NATURDATA.DK – Danish monitoring program of vegetation and chemical plant and soil data from non-forested terrestrial habitat types

Abstract

Vegetation and chemical plant and soil data from 18 terrestrial non-forested natural habitat types have been collected each year since 2004 (Table 1). Presently, cover data of plant species measured by pinpoint (16 grid points in 0.5 m x 0.5 m frame) and plant frequency data (5 m circles) exist for more than 50,000 plots; the measuring of chemical properties in plant, soil, and water samples has been less intense. Presently there are more than 12,000 registrations of carbon content and 57,000 measurements of pH in topsoil. Soils are always samples from the top 5 cm. On heathland habitats the thickness of the mor layer is measured. All data are georeferenced and can be accessed at http://www.naturdata.dk/ The data comprises approximately 1,200 sites both within and outside of Natura 2000 areas. At each site the measurements were made at 20-60 randomly positioned plots. 70% of the plots have been revisited each year, whereas 30 % have only been visited once. Each year a total number of additional 5,000 sample plots and registrations will be performed. The protocols for the different measurement types (in Danish) may be downloaded from http://www.dmu.dk/fileadmin/Attachments/TAN1_106_01_FDCNY1.pdf. This report describes the available content in the vegetation-plot database NATURDATA.DK (GIVD ID EU-DK-001).Keywords: moss; nitrogen; pin point; plant cover; plant frequency; soil analysis. GIVD Database ID: EU-DK-001Last

Vascular plant species richness and bioindication predict multi‐taxon species richness

“…To supplement the plant‐based environmental calibration, we calculated a plant‐based natural habitat index reflecting land use intensity using 115,071 vegetation quadrats from the national monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity (Nielsen et al., ; Svendsen, Bijl, Boutrup, & Norup, ). Vegetation data were grouped in quadrats from Annex 1 habitats (A1) (EU Habitats Directive ) of conservation value (excluding nitrophilous tall herb fringes), other quadrats sampled in natural areas (Na), and quadrats sampled in agricultural (Ag) landscapes (road verges, hedges, soil banks etc.).…”

Intra‐specific spatial aggregation in acidic grasslands: effects of acidification and nitrogen deposition on spatial patterns of plant communities

“…In all plots, the mean vegetation height was determined by averaging four visual inspections of the vegetation height at which 50% of a white plastic board was covered (Nielsen et al. ). In every fourth plot, a soil sample was pooled from four subsamples (0–5 cm) and soil pH was determined in a CaCl 2 solution (ISO 10390).…”

Tetraploid Lolium Perenne genotypes Identified in Danish Semi-Natural Habitats

“…A total of 32711 plots from579 sites encompassing 17 different light-open habitat types (Table 1) in an unbalanced design with between 20 and 60 plots per site in the period from 2004 to 2009 were used in the analysis (Nielsen, Bak, Bruus Pedersen, Damgaard, Ejrnaes, Fredshavn, Nygaard, Skov, Strandberg and Strandberg 2012). The cover of the higher plant species at each plot was determined by the pin-point method, using a square frame of 16 grid points that were equally spaced by 10 cm; at each grid point, a thin pin was inserted vertically into the vegetation, and the plant species that touched the pin were recorded (Kent and Coker 1992).…”

“…Based on a map of the sites where L. perenne was known to be present according to "Danmarks Naturdata" (Nielsen, Bak, Bruus Pedersen, Damgaard, Ejrnaes, Fredshavn, Nygaard, Skov, Strandberg and Strandberg 2012)and the fields where tetraploid L. perenne varieties had been grown for seed production, a sampling area was selected. From nine possible candidate sampling areas, a sampling area close to a farm situated at Hvilsom was selected, because the farmer had been growing the tetraploid L. perenne variety "Tivoli" for the past thirteen years (Fig.1).…”