Diversity and distribution of sedges on multivariate environmental gradients

Ssegawa, P.; Kakudidi, Esezah; Muasya, Muthama; Kalema, James

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00454.x

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…was highly dependent on water levels during the first growing season. Ssegawa et al (2004) also related patterns of sedge distribution found in wetlands in Uganda with several edaphic and geological factors and found that the most important were water levels, altitude, and rainfall. In our study, most of the sedges and rushes found in restorations were species other than Carex (e.g., Eleocharis and Scirpus ), the dominant genus in most natural wetland systems in this region (Currier 1994, 1998), indicating a slower recovery of Carex in these sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Community Recovery following Restoration in Temporally Variable Riparian Wetlands

Meyer

Whiles

Baer

2010

Restoration Ecology

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Wetlands historically provided many ecosystem services but most have been lost or degraded through land conversion. Recent appreciation for wetland values and increasing ecotourism in the Central Platte River Valley (U.S.A.) has promoted restoration of wet meadow systems, although recovery patterns are not well known. We quantified plant community structure in sloughs (deeper habitats) and adjacent margins (slightly higher elevation) of six wetland sites, restored for 1-7 years at the onset of a 3-year study, and three natural wetlands to assess recovery dynamics. Plant community metrics recovered differentially between habitats. Within restored margins, richness and diversity showed a weak quadratic response with time since restoration, indicating that both indexes overshoot natural levels shortly following restoration. Within sloughs, richness and diversity showed no change with time, suggesting that recovery occurs more quickly in these deeper, moister habitats. Percent similarity of plant communities in restorations and natural wetlands increased linearly over time. However, ordinations of plant community composition showed that recovery was strongly influenced by site-specific hydrology and that recovery may not be a linear trajectory toward natural systems. The analysis and interpretation of plant community dynamics revealed several challenges to restoration assessment, including the role of interannual variability in precipitation, limitations to hydrologic recovery, and temporal variability in plant community structure in natural systems that resulted in ''moving targets'' for recovery comparisons. Temporal variability in climate must be considered when assessing restoration success in systems where plant community structure is responsive to variable moisture regimes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Community Recovery following Restoration in Temporally Variable Riparian Wetlands

Meyer

Whiles

Baer

2010

Restoration Ecology

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“…; Ssegawa et al. ; Allessio Leck & Schütz ; Kettenring ), or specifically consider soil moisture gradients (Vellend et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Land‐use history and an invasive grass affect tallgrass prairie sedge community composition

McGranahan

Engle

Mulloy

et al. 2014

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions: How abundant and diverse are sedges in upland tallgrass prairie?Are sedge communities associated with historical land use, abundance of an invasive species or different fire and grazing management regimes? How do sedge communities compare between reconstructed and intact grassland?Location: Grand River Grasslands; working tallgrass prairie in north-central Missouri and south-central Iowa (US).Methods: From 2008 to 2010, we surveyed the sedge species richness and measured canopy cover (an estimate of abundance) on 13 tallgrass prairie tracts, and measured canopy cover of an invasive C 3 grass, tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub). Flowering sedges were identified to species and associated with wetland indicator status (WIS) and coefficients of conservatism (CoC). We calculated mean WIS, CoC, species richness (observed and estimated) and diversity (1/Simpson's D) for each tract. We used linear mixed-effect regression and multivariate ordination to describe patterns of sedge abundance and community composition in terms of land-use history (previously severely grazed intact prairie; previously ungrazed intact prairie; and reconstructed prairie), tall fescue abundance and current management (patch burn-grazed, burned-and-grazed burned only).Results: On average, sedges constituted 20 AE 0.01% of total plant abundance.Sedge abundance increased over time and was higher on intact prairie than on reconstructions, but grazing history of intact prairie did not affect sedge abundance. We observed 21 species that averaged moderate wetland affinity (mean WIS = À2.1 AE 0.2) and moderate affinity for undisturbed habitat (mean CoC = 4.5 AE 0.2 and 5.0 AE 0.1) from Iowa and Missouri lists, respectively). Species richness, diversity and conservatism did not vary with land-use history, current experimental management or tall fescue abundance, although all three variables were associated with patterns of sedge community composition.Conclusions: Diverse and abundant sedge communities provide a substantial forage resource for early season grazing. Neither historical grazing nor current fire/grazing management affected sedge diversity or floristic integrity. These data suggest grazing and the degree of invasion do not necessarily degrade entire native plant communities -responses likely vary among plant groups -but land-use legacies have a persistent effect on sedge community composition.

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“…Members of Cyperaceae, also called sedges, are dominant in wetlands (Ssegawa et al. , 2004) and some tropical grasslands (Lye, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species communities and associations formed by the family Cyperaceae Juss. in some of Uganda’s wetlands

Ssegawa¹,

Kalema²

2008

African Journal of Ecology

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This study was conducted between August 2000 and April 2001 in ten wetlands areas of Uganda and these included Lakes Bisina, Nakuwa and Opeta, including the Doho Rice Scheme in the Lake Kyoga basin; Mabamba and Lutembe bays, Lake Nabugabo, Musambwa islands and Lutoboka peninsula in the Lake Victoria basin; and Nyamuriro swamp in Kigezi region. This study focused on Cyperaceae because of their known abundance in wet or damp areas. The aim was to assess the diversity and examine the communities and associations formed by sedges. Floristic data were collected using quadrats along transects. Cluster analysis was used to analyse for species associations. Principal components analysis was used to determine the descriptive species of the sites of the wetlands. A total of 113 taxa in 107 species belonging to 17 genera and classified into seven tribes were identified. The most rare species included Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Henschel and Cyperus iria L. Using cluster analysis the ten sites of the wetlands were classified into sedge assemblages that generally reflected ecoregional differences between the Lake Kyoga and Victoria basins. The three distinct clusters formed from cluster analysis also revealed species assemblages that represented associations of these sedges found in the sites of each cluster.

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Diversity and distribution of sedges on multivariate environmental gradients

Cited by 9 publications

References 44 publications

Plant Community Recovery following Restoration in Temporally Variable Riparian Wetlands

Plant Community Recovery following Restoration in Temporally Variable Riparian Wetlands

Land‐use history and an invasive grass affect tallgrass prairie sedge community composition

Species communities and associations formed by the family Cyperaceae Juss. in some of Uganda’s wetlands

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