Determination of Indicator Plants for Boron in the Kirka(Eskisehir/Turkey)Boron Deposit Area

The amount of elements in plants is important for biogeochemical explorations. Some plants which were accumulated extremely elements, are called indicator plants. In this study, the 11 plant species and soil samples were collected boron deposits area in Kirka (Eskisehir). Boron is determinated in plants (leaves and twigs) and soil samples. Additionally, statistical relations were established between the B values of plant and soil samples and three plants were only found. The boron in twigs of Puccinellia intermedia (n = 17, r = 0.7274), twigs of Genista aucheri (n = 26, r = 0.8581 and leaves of Pinus nigra (n = 16, r = 0.6805) species are found 119, 81 and 115 mg/kg respectively. This species was reflected boron in soil and their used indicator plant for boron. The indicator plants could be successfully used for biogeochemical prospecting and environmental monitoring.

Glade and Forest-Edge Plant Community Attributes for Three Glade Types in Arusha National Park, Tanzania

The aim of the study was to compare glade and forest-glade edge plant community attributes for man-made, upper and lower natural glades. Two plots were set up in twelve glades at 2.5, 12.5 m and three plots in thirteen glades at 2.5, 12.5 and 22.5 m depending on the size of the glade. The results showed that plants total abundance, percentage basal cover, species richness and species diversity for upper and lower natural glades differed significantly p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively and species diversity for man-made glades p < 0.001. Plant species abundance, richness and diversity were highest at the forest-glade edge and decreased towards the glade interior. Plant species composition of the three glades types differed significantly (MRPP: T = -4.51, p < 0.001 and A = 0.17). Grasses’ total abundance and species richness and forbs species diversity differed significantly for man-made glades p < 0.01. For upper natural glades, grasses species richness was highly significant p < 0.001 while for forbs species richness and diversity were significant P < 0.01. Lower natural glades grasses and forbs’ total abundance, species richness and species diversity differed significantly p < 0.01 and p < 0.001 respectively. Growth forms in the lower natural glades were associated with the forest-glade edge or glade interior χ2 = 15.95, df = 4, p Eleusine jaegeri, Heterogon contortus, Senna mimisoides, Digitaria scalarum, Clutia abyssinica) were habitat indicators for disturbed areas, wet humid grey/black clay soils for upper natural glades and three (Solanum incanum, Senna didymobotrya, and Pennistem mezianum, were indicators of overgrazed areas and black clay soils for man-made glades. In conclusion, plant species abundance, richness and diversity were highest at the forest-glade edge and decreased towards the glade interior, while plant species composition differed significantly between the three-glade types. The plant growth form for lower natural glades was associated with forest-glade edge and glade interior.

Understorey species distinguish late successional and ancient forests after decades of minimum human intervention: A case study from Slovenia

The main species composition drivers in temperate deciduous forests are environmental conditions, a stand?s age and the site history, e.g., the succession stage and past land use, as well as disturbance regime and current management. We compared plant species diversity and composition in late successional and ancient forests, cooccurring on the same small river island applying species accumulation curves and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, respectively. Given the island?s geomorphological characteristics, we expected these to be very similar before human intervention in the past. The forests experienced differing disturbance regimes in the past, while over the last 30 years, human intervention has been the same and reduced to a minimum. The ancient forest in this study had two major characteristics defining it as old, mature forest: continuity of presence for more than 200years and specific composition. The late successional forest experienced major disturbance in the 20th century and was allowed natural regeneration by bordering on the ancient forest, representing a potential species pool,and by decades of minimum human intervention. Our results showed that, even though there was no difference in species richness, we could still detect differences between the forests, particularly in the abundance and species composition of the understorey, among which geophytes had the most indicative importance. To make our results useful on a broader scale, we composed from the literature a species list of plants indicative for ancient forest and tested its application. These results are important for distinguishing between old and mature secondary stands and particularly for identifying old forest stands, which should be conserved and, in the case of fragmented landscapes, included in a network connecting forest fragments.

Cut stumps vs broken stumps:Does it make any difference in the maintenance of plant and lichen biodiversity in Central European mountain forests?

Fxcessive forest exploitation significantly contributes to land degradation and the creation of human-made deadwood.Stumps are sometimes ignored in studies on the biodiversity of coarse woody debris.We investigated whether the type of stump,i.e.broken stumps(naturally created)and cut stumps(formed during forestry operations)had an impact on the species composition and species diversity as well as due to this fact they can be characterized by plant indicators.The research covered 728 spruce stumps(287 broken and 441 cut stumps)that were inhabited by lichens,liverworts,mosses and vascular plants in mountain forest belt(Karkonosze Mts.,Poland).The following types of microhabitats were included in the research:the upper surface and the lateral surface of a stump with both bark and wood.There are statistically significant compositional differences between the two types of stumps,which was demonstrated by ordination analyses and indicator species analysis.According to the generalized linear models,the probability of occurrence increases in cut stumps in case of liverworts and vascular plants and also along the decomposition stages.The generalized linear mixed-effects model showed that there was a higher species richness of liverworts,mosses and vascular plants on the cut stumps and less drier but the reverse situation was in lichens.The generalized additive models for their cover showed similar trends.Almost all of the taxonomic groups were affected by altitude both in terms of species composition and total cover on the stumps.We concluded that cut stumps are an important type of deadwood for biodiversity and provide a convenient habitat,especially for many lichens and bryophytes.

Impact of drilling waste pollution on land cover in a high subarctic forest-tundra zone

Global climate changes can lead to the destruction of the permafrost zone and contribute to the active transfer of pollutants to natural waters.This can be especially pronounced in the areas of oil and gas production in the Arctic.This study aimed to define the landscape components(i.e.,groundwater,soil water,soil,and indicator plant species)of chemical pollution with metals,oil hydrocarbons,and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,from the discharge of drill cuttings.Studies at two sites in the forest-tundra zone of Western Siberia(Russia)were carried out within two years of pollution.Pollutant migration was found in peaty-gley heavy loamy soils and iron-illuvial clayey podburs,but lateral migration of different pollutants did not exceed 200 m.Additionally,radial migration was practically absent owing to the high buffering capacity of the soil organic horizon and the upward flow of matter in the seasonal melt layer.The main indicators of drilling waste pollution were high concentrations of Sr,Ba,petroleum hydrocarbons,and Cl^(-)ions.At the waste disposal sites,the concentration of Ba and Sr in the soil water were 1150 and 1410μg L^(-1),respectively;in groundwater,they reached 721 and 2360μg L^(-1),respectively.In the soil,Ba and Sr accumulated in the peaty horizon(798 and 706 mg kg^(-1),respectively).The concentration of Cl^(-)ions in the soil water at the site of waste discharge was 1912 mg L^(-1),and at a distance of 200 m,it decreased to 77.4 mg L^(-1).The Cl^(-)concentration in the groundwater was lower,and at a distance of 200 m,it was 38.9 mg L^(-1).The highest concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in the surface layer was found in the peaty-gley soils(up to 2400 mg kg^(-1)).In glandular-illuvial podburs,it was 420 mg kg^(-1).In horizons BH and BC,it was close to the background values(27 and 33 mg kg^(-1),respectively).Alkalinization of soils and water under the influence of drill cuttings led to the death of oligotrophic and acidophilic vegetation at a distance of up to 50 m,and to the restructuring of the species and spatial structure of plant communities up to 100 m.