Floral Diversity Status in Urban Coastal Wetland &Associated Coastal Ecosystems of Crow Island Mattakkuliya, Sri Lanka

Colombo is the capital of Sri Lanka and the only wetland city in South Asia under the Ramsar Convention. Crow Island Beach Park and associated coastal area belong to the Colombo urban coastal wetland ecosystems. Crow Island wetland contributes diverse habitats for numerous flora and fauna species. The present study was conducted to assess the status of floral diversity in the Crow Island Beach Park and associated coastal ecosystem during the months of August to October 2021. Study area is divided in to three sites (A, B, C). Line transects method and field observations were used in the study. This coastal wetland consists of mosaic of five major vegetation types: Herbaceous, tree, shrub, creeper, grass and other than that marine algae namely Chaetomorpha antennina, Rhizoclonium africanum, Ulva compressa belonging to chlorophyta (green algae) and Grateloupia lithophila belonging to rhodophyta (red algae) were found in the study area. A total number of 102 flora species belonging to 50 families were recorded from the study area. There were two true mangrove species and 16 mangrove associated species in the study sites. Out of the 102 plant species 46 were recognized and documented as plants with medicinal values. Shannon-Wiener diversity indexes for mangrove and mangrove associated species were recorded as 2.378, 2.304 and 1.676 in site A, B and C respectively. Simpson’s diversity index for mangrove and mangrove associated species was recorded as 0.889, 0.874 and 0.735 respectively in site A, B and C and Jaccard index of similarity between three study sites showed high values ranging from 41% to 69% for mangrove and mangrove associated species.

Floral Diversity of Abandoned Mansions and the Influence of Soil Properties on These Unique Vegetations

Abandoned land and mansions are always a matter of curiosity to the human beings. They are treated as haunted places in many societies. In the present research, three decrepit abandoned mansions from the southern Bangladesh were investigated to measure their floral diversity, physico-chemical properties of soil and the soil-plant interrelationship which is responsible for the diversification of wild flora within the regions. From Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes, it can be deducted that the floral diversity within the abandoned mansions has a positive relationship with their territory size. The high values of Margalef’s and Menhinick’s species richness indexes confirmed that these areas are a rich source of a large number of plant species. A great variation in soil physico-chemical properties has been observed during the analysis. Soil organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium & moisture contents were varied significantly from one quadrat to another in every site. Biplot analysis showed that the distribution of plant species in abandoned mansions is primarily determined by the organic matter, pH, moisture and potassium contents of soil. As these factors were present in versatile distribution within the studied regions, a great number of plants can grow in the same area simultaneously. So these areas should be protected from human intervention to process natural selection and in situ conservation of plant species.

Floristic Diversity in Forest Management Units: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation in FMU 09-025

The assessment of floristic composition and diversity is very important in forest management units. This study sets out to determine the species diversity and implications for biodiversity conservation in FMU 09-025 of the Campo Ma’an National park, South Region of Cameroon. Due to human activities in the area, the study site was divided into two Blocks (A and B). The transect method was employed in data collection. A total 14 long transects were established parallel to each other in blocks at a distance of 3 km apart, 8 transects in Block A and 6 Transects in Block. In each transect, plots of 20 × 500 m were established at intervals of 500 m. Within each plot, all individual trees ≥ 10 cm were identified, measured, and recorded. The DBH of all trees were measured at 1.3 using the DBH meter tape. The height of trees was measured through estimation (average estimates of all field researchers). Results revealed a total of eight thousand one hundred and twenty four (8124) individual plants with DBH ≥ 10 cm in the entire study area. From this number, 5113 tree stems ≥ 10 cm were identified and measured in Block A. This belongs to 216 species in 47 families. In block B a total of and 5011 stems were identified and measured. This belongs to 239 species in 47 families. Fabaceae, Annonaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae were found to be the most dominant plant families in the study site. Erythrophleum ivorense, Lophira alata, Dialium bipindense, Musanga cecropioides, Alstonia boonei, Pterocarpus soyauxii, Guibourtia ehie, Staudtia kamerunensis, Desbordesia glaucescens, Sacoglottis gabonensis were found to be the most dominant plant species. 41 species are of conservation concern according to the IUCN global Red List 2023 and IUCN local status. These species are considered species with high-priority for conservation. We have 6 endangered species, 11 near Threatened species, and 25 vulnerable species. There was no significant difference in species diversity in the two Blocks.

Floristic Diversity of Forests of the Northwest Republic of the Congo

The study of structural and tree flora biodiversity of the forest of the Mbomo-Kellé UFA was done on an area of 88.5 ha (0.014% of the total UFA area). The inventory was carried out in plots of 200 m × 25 m (0.5 ha), arranged in a contiguous way along the opened trails in the forest with an equidistance interval of 2 km. 11,012 trees of DBH ≥20 cm were counted, divided into 107 genera, 31 families and 133 species including 121 completely identified and 12 defined only in terms of genus. Data analysis consisted of calculating relative and weighted frequencies, the Shannon and Weaver diversity indexes, Pielou’s evenness index, and the Jaccard and Sorensen similarity indices. Relative frequencies showed that the most representative family in terms of species is the Fabaceae-Caesal piniodeae with 18.05% of species and the most representative in terms of individuals is the Burseraceae with 19.17% of inventoried trees. The principal components analysis allowed to show inter- and intra-block heterogeneities.

Effects of grazing on natural regeneration of tree and herb species of Kheyroud forest in northern Iran

We investigated the effects of grazing on natural regeneration, quantity, and diversity of woody species and dominant herb species in Kheyroud forest in northern Iran. We sampled vegetation in 5m2 plots in custom units, which are demarcated resource areas traditionally used by local livestock producers. The authors quantified number of species, height of seedlings, and diameter of seedlings. Height classes were 0-30 cm, 30-130 cm, and 〉130 cm, and diameter classes were 0-2.5 cm, 2.5-5 cm and 5-7.5 cm. The density of seedlings declined with distance from corral until reaching the custom unit boundary. Most seedlings had diameters of 0-2.5 cm and heights of 0-30 cm. Predominant species, Carpinus betulus and Acer capadocicum, were in plots near the centers of custom units, Fagus orientalis, Acer velutinum, Quercus castanifolia species were dominant in plots near the custom unit boundary. Plant species such as Oplismenus undulatifolius, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Rubusfrutieos and Pteridium aquilinum were dominant in plots nearer to forest corral. Healthy seedlings were more numerous in plots nearest the corral, while defective and deformed seedlings were more abundant away from the corral. We conclude that grazing had negative effects on the quantity and quality of vegetative regeneration. Continuation of overgrazing will not only endanger the sustainability of forest ecosystems, but also will increase the challenge of sustainable forest management.

Phylotranscriptomics of Swertiinae(Gentianaceae)reveals that key floral traits are not phylogenetically correlated

Establishing how lineages with similar traits are phylogenetically related remains critical for understanding the origin of biodiversity on Earth.Floral traits in plants are widely used to explore phylogenetic relationships and to delineate taxonomic groups.The subtribe Swertiinae(Gentianaceae)comprises more than 350 species with high floral diversity ranging from rotate to tubular corollas and possessing diverse nectaries.Here we performed phylogenetic analysis of 60 species from all 15 genera of the subtribe Swertiinae sensu Ho and Liu,representing the range of floral diversity,using data from the nuclear and plastid genomes.Extensive topological conflicts were present between the nuclear and plastome trees.Three of the 15 genera represented by multiple species are polyphyletic in both trees.Key floral traits including corolla type,absence or presence of lobe scales,nectary type,nectary position,and stigma type are randomly distributed in the nuclear and plastome trees without phylogenetic correlation.We also revealed the likely ancient hybrid origin of one large clade comprising 10 genera with diverse floral traits.These results highlight the complex evolutionary history of this subtribe.The phylogenies constructed here provide a basic framework for further exploring the ecological and genetic mechanisms underlying both species diversification and floral diversity.