scholarly journals Plant species selection by sheep in semi-natural dry grasslands extensively grazed in the south-western Italian Alps

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Pittarello ◽  
Alessandra Gorlier ◽  
Giampiero Lombardi ◽  
Michele Lonati
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Stocking Density ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Gps Tracking ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
North West ◽  
Dry Grasslands ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Intensity Grazing

Sheep can have an important role in the conservation of abandoned and shrub- and tree-encroached, semi-natural dry grasslands because their feeding behaviour is known to affect plant diversity and structure. Nevertheless, little information is available about feeding preferences of sheep at the sward-patch scale and about the effects of stocking density on their selectivity. Consequently, we investigated plant-species selection by sheep managed with a low-intensity grazing, examining the influence of stocking density and plant species abundance by means of vegetation surveys and animal GPS tracking. Sheep grazed a graminoid-dominated, semi-natural dry grassland (Festuco–Brometea) in Piedmont Region, north-west Italy. Plant species, classified into graminoids, suffruticose forbs, and herbaceous forbs, were selected with a different intensity by sheep, which preferred graminoids over suffruticose and herbaceous forbs. Plant species showing a high consumption ratio (CR), i.e. the level of selection of plant species (CR >10%), were mostly graminoids (e.g. Bromus erectus, Koeleria vallesiana and Stipa pennata). Furthermore, Carex species were also noticeably selected, in particular C. humilis, whereas spiny species and those with a rosette or prostrate forms were rarely grazed. The heterogeneity of stocking density over the pasture allowed testing of the relationships between stocking density and CR. For many species, the higher the stocking density, the higher was the CR, regardless of the abundance of dominant neighbouring species. Results suggest that sheep under low-intensity grazing conditions exert a specific plant-species selection in abandoned dry grasslands. By regulating the stocking density through the management of grazing sheep, it may be possible to condition the consumption of certain plant species, with medium–long-term effects on the botanical composition.

scholarly journals Effect of Soil Diversity on Forest Plant Species Abundance: A Case Study from Central-European Highlands

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Pavel Samec ◽  
Jiří Volánek ◽  
Miloš Kučera ◽  
Pavel Cudlín
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Soil Diversity ◽  
Abiotic Environment ◽  
Soil Group ◽  
Biogeographical Regions ◽  
Forest Distribution

Plant distribution is most closely associated with the abiotic environment. The abiotic environment affects plant species’ abundancy unevenly. The asymmetry is further deviated by human interventions. Contrarily, soil properties preserve environmental influences from the anthropogenic perturbations. The study examined the supra-regional similarities of soil effects on plant species’ abundance in temperate forests to determine: (i) spatial relationships between soil property and forest-plant diversity among geographical regions; (ii) whether the spatial dependencies among compared forest-diversity components are influenced by natural forest representation. The spatial dependence was assessed using geographically weighted regression (GWR) of soil properties and plant species abundance from forest stands among 91 biogeographical regions in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Regional soil properties and plant species abundance were acquired from 7550 national forest inventory plots positioned in a 4 × 4 km grid. The effect of natural forests was assessed using linear regression between the sums of squared GWR residues and protected forest distribution in the regions. Total diversity of forest plants is significantly dependent on soil-group representation. The soil-group effect is more significant than that of bedrock bodies, most of all in biogeographical regions with protected forest representation >50%. Effects of soil chemical properties were not affected by protected forest distribution. Spatial dependency analysis separated biogeographical regions of optimal forest plant diversity from those where inadequate forest-ecosystem diversity should be increased alongside soil diversity.

The effect of niche filtering on plant species abundance in temperate grassland communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Padullés Cubino ◽  
Irena Axmanová ◽  
Zdeňka Lososová ◽  
Martin Večeřa ◽  
Ariel Bergamini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Temperate Grassland ◽  
Grassland Communities

scholarly journals Ambient changes exceed treatment effects on plant species abundance in global change experiments

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 5668-5679 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Adam Langley ◽  
Samantha K. Chapman ◽  
Kimberly J. La Pierre ◽  
Meghan Avolio ◽  
William D. Bowman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Species Abundance

RAISING GROUNDWATER DIFFERENTIALLY AFFECTS MINERALIZATION AND PLANT SPECIES ABUNDANCE IN DUNE SLACKS

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1785-1795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. van Bodegom ◽  
Annelies Oosthoek ◽  
Rob Broekman ◽  
Chris Bakker ◽  
Rien Aerts
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Dune Slacks

scholarly journals The commonness of rarity: Global and future distribution of rarity across land plants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Joseph Enquist ◽  
Xiao Feng ◽  
Bradley Boyle ◽  
Brian Maitner ◽  
Erica A. Newman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Neutral Theory ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Heavy Tailed Distributions ◽  
Species Abundance Distributions ◽  
Heavy Tailed

A key feature of life’s diversity is that some species are common but many more are rare. Nonetheless, at global scales, we do not know what fraction of biodiversity consists of rare species. Here, we present the largest compilation of global plant species observation data in order to quantify the fraction of Earth’s extant land plant biodiversity that is common versus rare. Tests of different hypotheses for the origin of species commonness and rarity indicates that sampling biases and prominent models such as niche theory and neutral theory cannot account for the observed prevalence of rare species. Instead, the distribution of commonness is best approximated by heavy-tailed distributions like the Pareto or Poisson-lognormal distributions. As a result, a large fraction, ~36.5% of an estimated ~435k total plant species, are exceedingly rare. We also show that rare species tend to cluster in a small number of ‘hotspots’ mainly characterized by being in tropical and subtropical mountains and areas that have experienced greater climate stability. Our results indicate that (i) non-neutral processes, likely associated with reduced risk of extinction, have maintained a large fraction of Earth’s plant species but that (ii) climate change and human impact appear to now and will disproportionately impact rare species. Together, these results point to a large fraction of Earth’s plant species are faced with increased chances of extinction. Our results indicate that global species abundance distributions have important implications for conservation planning in this era of rapid global change.

scholarly journals Notes on protected and threatened plants in Castilla y León (North-West Spain)

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-220
Author(s):  
Fermín Del Egido ◽  
Patricio Bariego ◽  
Alberto Rodríguez ◽  
María Santos Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
New Records ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Threatened Plants ◽  
North West ◽  
Castilla Y Leon ◽  
Vascular Plant Species ◽  
New Findings ◽  
First Time

We provide new records and notes on 25 protected and/or threatened vascular plant species in Castilla y León. Some of them illustrate not only new findings but also an interesting expansion of their geographic range. Eight taxa are reported for the first time in some provinces, while eleven of them were two or three times previously reported.

scholarly journals A Web-Based Software Platform for Restoration-Oriented Species Selection Based on Plant Functional Traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Wang ◽  
Shuguang Jian ◽  
Hai Ren ◽  
Junhua Yan ◽  
Nan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Plant Functional Traits ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Software Platform ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Successful Case ◽  
The Future ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems

Plant functional traits are fundamental to the understanding of plant adaptations and distributions. Recently, scientists proposed a trait-based species selection theory to support the selection of suitable plant species to restore the degraded ecosystems, to prevent the invasive exotic species and to manage the sustainable ecosystems. Based on this theory, in a previous study, we developed a species screening model and successfully applied it to a project where plant species were selected for restoring a tropical coral island. However, during this process we learned that a software platform is necessary to automate the selection process because it can flexible to assist users. Here, we developed a generalized software platform called the “Restoration Plant Species Selection (RPSS) Platform.” This flexible software is designed to assist users in selecting plant species for particular purposes (e.g., restore the degraded ecosystems and others). It is written in R language and integrated with external R packages, including the packages that computing similarity indexes, providing graphic outputs, and offering web functions. The software has a web-based graphical user interface that allows users to execute required functions via checkboxes and buttons. The platform has cross-platform functionality, which means that it can run on all common operating systems (e.g., Windows, Linux, macOS, and others). We also illustrate a successful case study in which the software platform was used to select suitable plant species for restoration purpose. The objective of this paper is to introduce the newly developed software platform RPSS and to provide useful guidances on using it for various applications. At this step, we also realized that the software platform should be constantly updated (e.g., add new features) in the future. Based on the existing successful application and the possible updates, we believe that our RPSS software platform will have broader applications in the future.

scholarly journals Diversity of Tree Species in Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-72
Author(s):  
P. C. Nnadi ◽  
B. B. Otene ◽  
Nwiisator David-Sarogoro
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
State University ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Port Harcourt ◽  
Pinus Spp ◽  
Rivers State

This study was carried out to examine the distribution of plant species in Rivers State University campus at different locations at the Rivers State University Nkpolu-Oroworukwo Port Harcourt Nigeria. The general objective of this study was to examine the Ecological distribution of plant species in Rivers State University campus at different locations. The specific objective was to determine the species abundance of various plants in the study area and also to examine the ecological diversity of tree species in the various groups. The study area was divided into three groups (stations) with the various plants species identified and recorded. Data gotten from the field was analyzed using descriptive statistic and some ecological indices such as Margalef, Mehinick, Shannon diversity, Shannon Wiener, Evenness/Equitability and Simpson dominance.  A total of one thousand Sixty-nine (1069) individual plant were identified with 16, 17 and 12 species in stations 1-3 respectively. The highest individual plants (561) were observed in station 1 while the least (87) were observed in station 3. The mean values of stations 1 and 2 were significantly and statistically different from site 3 at p<0.05. The results obtained showed some dominant species to include Elaeis guincensis, Polyaithia longifolia, Pinus spp, Gmelina arborea, Wodyetia bifareata, Citrus sinensis, Cocos nuciferia while others were the least dominant species found in the study area. The Margalef, Mehinicks and Shannon Wiener values were consistently highest in station 2 but lowest in station 3.  Human disturbances had negative impact on tree species abundance especially in site 3. It is therefore recommended that management interventions are necessary in other to stop indiscriminate felling of the various trees species that made up the different groups.

scholarly journals Ethnomedicinal plant species commonly used to manage arthritis in North-West Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Salihu ◽  
J.O. Olukunle ◽  
O.T. Adenubi ◽  
C. Mbaoji ◽  
M.H. Zarma
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
North West ◽  
Ethnomedicinal Plant
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