Investigation of the importance of rock chemistry for saxicolous lichen communities of the New Idria serpentinite mass, San Benito County, California, USA

Rajakaruna, Nishanta; Knudsen, Kerry; Fryday, Alan M.; O’Dell, Ryan E.; Pope, Nathaniel S.; Olday, Fred C.; Woolhouse, Suzie

doi:10.1017/s0024282912000205

Cited by 43 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Unlike vascular plants (Kruckeberg 2002) or saxicolous lichens (Rajakaruna et al 2012), bryophyte species and assemblages do not appear strongly specialized on serpentine in our data (see also Lepp 2001). Serpentine substrates were mainly occupied by widespread epigaeic or epilithic species that are found on a variety of different non-acid bedrock types.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 42%

Bryophyte diversity in Californian grasslands in relation to substrate quality, exotic vascular plants and disturbance

2014

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Bryophyte communities of semi-arid grassland ecosystems are little studied, and it is poorly known how they vary in relation to soil quality, disturbance and the invasion status of vascular plants. By analogy with short-statured, competitively inferior native vascular plants, we hypothesized that bryophytes would show high beta diversity and increasing alpha diversity along a gradient from productive non-serpentine grasslands dominated by exotics to low productivity serpentine grasslands dominated by native vascular plants. We also predicted that disturbance by gophers would benefit bryophyte alpha and beta diversity, especially at the productive end of the soil fertility gradient. We sampled bryophytes in 48 sites in a 3,000 ha landscape in the Inner Coast Range of California, USA. We used several multivariate (non-metric multidimensional scaling, PERMDISP) and univariate analysis methods (generalized linear models). As predicted, we found high beta diversity of bryophytes along the soil gradient, and higher cover and richness in unproductive rocky serpentine grasslands than productive and exotic-dominated non-serpentine grasslands. Gopher burrowing had a unimodal influence on bryophyte alpha diversity. Our results show that bryophyte species composition and diversity respond strongly to the same soil gradient that controls vascular grassland species. Bryophytes are likely imperiled by the continued spread of exotic vascular plants, but promoted by moderate disturbances such as gopher burrowing.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 42%

Bryophyte diversity in Californian grasslands in relation to substrate quality, exotic vascular plants and disturbance

2014

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“…Such investigations will likely reveal species that are endemic to the substrate or show a high affinity to ultramafic soils, as shown for such research conducted in South Africa (Venter et al 2015) and California, USA (Rajakaruna et al 2012). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

et al. 2017

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Globally, ultramafic outcrops are renowned for hosting floras with high levels of endemism, including plants with specialised adaptations such as nickel or manganese hyperaccumulation. Soils derived from ultramafic regoliths are generally nutrient-deficient, have major cation imbalances, and have concomitant high concentrations of potentially phytotoxic trace elements, especially nickel. The South and Southeast Asian region has the largest surface occurrences of ultramafic regoliths in the world, but the geoecology of these outcrops is still poorly studied despite severe conservation threats. Due to the paucity of systematic plant collections in many areas and the lack of georeferenced herbarium records and databased information, it is not possible to determine the distribution of species, levels of endemism, and the species most threatened. However, site-specific studies provide insights to the ultramafic geoecology of several locations in South and Southeast Asia. The geoecology of tropical ultramafic regions differs substantially from those in temperate regions in that the vegetation at lower elevations is generally tall forest with relatively low levels of endemism. On ultramafic mountaintops, where the combined forces of edaphic and climatic factors intersect, obligate ultramafic species and hyperendemics often occur. Forest clearing, agricultural development, mining, and climate change-related stressors have contributed to rapid and unprecedented loss of ultramafic-associated habitats in the region. The geoecology of the large ultramafic outcrops of Indonesia’s Sulawesi, Obi and Halmahera, and many other smaller outcrops in South and Southeast Asia, remains largely unexplored, and should be prioritised for study and conservation.

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“…Calcium increased the most after the addition of BC to serpentine soil. Given that Ca is often considered to be the most limiting nutrient for plant growth in serpentine soil (O'Dell and Rajakaruna 2011; Rajakaruna et al 2012), this observed increase in response to BC application is worthy of note. The available amounts of K, Ca, and Mg in the 5 % BC amendment were multiplied by 1.2-2.0-fold compared to the BC-unamended soil.…”

Section: Influence Of Biochar Amendments On Changes In Soil Ph Ec Tmentioning

confidence: 88%

Immobilization and phytotoxicity reduction of heavy metals in serpentine soil using biochar

et al. 2014

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Purpose Serpentine soils derived from ultramafic rocks release elevated concentrations of toxic heavy metals into the environment. Hence, crop plants cultivated in or adjacent to serpentine soil may experience reduced growth due to phytotoxicity as well as accumulate toxic heavy metals in edible tissues. We investigated the potential of biochar (BC), a waste byproduct of bioenergy industry in Sri Lanka, as a soil amendment to immobilize Ni, Cr, and Mn in serpentine soil and minimize their phytotoxicity. Materials and methods The BC used in this study was a waste byproduct obtained from a Dendro bioenergy industry in Sri Lanka. This BC was produced by pyrolyzing Gliricidia sepium biomass at 900°C in a closed reactor. A pot experiment was conducted using tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) by adding 1, 2.5, and 5 % (w/w) BC applications to evaluate the bioavailability and uptake of metals in serpentine soil. Sequential extractions were utilized to evaluate the effects of BC on bioavailable concentrations of Ni, Cr, and Mn as well as different metal fractionations in BCamended and BC-unamended soil. Postharvest soil in each pot was subjected to a microbial analysis to evaluate the total bacterial and fungal count in BC-amended and BCunamended serpentine soil. Results and discussion Tomato plants grown in 5 % BCamended soil showed approximately 40-fold higher biomass than that of BC-unamended soil, whereas highly favorable microbial growth was observed in the 2.5 % BC-amended soil. Bioaccumulation of Cr, Ni, and Mn decreased by 93-97 % in tomato plants grown in 5 % BC-amended soil compared to the BC-unamended soil. Sequentially extracted metals in the exchangeable fraction revealed that the bioavailabile concentrations of Cr, Ni, and Mn decreased by 99, 61, and 42 %, respectively, in the 5 % BC-amended soil. Conclusions Results suggested that the addition of BC to serpentine soil as a soil amendment immobilizes Cr, Ni, and Mn in serpentine soil and reduces metal-induced toxicities in tomato plants.

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Investigation of the importance of rock chemistry for saxicolous lichen communities of the New Idria serpentinite mass, San Benito County, California, USA

Cited by 43 publications

References 45 publications

Bryophyte diversity in Californian grasslands in relation to substrate quality, exotic vascular plants and disturbance

Bryophyte diversity in Californian grasslands in relation to substrate quality, exotic vascular plants and disturbance

Ultramafic geoecology of South and Southeast Asia

Immobilization and phytotoxicity reduction of heavy metals in serpentine soil using biochar

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