Diversity and Structure of the Woody Stand in a Sudano-Sahelian Transition Zone in Senegal

The main objective of the study was to investigate the diversity of the woody stratum of the vegetation in intercommunity rangelands in the department of Koungheul based on an ecological inventory using vegetation surveys. The results indicate a rich flora of 70 species divided into 54 genera and 27 families where Ceasalpiniaceae and Rubiaceae are dominant (5 genera each). They are followed by Combretaceae and Euphorbiacea (4 genera each) and by Capparaceae, Fabaceae and Mimosaceae (3 genera for each family). But at the specific level, it is the Combretaceae which dominates with 10 species and Rubiaceae (7 species). It is more representative at the level of the rural community of Lour Esacale. The different values of vegetation parameters from one site to another indicate variability in community rangeland management practices. The woody stand, dominated by small Combretaceae, shows a relatively stable level of organization with an average equitability of about 45% for the two rural communities studied. Species such as Cordyla pinnata, Sclerocarya birrea, Adansonia digitata and Sterculia setigera contributed strongly to the basal and aerial cover of the overall stand. The regeneration of the stand is very good (about 85% on average) but it represents very few species, especially of the Combretaceae family. This shows a tendency to a progressive loss of species richness in the woody stratum.

Detectability of the global weed Hypochaeris radicata is influenced by species, environment and observer characteristics

Aims to determine the detectability of a global weedy perennial weed Hypochaeris radicata and its relationship with five common observer,species and environmental variables.Methods trained independent observers conducted time-limited repeat sur-veys of H.radicata during autumn in an endangered grassy box-gum woodland ecosystem in south-east australia.single-species single-season site-occupancy modelling was used to determine if detectability of H.radicata was altered by five covariates,observer,litter height,grazing,maximum plant height and flowering state.Important Findings Detectability for H.radicata varied significantly with observer,litter height,plant maximum height and flowering state,but not with graz-ing.Despite significant observer-specific variation,there was a con-sistent increase in detectability with plant height and when plants are in flower for all observers.Detectability generally decreased as litter height increases.Perfect or constant detection rates cannot be assumed in plant surveys,even for easily recognizable plants in simple survey conditions.understanding how detectability is influ-enced by common survey variables can help improve the efficacy of plant monitoring programs by quantifying the extent of uncertainty in inferences made from survey data,or by determining optimal sur-vey conditions to increase the reliability of collected data.For plants with traits similar to H.radicata,surveying when most plants are at maximum height or in flower,increasing search intensity when litter levels are high and minimizing observer-related heterogeneity are potentially simple and effective ways to reduce detection errors.We speculate that detection rates may be lower,more variable and involve additional covariates when surveying during the peak flow-ering spring season with the presence of more warm season and taller annual species.