Article
Forestry
Zhangqi Ding, Guorui Xu, Yuxin Zhang, Shuang Zhang, Keming Ma
Summary: This study analyzed the spatial patterns of invertebrate communities in temperate mountain forest litter and soil using multi-scale ordination. The results revealed that invertebrate communities in both litter and soil layers exhibit patches along the altitudinal gradient, with different taxa associations and scales. Despite the higher abundance of invertebrates in the soil layer, the diversity of invertebrates in temperate-forest litter is higher and forms multi-scale assembly patches.
Article
Agronomy
F. J. Pan, L. Y. Yang, C. L. Wang, R. R. Yan, C. J. Li, Y. F. Hu, Y. Jiang, J. Cao, H. Y. Tan, X. P. Xin
Summary: The frequency of mowing significantly affects the community structure and biomass of soil nematodes in northeast China grassland. High mowing frequency reduces the abundance and biomass of soil nematodes, while moderate frequency enhances these indices.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Khalil Mseddi, Ahmed Alghamdi, Mohanad Abdelgadir, Sherif Sharawy, Mohamed Chaieb, Tony Miller
Summary: This study conducted in Salma Mountains in the north of Saudi Arabia found that species richness increases with altitude and the distribution of plant species and their economic value vary within different altitudinal zones of the mountains.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Akos Bede-Fazekas, Peter Torok, Laszlo Erdos
Summary: Eurasian forest-steppes have been delineated based on floristic composition, physiognomy, relief, and climate factors. The expert delineation was compared with macroclimate-based predictions and clusters to identify discrepancies and the most important variables for predicting the existence of the forest-steppe zone and its regions. The study found high agreement between the expert delineation and predicted occurrence of forest-steppe, with some regions needing refinement in the delineation. Climatic variables showed great variability in their importance for prediction.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daling Chen, Bin Zhang, Carlo Fadda, Devra Jarvis, Nadia Bergamini, Guodong Han, Mengli Zhao, Keyu Bai, Zongwen Zhang
Summary: Passive restoration has been proposed as an effective strategy for grassland restoration in abandoned croplands, but the time needed for vegetation to change towards the desired state varies depending on the context. Our study found that above-and below-ground biomass as well as species biodiversity gradually increased with increasing recovery time. After 20 years of restoration, differences between abandoned cropland and natural steppe were less noticeable in typical steppe, but more time may be needed in desert steppe for full restoration.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shuoran Liu, Xianfu Li, Lu Tan, Davide Fornacca, Yihao Fang, Lin Zhu, Caihong Rao, Yindi Cao, Jimin Huang, Guopeng Ren, Qinghua Cai, Wen Xiao
Summary: This study revealed the distribution pattern and driving factors of aquatic biodiversity in alpine streams. The results showed that differences in vegetation type and the ecological niche of species played a significant role in determining the distribution pattern, while aquatic environmental factors had poor explanatory power. Additionally, the altitudinal distribution pattern exhibited a bimodal type, with rare species fitting the bimodal peaks.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuhao Pan, Yan Wang, Shijun Zheng, Alfredo R. Huete, Miaogen Shen, Xiaoyang Zhang, Jingfeng Huang, Guojin He, Le Yu, Xiyan Xu, Qiaoyun Xie, Dailiang Peng
Summary: This study investigated the effects of terrain and vegetation types on the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation greening on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using Landsat NDVI time-series and climate data. The findings revealed that temperature and precipitation had different impacts on vegetation greening at different elevations, woody plants exhibited a higher velocity of greenness change compared to herbaceous plants, and slope had a more significant influence on vegetation greening compared to aspect.
Article
Ecology
Hannes Feilhauer, Andras Zlinszky, Adam Kania, Giles M. Foody, Daniel Doktor, Angela Lausch, Sebastian Schmidtlein
Summary: Mapping vegetation with hard classification based on remote sensing data may not accurately reflect the fuzzy nature of plant species transitions in ecotones. Fuzzy classification and gradient mapping offer better alternatives by considering the probability of class membership and describing plant species composition as a continuum, respectively. Both approaches support spatially explicit accuracy analyses and are recommended over hard classification for ecological research applications.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Amir Talebi, Farideh Attar, Alireza Naqinezhad, Iwona Dembicz, Juergen Dengler
Summary: The study found that mean annual temperature was the most important predictor for total species richness and richness of functional groups, with a unimodal relationship for grains of 25-100 m(2), and mostly increasing for finer grain sizes. Precipitation of the driest month and cover of gravel were influential drivers at the smallest grains.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Junjun Wu, Yi Li, Bo Zhong, Qinhuo Liu, Shanlong Wu, Changyuan Ji, Jing Zhao, Li Li, Xiaoliang Shi, Aixia Yang
Summary: This study presents a method for monitoring grasslands in China by extracting vegetation cover from high-resolution satellite data. The results show that vegetation cover in grasslands is closely related to regional hydrothermal conditions, and different grassland types have varying levels of biodiversity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yan-Yu Ai, Qiang Liu, Hai-Xia Hu, Ting Shen, Yu-Xuan Mo, Xun-Feng Wu, Jin-Long Li, Gbadamassi G. O. Dossa, Liang Song
Summary: This study investigated the diversity and distribution patterns of orchids in Mt. Victoria, Myanmar. A total of 94 orchid species were recorded, including 58 epiphytic and 36 terrestrial orchids. The results showed that both elevation and slope significantly affected the species composition and diversity of orchids, and terrestrial orchids were also affected by herb coverage. The network between epiphytic orchids and their hosts exhibited a low level of connectance, and significant nestedness with a high level of modularity and specialization.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Janina Borysiak, Malgorzata Stepniewska
Summary: Urban greening should prioritize meeting the demands of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 by designing urban parks with enhanced biodiversity. Research has shown that the elements of greenery composition in parks play a crucial role in conserving plant biodiversity and their conservation depends on gardening practices. A questionnaire study revealed that the proposed vegetation cover pattern and the required gardening measures were widely accepted by future greenery managers and park users.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shahid Afzal, Humira Nesar, Zarrin Imran, Wasim Ahmad
Summary: The study found that soil-inhabiting nematode communities exhibit differences in abundance, diversity, and metabolic footprint across an elevation gradient in the temperate vegetation cover of the Pir-Panjal mountain range in Banihal-Pass. Overall, nematode abundance, diversity, and contribution to belowground carbon cycling are stronger at lower elevations and gradually decline with increasing elevation.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Pavel Sannikov, Elena Efimik, Igor Shestakov, Vitaliy V. Mingalev
Summary: The Kungur forest-steppe, located in the western pre-Urals, is facing rapid degradation due to current climate change and strong agricultural impacts. Human activities, such as lumbering, agriculture, grazing, and hay making, have played a significant role in the vegetation changes in this area.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lemin Wei, Wenzhi Zhao, Xiangyan Feng, Chuntan Han, Tao Li, Jinxian Qi, Yongyuan Li
Summary: Freeze-thaw desertification has significant impacts on the fragmentation, soil properties, and vegetation succession of alpine meadows, particularly in high elevations. Desertified patches lead to decreased soil water holding capacity and increased bulk density, causing the appearance of alpine desert steppe characteristics.