Ferns_leaves_Sarawak

This dataset contain the information relative to the Manuscript entitled Fern species richness and leaves morphological traits change along a tropical riparian vegetation gradient, an example from Borneo.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Which is the contribution to the carbon sequestration of the forest ecosystems in the Castelporziano Reserve? Evidences from an integrated study on humus and vegetation.

Soil is a major carbon sink or source on ter-restrial ecosystems. Despite their great importance, humus forms, which constitute the small portion above the soil, have been often neglected in local studies and in interna-tional research projects. In the present work we evaluated the organic carbon stocked in the different humus forms in a Mediterranean lowland forest, to highlight the carbon concentration in different vegetation types, particularly between evergreen and deciduous woodlands. Results showed that the carbon stock stored in the organic and organo-mineral horizons of humus and soil, expressed in Tons/Ha, had a wide range for each vegetation type, reflecting the high diversity of the forest vegetation and the variability within each type. The vegetation with the highest value of carbon stock despite its small extension was represented by humid woodlands dominated by Fraxinus oxycarpa, a relic forest type occurring in the dune slacks within the study area, which gives, therefore, an important contribution to the climate warming reduction. We demonstrated as the humus forms play a role in the carbon sequestration in a forest ecosystem; therefore, it may be important to add the evaluation of carbon stock when carbon concentration is evaluated for the soil and above and plants below ground biomass

Conservation value of cacao agroforestry systems for terrestrial herbaceous species in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Tropical secondary forest and agroforestry systems have been identified as important refuges for the local species diversity of birds and other animal groups, but little is known about the importance of these systems for terrestrial herbs. In particular, few studies report how the conversion from tropical forest to technified cacao plantation affects the species richness and the community structure of herbs. We conducted surveys in 43 cacao plantations along the border of the Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi, ranging from agroforests to technified cacao, categorizing the plantations as rustic cacao, planted shade cacao, and technified cacao. We recorded 91 herb species. Of the 74 species determined to species level, 21 were also found in natural forests, while 53 were recorded only in agricultural habitats. Araceae was the most forest-dependent plant family while Asteraceae included the highest number of nonforest species. Overall, the presence of forest species was confined to moderately intensively managed rustic and planted shaded plantations. Distance from the forest, which has been identified as a crucial parameter for the diversity and composition of other taxa in cacao agroforests, only played a minimal role for herbs. Our study suggests that native forest herbs maybe more vulnerable to forest conversion than animal groups. The intensification of cacao plantation management increases the presence of weedy species to the detriment of native forest species

Humus Carbon Sequestration. How humus forms contribute in carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean forest ecosystem at Castel Porziano Reserve (CPR), central Italy

ABSTRACT Objective: This work reports the results of an investigation on humus forms in a Mediterranean area. The study allows to test the effectiveness of the recent European humus forms classification (Zanella et al. 2011a), based on morpho-genetic characters of diagnostic organic and organo-mineral horizons. Furthemore it reveals how the humus forms data, at the level of diagnostic horizons, are related to vegetation/soil types and Carbon storage capacity of the soil. Methods: The humus forms were investigated in different substrate, soil types, and vegetation units of a Mediterranean forest ecosystem in Central Italy (Castelporziano Reserve). Classical parameters were measured and statistically analysed: thickness, Organic Carbon (OC) and total Nitrogen (Ntot) contents in organic and organo-mineral horizons, whilst pH and texture in the organo-mineral horizon. Results: The three main humus forms (Mull, Moder and Amphi) covering the soil of the Reserve appeared well separated on the PCA diagram. Thickness, OC and Ntot showed a high correlation with the axes of the PCA. Kruskall-Wallis results disclosed differences among Mull, Moder and Amphi: 1) the thickness of A horizon was larger in Amphi; 2) OC in A horizon was lesser in Moder form; 3) Mull had less OC in organic horizons than Moder and Amphi; 4) Mull and Amphi raised twice the OC of Moder in organic and organo-mineral summed horizons. Two main ecological gradients, from neutral/aerated Mull to acid/asphyxiated-water saturated Moder on one side and from fresh Mull to dry Amphi on the other, explain the distribution of humus forms in the Reserve. The first gradient concerns circular belts around periodically filled small basins and is peculiar to the more or less impermeable plain of Castelporziano; on the contrary, the second progressive transition is very common in Mediterranean forests. Conclusion: A clear trend in Carbon storage capacity is visible in humus forms of Mediterranean forest where Mull and Amphi, with a good mixing of organics and minerals particles in the A horizon, show at least twice more OC than Moder. Practice: The European humus forms classification is a very practical tool and allows to survey the humus forms and better understand the functioning of forest ecosystems even in Mediterranean area. The carbon cycle of Mediterranean forests seems to gravitate around a still scarcely investigated and very rich in OC Amphi humus form. Implications: The European humus forms classification seems to be appropriate to a large scale survey of humus forms in forest ecosystems. It allows to better understand the organic matter cycle at the level of soil bio-structures. The crucial role played by the here investigated Amphi forms could increase with the prospect of climate change

A survey of the mycorrhization of Southeast Asian ferns and lycophytes

The colonisation of land by plants may not have been possible without mycorrhizae, which supply the majority of land plants with nutrients, water and other benefits. In this sense, the mycorrhization of basal groups of land plants such as ferns and lycophytes is of particular interest, yet only about 9% of fern and lycophyte species have been sampled for their mycorrhization status, and no community-level analyses exist for tropical fern communities. In the present study, we screened 170 specimens of ferns and lycophytes from Malaysia and Sulawesi (Indonesia), representing 126 species, and report the mycorrhization status for 109 species and 19 genera for the first time. Mycorrhizal colonisations were detected in 96 (56.5%) of the specimens, 85 of which corresponded to arbuscular mycorrhizae (AMF), three to dark-septate endophytes (DSE) and four to mixed colonisations (AMF + DSE). DSE colonisations were lower than in comparable samples of ferns from the Andes, suggesting a geographical or taxonomic pattern in this type of colonisation. Epiphytes had significantly lower levels of colonisation (26.1%) than terrestrial plants (70.7%), probably due to the difficulty of establishment of mycorrhizal fungi in the canopy habitat