Species Composition Of Communities Research Articles

Long-Term Monitoring of Macroinvertebrate Community Assemblages and Species Composition on the Coast of Dokdo, East Sea of Korea

Dokdo Island’s diverse marine ecosystem requires long-term monitoring to understand the effects of rapid environmental changes, such as global warming, on macrobenthos species and communities. Current studies are often short-term and limited, highlighting the need for extended research to predict future changes to ecosystems. This study analyzed the environmental variables influencing macrobenthos through long-term monitoring. In total, 511 species (spp./23.4 m2) were identified with an abundance of 1709.9 individuals/m2 and a diversity of 2.9. Since 2020, there has been a decline in both the number of species and diversity, attributed to changes in sediment composition, particularly an increase in gravel and sand. The dominant species include the crustacean Abludomelita denticulata (17.6%), the polychaete Haplosyllis spongiphila (6.8%), the bivalve Glycymeris munda (5.6%), the polychaete Opisthodonta uraga (5.3%), and the bivalve Limatula japonica (3.8%). The macrobenthos community differs each year, as the dominant species G. munda has decreased in abundance since 2022 and L. japonica since 2021. Depth and gravel sediment strongly correlated with community variation. Site-specific analysis also showed significant differences, with depth, bottom temperature, and sediment composition as the influencing factors. These species thrive in cold water but their abundance declines with an increase in temperature. Continuous long-term monitoring is essential to understand and protect the Dokdo ecosystem amid rapid environmental changes. Long-term monitoring studies have revealed more species than have short-term studies, showing annual and site-specific environmental changes, including sediment erosion and bottom temperature increases. These changes have affected macrobenthos diversity, abundance, and community composition, necessitating ongoing research to determine the persistence of these trends and to protect the ecosystem.

Effects of humic acid application on bacterial diversity under maize cultivation

AbstractThe fundamental ecosystem processes in soil are regulated by microbial communities, and community diversity is implicated by soil environmental conditions. Humic acid (HA) improves soil quality and fertility, stimulating the microbial environment, but the detailed effects remain poorly understood. We investigated the effects of HA rates on soil bacterial diversity, particularly on species richness and community composition in the rhizosphere of corn (Zea mays). Inorganic fertilizer (T2), HA 0.5% (T3), HA 1.0% (T4), HA 1.5% (T5), and HA 2.0% (T6) were applied in soil. Initial soil (O1) and control after harvesting (T1) were included. A total of 3601 operational taxonomic units were captured from the overall sample, and analysis of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid amplicon sequencing data indicated that HA did not notably impact species richness. Intriguingly, HA induced changes in bacterial community composition, along with the relative prevalence of specific taxa. Certain associations between soil chemical properties and abundance distribution have been uncovered. Notably, exchangeable Mg2+, Ca2+, and available phosphorus were strongly related to the relative abundance of bacterial phyla. Furthermore, HA potentially shaped the specific bacterial taxa, as the application of HA at different rates had distinct effects on the member of bacterial abundance of each taxon. These findings enhance our understanding of communities potentially being increased or shifted by HA rate addition in short‐term corn cultivation.

Coccinellidae on native and introduced spruce in central Europe: conservation implications in urban areas

The abundance and species composition of adult ladybird communities (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were investigated on two congeneric trees, native Norway spruce (Picea abies) and the introduced blue spruce (Picea pungens), at four locations in Slovakia (central Europe). For two years (2021–2022), coccinellid adults were sampled using a standard method involving beating branches at monthly intervals from April to November. Although the species composition of the communities on both spruce species was similar, the abundance of the entire coccinellid community as well as the abundance of individual species was significantly greater on Norway spruce than on blue spruce. With the current decline of Norway spruce as a result of several negative factors, blue spruce has emerged as a suitable substitute host plant for coccinellid communities in urban areas.

Evidence of thermophilization in Afromontane forests

Thermophilization is the directional change in species community composition towards greater relative abundances of species associated with warmer environments. This process is well-documented in temperate and Neotropical plant communities, but it is uncertain whether this phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the tropics. Here we extend the search for thermophilization to equatorial Africa, where lower tree diversity compared to other tropical forest regions and different biogeographic history could affect community responses to climate change. Using re-census data from 17 forest plots in three mountain regions of Africa, we find a consistent pattern of thermophilization in tree communities. Mean rates of thermophilization were +0.0086 °C·y−1 in the Kigezi Highlands (Uganda), +0.0032 °C·y−1 in the Virunga Mountains (Rwanda-Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo) and +0.0023 °C·y−1 in the Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania). Distinct from other forests, both recruitment and mortality were important drivers of thermophilzation in the African plots. The forests studied currently act as a carbon sink, but the consequences of further thermophilization are unclear.

Evidence of thermophilization in Afromontane forests

Thermophilization is the directional change in species community composition towards greater relative abundances of species associated with warmer environments. This process is well-documented in temperate and Neotropical plant communities, but it is uncertain whether this phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the tropics. Here we extend the search for thermophilization to equatorial Africa, where lower tree diversity compared to other tropical forest regions and different biogeographic history could affect community responses to climate change. Using re-census data from 17 forest plots in three mountain regions of Africa, we find a consistent pattern of thermophilization in tree communities. Mean rates of thermophilization were +0.0086 °C·y−1 in the Kigezi Highlands (Uganda), +0.0032 °C·y−1 in the Virunga Mountains (Rwanda-Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo) and +0.0023 °C·y−1 in the Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania). Distinct from other forests, both recruitment and mortality were important drivers of thermophilzation in the African plots. The forests studied currently act as a carbon sink, but the consequences of further thermophilization are unclear.

Urban forest species selection for improvement of ecological benefits in Polish cities - The actual and forecast potential

Trees in cities perform important environmental functions: they produce oxygen, filter pollutants, provide habitat for wildlife, mitigate stormwater runoff, and reduce the effects of climate change, especially in terms of lowering temperatures and converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into stored carbon. Generally, to increase the environmental benefits of urban forests, the number of trees is increased, directly influencing the canopy coverage. However, little is known about potential of modifying the species composition of urban tree communities in order to increase ecological benefits. Planting and managing trees to increase canopy is particularly challenging in city centres, where the dense, often historic infrastructure of buildings and roads do not allow for a significant increase in greenspace. Estimations of canopy cover obtained through i-Tree Canopy analysis unveiled significant potential to increase canopy cover in historical urban areas in Polish cities from 15-34% to 31–51%. This study models the ecological benefits of urban forests in Polish cities, focusing on how different species compositions can enhance environmental functions such as carbon sequestration and pollution filtration. Two main scenarios were analyzed: one involving the addition of trees based on the most common species currently planted (“standard option” SO), and another incorporating changes to the species composition to enhance ecological benefits (“city specific option” SCO). Acer platanoides (14.5%) and Tilia cordata (11.45%) were the most frequently species of Polish cities. Betula pendula, Quercus robur, Robinia pseudoacacia, Fraxinus excelsior, Acer pseudoplatanus, Aesculus hippocastanum and Acer campestre were also common species in urban forest communities (up to 5%). The diverse range of tree species in Polish cities contributes significantly to the overall carbon sequestration potential. The results suggest that modifying species composition could significantly increase carbon sequestration rates by 47.8%–114% annually, with the city specific option (SCO) being the most effective in enhancing carbon sequestration potential. This highlights the importance of strategic species selection in urban forestry practices to maximize environmental benefits and mitigate climate change effects.

Comment on “Solar parks can enhance bird diversity in agricultural landscape” by Jarčuška et al.

This commentary critiques the methodology, interpretation of results, and broader implications of a study by Jarčuška et al. (2024). We argue that the study's design and analysis fail to conclusively demonstrate any causal link between solar parks and bird diversity or community composition. Furthermore, focusing solely on species diversity and community composition, the study overlooks the importance of functional diversity and functional structure of communities in assessing the ecological impacts of solar parks on agricultural ecosystems. By exposing these shortcomings and recommending well-established methods for future research, we aim to ensure robust and informative studies that guide balanced decision-making for conservation and all stakeholders.

Phytoplankton community structure in the dry zone reservoirs of Sri Lanka at the declining phase of the tropical monsoon

We studied the phytoplankton community structure and their relationship to the physicochemical properties of water by selecting five major freshwater reservoirs; Bandagiriya, Kattakaduwa, Lunugamvehera, Ridiyagama, and Tissa in the Southern dry zone of Sri Lanka during the declining phase of tropical monsoon rainfall (December 2019 to January 2020). Fifty-seven species, dominated by Cyanophyta (63%), followed by Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Euglenophyta were identified morphologically and through DNA sequencing. The majority of Cyanophyta were filamentous forms (62%) with approximately 88% being cyanotoxin producing species. The species composition of phytoplankton communities is reservoir specific. Microcystis was dominant in Lunugamvehera while the diatom Melosira was dominant in Ridiyagama, Kattakaduwa and Tissa. The lowest phytoplankton density and diversity were observed in Bandagiriya mainly due to high turbidity and total suspended solids which interfere with light penetration through the water column. Physicochemical properties of water were significantly different among reservoirs, leading to reservoir specific correlations between phytoplankton density and physicochemical properties of water which might have been driven by the inter-correlative effects of biotic and abiotic factors at the time of sampling. Therefore, the interactive effects might be responsible for the observed variations in phytoplankton community composition. Thus, the present study provides important information on the phytoplankton community structure at the onset of successional episodes in five tropical freshwater reservoirs in relation to their spatial variations in hydrological regimes and physicochemical properties. Such data would provide essential information for planning and implementation of reliable and efficient strategies for monitoring, sampling, forecasting, and managing algal blooms.

Temporal dynamics of parasite populations and communities of blue sea catfish Ariopsis guatemalensis (Günther, 1864), in a eutrophic coastal lagoon from Mexican Pacific

ABSTRACT The temporal dynamics of parasite populations and communities of blue sea catfish Ariopsis guatemalensis from a tropical eutrophic coastal lagoon was studied during an annual cycle. A total of 620 adult fishes were collected between January and December 2019. Eleven taxa of parasites were identified, three of monoxenous (single-host life cycle), and eight of heteroxenous (multi-host life cycle) parasites. The infection levels of two monoxenous (Neotetraonchus vegrandis and Ergasilus sp.) and five heteroxenous (Austrodiplostomum sp. Pseudoacanthostomum panamense, Pseudoleptorhynchoides lamothei, Contracaecum sp. and Hysterothylacium perezi) parasite species varied between sampling months and/or climatic seasons. The infection dynamics of these group of parasites were influenced by environmental changes generated by the dry/rainy cycle, which can affect the availability of intermediate host populations, and the feeding and reproductive behaviour of the host. Although the species composition of the parasite communities remains quite stable over time, its structure registers important changes mainly during the rainy season. Some host traits such as the feeding and reproductive behaviour, body size, physical condition, and sex of the host, as well as the temporal replacement of numerically dominant parasite species, were the main factors responsible for variations in the parasite community structure.

Forest species diversity and community composition in the northern Western Ghats, India

ABSTRACT Background The northern Western Ghats (NWG) – a part of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot supports tropical forests of conservation priority, due to anthropogenic intensification. Woody species diversity and ecology in NWG is poorly studied, necessitating the knowledge of spatial variability in species and underlying environmental factors, for effective conservation. Aims We described woody plant community composition and related it to climate data across a latitude of 1.4 degrees to obtain information about spatial and environmental variation to support protected area planning. Methods To estimate abundance, importance value index, diversity indices and rank – abundance, we recorded woody species in 144 plots across 12 sites. Elevation, temperature, rainfall, humidity data were related to diversity descriptors in a canonical correspondence analysis. Results We recorded 10,291 trees representing 187 species of 52 families. Divergent geo-climatic factors were related to distinct plant community structures, elevation and humidity being the most influential drivers of plant diversity and density. Numerous rare species were found restricted to environmentally distinct forests. Conclusion The wide-ranging environment and corresponding variations in forest community composition across the narrow latitudinal range of the study area revealed the importance of including such gradients in planning future protected areas in the NWG.

Larger cities host richer bee faunas, but are no refuge for species with concerning conservation status: Empirical evidence from Western Europe

In the context of worldwide biodiversity and wild bee decline, it is increasingly important to better understand the effect of land-use changes on wild bee communities at a global scale. To do so, we studied the effect of city area and urban green spaces layout on wild bee species richness and community composition, as well as on wild bee species with an unfavorable UICN conservation status. This study was based on a large European dataset encompassing 20 cities from France, Belgium and Switzerland. We found a mean wild bee species richness in cities of 96 ± 48 (SD), showing that this species richness was highly variable among cities. The main factor positively influencing wild bee species richness in cities was the area of the city. Conversely, species richness was not significantly related to the total area of urban green spaces in a given city, measured as the spatial extent of urban parks, wastelands and other semi-natural habitats, excluding urban private gardens. Species with conservation status were quite scarce in urban environments, especially when compared to the European Red List of Bees, and we could not link their presence to either city or urban green space area. Dissimilarities in wild bee species community compositions were not associated with any of the studied characteristics of cities. We found that the dissimilarity of wild bee community composition among cities was mainly driven by the rarest species, as the most common ones were found in a majority of the cities sampled. Overall, these results emphasize that larger cities host more wild bee species, but are no refuge for the ones with concerning conservation status. Thus, stakeholders are encouraged to design their cities in favor of biodiversity to better support wild bee communities, and perhaps mitigate the established effect of the urban ecological filter.

Gut Microbial Composition of Cyprinella lutrensis (Red Shiner) and Notropis stramineus (Sand Shiner): Insights from Wild Fish Populations

The gut microbiome is a highly intricate ecosystem that exerts a pivotal influence on the host’s physiology. Characterizing fish microbiomes is critical to understanding fish physiology and health, but little is known about the ecology and colonization dynamics of microorganisms inhabiting fish species. In this study, we investigated the bacterial communities of two small-bodied fish species, Cyprinella lutrensis (red shiner) and Notropis stramineus (sand shiner), two fish species where gut microbiomes have not been investigated previously and surrounding waters, collected from rivers in Nebraska, USA. Our study focused on evaluating microbial diversity in small-bodied fish and identifying autochthonous microbes present within these species irrespective of location to better understand bacterial community composition and possible roles of such bacterial species. Our results revealed that both red shiner and sand shiner exhibited gut bacterial communities dominated by typical bacterial phyla found in freshwater fish. The phylum Bacteroidota was minimally abundant in both species and significantly lower in relative abundance compared to the surrounding water microbial community. Furthermore, we found that the gut microbiomes of red shiner and sand shiner differed from the microbial community in the surrounding water, suggesting that these fish species contain host-associated bacterial species that may provide benefits to the host such as nutrient digestion and colonization resistance of environmental pathogens. The fish gut bacterial communities were sensitive to environmental conditions such as turbidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and total nitrogen. Our findings also show bacterial community differences between fish species; although they shared notable similarities in bacterial taxa at phyla level composition, ASV level analysis of bacterial taxa displayed compositional differences. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the gut bacterial composition of wild, freshwater, small-bodied fish and highlight the influence of intrinsic (host) and environmental factors on shaping the bacterial composition.

Environmental DNA metabarcoding reflects spatiotemporal fish community shifts in the Scheldt estuary

Estuarine ecosystems face increasing anthropogenic pressures, necessitating effective monitoring methods to mitigate their impacts on the biodiversity they harbour. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) based detection methods is increasingly recognized as a promising tool to complement other, potentially invasive monitoring techniques. Integrating such eDNA analyses into monitoring frameworks for large ecosystems is still challenging and requires a deeper understanding of the scale and resolution at which eDNA patterns may offer insights in species presence and community composition space and time. The Scheldt estuary, characterized by its diverse habitats and complex currents, is one of the largest Western European tidal river systems. Until now, it remains challenging to obtain accurate information on fish communities living in and migrating through this ecosystem, consequently confining our knowledge to specific locations. To explore the potential of eDNA based monitoring, we simultaneously combine stow net fishing with eDNA metabarcoding, to assess spatiotemporal shifts in the Scheldt estuary's fish communities. In total, we detected 71 fish species in the estuary using eDNA metabarcoding, partly overlapping with historic fish community data gathered at the different study locations and in contrast to only 42 species using stow net fishing during the same survey period. Community compositions found by both detection methods varied among sampling locations, driven by a clear correlation to the salinity gradient. Limited effects of sampling depth and tide were observed on the eDNA metabarcoding data, allowing a significant reduction of the eDNA sampling effort for future eDNA fish monitoring campaigns in this study system. Our results further demonstrate that seasonal shifts in fish species occurrence can be detected using eDNA metabarcoding. Combining eDNA metabarcoding and stow net fishing further enhances our understanding of this vital waterway's diverse fish populations, allowing a higher resolution and more efficient monitoring strategy.

Prairie restoration promotes the abundance and diversity of mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Predicting how biological communities assemble in restored ecosystems can assist in conservation efforts, but most research has focused on plants, with relatively little attention paid to soil microbial organisms that plants interact with. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are an ecologically significant functional group of soil microbes that form mutualistic symbioses with plants and could therefore respond positively to plant community restoration. To evaluate the effects of plant community restoration on AM fungi, we compared AM fungal abundance, species richness, and community composition of five annually cultivated, conventionally managed agricultural fields with paired adjacent retired agricultural fields that had undergone prairie restoration 5-9 years prior to sampling. We hypothesized that restoration stimulates AM fungal abundance and species richness, particularly for disturbance-sensitive taxa, and that gains of new taxa would not displace AM fungal species present prior to restoration due to legacy effects. AM fungal abundance was quantified by measuring soil spore density and root colonization. AM fungal species richness and community composition were determined in soils and plant roots using DNA high-throughput sequencing. Soil spore density was 2.3 times higher in restored prairies compared to agricultural fields, but AM fungal root colonization did not differ between land use types. AM fungal species richness was 2.7 and 1.4 times higher in restored prairies versus agricultural fields for soil and roots, respectively. The abundance of Glomeraceae, a disturbance-tolerant family, decreased by 25% from agricultural to restored prairie soils but did not differ in plant roots. The abundance of Claroideoglomeraceae and Diversisporaceae, both disturbance-sensitive families, was 4.6 and 3.2 times higher in restored prairie versus agricultural soils, respectively. Species turnover was higher than expected relative to a null model, indicating that AM fungal species were gained by replacement. Our findings demonstrate that restoration can promote a relatively rapid increase in the abundance and diversity of soil microbial communities that had been degraded by decades of intensive land use, and community compositional change can be predicted by the disturbance tolerance of soil microbial taxonomic and functional groups.

Bacterial Community Characteristics and Roles in Nitrogen Transformation in Industrial Farming Systems of Litopenaeus vannamei

Industrial farming is one of the main farming systems used for L. vannamei, and it is also the main direction of development in the future. To investigate the role of the bacterial community in nitrogen transformation in industrial L. vannamei farming systems, we studied the concentration of nitrogen compounds, the bacterial community using 16S rRNA sequencing, and nitrogen cycling genes’ abundance using absolute quantitative PCR in aquaculture water (using seawater (WD) and groundwater mixed with seawater (CY)) and analyzed the correlations between them using a person analysis. The results showed that the bacterial α-diversity index (ACE, Shannon, and Sobs) significantly changed during culture in WD but not in CY. Bacterial community species composition analysis and linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe analysis) revealed that Cyanobiaceae and Microbacteriaceae were the dominant bacteria and biomarkers in WD. Vibrionaceae, Ateromonadaceae, Microbacteriaceae, Saprospiraceae, and Cryomorphaceae were the dominant bacteria and biomarkers in CY. A functional annotation of procaryotic taxa (FAPROTAX) analysis revealed that the bacterial community in WD exhibited a greater phototrophic activity at early culture stages, while at the same stage, CY exhibited strong nitrate reduction. A correlation analysis of nitrogen cycling genes and environmental factors revealed that napA, narG, ureC, amoA, and nirK were significantly correlated with the concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), nitrite (NO2−-N), nitrate (NO3−-N), and total nitrogen (TN) in WD. In CY, amoA was positively correlated and napA and nirK were negatively correlated with TAN and TN concentrations. A correlation analysis between bacterial abundance and environmental factors revealed that Flavobacteriaceae, Saprospiraceae, Cryomorphaceae, Cyanobiaceae, Halieaceae, and Cyclobacteriaceae were significantly correlated with the concentrations of TAN and NO2−-N. The above results indicated that the bacterial community in industrial shrimp farming systems changed under different conditions, with consequent changes in the abundance of genes being involved in the nitrogen cycle and in this biogeochemical process in the water. Our study facilitates further understanding of microbes and their functions in nitrogen cycling in industrial shrimp farming systems.

Combining environmental DNA and remote sensing for efficient, fine-scale mapping of arthropod biodiversity.

Arthropods contribute importantly to ecosystem functioning but remain understudied. This undermines the validity of conservation decisions. Modern methods are now making arthropods easier to study, since arthropods can be mass-trapped, mass-identified, and semi-mass-quantified into 'many-row (observation), many-column (species)' datasets, with homogeneous error, high resolution, and copious environmental-covariate information. These 'novel community datasets' let us efficiently generate information on arthropod species distributions, conservation values, uncertainty, and the magnitude and direction of human impacts. We use a DNA-based method (barcode mapping) to produce an arthropod-community dataset from 121 Malaise-trap samples, and combine it with 29 remote-imagery layers using a deep neural net in a joint species distribution model. With this approach, we generate distribution maps for 76 arthropod species across a 225 km2 temperate-zone forested landscape. We combine the maps to visualize the fine-scale spatial distributions of species richness, community composition, and site irreplaceability. Old-growth forests show distinct community composition and higher species richness, and stream courses have the highest site-irreplaceability values. With this 'sideways biodiversity modelling' method, we demonstrate the feasibility of biodiversity mapping at sufficient spatial resolution to inform local management choices, while also being efficient enough to scale up to thousands of square kilometres. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'.

Effects of experimental drought and plant diversity on multifunctionality of a model system for crop rotation

In low-diversity productive grasslands, modest changes to plant diversity (richness, composition and relative abundance) may affect multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality), including yield. Despite the economic importance of productive grasslands, effects of plant diversity and environmental disturbance on multifunctionality are very rarely quantified. We systematically varied species richness, composition, and relative abundance of grassland ley communities and manipulated water supply (rainfed and drought) to quantify effects of diversity and environmental disturbance on multifunctionality. We then replaced the grassland leys with a monoculture crop to investigate ‘follow-on’ effects. We measured six agronomy-related ecosystem functions across one or both phases: yield, yield consistency, digestibility and weed suppression (grassland ley phase), legacy effect (effect on follow-on crop yield), and nitrogen fertiliser efficiency (full rotation). Drought reduced most ecosystem functions, although effects were species- and function-specific. Increased plant diversity affected mean performance, and reduced variation, across the six functions (contributing to multifunctional stability). Multifunctionality index values across a wide range of mixture diversity were higher than the best monoculture under both rainfed and drought conditions (transgressive over-performance). Higher-diversity, lower-nitrogen (150N) mixtures had higher multifunctionality than a low-diversity, higher-nitrogen (300N) grass monoculture. Plant diversity in productive grasslands is a practical farm-scale management action to mitigate drought impacts and enhance multifunctionality of grassland-crop rotation systems.

Composition and Structural Diversity of Woody Species in the Wof Ayzurish Forests, the Dry Afromontane Forest of the Northern EthiopiaI

Dry Afromontane Forest (DAF) is the largest Afromontane section and plays a fundamental role in preservation of species biodiversity. Despite its biodiversity, DAF is the most altered and threatened in the Ethiopian ecosystem. With the exception of a few isolated pockets left in some sacred places and protected areas of the country, most of forests are inaccessible. The scenario is not different for the present study forest. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to investigate woody species diversity, structure and regeneration status of Wof Ayzurish Forest, which is a dry Afromonatane in North Shewa of Ethiopia. A systematic method was employed whereby 67 quadrats set in 8 parallel lines transecting at 300-meter intervals and quadrats at 150-m distance. All trees and shrubs with diameters of breast height > 2.5 cm and height > 2 m were measured. The results revealed that Wof Ayzurish Forest harbors 76 species of woody plants that belong to 68 genera and 47 families, with Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae displaying the highest diversity. Shrubs had the highest composition than trees. The most abundant plants were Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustifolia, Carissa spinarum, Juniperus procera, Olinia rochetiana and Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata. Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustifolia was the most prominent plant, occurring in 98.5 % of all sample plots. The DBH and height classification pattern exhibited that the forest had a classic inverted J-shape, dominated by smaller trees and shrubs, indicating a secondary stage of regeneration. Total basal area (BA) for trees and shrubs DBH > 2.5 cm was 18.03 m2 ha−1. Remarkably, five species accounted for 57.45 % of the basal area, indicating that higher numbers of individuals concentrated in lower DBH classes. By using R software, agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) has done to identify plant community types and examine the relationship between plant community types and environmental variables, respectively. Three significantly different (p < 0.05) plant community types were identified. The CCA results showed that species diversity and community composition among community types were significantly influenced by altitude and human disturbance such as expansion of agriculture, cuttings, and grazing. Therefore, it is recommended that community-based methods and awareness creation should be devised in order to implement sustainable forest conservation.

Drivers of Spontaneous Plant Communities in Urban Parks: A Case from Nanjing, China

Urban plant diversity is one of the key elements for sustainable urban development. Urban plant landscapes not only create a variety of experiences for residents but also have a positive effect on their physiology and psychology. In order to better introduce nature into urban green spaces, this study conducted a field survey in Nanjing, China, to analyze the current situation of spontaneous plants in Nanjing’s urban green spaces and propose a plant planning strategy that takes into account both ecology and residents’ well-being. This study surveyed the herbaceous plant resources in 96 sample plots in nine typical urban parks in Nanjing, and recorded 284 plant species in 192 genera and 78 families. The research results show that the differences in plant diversity, richness, and evenness among urban parks in Nanjing are significant; combined with cluster analysis and ranking results, the total area of urban parks, green space construction time, lighting conditions, and management frequency have an impact on plant communities. Further analysis of the species composition of plant communities showed that moderate management frequency in urban parks can increase plant diversity. With the advantages of both high ecological benefits and low management costs, a model of “artificial plants + native spontaneous plants” was finally proposed for the planting of herbaceous plants in sustainable urban green spaces.

Solid as a rock: The main drivers of changes in natural, rocky plant communities

AbstractQuestionChanges caused by climate warming and nitrogen pollution are observed in forest, grassland and alpine ecosystems worldwide. However, still little is known about the impact of these globally influencing factors on natural rocky plant communities. Has species composition of natural rocky communities changed over time? What is the role of large‐scale and fine‐scale environmental factors in shaping the compositional, functional and habitat patterns in studied plant communities over time?LocationSudetes Mountains, southwestern Poland.MethodsWe used 214 pairs of replots (collected between 1989 and 2022) of rocky plant communities, with a mean timespan of 14.2 years. The changes in species composition, environmental conditions and functional traits were analysed using ordination techniques and generalised additive models (GAMs) and with reference to large‐scale factors (mean maximum temperatures, actual evapotranspiration, N deposition) and fine‐scale factors (light availability, bedrock type, initial site conditions) for each locality.ResultsSpecies composition of the studied communities has not changed significantly over time. Only for 11 out of 258 species, statistically significant increases (from 2% to 8%) in their proportion were recorded. The changes in environmental conditions were significantly influenced mainly by fine‐scale factors such as changes in light availability and baseline site conditions. Plots that were initially less thermophilic or nitrophilic showed stronger signals of thermophilisation and eutrophication in the resurvey. The influence of large‐scale factors was considerably less pronounced. Similarly, the key role in explaining changes in plant traits for the data set under study falls to local factors, particularly changes in light availability.ConclusionsOur study confirms the validity of considering both large‐ and fine‐scale factors as well as initial site conditions in research on long‐term changes in plant communities. Rocky plant communities respond to global changes in a different way than other types of phytocoenose, showing high stability of species composition and functional traits over time.