The Effects of Fire and Manual Biomass Removal on the Vegetation of Granite Inselbergs

Hunter, John T.

doi:10.4996/fireecology.1301127

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, studies of plant population and community dynamics on granite inselbergs in the SWAFR also show that stochastic processes like fire and extreme drought can result in local population extirpation, and strongly influence the distributions of species and community composition (Hunter, ; Yates et al, , ). In addition, recent evidence indicates that a relatively buffered Pleistocene climate and near‐quiescent Cenozoic topography in the SWAFR may have reduced the intensity of extinctions associated with Pleistocene climate cycles and promoted the persistence of species‐rich pre‐Pliocene clades (Byrne et al, ; Cowling et al, ; Hopper, ; Hopper, Silveira, & Fiedler, ; Sniderman, Jordan, & Cowling, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High species diversity and turnover in granite inselberg floras highlight the need for a conservation strategy protecting many outcrops

Yates¹,

Robinson

Wardell‐Johnson

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Determining patterns of plant diversity on granite inselbergs is an important task for conservation biogeography due to mounting threats. However, beyond the tropics there are relatively few quantitative studies of floristic diversity, or consideration of these patterns and their environmental, biogeographic, and historical correlates for conservation. We sought to contribute broader understanding of global patterns of species diversity on granite inselbergs and inform biodiversity conservation in the globally significant Southwest Australian Floristic Region (SWAFR). We surveyed floristics from 16 inselbergs (478 plots) across the climate gradient of the SWAFR stratified into three major habitats on each outcrop. We recorded 1,060 species from 92 families. At the plot level, local soil and topographic variables affecting aridity were correlated with species richness in herbaceous (HO) and woody vegetation (WO) of soil‐filled depressions, but not in woody vegetation on deeper soils at the base of outcrops (WOB). At the outcrop level, bioclimatic variables affecting aridity were correlated with species richness in two habitats (WO and WOB) but, contrary to predictions from island biogeography, were not correlated with inselberg area and isolation in any of the three habitats. Species turnover in each of the three habitats was also influenced by aridity, being correlated with bioclimatic variables and with interplot geographic distance, and for HO and WO habitats with local site variables. At the outcrop level, species replacement was the dominant component of species turnover in each of the three habitats, consistent with expectations for long‐term stable landscapes. Our results therefore highlight high species diversity and turnover associated with granite outcrop flora. Hence, effective conservation strategies will need to focus on protecting multiple inselbergs across the entire climate gradient of the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High species diversity and turnover in granite inselberg floras highlight the need for a conservation strategy protecting many outcrops

Yates¹,

Robinson

Wardell‐Johnson

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…To corroborate visual representations, Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance (PERMANOVA; permutations = 999; type III sums of squares) was applied. PERMANOVA is suitable for abundance data, because response data within complex experimental designs are analysed based on permutations of dissimilarity matrices to make analyses distribution free (Hunter 2017). Permutation analysis of variance does therefore not require specific assumptions for normality (Linstädter et al 2016).…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forb community responses to an extensive drought in two contrasting land-use types of a semi-arid Lowveld savanna

Siebert

Klem

Coller

2020

African Journal of Range & Forage Science

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Projected increases in the frequency and severity of drought events are expected to impose changes in the ecology of native forb communities in semi-arid ecosystems. We examined the state of forb communities during, and directly after an extreme drought event across two contrasting land-use types, which included a protected area (high diversity of free roaming wild herbivores) and communal rangeland (long history of intensive cattle grazing) in a semi-arid Lowveld savanna of the Gazankulu area, South Africa. Forb floristic data were collected towards the end of the drought and repeated after the drought release a few months later. Forb community composition was significantly different among land-use types. Community changes were not induced by annual forb emergence alone, but through species-specific dominance shifts, which differed among land-use types. Forb richness, diversity and biomass were equally low at both land-use types and increased significantly after the drought release, although the magnitude of response was much stronger in the protected area, whereas drought contributed to a directional change in the protected area with a complete post-drought turnover in both annual and perennial forb species, much less variability was observed in the communal rangeland, which may suggest long-term effects imposed by land-use history.

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“…PERMANOVA (permutations = 999; type III sums of squares) was selected in PRIMER 6 to test for significant differences in weed species composition between the two surveys (pre-ploughing versus post-ploughing and seedsowing) and between sites (MV, MJN, BM, and T) over three seasons (Hunter 2017). PERMANOVA does not require specific assumptions for normality (Linstädter et al 2016).…”

Section: Weed Species Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To determine which weed species were responsible for the changes in composition and to calculate the contribution of each species' percentage to the similarity between sites, a Similarity Percentage Analysis (SIMPER) was carried out in PRIMER 6 (Hunter 2017). The same data matrix used for NMDS was used for SIMPER to determine the species percentage contribution.…”

Section: Weed Species Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and diversity patterns of weeds in herbicide tolerant maize fields and margins in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

et al. 2023

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Abstract. Kwinda M, Siebert SJ, Coller HV, Masehela TS. 2023. Composition and diversity patterns of weeds in herbicide tolerant maize fields and margins in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Biodiversitas 24: 399-414. Weeds are considered undesirable plants that grow where they are not wanted, as they often outcompete crops and other beneficial species. This study aimed to compare species composition and diversity of weedy plant communities in fields planted with herbicide tolerant maize and associated field margins in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A total of 88 weed species, representing 31 families were recorded from 244 plots for maize fields and field margins combined. The maize fields and margins across the four sites shared 53% of species. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling grouped maize fields and field margins separately based on weed species composition. Moreover, maize fields and margins differed significantly in terms of Simpson (p=0.044) and Shannon indices (p=0.003), with diversity being higher in the fields. This study confirms that maize fields have a dissimilar composition of weedy species and dissimilar diversity, which differs from those of field margins. This result enables farmers to know whether current herbicide use is sufficient for targeted weed control. The findings and knowledge will benefit maize farmers and future researchers working on weeds in Sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to the development, implementation, and prioritization of various herbicide-based weed management protocols to ensure maximum crop productivity.

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The Effects of Fire and Manual Biomass Removal on the Vegetation of Granite Inselbergs

Cited by 6 publications

References 17 publications

High species diversity and turnover in granite inselberg floras highlight the need for a conservation strategy protecting many outcrops

High species diversity and turnover in granite inselberg floras highlight the need for a conservation strategy protecting many outcrops

Forb community responses to an extensive drought in two contrasting land-use types of a semi-arid Lowveld savanna

Composition and diversity patterns of weeds in herbicide tolerant maize fields and margins in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

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