Soil–vegetation relationships in a coastal desert plain of southern Sinai, Egypt

The present study provides an analysis of soil, vegetation types as well as structure and species distribution in 19 sites in El-Qaa plain along the Gulf of Suez (south Sinai, Egypt), and focuses on the environmental factors that control the species distribution. A total of 203 species belonging to 39 families of the vascular plants are recorded. Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae are the largest families. Grasses constitute only 9% of the recorded species, while the woody perennials (shrubs and sub-shrubs) are highly dominated (46%). Therophytes and chamaephytes are the most frequent, denoting a typical desert life-form spectrum. Floristic composition in the different geomorphologic landscape units showed differences in species richness. The highest mean species richness of 19.7±1.7 is recorded in the wadi channels. The lowest species richness values are recorded in the coastal shore and playas (6.0±1.4) and in the alluvial fans (mean of 8.4±1.6 species). Chorological analysis revealed that 46% of the studied species are uniregional, being native to the Saharo-Arabian region. On the other hand, about 50% of the recorded species are biregional and pluriregional, extending their distribution all over the Saharo-Arabian, Sudano-Zambezian, Irano-Turanian and Mediterranean regions. Classification of the vegetation is analysed using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) techniques resulted in the recognition of five vegetation groups, each of definite vegetation and soil characters, and could be linked to a specific geomorphologic unit. Capparis spinosa var. spinosa occupied the terraces, Cornulaca monacantha, Convolvulus lanatus and Deverra tortuosa inhabited the alluvial plains, Launaea nudicaulis and Artemisia judaica characterized the wadi channels, Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana and Leptadenia pyrotechnica characterized the alluvial fans and Tamarix nilotica, Zygophyllum album and Nitraria retusa on the playas and the coastal shore. Ordination techniques as detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) are used to examine the relationship between the vegetation and studied soil parameters. Nine soil variables are included: electrical conductivity, pH, calcium carbonate, gypsum, organic matter, gravel, fine soil fractions and soil saturation percentage. Analysis with DCA gave results similar to CCA, suggesting that there is a relatively high correspondence between vegetation and soil factors. DCA axis 1 showed significant positive correlation with CaCO₃, pH, soil saturation and organic matter, and interpreted as a calcium carbonate—soil saturation gradient. DCA axis 2 showed significant correlation with pH, gypsum and electric conductivity, and interpreted as an electric conductivity—gypsum gradient. Application of CCA indicated that soil surface sediment, CaCO₃, soil saturation, pH and organic matter are the main operating edaphic gradients in the area. These gradients are related closely to the first three canonical axes, and accounted for 67% of the species–environment relationship among the sites.     

祁连山、贺兰山与吕梁山山前冲积扇上的农地对比

不同地区冲积扇上农地发育特征的对比可以揭示环境条件与农地发育的关系。本文以Lansat卫星ETM+遥感影像、DEM和野外考察资料为基础,研究了祁连山、贺兰山与吕梁山三个地区山前冲积扇的地貌特征和扇上农地的发育特征,探讨了影响冲积扇上农地发育的因素。结果表明,吕梁山地区扇上农地比例最高,自扇顶到扇缘均有农地发育,其次为祁连山地区,农地主要发育在一些被黄土覆盖的冲积扇的老扇面上,贺兰山地区冲积扇上农地比例最低,农地多分布在扇缘区域;物质组成是影响冲积扇上农地发育的直接因素;相关性分析表明,祁连山和吕梁山地区冲积扇上的农地发育受黄土沉积过程影响显著,而贺兰山前冲积扇上农地发育更多地受冲积扇地貌过程的影响。     

Land degradation and vegetation distribution in Chott El Beida wetland,Algeria

The aim of this study is to explore the environmental factors that determine plant community distribution in northeast Algeria. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the vegetation–environment relationships for a study site in the Chott El Beida wetland, a RAMSAR site in Setif, Algeria. Sixty vegetation plots were sampled and analysed using TWINSPAN and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) in order to identify the principal vegetation communities and determine the environmental gradients associated with these. 127 species belonging to 41 families and 114 genera were recorded. Six of the recorded species were endemic representing 4.7% of the total species. The richest families were Compositae, Gramineae, Cruciferae and Chenopodiaceae. Therophytes and hemicryptophytes were the most frequent life forms. The Mediterranean floristic element is dominant and is represented by 39 species. The samples were classified into four main community types. The principal DCA axes represent gradients of soil salinity, moisture and anthropogenic pressure. The use of classification in combination with ordination techniques resulted in a good discrimination between plant communities and a greater understanding of controlling environmental factors. The methodology adopted can be employed for improving baseline information on plant community ecology and distribution in often critically endangered Mediterranean wetland areas.     

Surface sediment characteristics and present dynamics in alluvial fans of the central Spanish Pyrenees

Three alluvial fans in the Ribera de Biescas, upper Gállego Valley, and central Spanish Pyrenees, have been studied in order to explain the most recent changes and to identify the spatial organization of the sediment. In the alluvial fans surveyed, the proximal area is dominated by debris flows, which pass downslope into transitional and fluvial deposits. The relative importance of each type of sediment is closely related to the size and gradient of the alluvial fan, as well as to the gradient in the final stretch of the stream. In general, the size of the sediment decreases from the proximal to the distal area, while the roundness increases. Nevertheless, there are noticeable irregularities in the trend both in longitudinal and transverse transects, due mainly to the sedimentary dynamics of the debris flows, as they advance towards the inner part of each alluvial fan during the most intense peak flows. A sudden shrinkage of the most active area and incision along the fan channels has been assessed and related to land-use changes in the catchments.     

五台山冰缘地貌植物群落的数量分类与排序

在野外样方调查的基础上,采用双向指示种分析法(TWINSPAN)和除趋势对应分析法(DCA)对五台山冰缘地貌植被进行了数量分类和排序研究,将五台山冰缘地貌植被分为13个群丛,13个群丛是不同冰缘地貌生态景观的重要组成要素,各群丛的群落学特征与冰缘地貌生境有密切的生态关系。DCA样方排序结果和种排序结果表明,五台山冰缘地貌植物群落分布格局是土壤、水分、热量等综合环境因子决定的。而不同冰缘地貌上植物群丛优势种的分布格局在很大程度上决定着植物群丛类型的分布格局,反映出植物群落类型和物种分布随冰缘地貌类型及环境梯度变化的趋势。     

Influence of soil, tree cover and large herbivores on field layer vegetation along a savanna landscape gradient in northern Botswana

The response of the field layer vegetation to co-varying resource availability (soil nutrients, light) and resource loss (herbivory pressure) was investigated along a landscape gradient highly influenced by elephants and smaller ungulates at the Chobe River front in Botswana. TWINSPAN classification was used to identify plant communities. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were used to explore the vegetation-environment relationships. Four plant communities were described: Panicum maximum woodland, Tribulus terrestris woodland/shrubland, Chloris virgata shrubland and Cynodon dactylon floodplain. Plant height, species richness and diversity decreased with increasing resource availability and resource loss. The species composition was mainly explained by differences in soil resources, followed by variables related to light availability (woody cover) and herbivory, and by interactions between these variables. The vegetation structure and species richness, on the other hand, followed the general theories of vegetation responses to herbivory more closely than resource related theories. The results suggest a strong interaction between resource availability and herbivory in their influence on the composition, species richness and structure of the plant communities.     

Impacts of Holocene climatic variations on alluvial fan activity below snowpatches in subarctic Québec

In the Lake Guillaume-Delisle area of subarctic Québec, storm-generated alluvial fans have been active sporadically throughout the Holocene. In this study, we propose that the persistence of late-lying snowpatches in fan catchments during Holocene cold episodes promoted alluvial fan activity by lowering the precipitation threshold required to trigger a torrential event. This hypothesis was tested by characterizing the depositional processes responsible for alluvial fan formation below snowpatches, and by reconstructing the Holocene alluvial fan activity. Stratigraphic and sedimentary analyses conducted on seven alluvial fans revealed that they were deposited by torrential activity leading to waterlaid, transient, or hyperconcentrated deposition. The chronology of the storm-generated alluvial fans — based on 22 radiocarbon dates — indicates that torrential activity was enhanced during the cooler Late Holocene (i.e., after ca. 3500 cal. yr BP). Snowier winters and cooler summers were beneficial to nival activity, allowing the persistence of larger snowpatches throughout the summer and fall seasons. Rainfall-induced thaw of such snowpatches during rainstorm events is inferred to have contributed to alluvial fan activity by increasing water availability. Three peaks of alluvial activity occurred during the Late Holocene (2950–2750, 1900–1400, and 800–300 cal. yr BP) and are indicative of increased storminess resulting in higher fan activity. Increased fan activity during cooler episodes was concurrent with increased runoff activity in the immediate pronival area. This stresses the importance of nivation below snowpatches and pinpoints the role of nivation in enhancing geomorphological activity during period of cooler and more humid climate in subarctic environments.     

Surface Variability of Alluvial Fans Generated by Disparate Processes,Eastern Death Valley,CA

This study explores the surface variability of alluvial fans from digital elevations model (DEM) derivatives generated from 1-m planimetric resolution airborne laser swath mapping data. Channel and interfluve dimensions of debris flow (DF) fans and fans generated from predominantly fluvial flows and some older debris flows (mixed flow [MF]) are extracted with the aid of a planimetric curvature classification. Significant differences are identified between the fan surface topography of DF and MF fans. MF fans tend to have smaller channel and interfluve widths, have smaller elevation differences between the crest of the interfluve and channel, and are more dissected than DF fans. The morphometric differences between the two fan classes can be explained by differences in the primary processes that develop the surficial features, but also the preponderance for secondary erosional processes acting on the MF fans.     

Desertification and animal biodiversity in the desert grasslands of North America

Studies of breeding birds and small mammals were conducted at a series of sites that form a gradient of severity of desertification. Desert grassland sites represented the least changed landscape units and mesquite coppice dunes represented the most severe degradation, an irreversibly degraded landscape unit. The hypothesis that desertification reduces species diversity was not supported by the data. Species richness and diversities (Shannon-Weaver H′) of breeding birds were higher in the desertified areas than in the grassland with one exception. Data from a site dominated by the exotic African grass,Eragrostis lehmanniana, in south-eastern Arizona showed that breeding bird diversity was lower at that site than at a site in the same region that was dominated by native grasses. Species richness, diversity (H′), and abundance of small mammals were also higher in desertified areas than in desert grassland. Most grassland species of birds and mammals persist in the desertified habitats and species that are characteristic of shrublands colonize desertified desert grasslands. This accounts for the increases in species richness. However some species such as the banner-tailed kangaroo rat,Dipodomys spectabilis, are eliminated when grassland degrades to mesquite coppice dune or eroded creosotebush communities. These data suggest that other measures of faunal biodiversity such askeystone speciesmay be better measures of the impact of desertification on animal biodiversity.     

Temporal and spatial patterns of tenebrionid beetle diversity in NW Patagonia, Argentina

Spatial and temporal variation in abundance, richness and composition of Tenebrionidae beetle assemblages were described for north-western Patagonia. Beetles were collected using 450 pitfall traps arranged in 50 plots across an area of about 22,500 km² representative of the Subantarctic-Patagonian transition of Argentina. The study area included three different habitats: forest, scrub, and steppe. Beetles were trapped at five, eight day sampling periods in spring-summer between November 2004 and March 2006. A total of 30 species and 938 individuals were collected. Total abundance was higher in November and January than in March, and species richness did not change among samplings. Species richness was greater in the steppe than scrub. Assemblages differed between the northern and southern transects. There was little correlation between the measured environmental variables and species composition. Historical factors might explain the observed patterns, but other environmental variables such as soil characteristics may be more informative in explaining the present distribution of tenebrionid species.     

Alpine Plant Communities: A Statistical Assessment of Their Relation to Microclimatological,Pedological, Geomorphological,and Other Factors

Floristic composition and environmental factors vary widely among plant communities in the alpine belt. Thus far no study has attempted to measure all relevant site conditions in a larger number of alpine communities. Here we show (1) which environmental factors were highly correlated with the floristic composition of the 14 plant communities investigated in the Swiss Alps and (2) which plant communities have similar environmental affinities. In every plant community investigated, the main factors potentially having an impact on plant life were measured and the floristic composition was defined. We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to determine linkage between plant communities and complex environmental gradients. The first axis of the NMDS corresponds to a climate gradient (temperature/wind speed), and the second axis corresponds to a soil gradient (soil suction/pH/Ca content). With the exception of the Nardus grassland and Carex curvula turf, plant communities belonging to the same phytosociological class are exposed to very similar combinations of environmental factors. Our study shows that the variation between phytosociological classes is much larger than within classes. Still, the variation of environmental factors within individual classes leads to a further differentiation of the floristic composition. Thus, our study reinforces the validity of the phytosociological classification.     

建三江农垦分局湿地植物群落分类和排序

采用双指示种分析（Two Way Indicators Species Analysis,TWINSPAN）和除趋势对应分析（Detrended Correspondence Analysis,DCA）方法,对位于三江平原的建三江农垦分局内的湿地植物群落的数据进行群落数量分类和排序。调查的86个样地中共发现49科133属226个物种;TWINSPAN将样地划分为8种群丛,将优势物种划分为8组,分类结果可以在DCA排序图上很好地反映出来,且优势物种的分布格局很大程度上决定了群丛的分布格局;DCA的前两个排序轴提供了23．5％的信息量,其中第一排序轴提供了14．5％的信息量,主要反映出样地水分条件的变化;样地的排序结果反映了植物群落类型与环境因子之间的关系。     

山西云顶山亚高山草甸群落生态分析

应用双向指示种分析法 (TWINSPAN )和除趋势对应分析 (DCA )等数量分析方法,对山西云顶山亚高山草甸生态关系进行了研究,将该草甸划分为5个群落类型,分别位于不同的海拔高度。分类结果很好地反映了植物群落类型及优势种的分布与环境因子之间的关系,并在DCA二维排序图上得到了较好的验证。DCA排序轴反映了海拔高度、放牧强度和群落土壤湿度的梯度变化,表明海拔高度和水热条件是影响植物群落变化的主要环境因子,物种多样性在群落类型分化中有重要作用,同时放牧对亚高山草甸演替过程的干扰明显。     

塔里木河中游植物群落的数量分类与分析

Plant communities were sampled in the lower reaches of the Tarim River,Xinjiang,The results showed that there are 23 species belonging to 21 genera in 11 families,most of which have low occurrence frequency in quadrats.The most common species is Tamarix ramosissima,which occurred in 17 sites accounting for 89.47% of the total 19 sites,Quantitative classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination(CCA) methods were used to study the distribution Patterns of 23 plant species in 19 sites in this valley.TWINSPAN results showed that the plant communities in the middle reaches of the Tarim River could be divided into 3 groups and the sampling sites could be diveded into 7 types in 3 groups .CCA results were consistent with TWINSPAN results ,and showed species distribution patterns correlated with major environmental variables of groundwater level and soil moisture.     

How special are Etendeka mesas? Flora and elevation gradients in an arid landscape in north-west Namibia

Seven mesas (i.e. flat-topped, isolated mountains) and the Grootberg mountain in arid north-west Namibia were investigated with regard to floristic relationships in relation to environmental gradients. Relationships between mesas and their surrounding, species richness and number of mesa specialists were used as measures to explore the influence of elevation on these floristic parameters. Also soil properties were investigated along these elevation gradients. The overall questions were designed to investigate the importance, i.e. ‘special status’, of these mesas in terms of contributing to species diversity and to elucidating ecological processes in this arid landscape.With regard to special floristic status, the tops of mesas supported different plant communities than their surrounding plains, while slopes indicated various levels of intermingling with plain vegetation. Differences between mesas and plains became more pronounced with increasing elevation. There were, however, no clear vegetation belts related to elevation. Plant species richness and number of mesa specialists showed a trend of increasing numbers with elevation, but these trends were statistically poorly supported, largely due to high variability between samples.Do soil gradients and elevation, as two important environmental variables, affect this ‘special’ status? Pronounced soil gradients were evident for many soil properties. These in combination with altitudinal effects of increased moisture and lower temperatures were believed to directly influence plant species composition and richness. The soil gradients may also indicate nutrient flow from the mesas to the surrounding lowlands, a process of ecological importance, particularly should degradation due to over grazing become a problem in the lowland areas.     

冲洪积扇与泥石流扇的遥感影像特征辨析

在揭示冲洪积扇和泥石流扇在发育规模、物质成分及分选性、赖以形成的地形地貌条件等方面的差异特征的基础上 ,阐述它们在航天和航空遥感图像上的影像特征 ,以及识别它们的实践意义     

Land Cover Classification Using High‐Resolution Aerial Photography in Adventdalen,Svalbard

A methodology was tested for high‐resolution mapping of vegetation and detailed geoecological patterns in the Arctic Tundra, based on aerial imagery from an unmanned aerial vehicle (visible wavelength – RGB, 6 cm pixel resolution) and from an aircraft (visible and near infrared, 20 cm pixel resolution). The scenes were fused at 10 and 20 cm to evaluate their applicability for vegetation mapping in an alluvial fan in Adventdalen, Svalbard. Ground‐truthing was used to create training and accuracy evaluation sets. Supervised classification tests were conducted with different band sets, including the original and derived ones, such as NDVI and principal component analysis bands. The fusion of all original bands at 10 cm resolution provided the best accuracies. The best classifier was systematically the maximum neighbourhood algorithm, with overall accuracies up to 84%. Mapped vegetation patterns reflect geoecological conditioning factors. The main limitation in the classification was differentiating between the classes graminea, moss and Salix, and moss, graminea and Salix, which showed spectral signature mixing. Silty‐clay surfaces are probably overestimated in the south part of the study area due to microscale shadowing effects. The results distinguished vegetation zones according to a general gradient of ecological limiting factors and show that VIS+NIR high‐resolution imagery are excellent tools for identifying the main vegetation groups within the lowland fan study site of Adventdalen, but do not allow for detailed discrimination between species.     

湖南省种子植物物种丰富度与地形的关系

为探讨区域尺度物种丰富度与地形的关系,利用湖南省地方植物志资料和地形图,借助GIS软件等手段,在定量分析湖南省地形的海拔分异特征的基础上,研究了湖南省种子植物的物种丰富度和物种密度沿海拔梯度的变化趋势,以及他们与地形复杂度的关系,得到如下结果：(1) 随着海拔的升高,科、属、种丰富度和物种密度均呈现先增大后减小的趋势,也即物种丰富度和物种密度均在中海拔地区达到最高;(2) 随地形复杂度的增加,物种丰富度和物种密度呈现先增大后减少的趋势,即中等复杂程度的地形,具有较高的丰富度和物种密度。     

Effects of dune stabilization on vegetation characteristics and soil properties at multiple scales in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China

Ecological patterns and processes in dune ecosystems have been a research focus in recent years, however information on how dune stabilization influences vegetation and soil at different spatial scales...