s):  
王长庭 WANG Changting ◽  
王根绪 WANG Genxu ◽  
刘伟 LIU Wei ◽  
王启兰 WANG Qilan
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Plant Community Structure

Relating pine-litter intrusion to plant-community structure in native eucalypt woodland adjacent to Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) plantations

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Baker ◽  
Brad R. Murray ◽  
Grant C. Hose
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Radiata Pine ◽  
Plant Community Structure ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Eucalypt Woodland

Radiata pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) plantations are often found in close proximity to vegetation set aside for biodiversity conservation. We examined the intrusive effects of radiata pine beyond the confines of plantations by quantifying the penetration of pine litter (needles, cones, twigs and seeds) and wildings from plantations into adjacent eucalypt woodland in the Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve (south-eastern Australia). We then investigated the relationship between pine-litter intrusion and plant-community structure in adjacent woodland vegetation. We found significantly higher quantities of pine litter and wildings at all sites adjacent to plantations than at reference woodland sites that were not adjacent to plantations. At adjacent sites, pine litter decreased significantly with increasing distance from plantations. Alarmingly, native plant species richness declined and exotic plant species richness increased with increasing quantities of pine litter. Thus, there were fewer native plant species and more exotics in areas bordering pine plantations. Our findings suggest a potentially important link between the intrusion of pine litter and a loss of native biodiversity and facilitation of exotic-species invasion. We suggest the provision of a buffer zone around plantations in order to minimise intrusive impacts of plantations on native biodiversity.

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