scholarly journals Plant Species Richness on a Transmission Right-of-Way in Southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. Using Integrated Vegetation Management

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-244
Author(s):  
Richard Yahner ◽  
Richard Yahner ◽  
Bradley Ross

The Green Lane Research and Demonstration Area, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S., has been studied each year since 1987, making this 21-year-old project extremely valuable as a source of information on the effects of mechanical and herbicidal maintenance on flora and fauna along an electric transmission right-of-way (ROW). In this article, our objective was to document plant species richness among treatment units and in relation to wire and border zones on the ROW. We noted the presence of plant species from late May through mid-August in 2005 and 2006 and observed 114 vascular plant species in the ten treatment units; 35 (31%) of these species were exotic. Twenty-seven (24%) species were widespread on the ROW and seven of these (26%) were exotic. The total number of species per unit ranged from 46 (40%) species in handcut units to 57 (50%) in stem–foliage spray units. Of the total number of species, 103 (90%) and 81 (71%) occurred in wire and border zones, respectively. The number of exotic species was higher in wire zones (33 [29%]) than in border zones (22 [19%]).

2017 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 1199-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Boutin ◽  
Emmanuel Corcket ◽  
Didier Alard ◽  
Luis Villar ◽  
Juan-José Jiménez ◽  
...  

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 786-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Haig ◽  
U Matthes ◽  
D W Larson

Plant species richness, diversity, and some aspects of species composition were measured on natural limestone cliff fragments of varying size within the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve, Canada. This information was collected because knowledge about how different components of community structure change in response to natural fragmentation may permit the prediction of the effects of future anthropogenic fragmentation. The number and relative abundance of vascular plant, bryophyte, and lichen species were determined on cliff fragments that varied in area from 185 to 126 000 m2. Latitude, aspect, percent available photosynthetically active radiation on the cliff face, distance from the nearest neighbouring cliff, and length of the nearest neighbouring cliff were also measured. Regression analysis was used to test for a significant relationship between fragment area and diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens both separately and combined. Multiple regression with all subsets selection was used to find the best predictors of species richness from among all variables measured for the 21 cliff fragments. Multivariate analyses were used to study the effect of fragmentation on the structure of the vegetation as a whole. The results showed no significant relationship between cliff fragment area and richness or diversity for vascular plants and bryophytes, and only a marginally significant increase in richness with area for lichens. The multivariate analyses also showed that only one community type exists, and that its structure mainly varies as a function of latitude. These results indicate that very small fragments of cliff face can support a similar plant biodiversity as do large continuous portions of the Niagara Escarpment.Key words: habitat fragmentation, plant species richness, lichens, bryophytes, cliff vegetation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Neo ◽  
Alex T.K. Yee ◽  
Kwek Yan Chong ◽  
Carmen Y. Kee ◽  
Hugh T.W. Tan

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