383 research outputs found
Habitat filtering determines spatial variation of macroinvertebrate community traits in northern headwater streams
Although our knowledge of the spatial distribution of stream organisms has been increasing rapidly in the last decades, there is still little consensus about trait-based variability of macroinvertebrate communities within and between catchments in near-pristine systems. Our aim was to examine the taxonomic and trait based stability vs. variability of stream macroinvertebrates in three high-latitude catchments in Finland. The collected taxa were assigned to unique trait combinations (UTCs) using biological traits. We found that only a single or a highly limited number of taxa formed a single UTC, suggesting a low degree of redundancy. Our analyses revealed significant differences in the environmental conditions of the streams among the three catchments. Linear models, rarefaction curves and beta-diversity measures showed that the catchments differed in both alpha and beta diversity. Taxon- and trait-based multivariate analyses also indicated that the three catchments were significantly different in terms of macroinvertebrate communities. All these findings suggest that habitat filtering, i.e., environmental differences among catchments, determines the variability of macroinvertebrate communities, thereby contributing to the significant biological differences among the catchments. The main implications of our study is that the sensitivity of trait-based analyses to natural environmental variation should be carefully incorporated in the assessment of environmental degradation, and that further studies are needed for a deeper understanding of trait-based community patterns across near-pristine streams
The effects of stand characteristics on the understory vegetation in Quercus petraea and Q. cerris dominated forests
The shelterwood system used in Hungary has many effects on the composition and structure of the herb layer. The aim of our study was to identify the main variables that affect the occurence of herbs and seedlings in Turkey oak-sessile oak (Quercus cerris and Q. petraea) stands. The study was carried out in the BĂŒkk mountains, Hungary. 122 sampling plots were established in 50-150 year old oak forests, where we studied the species composition and structure of the understorey and overstorey. The occurence of herbs was affected by canopy closure, the heterogenity and patchiness of the stand, the slope and the east-west component of the aspect. The composition of saplings was significantly explained by the ratio of the two major oak species in the stand and the proximity of the adult plants. An important result for forest management was that sessile oaks were able to regenerate almost only where they were dominant in the overstorey
Supplement 19, Part 4, Parasite-Subject Catalogue: Parasites: Nematoda and Acanthocephala
United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Animal Parasitology Institute, Agricultural Research Servic
Can management intensity be more important than environmental factors? A case study along an extreme elevation gradient from central Italian cereal fields
This paper aims to assess the importance of environmental and management factors determining the weed species
composition along a strong elevation gradient. A total of 76 cereal fields (39 low input and 37 intensively managed) were
sampled along an elevation gradient in central Italy. Explanatory variables were recorded for each field to elucidate the role of
large-scale spatial trends, of site-specific abiotic environmental conditions and of field management characters. Redundancy
analysis was used to assess the relative importance of each environmental variable in explaining the variation in species
composition. Our results indicate that variation in weed species composition is strongly determined by altitude, mean annual
precipitation, mean annual temperature and also by soil characteristics. However, the level of intensification proved to be the
most influential variable. There was a significant difference in species richness and composition between low-input and
intensively managed fields. Intensification leads to considerable species loss at both lower and higher elevations. Low-input
fields had 296 species in total, while intensively managed fields had only 196
A global view on the riparian forests with Salix neotricha and Populus alba in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain)
Forests dominated by Salix neotricha, and Populus alba found along the mesoeutrophic rivers in the Iberian Peninsula, were
studied. We discuss the floristic circumscription, chorology, and community segregation based on the available releveÂŽs of all
Iberian riparian communities included in Populenion albae. Eleven formerly described communities were analyzed and due to
original floristic combination, habitat features, and biogeographic scope, a new willow and poplar forest type is proposed
within a well-defined biogeographical unit (Sadensean-Dividing Portuguese Subprovince): Clematido campaniflorae-
Salicetum neotrichae. This syntaxon is found under a semi-hyperoceanic thermomediterranean to lower mesomediterranean,
subhumid to humid bioclimate. Cluster analysis including all Iberian communities of Populenion albae shows a clear floristic
segregation within the suballiance and confirms the originality of the new association. Furthermore, chemical characteristics
of the water along some of the Portuguese watercourses with Populenion albae were studied and compared to the oligotrophic
rivers occupied by Osmundo-Alnion communities. This study suggests that floristic separation between the communities of
Populenion and Osmundo-Alnion is accompanied by a differentiation of the water trophic level
Complex geoarcheological investigation at the Székelyudvarhely-Kadicsfalva/Cãdiseni site (Romania)
Plant communities as a tool in temporary ponds conservation in SW Portugal
Pond conservationTemporary ponds are seasonal wetlands
annually subjected to extreme and unstable ecological
conditions, neither truly aquatic nor truly terrestrial.
This habitat and its flora have been poorly
studied and documented because of the ephemeral
character of the flora, the changeable annual weather
that has a great effect on the small, herbaceous taxa
and the declining abundance of temporary ponds. The
objectives of this study are: (a) to define plant
community diversity in terms of floristic composition of ephemeral wetlands in SW Portugal, (b) to identify
temporary pond types according to their vegetation
composition and (c) to identify those ponds that
configure the European community priority habitat
(3170* â Mediterranean temporary ponds).
Vegetation sampling was conducted in 29 ponds,
identifying 168 species grouped among 15 plant
communities. Soil texture, pH, organic C and N
content were measured, but only N and percent of
clay appear to be related with the distribution of each
community type. The results showed that ephemeral
wetlands could be classified into four type: vernal
pools, marshlands, deep ponds and disturbed wetlands.
Vernal pools correspond to the Mediterranean
temporary ponds (3170*), protected as priority habitat
under the EU Habitats Directive. Submersed
Isoetes species (Isoetes setaceum and Isoetes velatum)
represents, together with Eryngium corniculatum,
the indicator species for vernal pools. We
identify also indicator plant communities of this
priority habitat, namely I. setaceum and E. corniculatumâ
Baldellia ranunculoides plant communities. In
this region, the conservation of temporary ponds has
so far been compatible with traditional agricultural
activities, but today these ponds are endangered by
the intensification of agriculture and the loss of
traditional land use practices and by the development
of touris
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