Plant Cover Research Articles

Conservation value and ecosystem service provision of Nothofagus antarctica forests based on phenocluster categories

Traditional approaches of forest classifications were based on tree species composition, but recently combine phenology and climate to characterise functional (cyclic and seasonal greenness) rather than structural or compositional components (phenoclusters). The objective was to compare the conservation value (capacity to support more native biodiversity) and provision of ecosystem services (ES) in different phenocluster categories of Nothofagus antarctica forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We used available models (ES, potential biodiversity) and ground-truth data of 145 stands, comparing phenocluster values using uni- and multivariate analyses. Conservation value and capacity to supply ES significantly varied among phenocluster categories: (i) cultural, regulating, and provisioning ES and potential biodiversity at landscape level, (ii) soil carbon and nitrogen, (iii) dominant height, crown cover, basal area, total volume, and domestic animal stock, and (iv) understory plant richness and cover at stand level. These differences are linked to the forest capacity to support more native biodiversity and ES. Besides, multivariate analyses supporting the split of this forest type into four phenocluster subtypes (coast, highland, ecotone with other types, and degraded or secondary forests). Our findings suggest the needs of specific management and conservation proposals, based on phenoclusters rather than forest types defined by tree canopy-cover composition.

Insecticides may facilitate the escape of weeds from biological control.

Preventative pesticide seed treatments (hereafter preventative pest management or PPM) are common corn and soybean treatments, and often include both fungicides and neonicotinoid insecticides. While PPM is intended to protect crops from soil-borne pathogens and early season insect pests, these seed treatments may have detrimental effects on biological control of weed seeds by insects. Here, in two 3-year corn-soy rotations in Pennsylvania USA, we investigated a PPM approach to insect management compared to an integrated pest management approach (IPM) and a "no (insect) pest management" (NPM) control. This was crossed with a grass cover crop to see if this conservation practice can help recover the ecosystem services affected by chemical pest management practices. We hypothesized that PPM and IPM approaches would release weed seeds from biological control by insects but cover crops would increase biological control. We measured the effect of these treatments on the weed-seed bank, mid-season weed biomass, granivorous insect activity-density, and weed-seed predation. We found that, contrary to our hypothesis, planting a cover crop decreased carabid activity-density without consistent differences in weed-seed predation. Pest management and cover crop treatments also had inconsistent effects on the weed-seed bank and mid-season weed biomass, but insecticide use without a cover crop increased the biomass of likely glyphosate-resistant marestail (Erigeron canadensis L.) at the end of the trial. Our results suggest that reducing insecticide use may be important when combating herbicide-resistant weeds. We found planting cover crops and/or avoiding the use of insecticides may combat these problematic weeds.

A population dynamics approach to understand the invasiveness of the seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae (Ochrophyta, Dictyotales)

The success of invasive species can be measured by invasiveness, which depicts intrinsic characteristics that enable them to thrive in new environments. In invasive seaweeds, for example, the persistence of multiple overlapping cohorts throughout the year plays a key role in increasing plant cover and exerting unrelenting pressure on invaded areas. The marine brown macroalgae Rugulopteryx okamurae has recently established abundant populations in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, negatively affecting both biodiversity and socioeconomic factors by unprecedently aggressive invasive behaviour. The objective of the study is to understand the invasiveness of R. okamurae through its popu lation dynamics. For this, a year-round study was conducted in a protected habitat of Posidonia oceanica in southern Spain, revealing that R. okamurae uses alternating mechanisms for population maintenance. It achieves high density of young individuals in late summer and autumn, peaking at 3285 individuals per square metre. In spring and early summer, the population shifts towards fewer – but larger – individuals, with densities dropping to 888 individuals per square metre and biomass reaching a peak of 170 g dry weight (DW) per square metre. Six overlapping cohorts were identified by Gaussian curves. They persisted throughout the year, but they were not related to environmental factors, which indicates adaptive physiological mechanisms that sustain dense monospecific populations. Additionally, the association between cohorts and different morphotypes suggests that R. okamurae phenotypic plasticity enables its persistence in introduced areas. These findings provide valuable insights into the biological traits underpinning its invasiveness in P. oceanica meadows, revealing temporal windows of invasiveness driven by different mechanisms. This knowledge is crucial for developing effective conservation and management strategies aimed at mitigating the impact of this invasive species.

Experimental investigation on slope runoff, sediment, and hydraulic parameters under different underlying surface

This study utilizes a rainfall simulator to conduct an experimental investigation of slope and rainfall on various underlying surfaces. This study aimed to determine the relationship between various hydraulic factors and sediment concentration by estimating runoff, sediment concentration generation, and hydraulic parameters on various underlying surfaces. The flow velocity, flow depth, shear stress, and unit stream power are the hydraulic parameters in this experiment. The soil sample will be set up appropriately in the rainfall simulator with a slope of 20º and subjected to a rainfall event for two hours on four trays with various underlying surface types. The rainfall intensity of 10 Lmin⁻¹ was designated for the rainfall simulator. Throughout a two-hour period, the runoff flow was collected at intervals of 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. The measured sediment concentration using Total Suspended Solid (TSS). Then measurements were conducted of the sediment concentration, runoff discharge, and hydraulic parameters. According to the results, the stream power of the four covers is higher for the dried leaves (0.004606 ms-3), grass cover (0.003274 ms-3), gravel (0.00232 ms-³), and bare soil cover (0.00081 ms-³). But bare soil produces the maximum concentration of sediment and surface runoff, which is then followed by grass, gravel, and leaves. In general, the generation of sediment began with the bare surface, gravel, dry leaves, and grass in descending sequence. Research has shown that rain-induced plant cover can be used as a low-cost strategy to reduce soil erosion on construction slope sites.

A study of New Zealanders motivations towards increasing native backyard planting

Purpose Urban backyards hold both aesthetic and practical value, offering significant potential for native biodiversity conservation within cities. Homeowners, as the primary managers of these spaces, play a crucial role in determining whether their backyards contribute to ecological sustainability by planting native species. This study aims to investigate how New Zealand homeowners’ attitudes, behaviours and motivations influence their engagement with native planting, and identifies effective strategies to encourage this practice. Design/methodology/approach This study used an online survey targeting a diverse sample of New Zealand homeowners, designed to assess their perceptions, motivations and barriers related to native planting. Correlational and regression analyses were used to identify the factors most strongly associated with the likelihood of increasing native planting in urban backyards. Findings Homeowners with healthier backyards, greater native plant coverage and those who spend 6–8 h per week maintaining native plants exhibit greater satisfaction with their backyards. Key motivations for native planting include attracting wildlife, enhancing aesthetics and contributing to ecological sustainability. Younger homeowners, Maori and Pacific communities and those dissatisfied with their current backyards are particularly inclined to increase native planting. Targeted financial and educational initiatives could significantly boost native plant coverage in urban backyards, contributing to both homeowner satisfaction and broader environmental goals. Originality/value While the role of urban backyards in biodiversity conservation is recognized, there is limited understanding of how homeowners can be motivated to enhance native plant coverage. This study addresses this gap by examining the factors that drive or hinder native planting among New Zealand homeowners.

Distribution and sources of modern pollen in a shallow lake, eastern China: Revealing their relationships with land cover and aquatic plants.

Pollen sources and deposition processes in shallow lakes in densely populated plain areas are complicated, more modern studies are needed to establish the relationship between pollen and vegetation, so as to provide accurate indicators for environmental reconstruction. In this study, 23 surface sediments were collected from Changdang Lake in the Taihu Lake basin (covering inlets, outlets, and open water areas) for discussing the indicative significance of pollen on regional land cover and aquatic plants in the lake. The results show that the terrestrial pollen assemblages in surface sediments can reflect the main vegetation types in the watershed. However, there are significant differences in the source and input mode of the major pollen taxa. All life forms of aquatic plants show a good spatial correspondence with pollen signals, and these signals have good potential for the reconstruction of lake environment. The pollen concentration increases from inlets to outlets, mainly affected by the hydrologic dynamics inside lake. The variations of T/A ratio (the ratio of terrestrial pollen to aquatic pollen proportions) indicate that the central lacustrine sediments are more suitable for reconstructing past watershed vegetation and climate changes. The anthropogenic P/V ratio (pollen proportions/corresponding land cover proportions) maintains a stable value (~0.5) in eastern China, and proves that the pollen of cultivated plants and anthropochores can be used to assess the extent of human impacts on natural landscapes.

Remotely-Sensed Game Trails Are a Behavioral Footprint That Explains Patterns of Herbivore Habitat Use.

Trade-offs between food acquisition and predator avoidance shape the landscape-scale movements of herbivores. These movements create landscape features, such as game trails, which are paths that animals use repeatedly to traverse the landscape. As such, these trails integrate behavioral trade-offs over space and time. Here, we used remotely sensed imagery to analyze the density of game trails with spatial environmental variables to understand landscape-scale patterns of herbivore habitat use in an African savanna. Woody plant cover was the best predictor of game trail density, with the highest densities correlating with intermediate woody plant cover. We also explored how patterns of game trail density compared to two known measures of herbivore habitat use (i.e., dung counts and maximum entropy modeling) and found strong quantitative fits. To understand the patterns revealed by the density of game trails, we explored the trade-off between food acquisition and perceived predation risk across a woody plant cover gradient. Using behavioral observations, we found that the relationship between woody plant cover and the distribution of game trails was likely driven by the risk and reward trade-off, with less vigilance and more feeding occurring in areas with a high density of game trails and intermediate woody cover. Ultimately, we show that game trails are a novel data source that can be used to identify broadly-occurring patterns of herbivore habitat use over large spatial scales.

Soil organic and phytomass carbon stocks in mountain periglacial settings of Vindelfjällen (Sweden)

ABSTRACT We present a detailed soil organic carbon (SOC) and phytomass carbon (C) inventory for a mountain periglacial region in northwest Sweden (altitude range c. 600–1,800 m). We describe plant cover and soil profiles at thirty-nine sites representing the main land cover classes at and above tree line. The mean landscape-level SOC storage for full soil depth is 7.14 kg C m−2, which includes 35 percent of high-alpine ice/snow and bare ground surfaces with negligible SOC stocks. The main SOC hotspots are boreal (maximum stock of 118.5 kg C m−2) and alpine (maximum stock of 79.9 kg C m−2) wetlands. Solifluction lobes in the alpine belt hold above average but highly variable SOC stocks (2.11–19.5 kg C m−2). Permafrost was only encountered in small remnants of collapsing palsas, holding negligible SOC stocks. Mean phytomass C storage is 0.36 kg C m−2, with birch forest storing on average about twenty times more phytomass C (4.41 kg C m−2) compared to the mean for the upland alpine tundra classes (0.20 kg C m−2). Projected increases in ambient temperatures will likely result in an upward shift of the tree line and the alpine vegetation belt with a potential increase in phytomass C and SOC stocks.

Mountain Wetland Vegetation Changes for Thirteen Years in Vitosha Mountain (Bulgaria)

This study presents a sample of the high-mountain wetland vegetation changes over a 13-year period in Vitosha Nature Park. We re-survey the vegetation at the same locations, that were ensured by a 10 m buffer delimited around each 2006 coordinates and within this buffer sampling plots were re-located in 2019. We re-confirm all the previous high-mountain wetland vegetation plots, but detected changes of vegetation composition as: 1) an increase in both cover and diversity of vascular plants accompanied by decreasing of bryophytes mainly at the expense of Sphagnum species for the sub-alpine mires of Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae; and 2) a reverse tendency towards an increase in the cover and diversity of bryophytes in the lower mountain belts for the wet meadows of class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. According to the observed plant species composition changes for this 13-year period in Vitosha Mtn., the sub-alpine mire vegetation “tend to get dryer”, while lower wet meadow grasslands have become closer to mire vegetation. The high-mountain wetlands preservation is important for both the biodiversity conservation and for the long-term monitoring on vegetation and climate perspectives.

Low Richness of Invasive Non‐Native Plants in New Zealand Indigenous Forests May Not Reflect Low Impact

ABSTRACTAimIdentifying habitats vulnerable to plant invasions is essential for developing efficient management programmes. We assessed trends in richness and cover of non‐native plants in indigenous shrublands and forests across New Zealand. We investigated whether species classed as invasive species exhibited higher levels of plant invasion than naturalised species and the extent to which this reflected plant life form.LocationNew Zealand.Time PeriodFrom January 2009 to March 2014.Major Taxa StudiedPlant.MethodsWe analysed 839 permanent 20 × 20 m plots spread across New Zealand that could be classified to a recognised forest type: mānuka‐kānuka shrubland, beech, beech‐broadleaved, beech‐broadleaved‐podocarp and broadleaved‐podocarp forests. Generalised additive models were run with native canopy richness or cover and spatial coordinates as co‐variables in order to compare non‐native plant richness and cover across forest types in relation to their invasive status and growth form.ResultsOverall, 35% of the plots had at least one non‐native species. Mānuka‐kānuka shrubland exhibited the highest mean non‐native richness (11 species) and cover (32%) with broadleaved‐podocarp forest presenting the next highest invasion level but to a much lesser extent (1.7 species and 3% cover). Despite presenting overall greater non‐native richness, naturalised species had lower cover than invasive species (4.2%, 13.5%, respectively). This pattern was mainly related to non‐native woody species that, despite their low richness, can reach greater cover than herbaceous species once established.Main ConclusionsDespite half the New Zealand flora being composed of non‐native plant species, relatively few were found in forest habitats. However, indigenous shrubland and early successional forests showed higher vulnerability to plant invasion. Woody species, which are overrepresented among invasive species, had higher cover than herbaceous species and were less limited by native canopy cover. Such findings highlight the threat posed by non‐native woody species and the need for more targeted management programmes.

The effect of mycorrhiza-inoculated succession-planted main crop (maize-wheat) and cover crop rotation on soil organic carbon

There has long been intense pressure on input-based traditional agriculture due to the rising need for food. These kinds of agricultural techniques result in poorly managed soil-plant interactions that ultimately affect all living activities and human health by altering and destroying the soil's natural structure, rendering it infertile, and degrading soil quality. Research was carried out a study to find out how mycorrhizae-inoculated cover crops affected soil quality and growth metrics. The study to pot experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions. Five different plant combinations (cover crop) patterns were inoculated with selected and indigenous mycorrhizae spores that were isolated from the rhizosphere soils of plants grown in three degraded soils. Five different cover plant combinations, such as A: Clover, Grass, Onion; B: Faba Bean, Grass, Safflower; C: Clover, Grass, Safflower, Faba Bean, Onion; D: Maize; and E: Wheat, were planted in 7 kg soil-containing pots with three replications. The seeds of different plants were planted per m2 surface of each pot, with the number of seeds per pot calculated depending on their sowing amount per hectare. Sixty days after planting, the plants were harvested by cutting 0.5 cm above the soil surface with scissors. In the second rotation experiment, after the harvest of the first rotation experiment, maize (Zea mays L.) was planted on the A, B, C, and D patterns, and wheat was planted on the E pattern. In the third rotation, wheat was sown on all pots after the second maize harvest. As a result of successive three-pot experiments on the same soils, were analyzed for the soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations. In general, treatments with Funneliformis mosseae followed by indigenous mycorrhiza spores led to an increase in soil OC concentration compared to control treatments. SOC concentrations in Havutlu and Arık soils were higher than those in Avadan soil. Avadan is a highly eroded soil and has high lime content, high pH, and low soil fertility. When consecutively planted trials are examined, the soil SOC concentration increased from the first trial to the last trial for all soils. The obtained SOC results seem to partially support the research hypothesis. The results revealed that poorly managed soil requires rehabilitations with various combinations of cover crops.

Long-term monitoring of woody plants of Doñana shrublands (SW Spain) from 2008 to 2023.

The long-term monitoring of the plant cover of Doñana shrublands is part of a harmonised protocol for the Long-term Ecological Monitoring Programme of Natural Resources and Processes targeting Terrestrial Vegetation. The general aim of this protocol is to monitor and assess the dynamics and trends of shrubland plant communities in Doñana. For shrublands, percentage cover is recorded annually, starting in 2008, by the Doñana Long-Term Monitoring Team in one field sampling campaign per year during the flowering season (between March and May) across 21 permanent square plots (15 m x 15 m). Permanent plots were located according to stratified random sampling according to the topographic gradient defining the main shrubland species dominance in the Doñana Biological Reserve. Cover is measured using the line intercept method in three transects inside the plots of 15 m length, orientated from west to east and located at fixed points of 2.5, 7.5 and 12.5 metres on both sides of the plot. Using the line-intercept method, the coverage of each species per individual is measured with a measuring tape, recording its class age (adult or seedling) and canopy status (green or dry) as a living or dead specimen. The average plant height is recorded for every transect. This method enables the calculation of the total percentage cover per species and plant density for transects and plots, as well as the total percentage cover per class age and the total percentage cover of dry and green canopies and bare soil. The annual species richness and diversity of woody plants can also be calculated for every plot. This paper presents the latest published version of the standardised dataset of percent cover per woody plant species of Doñana long-term monitoring plots available at GBIF.org.

ANALYSIS OF VEGETATION COVER IN COMMUNITIES OF UZHGOROD DISTRICT BASED ON NBR-INDEX VALUES

An important resource of the Uzhgorod district and its fourteen territorial communities is the plant cover, which is characterized by a significant phytocenotic diversity. The landscapes of the Uzhgorod district have been undergone significant anthropogenic changes, especially in the flat part, where agricultural lands with mainly arable land and pastures. Numerous vegetation indices are used for the monitoring of the vegetation cover condition using remote sensing data, among which NBR is the normalized burn ratio index. Such an index is an informative quantitative indicator of the state of vegetation in general and as a result of the impact of fires in particular. To calculate and compare the NBR index, images with minimum cloud cover for August-September 2023 were used. The selected period is due to the temperature peak and seasonal burning of dry vegetation. Also, at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, the harvesting of cereals and other agricultural crops begins, as a result of which there is a significant decrease in vegetation cover, which affects the reflectivity of the surface and the value of the NBR index. The values of community areas with negative values of the NBR index and their correlation with the total area and population were analyzed.

Bioguided isolation and identification of the protodioscin isomers from Brachiaria ruziziensis L. as inhibitors of growth of Euphorbia heterophylla L.

A bioguided identification of the phytotoxic compounds of the Brachiaria ruziziensis L. on the weed species Euphorbia heterophylla L. was conducted. From the butanolic fraction of B. ruziziensis it was separated an active subfraction (Subfraction III) that was demonstrated to contain the steroidal saponins. These substances were determined as protodioscin and protonedioscin by 1H and 13C NMR analysis. b-ethyl glucose was also identified, but it represented only 2.4% of the subfraction III. The effects of pure protodioscin were very similar to those caused by Fraction III or saponins isolated from B. ruziziensis. Root length was the most sensitive variable and the germination indices were little modified. The calculated ID50 for primary root inhibition was 390.1 ± 112.7 µg/ml and 359.5 ± 44.6 µg/ml for saponins and pure protodioscin, respectively. b-ethyl glucose did not cause significant modifications in the germination and seedling growth when assayed at a concentration range of 100 to 1000 µg/ml. These results suggest that protodioscin isomers are the causative compounds of the inhibitory effects on growth of E. heterophylla. These compounds are possibly involved in the reported ability of B. ruziziensis in reducing the emergence and the growth of weed species when used as a cover plants. This finding confirms the potential of the utilization of B. ruziziensis for weed management options in the field.

The Impact of Exogenous Organic Matter on the Properties of Humus Compounds of Soils Developing on a Reclaimed Fly Ash Landfill

Fly ash does not contain organic matter to initiate soil-forming processes and the proper development of plant cover. Therefore, in the reclamation of fly ash landfills, an integrated approach is required, including the introduction of exogenous organic matter into the top layer of ash. This study assessed changes in the content and quality of organic matter in soils developing on a reclaimed fly ash landfill. This study included reclaimed areas without the introduction of EOM (RV_1—the direct introduction of plants) and with the introduction of EOM (RV_2—surface humus and RV_3—sewage sludge). In samples taken 15 years after reclamation, the contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN), the fractional composition of organic matter, the susceptibility of organic matter to oxidation, and soil carbon management indices (carbon pool index (CPI), C lability (L), lability index (LI), and carbon management index (CMI)) were determined. The study results showed that the use of EOM in the reclamation of the ash dump significantly increased the content and improved the quality parameters of organic matter and thus influenced the initiation of the process of organic matter accumulation. In RV_1 soil, the accumulation of carbon resources was only found in the topsoil. An increase in carbon resources in the 15–40 cm layer was only noted in the variants in which EOM was introduced (RV_2 and RV_3). Carbon management indices showed that organic matter transformations covered only the top layers of these soils and were closely related to the EOM inflow. The interdependence of the CPI and L was most beneficial in the soil reclaimed with sewage sludge. In the soil of this reclaiming variant, the CMI had a value above 100, which indicates the initiation of the soil-forming process. Significant differences between the assessed reclamation variants were confirmed by means of PCA based on organic matter quality indicators. The organic matter content and quality indicators were the most favorable in the soil of variant RV_3. The obtained results confirmed that the introduction of EOM into the top layer of fly ash has a beneficial effect on the accumulation and quality indicators of organic matter and thus on the development of the soil-forming process in Technosols developing on a reclaimed fly ash landfill.

Microbial diversity and cover plants in de-sealed urban soil as strategies for mitigating anthropogenic volatile organic compounds

Urbanization exacerbates soil degradation, compromising global soil health and biodiversity. To reduce this, strategies for soil de-sealing and bioremediation are necessary. In a mesocosm experiment using a de-sealed soil from an urban site as substrate, an inoculum of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and two cover plants, Cynara cardunculus L. and Trifolium repens L., were utilized to assess their effects on volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and soil microbial community dynamics. The soil status was investigated employing soil VOC and metabarcoding analyses. Our results showed that the soil VOC emission was mainly composed by anthropogenic derived VOCs, especially arene and furan classes. These two classes were shown to be less concentrated in C. cardunculus soils, with and without AM fungal inoculation, suggesting a positive impact of these conditions on soil health restoration. Additionally, AM fungal inoculation of C. cardunculus resulted in increased bacterial alpha diversity, with enhanced Proteobacteria/Acidobacteria, Cyanobacteria/Chloroflexi, and Fungi/Bacteria ratios, suggesting an improvement in soil quality conditions. In our experimental conditions, order Chloroflexales and specific bacterial genera, including Ralstonia, Delftia, Ramlibacter, were identified as contributors to VOC degradation, highlighting their adaptability in contaminated environments. Overall, this study provided evidence on the importance of integrating AM fungal inoculation and specific flowerbed/ornamental plants in urban soil management after de-sealing processes.

Evaluating restoration success using metric‐based indicators of ecosystem recovery in tidal marshes along the northern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract Habitat restoration is commonly used to recover ecosystem services, but due to resource constraints, post‐project monitoring often fails to fully evaluate the recovery of important ecosystem functions. Metric‐based indicators use simple‐to‐measure variables to assess ecosystem health and function, thereby providing a time‐ and cost‐effective method to improve monitoring. We used a tidal‐marsh data set to develop metric‐based indicators of ecosystem recovery. In 2021 and 2022, we surveyed eight restored/created and three natural reference tidal marshes in the northern Gulf of Mexico to assess the recovery of ecosystem attributes (e.g. above‐ and below‐ground biomass, soil organic matter [SOM] and sediment total carbon [C] and total nitrogen [N]). To determine what combinations of variables best predicted recovery, we split our data into model training and testing data sets, used backwards model selection and then created and tested a metric‐based indicator of ecosystem recovery. Recovery of plant above‐ and below‐ground biomass and sediment structure (i.e. SOM, C and N)—important measures of wetland carbon sink capacity and biogeochemical functioning—could be predicted through a combination of simpler to measure variables, such as time since restoration, percent plant cover and sediment bulk density. The indicator constructed from these relationships was highly effective in predicting the development of ecosystem attributes (r = 0.85, p < 0.001). Synthesis and applications. This indicator approach provides an effective but simple method to assess the recovery of ecosystem attributes in tidal marshes, and it can be used to develop similar indicators in other ecosystems. By overcoming resource constraints of post‐project monitoring, metric‐based indicators of ecosystem recovery may serve as a key strategy to improve restoration outcomes.

Monitoring Fritillaria meleagris (Liliaceae) na nowym stanowisku w Zaleskiej Woli (województwo podkarpackie)

The paper presents a new locality of Fritillaria meleagris L. in Zaleska Wola (Podkarpackie Province). The observations were conducted on a wet hay meadow with an area of about 1 ha. The study, conducted in 2023–2024, focused on the analysis of habitat conditions and plant cover, as well as the determination of the number of generative F. meleagris individuals. The species was found in an area of 1784 m2 in the central part of the meadow. The soil was slightly acidic (pH 5.9) with an average moisture content of 12.1%. The average height of the herbaceous vegetation was 70.4 cm. A total of 81 vascular plant species were recorded, of which three were classified as invasive kenophytes (Rudbeckia laciniata, Rumex confertus and Solidago gigantea). There were four species included in the list of protected species and the Polish red list of pteridophytes and flowering plants (F. meleagris, Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. incarnata, Ophioglossum vulgatum, and Dactylorhiza majalis). The phytocenoses were classified into the Cirsietum rivularis association. The well-developed moist meadow showed a high species richness (on average 38 species recorded in the phytosociological relevé), with a high proportion of characteristic species (including Cirsium rivulare, F. meleagris, Myosotis palustris, and D. majalis). The population size of F. meleagris was 247 and 383 generative individuals in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The new locality is currently being used properly (mown only once in July, together with biomass collection), but it may be threatened by habitat drying and invasive species encroachment.

Satellite Gravimetry in Studies of Permafrost Thawing and Vegetation Productivity in the Cryolithozone

Changes in the hydrothermal regime of soils caused by the melting of the permafrost layer are the most important ecological factor in the dynamics of vegetation in the cryolithozone. The impact of soil thawing on the growth index (GI) of larch (Larix spp.) and on the gross and net primary productivity (GPP and NPP) of vegetation in the Arctic region of Central Siberia (sparse forests, tundra, and forest tundra) is investigated. The following hypotheses are tested: (1) gravimetric data allow us to assess the dynamics of water mass in soils; (2) thawing of frozen soils stimulates the growth of woody plants and the productivity of vegetation. This work uses methods of dendrochronology, field data, satellite gravimetry (GRACE survey), and remote sensing of GPP (Terra/MODIS survey). An analysis of gravimetric data has revealed a significant long-term trend of decreasing water mass in soils of the cryolithozone (R2 = 0.68). The amount of water released during melting is estimated at 6.4 ± 2.3 kg/m–2 per year. A close relationship was established between the GI of larch and GPP with moisture anomalies in soils (r = –0.7 and r = –0.9, respectively). The increasing temperature of the root zone and the deficit of water vapor moisture also have a positive effect on the GI of larch and the GPP value of vegetation as a whole (r = 0.6 and r = 0.6–0.9, respectively). It is established that pyrogenic carbon losses are significantly (two orders of magnitude) lower than the NPP value. Under conditions of waterlogged soils, which are typical for the Arctic, climate warming is accompanied by an improvement in the hydrothermal growth regime of the plant cover and contributes to an increase in the productivity of vegetation and the preservation of the cryolithozone status of a carbon sink area.

Fuel models for forest soil cover plant

Abstract This study presents the development and application of forest fuel models to predict fire behaviour in different forest habitats, focusing on biomass distribution, moisture variability and the calorific value of soil cover components. On analysing forest fire data from 2007 to 2013, we identified high-risk habitats, especially in younger stands and in stands dominated by Scots pine. The variability of moisture in the different soil cover components, including litter and deadwood, was statistically analysed; it revealed significant dependencies on litter moisture and rain-free intervals. These dependencies allowed the creation of equations to accurately predict fuel load and moisture content based on stand age, habitat type and environmental conditions. Using the calorific value measurements with an average calorific value of 18,920 kJ/kg for dry soil cover materials, fuel models were developed to estimate the potential intensity of fires. The models categorise the biomass into decayed, dead and live components and take into account key variables such as bulk density and moisture content that influence fire spread. Data-driven categorisation enables fire risk assessments at the compartment level, which increases accuracy compared to more comprehensive district-level assessments. Applications of fuel models include mapping the spatial distribution of biomass by fuel type, creating fire hazard maps and optimising firefighting infrastructure. These models support planning and operations by enabling forest managers to visualise high-risk areas and predict fire behaviour based on real-time meteorological data. The models are a critical step towards a more effective firefighting system that provides fine-grained, actionable insights into fire risk at the local level.