Plant ecology of an arid basin, Tres Alamos-Redington area, southeastern Arizona
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Professional Paper↗
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Plant ecology of Death Valley, California, with a section on distribution of fungi and algae
No abstract available.
California↗
Towards a predictive framework for biocrust mediation of plant performance: A meta‐analysis
Understanding the importance of biotic interactions in driving the distribution and abundance of species is a central goal of plant ecology. Early vascular plants likely colonized land occupied by biocrusts — photoautotrophic, surface‐dwelling soil communities comprised of cyanobacteria, bryophytes, lichens and fungi — suggesting biotic interactions between biocrusts and plants have been at play for some 2,000 million years. Today, biocrusts coexist with plants in dryland ecosystems worldwide, and have been shown to both facilitate or inhibit plant species performance depending on ecological context. Yet, the factors that drive the direction and magnitude of these effects remain largely unknown. We conducted a meta‐analysis of plant responses to biocrusts using a global dataset encompassing 1,004 studies from six continents. Meta‐analysis revealed there is no simple positive or negative effect of biocrusts on plants. Rather, plant responses differ by biocrust composition and plant species traits and vary across plant ontogeny. Moss‐dominated biocrusts facilitated, while lichen‐dominated biocrusts inhibited overall plant performance. Plant responses also varied among plant functional groups: C 4 grasses received greater benefits from biocrusts compared to C 3 grasses, and plants without N‐fixing symbionts responded more positively to biocrusts than plants with N‐fixing symbionts. Biocrusts decreased germination but facilitated growth of non‐native plant species. Synthesis . Results suggest that interspecific variation in plant responses to biocrusts, contingent on biocrust type, plant traits, and ontogeny can have strong impacts on plant species performance. These findings have important implications for understanding biocrust contributions to plant productivity and community assembly processes in ecosystems worldwide.
Journal of Ecology↗
Perspectives on the scientific legacy of J. Philip Grime
Perhaps as much as any other scientist in the 20th century, J.P. Grime transformed the study of plant ecology and helped shepherd the field toward international prominence as a nexus of ideas related to global environmental change. Editors at the Journal of Ecology asked a group of senior plant ecologists to comment on Grime's scientific legacy. This commentary piece includes individual responses of 14 scientists from around the world attesting to Grime's foundational role in plant functional ecology, including his knack for sparking controversy, his unique approach to theory formulation involving clever experiments and standardized trait measurements of large numbers of species, and the continued impact of his work on ecological science and policy.
Journal of Ecology↗
Multi-scale and nested-intensity sampling techniques for archaeological survey
This paper discusses sampling techniques for archaeological survey that are directed toward evaluating the properties of surface artifact distributions. The sampling techniques we experimented with consist of a multi-scale sampling plot developed in plant ecology and the use of a nested-intensity survey design. We present results from the initial application of these methods. The sampling technique we borrowed from plant ecology is the Modified-Whittaker multiscale sampling plot, which gathers observations at the spatial scales of 1 sq m, 10 sq m, 100 sq m, and 1000 sq m. Nested-intensity surveys gather observations on the same sample units at multiple resolutions. We compare the results of a closely-spaced walking survey, a crawling survey, and a test excavation to a depth of 10 cm. These techniques were applied to ten 20 × 50 m survey plots distributed over an area of 418 ha near the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed in NW Nebraska. These approaches can significantly improve the accuracy of survey data. Our results show that high-resolution coverage techniques overlook more material than archaeologists have suspected. The combined approaches of multi-scale and nested-intensity sampling provide new tools to improve our ability to investigate the properties of surface records.
Journal of Field Archaeology↗
Climate and soil texture influence patterns of forb species richness and composition in big sagebrush plant communities across their spatial extent in the western US
Article for outlet: Plant Ecology. Abstract: Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) plant communities are widespread non-forested drylands in western North American and similar to all shrub steppe ecosystems world-wide are composed of a shrub overstory layer and a forb and graminoid understory layer. Forbs account for the majority of plant species diversity in big sagebrush plant communities and are important for ecosystem function. Few studies have explored the geographic patterns of forb species richness and composition and their relationships with environmental variables in these communities. Our objectives were to examine the small and large-scale spatial patterns in forb species richness and composition and the influence of environmental variables. We sampled forb species richness and composition along transects at 15 field sites in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, built species-area relationships to quantify differences in forb species richness at sites, and used Principal Components Analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to identify relationships among environmental variables and forb species richness and composition. We found that species richness was most strongly correlated with soil texture, while species composition was most related to climate. The combination of climate and soil texture influences water availability, with important consequences for forb species richness and composition, which suggests climate-change induced modification of soil water availability may have important implications for plant species diversity in the future. Our paper is the first to our knowledge to examine forb biodiversity patterns in big sagebrush ecosystems in relation to environmental factors across the big sagebrush region.
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wy↗
Do nurse plant effects strengthen over time? Results from 12 years of desert habitat restoration
Nurse plant effects occur when benefactor perennials facilitate beneficiary plants below their canopies. Two poorly understood aspects of nurse plant ecology include whether facilitation strengthens as nurse plants mature and whether reestablishing perennials through ecological restoration at disturbed sites can trigger facilitation akin to in natural plant communities. We examined these uncertainties in a 12-year study by assessing plant communities below native perennials outplanted at disturbed sites and as compared with open interspaces and perennials in undisturbed sites in Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave Desert, USA. An overarching conclusion was that facilitation by outplants was intermittent. Results did not consistently support a hypothesis that facilitation strengthened as outplants matured, as the nuanced results hinged on beneficiary response metrics (cover or species richness), group of potential beneficiary species (e.g., native, non-native), and measurement year. There was, however, a general trend for beneficiary plant groups below outplants to shift through time. Non-native plant cover initially benefited when outplants were 1–9 years old, but this switched to native plants benefiting as outplants matured (9–12 years old). Facilitation was not strongest in dry years nor was nurse canopy cover usually strongly correlated with beneficiary metrics. An encouraging result for ecological restoration was that reestablishing native perennials appeared to disproportionately facilitate other native over non-native plants as restoration sites matured.
California↗
Invasive plants and their ecological strategies: Prediction and explanation of woody plant invasion in New England
Effective management of introduced species requires the early identification of species that pose a significant threat of becoming invasive. To better understand the invasive ecology of species in New England, USA, we compiled a character data set with which to compare non-native species that are known invaders to non-native species that are not currently known to be invasive. In contrast to previous biological trait-based models, we employed a Bayesian hierarchical analysis to identify sets of plant traits associated with invasiveness for each of three growth forms (vines, shrubs, and trees). The resulting models identify a suite of 'invasive traits' highlighting the ecology associated with invasiveness for each of three growth forms. The most effective predictors of invasiveness that emerged from our model were 'invasive elsewhere', 'fast growth rate', 'native latitudinal range', and 'growth form'. The contrast among growth forms was pronounced. For example, 'wind dispersal' was positively correlated with invasiveness in trees, but negatively correlated in shrubs and vines. The predictive model was able to correctly classify invasive plants 67% of the time (22/33), and non-invasive plants 95% of the time (204/215). A number of potential future invasive species in New England that deserve management consideration were identified. ?? 2007 The Authors.
Diversity and Distributions↗
Dispersion of copper from the San Manuel copper deposit, Pinal County, Arizona
At San Manuel, near Tucson, Arizona, recent churn drilling has blocked out large reserves of low-grade "porphyry copper" ore. This virgin deposit has a small outcrop and seems ideally suited for a geochemical study of the dispersion pattern produced by weathering in a desert climate. Samples of soils, alluvium, ground water, and vegetation were analyzed for copper. To avoid grinding, to accentuate differences in copper concentration, and to decrease sampling error, sampling was confined to the silt and clay fraction of the soil and alluvium. A sensitive field test for copper, using hydrochloric acid for a digestant and dithizone for copper determination, proved both quick and reliable. The results of the study show that at present little copper from the ore body dissolves in the ground water or runoff, and also that very little is taken up by plants growing on the ore outcrop. For this reason, prospecting for similar deposits by the sampling and analysis of ground water or vegetation is unlikely to be fruitful. A study of plant ecology, however, shows that certain plant species grow preferentially on outcrops of copper ore and may be useful as indicators of ore. Chrysocolla along joints carries most of the copper in the oxidized zone. The chrysocolla is slowly disintegrated mechanically as the rock weathers and enters the fine fraction of the soil. Slope wash and soil creep carry the copper along with the other soil materials into the nearby washes, where they are incorporated in the alluvium and swept downstream during floods. Abrasion probably continues to concentrate the copper in the fines, but the net change downstream is a decrease in copper content caused by dilution. As copper can now be readily determined by chemical analysis in the field, analysis of soil and alluvium seems to be one of the best geochemical methods of prospecting for copper in a desert environment. Wherever appreciable copper is found in alluvium or soils, upstream or upslope sampling can be used to trace the copper back to its source.
Arizona↗
Wildfire and invasive species in the west: challenges that hinder current and future management and protection of the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem: a Gap Report
The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) to satisfy the 45-day report requirement identified in Cooperative Agreement (F13AC00353) between WAFWA and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) submit this “Gap Report”. This report summarizes the policy, fiscal and science challenges that land managers encounter related to the control and reduction of the invasive plant/fire complex, especially as it relates to the threaten or endangered species listing status of the Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). While this Gap Report identifies 22 technical, policy, planning and funding gaps, it should be considered a “work in-progress”. To address this effort a Wildfire/Invasive Initiative Work Group (WG) was formed. The WG consist of nationally recognized experts in fire ecology, Sage-grouse ecology and management, range management and plant ecology. The WG developed this Gap Report and will be developing the final report for this Cooperative Agreement. Thus, as the WG evaluates the wildfire/invasive issue and makes recommendation to address scientific and management shortcomings, additional gaps will be identified and included in the final report. Within this report, the WG has suggested the top 5 gaps. However, the actual priority of what should be addressed first will depend on the significance and sequence of the limiting factor, available funding, current work, roles and responsibilities of the specific agencies, etc. The WG will continue to meet on a regular basis to further develop and expand this list of gaps. Additionally, the WG will offer specific options to address the identified gaps. However, the WG recommends that the FWS, possibly through the State/Federal (Western Governors Association) Sage Grouse Task Force or the National Sage-grouse Executive Oversight Committee, establish a Subcommittee to specifically review this Gap Report and develop a multi-agency approach on how to address each gap. The WG will continue to endeavor to establish a priority list and identify the “low hanging fruit” that can be addressed in the short-term to affect the listing decision. Additionally, the WG will propose a longer-term strategy. However, to successfully establish such a strategy it will take buy-in and commitment at the highest levels in federal and state governments. In an effort to provide managers an opportunity to address the most important issues this coming fiscal year, we offer the following top 5 gaps. Beyond these top 5, the WG has identified 17 additional gaps that should be evaluated by both federal and state agencies as a means to help better manage the wildfire/invasive threat in the west.
Report↗
From bacteria to elephants: Effects of land-use legacies on biodiversity and ecosystem structure in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem: Chapter 8
Generally, ecological research has considered the aboveground and belowground components of ecosystems separately. Consequently, frameworks for integrating the two components are not well developed. Integrating the microbial components into ecosystem ecology requires different approaches from those offered by plant ecology, partly because of the scales at which microbial processes operate and partly because of measurement constraints. Studies have begun to relate microbial community structure to ecosystem function. results suggest that excluding people and livestock from the MMNR, or preventing heavier livestock from grazing around settlements, may not change the general structure of the ecosystem (soils, plant structure), but can change the numbers and diversity of wildlife, nematodes and microbes in this ecosystem in subtle ways.
Book chapter↗
Did debris-covered glaciers serve as pleistocene refugia for plants? A new hypothesis derived from observations of recent plant growth on glacier surfaces
This study proposes a new hypothesis: Debris-covered glaciers served as Pleistocene biological refugia. This is based on detailed studies of vascular plant growth on six debris-mantled glaciers, literally around the world, as well as many casual observations also across the globe. We find that such glaciers are quite common and are distributed globally. Using Carbon Glacier, Mount Rainier, U.S.A., as a type locality and case study, we show aspects of the floristic and structural diversity as well as spatial patterns of plant growth on the glacier surface. Migration strategies, root characteristics, and origin and dispersal strategies for vascular plant species are documented. Also reported are special microclimatic conditions in these areas allowing for this remarkable plant ecology. We find that alpine taxa can grow considerably below their usual altitudinal niche due to the cooler subsurface soil temperatures found on glacial debris with ice underneath, and that may have significantly altered the spatial distribution of such flora during full glacial conditions. This in turn creates previously undocumented areas from which alpine, and perhaps arctic, plant species reestablished in post-glacial time. This hypothesis is complementary to both the nunatak hypothesis and tabula rasa theory and possibly helps solve the ongoing controversy between them. ?? 2007 Regents of the University of Colorado.
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research↗
Scalability and performance tradeoffs in quantifying relationships between elevation and tidal wetland plant communities
Elevation is a major driver of plant ecology and sediment dynamics in tidal wetlands, so accurate and precise spatial data are essential for assessing wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise and making forecasts. We performed survey-grade elevation and vegetation surveys of the Global Change Research Wetland, a brackish microtidal wetland in the Chesapeake Bay estuary, Maryland (USA), to both intercompare unbiased digital elevation model (DEM) creation techniques and to describe niche partitioning of several common tidal wetland plant species. We identified a tradeoff between scalability and performance in creating unbiased DEMs, with more data-intensive methods such as kriging performing better than 3 more scalable methods involving post-processing of light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based DEMs. The LiDAR Elevation Correction with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (LEAN) method provided a compromise between scalability and performance, although it underpredicted variability in elevation. In areas where native plants dominated, the sedge Schoenoplectus americanus occupied more frequently flooded areas (median: 0.22, 95% range: 0.09 to 0.31 m relative to North America Vertical Datum of 1988 [NAVD88]) and the grass Spartina patens , less frequently flooded (0.27, 0.1 to 0.35 m NAVD88). Non-native Phragmites australis dominated at lower elevations more than the native graminoids, but had a wide flooding tolerance, encompassing both their ranges (0.19, -0.05 to 0.36 m NAVD88). The native shrub Iva frutescens also dominated at lower elevations (0.20, 0.04 to 0.30 m NAVD88), despite being previously described as a high marsh species. These analyses not only provide valuable context for the temporally rich but spatially restricted data collected at a single well-studied site, but also provide broad insight into mapping techniques and species zonation.
Maryland↗
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: Synthesis and perspectives
Does diversity matter in restored communities? This edited book explores the diversity–function debate, which has raged in ecology during the past several decades. The diversity–function question is relevant in restoration, but the question has not yet received a straightforward hearing in the field of restoration science. None of the authors of this book explicitly relate their ideas to restoration, but the book can educate restorationists about the most recent developments in the diversity–function debate. It is also an excellent book for students to learn about the recent developments and historical background of the diversity–function debate and can be used for graduate-level seminars in restoration or plant ecology.
Restoration Ecology↗
Riparian vegetation recovery patterns following stream channelization: A geomorphic perspective
Hundreds of kilometres of West Tennessee streams have been channelized since the turn of the century. After a stream is straightened, dredged, or cleared, basinwide ecologic, hydrologic, and geomorphic processes bring about an integrated, characteristic recovery sequence. The rapid pace of channel responses to channelization provides an opportunity to document and interpret vegetation recovery patterns relative to otherwise long—term, concomitant evolution of river geomorphology. Nearly 150 sites along 15 streams were studied in the Obion, Forked Deer, Hatchie, and Wolf River basins. Channels of these streams, except that of the Hatchie River main stem, have undergone major modifications along all or parts of their courses. This paper presents the eco—geomorphic analyses and interpretation of a large multidisciplinary study, with special reference to their interrelated hydrogeomorphic aspects of channel recovery. Quantitative plant ecological analyses were conducted to infer relative bank stability, to identify indicator recovery species, and to determine patterns of vegetation development through the course of accelerated channel evolution. Binary—discriminant and ordination analyses show that distinctive riparian—species patterns reflect a six—stage model of channel evolution and can be used to infer channel stability and hydrogeomorphic conditions. Woody vegetation initially establishes on low— and mid—bank surfaces at the same location and time that bank accretion begins, and corresponds to the site of initial geomorphic restabilization. The linkage of channel bed aggradation, woody vegetation establishment, and bank accretion all lead to recovery of the channel. Pioneer species are hardy and fast growing, and can tolerate moderate amounts of slope instability and sediment deposition; these species include river birch (Betula nigra), black willow (Salix nigra), boxelder (Acer negundo), and silver maple (Acer saccharinum). High stem densities and root—mass development appear to enhance bank stability. Tree—ring analyses suggest that on average 65 yr may be required for recovery after channelization.
Ecology↗
Temperature mediates secondary dormancy in resting cysts of Pyrodinium bahamense (Dinophyceae)
High‐biomass blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense occur most summers in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA, posing a recurring threat to ecosystem health. Like many dinoflagellates, P. bahamense forms immobile resting cysts that can be deposited on the seafloor—creating a seed bank that can retain the organism within the ecosystem and initiate future blooms when cysts germinate. In this study, we examined changes in the dormancy status of cysts collected from Tampa Bay and applied lessons from plant ecology to explore dormancy controls. Pyrodinium bahamense cysts incubated immediately after field collection displayed a seasonal pattern in dormancy and germination that matched the pattern of cell abundance in the water column. Newly deposited (surface) cysts and older (buried) cysts exhibited similar germination patterns, suggesting that a common mechanism regulates dormancy expression in new and mature cysts. Extended cool‐ and warm‐temperature conditioning of field‐collected cysts altered the cycle of dormancy compared with that of cysts in nature, with the duration of cool temperature exposure being the best predictor of when cysts emerged from dormancy. Extended warm conditioning, on the other hand, elicited a return to dormancy, or secondary dormancy, in nondormant cysts. These results directly demonstrate environmental induction of secondary dormancy in dinoflagellates—a mechanism common and thoroughly documented in higher plants with seasonal growth cycles. Our findings support the hypothesis that a seasonal cycle in cyst germination drives P. bahamense bloom periodicity in Tampa Bay and point to environmentally induced secondary dormancy as an important regulatory factor of that cycle.
Florida↗
Geomorphic and vegetative recovery processes along modified stream channels of West Tennessee
Hundreds of miles of streams in West Tennessee have been channelized or otherwise modified since the turn of century. After all or parts of a stream are straightened, dredged, or cleared, systematic hydrologic, geomorphic, and ecologic processes collectively begin to reduce energy conditions towards the premodified state. One hundred and five sites along 15 streams were studied in the Obion, Forked Deer, Hatchie, and Wolf River basins. All studied streams, except the Hatchie River, have had major channel modification along all or parts of their courses. Bank material shear-strength properties were determined through drained borehole-shear testing (168 tests) and used to interpret present critical bank conditions and factors of safety, and to estimate future channel-bank stability. Mean values of cohesive strength and angle of internal friction were 1.26 pounds per square inch and 30.1 degrees, respectively. Dendrogeomorphic analyses were made using botanical evidence of channel-bank failures to determine rates of channel widening; buried riparian stems were analyzed to determine rates of bank accretion. Channel bed-level changes through time and space were represented by a power equation. Plant ecological analyses were made to infer relative bank stability, to identify indicator species of the stage of bank recovery, and to determine patterns of vegetation development through the course of channel evolution. Quantitative data on morphologic changes were used with previously developed six-stage models of channel evolution and bank-slope development to estimate trends of geomorphic and ecologic processes and forms through time. Immediately after channel modifications, a 10- to 1%yearperiod of channel-bed degradation ensues at and upstream from the most recent modifications (area of maximum disturbance). Channel-bed lowering by &gradation was as much as 20 feet along some stream reaches. Downstream from the area of maximum disturbance, the bed was aggraded by the deposition of sediment supplied by knickpoint migration upstream; aggradation also occurred in initially degraded sites with time. Additionally, if degradation caused an increase in bank height beyond the critical limits of the bank material, a period of channel widening by mass wasting followed. Degradation knickpoints migrated upstream at rates greater than 1 mile per year; the rates attenuated with distance above the area of maximum disturbance. Channel widening rates of up to 16 feet per year were documented along some severely degraded reaches. Planar failures were generally more frequent but rotational failures dominated the most rapidly widening reaches. Total volumes of bank erosion may represent 75percent or more of the total material eroded from the channel, but this material generally exits the drainage basin. Mean factors of safety vary with the stage of channel evolution with the lowest values for planar and rotational failures occurring during the threshold stage (stage IV) 1.00 and 1.15, respectively. As channel gradients decrease, degradation ceases and then a period of “secondary aggradation ” (at lesser rates than degradation) and bank accretion begins that may fill the channel to near floodplain level. This shift@ in process represents an oscillation in channel bed-level adjustment. Streams in basins underlain by loess may require an order of magnitude more time than sand-bed streams to stabilize due to a lack of coarse-grained material (sand) for aggradation. A systematic progression of riparian species that reflects the six-stage model of channel evolution has been identified. This progression can be used to infer ambient channel stability and hydrogeomorphic conditions. Woody vegetation establishes on low- and mid-bank surfaces (the slough line, initially) at about the same time that bank accretion begins. This slough line forms at a mean temporary stability angle of 24 degrees and expands upslope with time by the accretion of sediments. Species involved in this initial revegetation are hardy, fast growing, and can tolerate moderate amounts of slope instability and sedimentation; these species include river birch, black willow, boxelder, and silver maple. Vegetation appears to enhance bank stability, and with increasing stability, species such as bald cypress, tupelo gum, and various hydric oaks, which are more characteristic of stable, premodified riparian settings, begin to establish. Detrended-correspondence analysis indicated species assemblages associated with the six stages of channel evolution and bank-slope development. Ordination of site variables based on species data such as channel widening, bank accretion, and woody vegetative cover also reflects the temporal changes identifies by the models. Long-term channel geometry was estimated from a quantitative model of bed-level change, and from documented trends in channel widening. An idealized stable channel of a major sand-bed stream may have a width/depth ratio near 10 and bank slopes of about 24 degrees. This stable channel will ultimately undergo the development of point-bars and incipient meanders, characteristic of unmodified streams.
Tennessee↗
Landscape characteristics of Rhizophora mangle forests and propagule deposition in coastal environments of Florida (USA)
Field dispersal studies are seldom conducted at regional scales even though reliable information on mid-range dispersal distance is essential for models of colonization. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential distance of dispersal of Rhizophora mangle propagules by comparing deposition density with landscape characteristics of mangrove forests. Propagule density was estimated at various distances to mangrove sources (R. mangle) on beaches in southwestern Florida in both high-and low-energy environments, either facing open gulf waters vs. sheltered, respectively. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems were used to identify source forests and to determine their landscape characteristics (forest size and distance to deposition area) for the regression analyses. Our results indicated that increasing density of propagules stranded on beaches was related negatively to the distance of the deposition sites from the nearest stands of R. mangle and that deposition was greatly diminished 2 km or more from the source. Measures of fragmentation such as the area of the R. mangle forests were related to propagule deposition but only in low-energy environments. Our results suggest that geographic models involving the colonization of coastal mangrove systems should include dispersal dynamics at mid-range scales, i.e., for our purposes here, beyond the local scale of the forest and up to 5 km distant. Studies of mangrove propagule deposition at various spatial scales are key to understanding regeneration limitations in natural gaps and restoration areas. Therefore, our study of mid-range propagule dispersal has broad application to plant ecology, restoration, and modeling. ?? Springer 2005.
Landscape Ecology↗