Leaf Size Classes Research Articles

Floristic Composition and Ecological Characteristics of Tehsil Samar Bagh District Lower Dir

Usually identification of the flora all over the world is considered to be important and necessary because it plays a vital role to reserve National flora. The current study was conducted to explore and asses the floristic composition and ecological characteristics of Samar bagh District Dir lower along with their family, botanical name, habit, life form and leaf size classes. The flora of Tehsil Samar bagh comprises up of 120 species belonging 49 families. These 49 families consist of 6 gymnosperm species of family Pinaceae and Cuperassesceae, 8 monocot species of family Amaryllidaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and 104 dicot species of 44 different families. As per the plant habit, there are 75 species of herb, 13 species of shrub and 32 species of tree. The leading and well-expressed family was Asteraceae attending 12 taxa, followed by Rosaceae with 10, Solanaceae with 9, papilionaceae with 7, Moraceae and Poaceae with 5, Fagaceae, Brassicaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae and Amaranthaceae contributing 4 plant species. The Life form and leaf size classes were managed by Raunkiaers system which displays that the headmost life form class was therophytes with 47 species, followed by nanophanerophytes with 21 species, chamaephytes with 13, and then by megaphanerophytes, hemicryptophytes, Geophyte and microphanerophytes. In leaf size classes leading class was microphyll representing 38 species followed by mesophyll with 37, nanophyll 24, macrophyll 9, leptophyll 7 and megaphyll with 5 species. Therophytes were observed dominant with high percentage, demonstrating that this area is a part of semi-arid zone of Khyber Pakhtunkhwah, Pakistan and indigenous people of this area thoroughly and extensively demolish and uproot the plants for burning purposes.

Floristic composition, biological spectrum, and phytogeographic distribution of the Bin Dara Dir, in the western boundary of Pakistan

This study assessed the floristic composition, biological spectrum, and phytogeographical elements of the Bin Dara western boundary of Pakistan. The flora consisted of 140 plant species belonging to 47 families. The most dominant family was Poaceae (with 14 species), followed by Asteraceae (11 species). The biological spectrum showed the therophytes (71 species, 50.71%) as the dominant life form class, followed by mega-phanerophytes (27 species, 19.28%), nano-phanerophytes (15 species, 10.71%), geophytes (10 species, 7.14%), chamaephytes (9 species, 6.42%), and hemi-cryptophytes (8 species, 5.71%). Leaf size classes comprised of nanophylls (48 species, 34.28%), microphylls (32 species, 22.85%), mesophylls (22 species, 15.71%), macrophylls (17 species, 12.14%), leptophylls (12 species, 8.57), megaphylls (8 species, 5.75%), and aphyllous (1 species, 0.71%). Cosmopolitan was the most prominent form of phytogeographic elements (with 17 species, 12.14%), followed by pantropical and Euro-Siberian Mediterranean Irano-Turanian (14 species, 10%) each. The pluriregional represented (13 species, 9.28%), Holarctic and Mediterranean Irano-Turanian (10 species, 7.14%), Irano-Turanian and Western Himalayan (9 species, 6.42%) each. It is recommended that further study is needed to map the vegetation, its indicators, and rare species that face a huge threat of endangerment.

Assessment of the Floristic Composition, Biological Spectrum, Leaf Size Spectra and Traditional Conservation Management of A Sacred Grove in West Midnapore District, West Bengal, India

Sacred grove is fine example of community based nature conservation without any external support. Various plants and animals that are threatened in the forest are well conserved within these patches. In this viewpoint, the present study was carried out to exploring the biological spectrum, leaf size spectra, conservation status, management and utilization of the existing vegetation of a sacred grove, namely Joypur Joysini Matar Than (JJMT) the West Midnapore district of West Bengal state in India. Floristic list of the study area revealed that the vegetation of JJMT was diverse and composed of 177 species belonging to 165 genera distributed in 59 families from 31 orders according to APG IV classification. The dominant order and family in terms of species richness were Lamiales (23 species) and Fabaceae (16 species) respectively. Biological spectrum showed the study area was classified as “therochamaephytic” type of phytoclimate. As regards the leaf size spectra, mesophyll (23.16%) was found to be higher than other leaf size classes. The study area being a sacred grove may be well protected by further understanding its importance to the ecosystem of the locality and its useful resources for the future as well.

Floristic diversity and utility of flora of district Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The District Charsadda has a wide diversification with nature beauty and greenery. The area has rich biodiversity and natural resources. The District is geographically organized into two primary parts: Hashtnagar and Do Aaba. Research was carried out during 2017–18, in blooming season to collect different taxa from the area. The study depicted 253 taxa floristically with 189 genera and 71 families in which 4 families were pteridiophytes, 3 were gymnosperms and 64 were angiospermic families included 11 Monocot and 53 Dicot. The number of taxa per family varies from 1 to 56. Poaceae was the leading family in term of number of genera and species with 36 genera (19.04%) and 56 species (22.13%) followed by Asteraceae with 15 genera (7.936%) and 17 species (6.719%). The important groups in terms of species percentage were Dicots with a share of (53 species) followed by Monocots (11 species), Pteridophytes (5 species) and Gymnosperms (4 species). Herbaceous layer consists of 173 species (68.37%) followed by trees 46 species (18.18%), 25 species (9.881%) were shrub, 8 species (3.162%) were climbers and only 1 species (0.395%) was parasitic in the area. Biological spectrum depicted that Therophytes (126 species, 49.80%) and Microphyll (78 species, 30.83%) were the leading life form and leaf size classes. Ethnobotanical study proved that majority of species 164 were used as fodder/forage, 27 species were fruits, 28 species were vegetables, 28 species ornamental, 47 species fuel, 66 species were medicinals, 21 species used as timber, 8 species for thatching, 29 species for insect attractant and only 4 species used as spices (condiments) while some species have no local use in research area like Dryopteris stewartii, Equisetum arvense L., Marsilea L., Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, and Potamogeton nodosus Poir. This is the first ever record of the area, no prior work exists in this regard. This work might help for future intensive and extensive researches.

Floristic composition, biological spectrum and phenological pattern of vegetation in the subtropical forest of Kotli District, AJK, Pakistan

A comprehensive floristic survey of Kotli District, Azad Jammu and Kashmir was conducted during 2014-2016 to analyse phytodiversity and ecological characteristics of plant resources. The flora comprised of 202 plant species distributed among 71 families and 176 genera. Of these, 6 species were pteridophytes, 1 species was a gymnosperm, 159 species were dicotyledons and 36 species were monocotyledons. Based on species numbers, Asteraceae (23 Spp), Poaceae (20 Spp), Fabaceae (15 Spp), Labiatae (11 Spp), and Euphorbiaceae (07 Spp) were the leading families. Based on biological spectrum, therophytes (73 Spp., 36.14 %) were dominant followed by hemicryptophytes (19.31%), nanophanerophytes (13.37%), geophytes (10.40%), lianas (7.92%), chamaephytes (7.43%) and megaphanerophytes (5.45%). Nanophylls (36.14%), leptophylls (26.73%) and microphylls (26.24%) were the major leaf size classes. Phenological study revealed four different flowering seasons, with April the peak flowering month during which 122 species blossomed. This current study will provide essential baseline information for ecologists, taxonomists and conservationists to carry out more detailed ecological investigations and conservation management planning for the plant resources of this area. Keywords: Floristic list; Life form; Leaf spectra; Phenology; Kotli http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2017.60043

Resolving Australian analogs for an Eocene Patagonian paleorainforest using leaf size and floristics.

• The diverse early Eocene flora from Laguna del Hunco (LH) in Patagonia, Argentina has many nearest living relatives (NLRs) in Australasia but few in South America, indicating the differential survival of an ancient, trans-Antarctic rainforest biome. To better understand this significant biogeographic pattern, we used detailed comparisons of leaf size and floristics to quantify the legacy of LH across a large network of Australian rainforest-plot assemblages.• We applied vein scaling, a new method for estimating the original areas of fragmented leaves. We then compared leaf size and floristics at LH with living Australian assemblages and tabulated the climates of those where NLRs occur, along with additional data on climatic ranges of "ex-Australian" NLRs that survive outside of Australia.• Vein scaling estimated areas as accurately as leaf-size classes. Applying vein scaling to fossil fragments increased the grand mean area of LH by 450 mm(2), recovering more originally large leaves. The paleoflora has a majority of microphyll leaves, comparable to leaf litter in subtropical Australian forests, which also have the greatest floristic similarity to LH. Tropical Australian assemblages also share many taxa with LH, and ex-Australian NLRs mostly inhabit cool, wet montane habitats no longer present in Australia.• Vein scaling is valuable for improving the resolution of fossil leaf-size distributions by including fragmented specimens. The legacy of LH is evident not only in subtropical and tropical Australia but also in tropical montane Australasia and Southeast Asia, reflecting the disparate histories of surviving Gondwanan lineages.

Diversity of Life Form And Leaf Size Classes at Sheikh Buddin National Park, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Identification of flora is generally considered necessary around the globe, as it plays an important role to maintain the national reserves of the area. The research work was design to study the floristic composition and their biological characteristics at Sheikh Buddin National Park, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. One hundred and seven plant species belonged to 90 genera's and 49 families were collected. Of which, 26 species were trees, 20 species of shrubs, 53 species of herbs while 8 species of grasses. On the basis of life form, Therophytes were dominant with 37 plant species followed by Cryptophytes 24 species, Microphanerophyte 14 species, Phanrophytes and Hemicryptophytes both with 11 species and Nanophanerophytes with 10 plant species were recorded. Majority of leaf size spectrum of the plants species of study area, occupied by nanophylls (36%) followed by microphylls (23%). Fewer number of species (4%) were found with macrophylls and megaphyllus types of leaves.

English

  Community structure is a key marker of long-term vegetation change in ecosystem. In the present investigation, 11 plant communities were recorded in plains area. The cluster analysis gives rise to 5 groups on the basis of important value and 4 groups on basis of soil. The vegetation changed with change of distance. As a whole in plains, the CZS community was developed. There were 6 tree, 7 shrub and 19 herb species. The Importance value contributed by three dominants species was 79.5. The contribution by tree was 50.6, shrubs (IV = 62.06) and herbs (IV = 187.3). The soil texture was found from sandy clay to sandy clay loam. These results emphasize the continuous need for long-term ground-based ecological monitoring in conjunction with satellite-based monitoring of changes in vegetation cover.   Key words: Altitudinal effect, community, soil, plains, life form, leaf size classes.

Functional trait state diversity of Andean forests in Venezuela changes with altitude

AbstractQuestionIt is presumed that environmental stress is more pronounced at higher altitudes in Andean forests due to lower rates of temperature‐constrained processes of growth, nutrient uptake and decomposition. Because community assembly theory predicts a low variation in viable traits under conditions of strong ecological filtering, we asked if the diversity in plant traits related to productivity and reproduction would decrease upslope.LocationGuaramacal National Park in the Andes of Venezuela (9°05‐21′N, 70°‐20′W).MethodsWe studied altitudinal patterns in the number of trait states of seven categorical traits found among vascular plants (DBH ≥ 2.5 cm) in 35 0.1‐ha plots between 1330 and 2890 m. Information on plant traits was obtained from literature and herbaria. To test the altitudinal correlations, we permuted the plot‐to‐species matrix by randomly selecting species from the entire species pool (conserving the species richness and the species–abundance pattern in each plot), applying no restrictions and by creating plot‐wise null assemblages of species that most likely occurred near a particular plot. In addition, the altitudinal pattern of trait states was examined using fourth‐corner analysis.ResultsBoth null model tests yielded similar results. The trait state diversity in fruit size decreased upslope. Plants with small fruits were mostly, but not exclusively, found at higher altitudes, whereas plants with large fruits occurred only at lower elevations. Leaf size showed more states at higher altitudes but this pattern disappeared when rare leaf size classes were down‐weighted. The upslope decrease in fruit size might be explained by the relatively low tree height of the upper montane rain forests, the increased selection for large seeds at high temperatures downslope, and the upslope decrease of large‐leaved taxa (in view of Corner's rule).ConclusionsThe functional diversity of important plant traits changed with altitude at Guaramacal. Altitudinal effects on plant trait responses should be controlled for in studies that monitor the degradation of functional diversity in Andean forests in relation to human influence.

Comparative morphology of populations of Monstera Adans. (Araceae) from natural forest fragments in Northeast Brazil using elliptic Fourier Analysis of leaf outlines

A comparative study of the leaf outline morphometrics of Monstera adansonii var. klotzschiana, M. adansonii var. laniata and M. praetermissa was carried out. The study focused on populations in isolated montane humid (brejo) forests of Ceara state in Northeast Brazil and compared them with populations from Amazonia and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Digitised outlines were prepared from a total of 1,695 field-collected leaf images from 20 populations, and elliptic Fourier analysis was used to generate matrices of coefficients, from which six shape variables (principal components) were extracted using Principal Components Analysis. Intra-population variability and inter-population differences were analysed with multivariate distance methods. Separate analyses were carried out for each of three leaf size classes (juvenile, submature, mature) because of the strong heteroblasty typical of this genus. Juvenile leaves were the least variable size class within populations of M. adansonii var. klotzschiana. The shape variables expressed very similar types of variation in all three size classes. The Ceara brejo populations of M. adansonii var. klotzschiana showed significant differences between mature leaf outlines in all pairwise comparisons; the Pacatuba population was the most distinct. The Ceara populations did not cluster together exclusively. In all three size classes, populations clustered together into their taxonomic groups, most clearly so in mature leaves. No correlation between morphological and geographic distance matrices was found, nor between morphological and molecular distance. The study showed that leaf outline shape is a practicable and useful quantitative trait for studying morphological variability at species, varietal and population levels.

Leaf size spectra of tree species in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Western Ghats

Leaf size spectra of tree species were investigated in Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka. A total of 189 tree species have been identified from the 96 sample points, covering all vegetation types. The identified species were assigned to different leaf size classes based on Raunkiaer’s leaf size classification. Majority of the species belongs to the mesophyll leaf size class (83.87%). Only deciduous vegetation exhibits all leaf size classes. Evergreen vegetation has highest percentage of mesophyll leaf size class (89.53) followed by semi-evergreen (85.47), moist deciduous (84.55) and least in dry deciduous vegetation type (76.27). Other leaf parameters were also analyzed and a strong correlation was found with vegetation types.

Classification of Plant Species in Tehsil Katlang, District Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan

The study was designed to classify the plant species on the basis of different aspect. The plants were classified into different life form and leaf size classes. The flora consisted of 165 plant species belonging to 124 genera and 54 families. Asteraceae and Poaceae are the dominant families. The biological spectrum explains that therophytes (78 spp., 47.27%) were the dominant followed by chamaephytes (29 spp., 17.58%). In leaf size classes the microphylls (78 spp., 47.27%) were dominant followed by mesophylls (34 spp., 20.61%). Analysis of the study reveals the phytoclimate to be of therophytic type. The domination of therophytes indicates that the investigated area is under deep biotic stress.

Several considerations on Early Sarmatian Flora from Bursuk, Republic of Moldavia

AbstractThe author presents a braod analysis of different aspects concerning the flora (relations between palaeotropical — arctotertiary, entire leaves — dentate leaves, trees — shrubs — lianas — herbs, leaf size classes), the taphonomy palaeobiotopes, palaeobiocoenosis, and the palaeoclimate of the early Sarmatian flora from Bursuk, Republic of Moldavia.

Altitudinal distribution of evergreen broad-leaved trees and their leaf-size pattern on a humid subtropical mountain, Mt. Emei, Sichuan, China

Altitudinal distribution of evergreen broad-leaved trees and changes in their leaf sizes were studied on a humid subtropical mountain, Mt. Emei (3099 m a.s.l., 29°34.5′ N, 103°21.5′ E), Sichuan, China. Among the total woody flora of ca. 540 species, evergreen broad-leaved trees account for 88 species in 39 genera and 23 families, corresponding to the northern limit of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved trees. The number of evergreen broad-leaved tree species greatly decreased from the low-altitudinal, evergreen broad-leaved forest zone (600–1500 m) to the mid-altitudinal, mixed forest zone (1500–2500 m), and to the high-altitudinal, coniferous forest zone (2500–3099 m). The overall trend of reduced leaf size toward upper zones was analyzed and documented in detail. The 88 species were assigned to three leaf-size classes: notophylls (48%), microphylls (36%), and mesophylls (16%). The leaf size was relatively small and the specific leaf weight (SLW, mg cm−2) was much larger in high altitude as compared to low altitude. No overall correlation was found between leaf size and SLW, but leaf size decreased as SLW increased toward high altitude for certain species having relatively wide altitudinal ranges. Moreover, leaf size varied with forest stratification: canopy trees were predominantly notophyllous species, while subcanopy and understorey trees were mainly microphyllous species. The tendency is compatible with the trend found in other mountains of East Asia.

Leaf size zonation pattern of woody species along an altitudinal gradient on Mt. Pulog, Philippines

Leaf size zonation along an altitudinal gradient from 2000–2700 m a.s.l. on Mt. Pulog, Cordillera mountain range, Luzon Is., Philippines was examined using the Raunkiaer-Webb classification system. The entire altitudinal range studied was dominated by the small leaf size classes which possess thick, lustrous, pubescent leaves adapted to high evapotranspiration, cold temperature and other stressful conditions. Altitudinal leaf size zonation was identified as follows: (1) pure needle leaved zone from 2000–2300 m a.s.l., (2) mixed needle leaved/microphyllous zone from 2300–2400 m a.s.l., (3) microphyllous zone from 2400–2600 m a.s.l. and, (4) microphyllous/nanophyllous zone from 2600–2700 m a.s.l., coinciding with the altitudinal vegetation zonation. This pattern is different from that in other tropical mountains, which usually show a gradual shift from a mesophyllous zone in the lowland to a nanophyllous zone in the upper subalpine. Stressful conditions such as steep topography (1200–2300 m a.s.l.), cloud cover, decrease of temperature, strong winds (2600–2700 m a.s.l.) could have influenced the altitudinal leaf size zonation on Mt. Pulog. The complex phytogeographical position of Mt. Pulog as a transition region between the tropics and subtropics have also influenced leaf size zonation as in eastern Himalaya, southwestern China and Taiwan.

Measurement of tree canopy architecture

Abstract The lack of accurate, extensive geometric data on tree canopies has retarded development and validation of radiative transfer models. Wc have devised a stratified sampling method to measure the three-dimensional geometry of 16 walnut trees which had received irrigation treatments of either 100 or 33 per cent of evapotranspirational (ET) demand for the previous two years. Graphic reconstructions of the three-dimensional geometry were verified by 58 independent measurements. The distributions of stem- and leaf-size classes, lengths. and angle classes were determined and used to calculate leaf area index (LAI), stem area, and biomass. Reduced irrigation trees have lower biomass of stems, leaves and fruit, lower LAI, steeper leaf angles and altered biomass allocation to large stems. These data can be used in ecological models that link canopy processes with remotely sensed measurements.

Leaf size and leaf consistence of a riverine forest formation along a climatic gradient.

The riverine forest formation on the levees along the Orange River in South Africa shows a shift in floristic composition as the river traverses various climatic zones on its course through the temperate area in the eastern parts of the subcontinent, the central semi-desert region, and the desert area near the Atlantic in the west. Leaf size classes and leaf consistency types of the woody species in the riverine forest were determined for each community. Analysis of these data revealed a diversification of leaf sizes as the climate changed from temperate to hot and arid and particularly microphylls became relatively less important and were replaced by smaller leaves in the hot areas. In the same direction malacophylls, which are of the "low-cost, quick-profit" strategy type and are well represented in the temperate, frosty areas, disappear and xeromorphic leaves ("high-cost, slow-profit" strategy type) increase in importance. It is suggested that the cooler conditions with higher wind speeds and higher degrees of average air humidity near the Atlantic coast are reflected by an increase in mesophylls which are sclerophyllous as an adaptation to the frequently and rapidly changing temperature conditions here.

A Further Application of Length‐Width Values to the Determination of Leaf‐Size Classes

A Further Application of Length‐Width Values to the Determination of Leaf‐Size Classes

Life Forms and Leaf Size Classes of Certain Plant Communities of the Cincinnati Region

The influence of the climatic factors, temperature and rainfall, on plant formations, species distribution and vegetative structures is pronounced. The effect of edaphic and physiographic features is just as striking on a somewhat lesser scale. Rainfall and temperature determine the major formations as desert, grassland and forest. Edaphic and topographic characteristics produce local variations within these formations. Exposure, run-off and soil type may be conducive to the persistence of associations within major plant communities which are totally unlike the climatic climax or its seres. The several groups within a given climatic region, as the climatic climax, the physiographic climaxes, and relict colonies, exhibit a lack of similarity in matters other than species composition. The physiognomy and general gross physical structure differ in a greater or lesser degree from association type to association type. The work discussed in this paper is an effort to deal in a detailed statistical manner with these differences by means of leaf size and life form classifications of the plants of such diverse communities within the Cincinnati region. The methods of Raunkiaer (4, 7) are used as a basis, with certain slight modifications which have been made to render his classifications more suitable.