Are vegetation—environment relationships different between herbaceous and woody groundcover plants in barrens with shallow soils?

Petersen, Sheryl M.; Drewa, Paul B.

doi:10.2980/16-2-3208

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Soils are well‐drained, alkaline silt clay loams underlain by dolomitic limestone, and vary in depth from 2 to 136 cm (Petersen & Drewa ). The ground layer averages 23 species/m 2 and contains similar cover of forbs, graminoids, and woody plants (Table S2.1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vegetation data were collected annually in July to August from 2003 to 2007, beginning with a pre‐treatment census. Percent cover of herbaceous plants and trees and shrubs <2 cm dbh (henceforth, shrubs), was measured using a point‐intercept method described in Petersen and Drewa (). Shrub stems were also identified, tagged, counted, and measured for length.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Biennial Fire and Clipping on Woody and Herbaceous Ground Layer Vegetation: Implications for Restoration and Management of Oak Barren Ecosystems

Petersen

Drewa

2014

Restoration Ecology

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Savannas and oak barrens are threatened in North America, due, in part, to removal of natural disturbance regimes. However, the periodic prescribed fires used in savanna and oak barren management sometimes accelerate the formation of a shrub layer, which can displace herbaceous species. This may be because periodic low severity fires act much like clipping, topkilling shrubs, yet allowing them to accumulate reserves in intervals without fire for more vigorous sprouting. To test this, we compared biennial dormant season burn prescriptions to a fire surrogate (clipping) using three oak barrens sites in the Bluegrass Region of southern Ohio. Fire and clipping treatments did little to suppress the resprouting ability of shrubs (woody stems <2 cm dbh), which regrew rapidly and in equivalent densities following treatment. However, both treatments reduced shrub cover, resulting in a 35% decrease in shrub cover over the course of the study. In contrast, non-manipulated plots experienced a 44% increase in shrub cover over the same time period. Despite this reduction in shrub cover, treatments had no effect on herbaceous plant cover, richness, diversity, or evenness. These results suggest that the use of biennial prescribed dormant season fire, as employed in this study, is equivalent to clipping, and although effective at temporarily reducing shrub cover, is not effective in reducing shrub densities or resprouting potential. Thus, burning during marginal conditions should be avoided for achieving a short-term restoration goal of shrub removal, but can be effective for maintaining the current shrub layer.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Biennial Fire and Clipping on Woody and Herbaceous Ground Layer Vegetation: Implications for Restoration and Management of Oak Barren Ecosystems

Petersen

Drewa

2014

Restoration Ecology

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“…This is mainly due to human interference involved in pruning, weeding, burning of litter and cleaning (Marby, 1972) of CIP sites. Peterson & Drewa (2009) showed that higher levels of disturbance in agricultural fields leads to the elimination of litter cover. On the other hand, LS had a lower density of tea plants and a higher percentage of litter cover and depth than did ES and all MS stages (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cover-dependency of anurans in the Riverstone, Knuckles Mountain Forest Range, Sri Lanka

Weerawardhena

Russell

2012

TAPROBANICA

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The species composition of anurans was studied in the disturbed and undisturbed sub-montane forest habitats in the Riverstone of the Knuckles Mountain Forest Range of Sri Lanka. Twenty one anuran species were encountered. The distribution pattern of collected anuran species was related to the percentage of vegetational cover and they were categorized in relation to dependency on the vegetational cover.

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“…Vegetation structure variation is directly linked to plant species diversity (Gao et al 2014) and productivity (Clark and Clark 2000;Slik et al 2013). A solid understanding of vegetation structure variation is thus key to the ecological knowledge of natural plant communities (Petersen and Drewa 2009;Rosenfield and Souza 2014) as well as for sustainable management (Gao et al 2014) and conservation plans (Oliveira Filho et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of variation in heath vegetation structure on coastal dune fields in northeastern South America

Silva

Souza

2016

Braz. J. Bot

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Despite its implications for carbon storage, animal conservation, and plant regeneration, the variation in the structure of heath vegetation in South America is still poorly studied. In this study, we aimed at examining the edaphic and topographic determinants of this variation along 85 plots (5 9 5 m) randomly distributed in a restinga heath vegetation occurring on coastal dune fields in northeastern Brazil. We carried out a PCA analysis to reduce eleven vegetation descriptors into a small number of structural gradients, which were then assessed by a stepwise standard least-squares multiple regression to reveal the effects of the abiotic environment on structure. The three following hypotheses were tested: (1) both soils and topography are important to explain variation in vegetation structure at local scale; (2) herbaceous plants, cactus, and woody plants show differential responses to soil and topographic variations; and (3) soil acidity and salinity are more important determinants of herbaceous cover than woody plant variation. PCA analysis revealed three major structural gradients related to biomass, herbaceous cover, and leaning plants, respectively. These gradients were only related to calcium and nitrogen contents, which partially supports our first hypothesis. Our results also suggest that different groups of plants have different responses to abiotic gradients that are exposed. The effect of the soil acidity and salinity did not appear to present an immediate strong influence on the herbaceous community. It seems that a reduced number of edaphic factors promote the variation in vegetation structure in the restinga heath vegetation.

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Are vegetation—environment relationships different between herbaceous and woody groundcover plants in barrens with shallow soils?

Cited by 8 publications

References 52 publications

Effects of Biennial Fire and Clipping on Woody and Herbaceous Ground Layer Vegetation: Implications for Restoration and Management of Oak Barren Ecosystems

Effects of Biennial Fire and Clipping on Woody and Herbaceous Ground Layer Vegetation: Implications for Restoration and Management of Oak Barren Ecosystems

Cover-dependency of anurans in the Riverstone, Knuckles Mountain Forest Range, Sri Lanka

Determinants of variation in heath vegetation structure on coastal dune fields in northeastern South America

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