Represented Life Form Research Articles

Weed flora of common crops in desert reclaimed arable lands of southern Egypt

The weed flora of common crops of the desert reclaimed arable lands in southern Egypt was studied. Field data were collected from three major crops: wheat as a winter crop, millet as summer crop and alfa-alfa as a perennial crop. 146 stands (fields) from 8 sites in Qena Governorate were permanently visited during 2013 and 2014. A total of 169 species (105 annuals, 64 perennials) of the vascular plants belonged to 121 genera in 39 families constituted the flora of the study area. The most species-rich families were Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Euphorbiaceae. Annual herbs were the best represented life form, followed by annual grasses, trees and perennial shrubs. Ballochore and pogonochore were the most represented dispersal types of seeds, while cyclochore and auxochore were the least represented. 26 species were categorized as dominants (highest Q-values), where they have a wide ecological range of distribution. Classification of the associated vegetation in 146 stands by cluster analysis yielded 5 vegetation groups (A-E); the vegetation groups A and E were mainly represented by weeds in wheat and alfa-alfa (winter season), while most the stands of groups B, C and D were represented by species in millet and alfa-alfa (summer season). These groups were separated along the first two axes of Bray-Curtis ordination.

Checklist of the vascular flora of Reserva Biológica San Luis, Costa Rica

The Reserva Biológica San Luis is a small protected area located on the Pacific side of the Cordillera de Tilarán, northwestern Costa Rica, with a forest transitioning between the basal and premontane floras according to Holdridge’s Life Zones. An inventory of the vascular flora of the reserve was performed by collecting botanical samples during three years and consulting the databases of the CR, INB, MO and USJ herbaria. We report 130 families, 477 genera and 716 species of native vascular plants. Angiosperms comprise the largest group with 94.3%, followed by Pteridophytes 5.4% and Lycophytes 0.3%. The best represented life forms are herbaceous and arborescent with 35.7% and 26.8% respectively. Fabaceae and Piper are the most diverse family and genus, with 67 and 15 species respectively. Despite occupying 0.000049% of the total area of Costa Rica, this reserve protects approximately 7.3% of the vascular plants of the country.

Flora and vegetation of the different habitats of the western Mediterranean region of Egypt.

The present study aims to assess the relation between the floristic composition and the different habitats charcterizing the western Mediterranean region of Egypt, determine the community types that dominate the study area; and evaluating the rarity of the recorded species. Nine hundred and sixty eight species (belonged to 429 genera and 97 family) were recorded; 363 species were restricted to one habitat, while only one species occured in all the 13 habitats. Asteraceae had the highest contribution, followed by Fabaceae, Poaceae and Brassicaceae. The most represented life form was therophytes, while parasites were the least. Six habitat groups were resulted after the application of 1WINSPAN and DCA. Mediterranean elements were the most represented, followed by Irano-Turanian, but Sudano­ Zambezian elements were the least. Twenty endemics and 21 near endemic species were recorded. Species which had small geographical distribution, narrow habitat specificity and were non-abundant (SNN) were the most represented, while species had large geographical distribution, wide habitat specificity and non-abundant (LWN) were the least. Forty one species were recorded as introduced species in the study area. Therecent land use led to the emergence of new invasive species, which may severely affect the plant diversity and community structure of the study area.

Effect of the recent land use on the plant diversity and community structure of Omayed Biosphere Reserve, Egypt

The present study aims at describing and analysing the floristic composition and vegetation types, as well as determining the effect of recent land uses on the vegetation structure. It aims also at identifying the alien plants species and elucidating the impact of these species on the plant diversity and community structure of the study area. One hundred and ninety stands were selected monthly for this study, 145 species were recorded (69 perennials and 76 annuals) related to 83 genera, 40 families in 9 identified habitats in El-Omayed Biosphere Reserve (coastal sand dunes, salt marshes, saline depression, non-saline depression, inland ridges, inland plateau, irrigation canals, road sides and cultivated lands). Therophytes were the most represented life form. Three habitat groups resulted after the application of TWINSPAN and DCA as classification and ordination techniques: 2 represented the natural habitats and one represented the urban and cultivated habitats. Group I represented coastal dunes and salt marshes GII: saline depressions, non-saline depressions, inland plateau and inland ridges and GIII: irrigation canals, road sides and cultivated lands. Coastal dunes had the highest species richness (α-diversity), followed by cultivated lands, while inland plateau had the lowest; but saline depressions had the highest species turnover (β-diversity). Non-saline depressions had the highest relative evenness, while saline depressions had the highest relative concentration of dominance. Coastal dunes had highest values of calcium carbonates and calcium ions, and salt marshes had the highest salinity, pH, potassium and sodium contents, but cultivated lands had the highest values of silt, clay and organic matter. The diagram resulting from CCA showed an influence of most soil variables, except nitrogen, calcium and potassium. Twenty two species were recorded for the first time in the study area. The recent land use (overgrazing, wood cutting and collecting, construction of summer resorts and irrigation canals and agricultures) led to the emergence of new invasive species, which may severely affect the plant diversity and community structure of this hot spot of biodiversity in Egypt.

Life-form spectra of quartzite and itabirite rocky outcrop sites, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Vascular species and their respective life-forms and coverage were recorded in a Brazilian quartzite and itabirite rocky outcrop site at Serra de Ouro Preto, producing the floristic, frequency and vegetational spectra. Three habitats in both lithologies were defined by geomorphology as: 1) Sloped areas near the mountain summit, with grasslands; 2) Plateaus in the middle of the slope, with grasslands; and 3) Lower and/or concave parts of the slopes, with woody savannas. The life-forms followed Raunkiaer's System. We aimed to answer the following questions: Do quartzite and itabirite rocky outcrops have different biological spectra? Are the biological spectra different in the geomorphologic habitats? Do the floristic, vegetational and frequency spectra differ from one another? What spectrum stacks up to a rocky outcrop physiognomy description? The results portrayed that: a) the most represented life-forms were the phanerophytes and hemicryptophytes; b) the floristic and frequency spectra did not differ from each other, but both differed from the vegetational one; c) all the floristic spectra were similar, but there were significant differences in the frequency and vegetational spectra among the lithology and geomorphology habitats; d) higher phanerophyte and lesser hemicryptophyte coverages were found in the itabirite areas and also in the lower or concave parts of the slopes of both lithologies; and e) the vegetational spectrum was more efficient for the studied rocky outcrop comparison. Relationships between the environmental aspects and life-form spectra are discussed. This study will help advance the development of restoration projects for these areas by adding knowledge of their flora composition, structure and function.

Woody vegetation of protected areas in northern Togo. Cases of Barkoissi, Galangashi and Oti-Keran: ecological and structure analyses of plant communities

The 170 samples obtained from ligneous investigation in Barkoissi, Galangashi and Oti-Keran protected areas (northern Togo) were subjected to floristic processing and several multivariate analyses in order to study plant diversity, life form and chorological type distribution and to classify and identify the main plant communities with their demographic structure. First, the overall life form and phytogeographical type frequencies were calculated to analyze and show the distribution of the 68 plants species in this area. Then plant communities were determined by using the hierarchical clustering with wards method. The plant communities found were identified by the technique of indicator value (IndVal). For each grouping diversity index such as specific richness, Shannon index and Pielou’s evenness was set out. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was also used to relate the impact of environment factors and the distribution of samples. Finally the variance analysis (ANOVA) associated to post-hoc test was used to compare the similarity between the groupings. From these 170 samples, 12 plant communities were discriminated, three for the reserve of Barkoissi, three for the reserve of Galangashi and six for the reserve of Oti-Keran. The samples were well distributed in the factorial plan form by axe 1 and 3 of CCA. The plant communities were distributed along the moisture gradient in the ordination. The Sudano-Zambesian species followed by Sudanian species were the phytogeographical types most found in these areas. The microphanerophytes were the most represented life form. The structural parameters such as diameter and height means, the basal area and the densities determined and submitted to post-hoc test show some important similarity between some groups found. In overall, the vegetation condition of the three protected areas is somehow disturbed while most of the plant communities are stable. These preliminary ecological data obtained are essential and fundamental for the management and protection for these ecosystems.

Floristic, frequency, and vegetation life-form spectra of a cerrado site.

We used Raunkiaer's system to classify in life-forms the vascular plants present in 12 random 25 m2 quadrats of a cerrado site. The study area is covered by cerrado sensu stricto and is located in the Valério fragment, at about 22 degrees 13'S and 47 degrees 51'W, 760 m above sea level, in the Itirapina Ecological and Experimental Station, São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. The floristic spectrum considers the life-form of each species, while in the frequency spectrum, each species is weighted by its frequency. The vegetation spectrum does not consider the species at all, but only the individuals in each life-form class. In the floristic spectrum, the most represented life-forms were the phanerophytes and the hemicryptophytes, as in other cerrado sites. This spectrum differed significantly from Raunkiaer's normal spectrum, mainly due to under-representation of therophytes and over-representation of phanerophytes. The floristic and frequency spectra were similar, but both differed from the vegetation spectrum. We recommend the floristic spectrum when working at larger scales and a description of the phytoclimate is wanted. The vegetation spectrum is preferable when working at smaller scales and wanting a quantitative description of the physiognomy. The frequency spectrum is not recommended at all.

Análisis preliminar de la flora vascular de los bosques mesófilos de montaña de México

Se presenta una lista preliminar de 650 géneros de plantas vasculares que contienen al menos una especie ligada en forma exclusiva o preferencial con el bosque mesófilo de montaña de México. Del análisis de tal inventario se desprende que: a) En esta comunidad vegetal la forma biológica mejor representada corresponde a las epífitas y la familia numéricamente prevaleciente es la de las Orchidaceae, que supera más de dos veces a Compositae y cerca de cuatro veces a Leguminosae. b) 13 familias de la flora vascular de México (Brunelliaceae, Chloranthaceae, Cunoniaceae, Hamamelidaceae, Illiciaceae, Nyssaceae, Podocarpaceae, Proteaceae, Sabiaceae, Schisandraceae, Tovariaceae, Tropaeolaceae y Winteraceae) son exclusivas o casi exclusivas de este tipo de vegetación y la mayoría de los componentes de otras 33 entidades del mismo nivel prospera preferente o mayoritariamente en el bosque mesófilo de montaña. c) A nivel de géneros predominan ampliamente los de afinidad geográfica meridional sobre los boreales; solamente 2% restringe su distribución a los límites del país, aunque ese porcentaje se eleva a 12 si se toma como referencia a México y Centroamérica. d) El registro fósil indica que el bosque mesófilo de montaña existe en México desde el Terciario y en tal contexto se postula que este tipo de vegetación evolucionó integrando elementos de afinidades ecológicas apropiadas de la antigua flora del sur de Laurasia, de la flora llegada de Sudamérica y de la flora originada en México y Centroamérica, sin menoscabo de la muy probable incorporación de algunas plantas provenientes de otros tipos de vegetación.