Geographically Comprehensive Assessment of Salt-Meadow Vegetation-Elevation Relations Using LiDAR

Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Arge, Lars; Bøcher, Peder Klith; Nygaard, Bettina; Svenning, Jens‐Christian

doi:10.1007/s13157-011-0179-2

Cited by 43 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Our findings also support the idea that in other types of lowland landscapes (see e.g. Moeslund et al, 2011;Ward et al, 2013), characterised by even larger elevation differences, the applied method might hold a great potential as a supporting tool for vegetation mapping. Elevation-vegetation correlations provide a good basis for practical application of ALS data in vegetation mapping of complex lowland landscapes, such as inland alkali habitats, large alluvial plains or vegetation mosaics of fens and dry grasslands.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Based on vegetation-soil and soil-elevation relationships, it has been widely accepted that vegetation patterns show a distinct correlation with elevation in inland alkali landscapes, which was in line with numerous field observations (Molnár and Borhidi, 2003;Török et al, 2012;Appendix B). Similar small-scale elevation-vegetation correlations were confirmed by measurements in seashore landscapes (Moeslund et al, 2011;Ward et al, 2013). However, in inland alkali landscapes, systematic field measurements confirming the correlation between elevation and vegetation types along entire zonation gradients are still lacking.…”

Section: G Modelsupporting

confidence: 66%

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Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

Deák

Valkó²,

Alexander

et al. 2014

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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a b s t r a c tVertical position is an important driver of vegetation zonation at multiple scales, via determining abiotic environmental parameters, such as climate, soil properties and water balance. In inland alkali landscapes, elevation is a key factor for understanding patterns of salt accumulation and water table which is therefore considered a good indicator of alkali vegetation types. Remote sensing techniques offer viable solutions for linking elevation data to vegetation patterns by providing an elevation model of extended areas. Our goal was to test the relationships between fine-scale differences in vertical position and vegetation patterns in inland alkali landscapes by vegetation data collected in the field and elevation data generated using airborne laser scanning (ALS). We studied whether vertical position influences vegetation patterns at the level of main vegetation groups (based on alliances) or even at the level of associations. Our study sites were situated in a lowland alkali landscape in Hortobágy National Park (East-Hungary). We grouped the associations into four main vegetation groups: loess grasslands, alkali steppes, open alkali swards and alkali meadows. Even though we detected a very limited range (121 cm) in the vertical position of the main vegetation groups, they were well separated by their vertical positions. At the level of associations, a more detailed elevation-based distinction was also possible in many cases. The revealed elevation-vegetation correlations show that high-resolution mapping based on ALS remote sensing techniques is an ideal solution in complex lowland areas, such as alkali landscapes. Our findings suggest that in other types of lowland landscapes, characterised by elevation differences, the applied method might hold a great potential as a supporting tool for vegetation mapping.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: G Modelsupporting

confidence: 66%

Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

Deák

Valkó²,

Alexander

et al. 2014

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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“…These results demonstrate that topography structures local plant species richness patterns not only in saline (Moeslund et al 2011) and freshwater wetland plant communities (Silvertown et al 1999, Øk-land et al 2008, Raulings et al 2010), but also in other habitat types. The present study is the first to identify a link between local species richness and topography in dry habitats generally.…”

Section: Topographic Control Of Vegetation Patternsmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Most studies addressing the local effects of elevation on plant communities in lowland areas have focused on wet habitats (Vivian-Smith 1997, Silvertown et al 1999, Økland et al 2008, Raulings et al 2010, Moeslund et al 2011. In these settings, even cm-scale topographic heterogeneity can cause major differences in water availability, salinity and flooding frequency that may in turn impact species richness and composition (Vivian-Smith 1997, Silvertown et al 1999, Økland et al 2008, Moeslund et al 2011. Terrain slope and aspect may also affect local plant communities (Pausas andCarreras 1995, Olivero andHix 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

et al. 2013

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Citation: Moeslund, J. E., L. Arge, P. K. Bøcher, T. Dalgaard, M. V. Odgaard, B. Nygaard, and J.-C. Svenning. 2013.Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region. Ecosphere 4(7):91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00134.1Abstract. Topography is recognized as an important factor in controlling plant distribution and diversity patterns, but its scale dependence and the underlying mechanisms by which it operates are not well understood. Here, we used novel high-resolution (2-m scale) topographic data from more than 30500 vegetation plots to assess the importance of topography for local plant diversity and distribution patterns across Denmark, a 43000 km 2 lowland region. The vegetation data came from 901 nature conservation sites (mean size ¼ 0.16 km 2 ) distributed throughout Denmark, each having an average of 34 plots (five-meter radius) per site. We employed a variety of statistical measures and techniques to investigate scale dependence and mechanistic drivers operating within the study region. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression modeling scaled at different spatial resolutions (2 3 2, 10 3 10, 50 3 50, 100 3 100 and 250 3 250 m) was used to identify the horizontal resolution yielding the strongest vegetation-topography relationships. Using data scaled at this resolution, we quantified local (within-site) and regional (among sites) relationships between elevation, mechanistic topographic factors (slope, heat index, potential solar radiation, wind exposure, wetness index) and 10 vegetation measures representing species composition, richness and functional composition (average plant preferences along key environmental niche axes). We also investigated how overall site-level environmental characteristics affect the strength of these local relationships. Topography exerted the strongest effects at the 10 3 10 m horizontal resolution scale. Elevation exerted the strongest influence on vegetation, followed by slope and wetness. Topography generally affected all vegetation measures and exhibited the strongest local relationships with the main species-compositional gradient, the main functional gradient and the plant's average soil moisture preference. The strength of these relationships was strongly influenced by habitat and site-level average moisture conditions, with the strongest relationships found in wet habitats. Our findings show that finescale topography can strongly influence local vegetation patterns across a wide range of habitat types even in low-relief lowland regions. Notably, topography exhibited a consistently strong relationship with the main local floristic and functional compositional gradients. While a plurality of underlying mechanisms may contribute to the relationship between topography and vegetation patterns, topographically controlled soil moisture exerts primary control on the relationship.

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“…Another very important factor seems to be rises in sea level, which may result in the loss of coastal habitats (Nicholls et al 1999). Some authors (i.a., Morris et al 2002;Moeslund et al 2011) emphasise that the Baltic coastal areas are highly susceptible to this global change because the tidal influence is negligible. On the other hand, for some northern and eastern Baltic regions the sea-level rise can be counteracted by ongoing postglacial land uplift (Kall et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Main Driving Factors for Seacoast Vegetation in the Southern and Eastern Baltic

et al. 2016

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This study aimed to determine the role of environmental factors in the pattern of vegetation related to marsh soils, which are rare in the Baltic coastal zone. It was assumed that the pattern of vegetation directly affected by seawater depends on seawater salinity, and in general reflects the decreasing salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea. The research of vegetation and soils (0-25 cm) has been undertaken on 11 selected sites along the Baltic seacoast in Germany, Poland and Estonia. According to TWINSPAN classification, five plant communities were distinguished: the Puccinellia maritima-Spergularia marina community, Juncus gerardi community, Agrostis stolonifera-Phragmites australisScirpus lacustris ssp. tabernaemontani community, Phragmites australis-Calystegia sepium community and Elymus repens community. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that the most important environmental factors influencing vegetation differentiation were: electrical conductivity of the saturation paste extract, hay/pasture management, redox potential, soil moisture and actual pH. In conclusion, the spatial distribution of the investigated vegetation and soil properties along the Baltic Sea shore were inconsistent with the spatial salinity gradient of the open surface seawater, but was significantly dependent on local conditions. This was confirmed by the highest soil salinity and most abundant occurrence of Salicornia europaea in Estonia.

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Geographically Comprehensive Assessment of Salt-Meadow Vegetation-Elevation Relations Using LiDAR

Cited by 43 publications

References 48 publications

Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

Main Driving Factors for Seacoast Vegetation in the Southern and Eastern Baltic

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