Rapid Evaluation of Arid Lands (REAL)

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Dugas ◽  
Michael N. DeMers ◽  
Janet C. Greenlee ◽  
Walter G. Whitford ◽  
Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson

Management of desert grasslands requires rapid, low technology, coarse assessment methods that provide a triage-like prioritization for the manager. Such approaches necessitate the ability to quickly and effectively identify coarse-scale plant communities that provide guidance for this prioritization. Complex, computer intensive digital image classification of Landsat TM data, while marginally successful, requires time, equipment, and expertise not always available in such environments. This study identifies landform boundaries in the Armendaris Ranch, New Mexico by visual inspection of Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper imagery and topographic maps using traditional photoreconnaissance techniques. Employing predetermined hierarchical landform classifications, it was possible to map plant communities using ecological relationships that exist between the general physiographic and vegetation settings in the area and representative geomorphic landform-mapping units. The authors’ field work verified the plant community map using a random walk approach and visual inspection. This synthetic expert opinion-based approach proved successful and is repeatable in other arid rangeland settings.

2013 ◽  
pp. 1541-1558
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Dugas ◽  
Michael N. DeMers ◽  
Janet C. Greenlee ◽  
Walter G. Whitford ◽  
Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson

Management of desert grasslands requires rapid, low technology, coarse assessment methods that provide a triage-like prioritization for the manager. Such approaches necessitate the ability to quickly and effectively identify coarse-scale plant communities that provide guidance for this prioritization. Complex, computer intensive digital image classification of Landsat TM data, while marginally successful, requires time, equipment, and expertise not always available in such environments. This study identifies landform boundaries in the Armendaris Ranch, New Mexico by visual inspection of Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper imagery and topographic maps using traditional photoreconnaissance techniques. Employing predetermined hierarchical landform classifications, it was possible to map plant communities using ecological relationships that exist between the general physiographic and vegetation settings in the area and representative geomorphic landform-mapping units. The authors’ field work verified the plant community map using a random walk approach and visual inspection. This synthetic expert opinion-based approach proved successful and is repeatable in other arid rangeland settings.


Author(s):  
Daniel P. Dugas ◽  
Michael N. DeMers ◽  
Janet C. Greenlee ◽  
Walter G. Whitford ◽  
Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson

Management of desert grasslands requires rapid, low technology, coarse assessment methods that provide a triage-like prioritization for the manager. Such approaches necessitate the ability to quickly and effectively identify coarse-scale plant communities that provide guidance for this prioritization. Complex, computer intensive digital image classification of Landsat TM data, while marginally successful, requires time, equipment, and expertise not always available in such environments. This study identifies landform boundaries in the Armendaris Ranch, New Mexico by visual inspection of Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper imagery and topographic maps using traditional photoreconnaissance techniques. Employing predetermined hierarchical landform classifications, it was possible to map plant communities using ecological relationships that exist between the general physiographic and vegetation settings in the area and representative geomorphic landform-mapping units. The authors’ field work verified the plant community map using a random walk approach and visual inspection. This synthetic expert opinion-based approach proved successful and is repeatable in other arid rangeland settings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Culiţă Sîrbu ◽  
Peter Ferus ◽  
Pavol Eliaš Jr. ◽  
Costel Samuil ◽  
Adrian Oprea

AbstractSymphyotrichum ciliatum was reported as invasive in Romania in the early 1970s. In this study we have analysed its invasion history, current distribution in Romania, habitat preferences and the associated plant communities. Data recorded during our recent field work, as well as from herbaria and previously published papers, were used in the analysis. This data confirms its invasive character. Given the abrupt increase in the slope of the invasion curve during the last decade, we can assume that S. ciliatum is still far from reaching the saturation phase of its invasion in Romania. Habitats invaded by this species are mostly anthropogenic herb stands associated with rail and road transport networks, and the continental inland salt steppes. The classical methodology of the Zürich- Montpellier school was used for the field phytosociological research and the classification of the investigated communities was done using the deductive method. The phytocoenoses dominated by S. ciliatum were classified as derivate communities. The description of these communities included data about plant composition, synecology and distribution in the study area.


2019 ◽  
pp. 135-142
Author(s):  
K. V. Ivanova ◽  
A. M. Lapina ◽  
V. V. Neshataev

The 2nd international scientific conference «Fundamental problems of vegetation classification» took place at the Nikitskiy Botanical Garden (Yalta, Republic of Crimea, Russia) on 15–20 September 2019. There were 56 participants from 33 cities and 43 research organizations in Russia. The conference was mostly focused on reviewing the success in classification of the vegetation done by Russian scientists in the past three years. The reports covered various topics such as classification, description of new syntaxonomical units, geobotanical mapping for different territories and types of vegetation, studies of space-time dynamics of plant communities. The final discussion on the last day covered problems yet to be solved: establishment of the Russian Prodromus and the National archive of vegetation, complications of higher education in the profile of geobotany, and the issue of the data leakage to foreign scientific journals. In conclusion, it was announced that the 3rd conference in Nikitskiy Botanical Garden will be held in 2022.


2015 ◽  
pp. 96-124
Author(s):  
E. G. Zibzeev ◽  
T. A. Nedovesova

The mountain systems are characterized by diverse ecological conditions (climate, geomorphological, soil, etc.). The wide spectrum of environmental conditions entails a rich diversity of plant communities growing on the small territory and determines the different flora and vegetation geneses. The uniqueness of floristic and coenotic diversities of the high-mountain vegetation of the south of Western Altai (Ivanovskiy, Prokhodnoi, and Rossypnoi Ranges) are associated with the effect of two climate-forcing factors such as the westerly humid air mass and dry warm airflow from the inner Kazakhstan regions. The paper summarizes the data on coenotic diversity (Zibzeev, 2010, 2012) and gives a syntaxonomic analysis of the high-mountain vege­tation in the Ivanovskii, Prokhodnoi, and Rossypnoi Ranges (Western Altai, Kazakhstan). The classification of plant communities was carried out using the Braun-Blanquet approach (Westhoff, van der Maarel, 1973). The relevés records were stored in the TURBOVEG database and classified by ­TWINSPAN (Hill 1979).


2009 ◽  
pp. 27-53
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Kudryavtsev

Diversity of plant communities in the nature reserve “Privolzhskaya Forest-Steppe”, Ostrovtsovsky area, is analyzed on the basis of the large-scale vegetation mapping data from 2000. The plant community classi­fication based on the Russian ecologic-phytocoenotic approach is carried out. 12 plant formations and 21 associations are distinguished according to dominant species and a combination of ecologic-phytocoenotic groups of species. A list of vegetation classification units as well as the characteristics of theshrub and woody communities are given in this paper.


2009 ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
V. B. Golub ◽  
N. A. Grechushkina ◽  
A. N. Sorokin ◽  
L. F. Nikolaychuk

The classification of petrophytic vegetation of coastal steeps was proposed for the Northwest Cauca­sian coast of the Black Sea using the Braun-Blanquet approach. The main factors that influence the deve­lopment of vegetation in question are abrasion and denudation sea coast processes. The coastal steeps in study area are formed by carbonate flysch. The plant communities occur on rocky slopes with poorly deve­loped soil cover, fine stone chips as well as rock crevices. Nine associations and four communities without syntaxonomic rank were documented in the table and described with respect to their phyto­socio­logical affinities, ecology, and geographical location. Diagnostic species of syntaxa were established using phi-coefficient calculations of fidelity and Fisher’s exact test. In addition, the results of relevé ordination were given using the algorithm of non-metric multi­dimensional scaling (NMS) that is embedded in PC-ORD 5.0 software package.


1996 ◽  
pp. 64-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguen Nghia Thin ◽  
Nguen Ba Thu ◽  
Tran Van Thuy

The tropical seasonal rainy evergreen broad-leaved forest vegetation of the Cucphoung National Park has been classified and the distribution of plant communities has been shown on the map using the relations of vegetation to geology, geomorphology and pedology. The method of vegetation mapping includes: 1) the identifying of vegetation types in the remote-sensed materials (aerial photographs and satellite images); 2) field work to compile the interpretation keys and to characterize all the communities of a study area; 3) compilation of the final vegetation map using the combined information. In the classification presented a number of different level vegetation units have been identified: formation classes (3), formation sub-classes (3), formation groups (3), formations (4), subformations (10) and communities (19). Communities have been taken as mapping units. So in the vegetation map of the National Park 19 vegetation categories has been shown altogether, among them 13 are natural primary communities, and 6 are the secondary, anthropogenic ones. The secondary succession goes through 3 main stages: grassland herbaceous xerophytic vegetation, xerophytic scrub, dense forest.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1294-1301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Babcock ◽  
Craig R. Ely

Plant communities are described from an area on the Yukon – Kuskokwim (Y-K) delta of Alaska that is used extensively for brood rearing by three species of geese. Earlier studies identified plant species important as food for young geese, but few studies describe or quantify plant communities. We classified species presence or absence information from over 700 quadrats using a two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and then tested for agreement of signatures on colour infrared air photos with the identified communities. Sedges were found to dominate all but the wettest and driest communities. Most of the brood-rearing area was covered by Carex ramenskii and Carex rariflora meadows, ponds, Carex mackenziei-dominated pond margins, and C. ramenskii and grass levee meadows. Our interpretation of airphotos accurately predicted vegetation community classes, which will facilitate future studies of habitat selection by geese during the time they are rearing young. The TWINSPAN classification was comparable to classifications of studies conducted elsewhere on the Y-K delta. The interpretation of air photos will enable the identification and evaluation of wetland vegetation complexes and potential goose brood-rearing areas away from our study site. Key words: air-photo interpretation, Alaska, plant communities, salt marsh, Yukon – Kuskokwim delta.


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