The impact of the plateau pika on the relationship between plant aboveground biomass and plant species richness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Pan Pang ◽  
Qian Wang ◽  
Zheng Gang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Plateau Pika ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Relationships between resource availability and elevation vary between metrics creating gradients of nutritional complexity

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-223
Author(s):  
Mark A. Lee ◽  
Grace Burger ◽  
Emma R. Green ◽  
Pepijn W. Kooij
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Mineral Contents ◽  
Nutritive Values ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Nutritional Chemistry ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractPlant and animal community composition changes at higher elevations on mountains. Plant and animal species richness generally declines with elevation, but the shape of the relationship differs between taxa. There are several proposed mechanisms, including the productivity hypotheses; that declines in available plant biomass confers fewer resources to consumers, thus supporting fewer species. We investigated resource availability as we ascended three aspects of Helvellyn mountain, UK, measuring several plant nutritive metrics, plant species richness and biomass. We observed a linear decline in plant species richness as we ascended the mountain but there was a unimodal relationship between plant biomass and elevation. Generally, the highest biomass values at mid-elevations were associated with the lowest nutritive values, except mineral contents which declined with elevation. Intra-specific and inter-specific increases in nutritive values nearer the top and bottom of the mountain indicated that physiological, phenological and compositional mechanisms may have played a role. The shape of the relationship between resource availability and elevation was different depending on the metric. Many consumers actively select or avoid plants based on their nutritive values and the abundances of consumer taxa vary in their relationships with elevation. Consideration of multiple nutritive metrics and of the nutritional requirements of the consumer may provide a greater understanding of changes to plant and animal communities at higher elevations. We propose a novel hypothesis for explaining elevational diversity gradients, which warrants further study; the ‘nutritional complexity hypothesis’, where consumer species coexist due to greater variation in the nutritional chemistry of plants.

scholarly journals The impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on plant species richness in the freshwater lakes of Algonquin Provincial Park

SURG Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Adrian Helmers ◽  
Alexis Platek ◽  
Melissa Ponte ◽  
Natalie Secen ◽  
Karl Cottenie
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Access Point ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Provincial Park

This study quantified the impact of human activity on aquatic and shoreline plant species richness. We hypothesized that human activity at the shoreline would negatively impact plant species richness and that the extent of the impact would depend on the intensity of human activity. To test this, we sampled 11 lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park, of which five permitted motorboat access, and five permitted canoe access and prohibited motorboat access. The remaining lake, which had no designated access point for boats and was only accessible to researchers, acted as a control. To assess the impact of anthropogenic disturbance at each lake, we measured plant species richness in three 10 m by 2 m plots: a first plot at the access point, assumed to be the site of highest disturbance; a second at the site of intermediate disturbance, 30 m down shore from the access point; and a third at the site of lowest disturbance, 60 m down shore from the access point. We found a significant negative relationship between the level of disturbance and plant species richness, both in the motorboat-accessible and canoe access-only lakes. The control lake exhibited no correlation between disturbance level and plant species richness. However, there was no significant difference between motorboat-accessible and canoe access-only lakes in the relationship between disturbance level and plant species richness. Overall, this study highlights the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance on freshwater aquatic and shoreline plant communities, and provides a framework for future management and rehabilitation strategies.

scholarly journals Species richness of alien plants in South Africa: Environmental correlates and the relationship with indigenous plant species richness

Ecoscience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Richardson ◽  
Mathieu Rouget ◽  
Samantha J. Ralston ◽  
Richard M. Cowling ◽  
Berndt J. Van Rensburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Environmental Correlates ◽  
Indigenous Plant ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between the spectral diversity of satellite imagery, habitat heterogeneity, and plant species richness

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 160-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Warren ◽  
Martin Alt ◽  
Keith D. Olson ◽  
Severin D.H. Irl ◽  
Manuel J. Steinbauer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
The Relationship
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