Response of Five Deciduous Forest Herbs to Partial Canopy Removal and Patch Size

1992 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Reader ◽  
B. D. Bricker
Keyword(s):  
Patch Size ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Forest Herbs ◽  
Canopy Removal

scholarly journals Frequency-Dependent Seed Dispersal by Ants of Two Deciduous Forest Herbs

Ecology ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 1645-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent H. Smith ◽  
Catherine E. deRivera ◽  
Cara Lin Bridgman ◽  
John J. Woida
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Frequency Dependent ◽  
Forest Herbs

Habitat may limit herb migration at the northern edge of the Appalachian deciduous forest *This paper is dedicated to our botanical mentor, the late Dr. Sam P. Vander Kloet.

Botany ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 635-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Hill ◽  
David J. Garbary
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Soil Calcium ◽  
Forest Herbs ◽  
Migration Corridors ◽  
Habitat Factors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Calcium Magnesium ◽  
Northern Edge

Forest herbs account for greater species richness than any other plant type in deciduous forests and are the most vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances. We examined whether the limited distribution of rare Appalachian forest herbs in Nova Scotia is related to edaphic specialization or a history of anthropogenic disturbance. Remnant populations are restricted to floodplain forest, where both habitat factors and disturbance history differ significantly from those of adjacent upland sugar maple forest. Contrasting soil and litter layers between floodplain stands and adjacent upland sites revealed the latter to be deficient in key cations (calcium, magnesium, boron); however, regression models for uplands and for floodplains showed that native herb richness was related to soil fertility in each case. Soil calcium accounted for most of the species richness variation among floodplains for native herbs and for a large seeded guild that contains most of the rare species on floodplains. Given the widespread anthropogenic decalcification of forest soils throughout eastern North America, conservation efforts must (i) increase and connect deciduous forest floodplain ecosystems and (ii) understand how to manage and create suitable cation-rich migration corridors in the forest landscape.

The morphology of vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae in Clintonia borealis and Medeola virginiana

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 679-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Widden
Keyword(s):  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Cortical Layer ◽  
Cortical Cells ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae ◽  
Forest Herbs ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular ◽  
Innermost Layer ◽  
Inner Cortex

During a survey of the vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) associations of forest herbs in a deciduous forest in the southern Laurentian mountains in Quebec, two liliaceous species, Clintonia borealis and Medeola virginiana, revealed very distinctive morphology. In both species, once the epidermis was penetrated, the fungus spread towards the centre of the root via intracellular hyphae until the innermost layer of the cortex was reached, at which point the fungus spread laterally and tangentially through the cortical cells adjacent to the endodermis via a series of banana-shaped projections (bobbits). These eventually differentiated into the arbuscules and the VAM might spread from this inner cortical layer back into the outer cortical layers. In C. borealis, the hyphae coiled in the cortex, and vesicles were formed in the upper cortical cells. In M. virginiana, no coiling took place, but extensive diverticulae were produced by the intracellular hyphae in the cortical cells, close to their point of exit, and vesicles were produced in the inner cortex as swellings from the bobbits. These two mycorrhizae have some similarities to one in Colchicum autumnale described by I. Gallaud (1905. Rev. Gen. Bot. 17). Keywords: vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae, Clintonia borealis, Medeola virginiana, Liliaceae, morphology.

Effects of simulated post-harvest light availability and soil compaction on deciduous forest herbs

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1753-1762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine J Small ◽  
Brian C McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Soil Compaction ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Eastern Deciduous Forest ◽  
Forest Herbs ◽  
Successional Species ◽  
Eastern Deciduous Forests

To better understand the response of eastern deciduous forest herbs to microenvironmental changes associated with logging, the effects of experimental light and soil compaction treatments were examined in six herbaceous plant species characteristic of varying successional stages. We found severe growth reductions and increased mortality of Osmorhiza claytonii (Michx.) C.B. Clarke, a shade-tolerant forest perennial, when grown in full sun and greater soil compaction. Deeply shaded conditions, similar to those beneath regenerating forests, resulted in reduced growth of early successional species such as Galium aparine L., and Eupatorium rugosum Houtt. Growth of other species such as Geum canadense Jacq., and Elymus hystrix L. appeared to increase in the patchy, intermediate light treatment mimicking mature eastern deciduous forests. Soil compaction caused severe reductions in height and biomass of Eupatorium rugosum and O. claytonii, early- and late-successional species, respectively. While harvested stands experience relatively uniform light environments, canopy gaps and sunflecks in mature eastern deciduous forests create heterogeneous light environments often correlated with recruitment, growth, and diversity of understory herbs. Therefore, management approaches that minimize alteration of forest environments and mimic natural disturbance patterns may be important to the maintenance and regeneration of forest herbs.

scholarly journals Deforestation and fragmentation trends of seasonal dry tropical forest in Ecuador: impact on conservation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A. Rivas ◽  
José Guerrero-Casado ◽  
Rafael M. Navarro-Cerillo
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Edge Density ◽  
Dry Forests ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Deforestation Rate

Abstract Background Fragmentation and deforestation are one of the greatest threats to forests, and these processes are of even more concern in the tropics, where the seasonal dry forest is possibly one of the most threatened ecosystems with the least remaining surface area. Methods The deforestation and fragmentation patterns that had occurred in Ecuadorian seasonal dry forests between 1990 and 2018 were verified, while geographic information systems and land cover shapes provided by the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment were employed to classify and evaluate three types of seasonal dry forests: deciduous, semi-deciduous, and transition. The study area was tessellated into 10 km2 hexagons, in which six fragmentation parameters were measured: number of patches, mean patch size, median patch size, total edge, edge density and reticular fragmentation index (RFI). The RFI was also measured both outside and inside protected natural areas (unprotected, national protected areas and protected forest). Moreover, the areas with the best and worst conservation status, connectivity and risk of disappearance values were identified by means of a Getis-Ord Gi* statistical analysis. Results The deforestation of seasonal dry forests affected 27.04% of the original surface area still remaining in 1990, with an annual deforestation rate of − 1.12% between 1990 and 2018. The RFI has increased by 11.61% as a result of the fact that small fragments of forest have tended to disappear, while the large fragments have been fragmented into smaller ones. The semi-deciduous forest had the highest levels of fragmentation in 2018. The three categories of protection had significantly different levels of fragmentation, with lower RFI values in national protected areas and greater values in protected forests. Conclusions The seasonal dry forest is fragmenting, deforesting and disappearing in some areas. An increased protection and conservation of the Ecuadorian seasonal dry forest is, therefore, necessary owing to the fact that not all protection measures have been effective.

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