Classification, species richness, and environmental relations of monsoon rain forest in northern Australia

1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Monsoon Rain ◽  
Environmental Relations

Regeneration of monsoon rain forest in northern Australia: the dormant seed bank

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Diane E. Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Seed Bank ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Dormant Seed ◽  
Monsoon Rain

The short-term effects of an extensive and high-intensity fire on vertebrates in the tropical savannas of the central Kimberley, northern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Legge ◽  
Stephen Murphy ◽  
Joanne Heathcote ◽  
Emma Flaxman ◽  
John Augusteyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
High Intensity ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Tropical Savannas ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
In Fire

We report the effects of an extensive (>7000 km2), high-intensity late-dry-season fire in the central Kimberley, Western Australia, on the species richness and abundance of mammals, reptiles and birds. Five weeks after the fire we surveyed 12 sites (six burnt, six unburnt); each pair of sites was closely matched for soil type and vegetation. The species richness and abundance of mammals and reptiles was greater at unburnt sites, especially for mammals (with a 4-fold difference in abundance between burnt and unburnt sites). There was an indication that reptiles immigrated into unburnt patches, but mammals did not. There were also species-specific responses to the fire: Rattus tunneyi and Pseudomys nanus were much more abundant in unburnt sites, whereas Pseudomys delicatulus was caught in equal numbers at burnt and unburnt sites. Diurnal reptiles were more abundant at unburnt sites, but nocturnal reptiles were equally common at burnt and unburnt sites. Avian species richness and overall abundance was similar between burnt and unburnt patches, although a few species showed preferences for one state or the other. The overall high trapping success for mammals (18% across all sites; 28% in unburnt patches) contrasts with the well documented mammal collapse in parts of northern Australia and seems paradoxical given that our study area has experienced the same increase in fire frequency and extent that is often blamed for species collapse. However, our study area has fewer pressures from other sources, including grazing by large herbivores, suggesting that the effects of these pressures, and their interaction with fire, may have been underestimated in previous studies.

scholarly journals Changes in small mammal assemblage structure across a rain forest/open forest ecotone

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN E. WILLIAMS ◽  
HELENE MARSH
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Large Change ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Live Trapping ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest ◽  
World Heritage Area ◽  
Forest Ecotone

The effect of the change in vegetation structure from closed rain forest to tall open forest on the small mammal assemblage was studied by live trapping at three sites where the ecotone was very narrow (> 20 m) near the southern end of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of Australia. Habitat heterogeneity was significantly higher in the mixed open forest/ecotone area than in the adjacent rain forest. There was a large change in the struture of the small mammal assemblage coincident with the vegetation discontinuity. Although the species richness of small mammals was relatively constant across the gradient, the evenness and diversity of the assemblage declined across the transition from open forest into rain forest and biomass increased, largely due to the high abundance of Rattus fuscipes in the rain forest. The results suggest that the species richness of the small mammal assemblage was not determined by the spatial heterogeneity of the vegetation struture. The species composition of the rain forest is probably related to the historical biogeography of the area whereas the species richness of the wet sclerophyll forest is probably due to a mass-area effect from the adjcant large areas of rain forest and dry sclerophyll forest. However, the evenness, and therefore the diversity of the assemblage, was strongly affected by habitat heterogeneity.

The ravine monsoon rain forest in Jinggangshan of Jiangxi Province and its super zonal characteristics

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
景慧娟 JING Huijuan ◽  
凡强 FAN Qiang ◽  
王蕾 WANG Lei ◽  
廖文波 LIAO Wenbo ◽  
陈春泉 CHEN Chunquan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Jiangxi Province ◽  
Monsoon Rain

Bryophyte diversity along an altitudinal gradient in Darién National Park, Panama

1992 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rob Gradstein ◽  
Noris Salazar Allen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
National Park ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Plant Conservation ◽  
Montane Forest ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Seasonal Climate

A bryophyte inventory along an altitudinal gradient on Cerro Pirre (1200 m), Darién National Park, Panama, demonstrates that the different rain forest types along the gradient (inundatedlowland, hillside-lowland, submontane, montane elfin forest) have very different species assemblages. The montane forest has the largest number of exclusive species and the largest bryophyte biomass. Species richness is greatest in the submontane forest. The bryophyte flora of Cerro Pirre is not exceedingly rich in species owing to the rather low elevation of the mountain and the seasonal climate in the adjacent coastal plain. Nevertheless, the distinct altitudinal diversification and the occurrence of a considerable number of rare hepatic taxa, demonstrate the importance of Darién National Park as an area of plant conservation. Forty hepatic species are reported as new to Panama.

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