Recovery of soil and vegetation in semi-arid Australian old fields

Scott, A. J.; Morgan, John

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.08.014

Cited by 27 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Comparison of short-and long-term restorations in invaded and restored lands can be used to identify soil characteristics that are more sensitive to invasion (Callaway and Ridenour, 2004). For instance, removal of exotics could increase availability of mobile and faster-cycling nutrients, such as nitrate, within a single growing season, while longer term impacts might include changes in slower cycling organic N and carbon (Schlesinger, 1997;Scott and Morgan, 2012;van der Putten et al, 2007). If removal of the invading species leads to recovery of natural soil resource levels, then soils are believed to be resilient to the initial impact of the invading, exotic species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil nitrogen cycling is resilient to invasive annuals following restoration of coastal sage scrub

Dickens

Allen

2014

Journal of Arid Environments

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil nitrogen cycling is resilient to invasive annuals following restoration of coastal sage scrub

Dickens

Allen

2014

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…The study was undertaken in four grassland remnants on the Northern Plains of southeast Australia (36° 4′ S, 144° 24′ E). The study region and locations are described in Scott & Morgan (). Average annual rainfall is 395 mm, but with considerable yearly variation (163–871 mm over the last 100 yr; http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Uncultivated grasslands are dominated by native C 3 perennial grasses, but the canopy is low and open, with mean cover of ~15% (Scott & Morgan ). The interstitial forb flora is the main contributor to species richness, with perennial and annual species at the study locations accounting for 35% and 39% of richness, respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early life‐history stages drive community reassembly in Australian old‐fields

Scott

Morgan

2012

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Do native annual forb seedling communities reassemble after agricultural abandonment to an undisturbed condition? Do environmental changes associated with cultivation affect seedling establishment? Is post‐abandonment recovery of seedling and vegetation communities more limited by seed availability, seedling establishment or seedling survival? Location Northern Victoria, Australia. Methods Seedling density, species richness and composition were sampled across a 100‐yr chronosequence. Standing vegetation, cover of the biological soil crust and soil properties were sampled from the same plots, and the seed bank was sampled from the same sites. Patterns were compared among the seedlings, seed bank and vegetation. Results Native seedling density and species richness did not increase with time‐since‐abandonment, despite some recovery in species composition. Native density and richness were negatively associated with soil fertility and bare ground and positively associated with biological soil crust cover; exotics showed the opposite pattern. Species composition showed little association with soil resources. Percentage field emergence from the seed bank was unaffected by time‐since‐abandonment. Compositional similarity between the seedlings and vegetation was higher (81%) than that between the seedlings and seed bank (61%); neither was affected by time‐since‐abandonment. Conclusions While environmental conditions partially determined patterns of seedling recruitment, seed availability was the main driver of seedling density and composition with time‐since‐abandonment. Post‐establishment mortality was apparently not a major determinant of species composition of the standing vegetation. Thus, seed and microsite limitation interacted to drive community reassembly, but seed availability was relatively more important.

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“…Native plant species, which become fine-tuned to their local environments through natural selection, can rapidly recolonize a denuded landscape [20][21][22] and help maintain the diversity and stability of vegetative communities [5], suppress weeds and reduce erosion [23], and increase nutrient concentrations (P, N, K) and rain/water use efficiency, of which the latter is a main indicator for ecosystem productivity [24][25]. The use of native plant species during rehabilitation will also contribute to the aesthetic value of the habitat, as well as benefiting belowground ecosystems [26], minimizing resource depletion [27], ameliorating the consequences of fragmentation on populations of valuable plant species [28], attracting more visitors on flower [29], and increasing the abundance of small mammals as well as carnivorous prey selection species [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Slope Aspect on Plant Community Composition and its Implications for Restoration of a Chinese Mountain Range

Qin¹,

Holden²,

Feng³

et al. 2017

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Excessive human disturbance (e.g., overgrazing, deforestation) has degraded the environment in the Qilian Mountains in China. Vegetative restoration is likely to be a crucial tool to restore these biologically significant habitats, but it is impossible to achieve this goal if the baseline plant community composition and its variation with local environmental conditions were not understood fully. To assess plant community composition by slope aspect, four different aspects -south-facing slope (SF), southwest-facing slope (SW), northwest-facing slope (NW), and north-facing slope (NF) -were surveyed on three almost non-degraded mountains. The results showed that each slope aspect has different abiotic environments. From SF to NF, soil water content has an increasing trend, but it shows no difference between SF and SW; and daily soil temperature and pH have a decreasing trend, while the former shows no difference between SF and SW, and SW and NW; and the latter shows no difference between SW and NW; and soil organic carbon was significantly increased, but soil bulk density was significantly decreased. Herbaceous plants were dominant on SF, SW, and NW, and trees (Picea crassifolia) were dominant on NF. From SF to NW, the dominant herbaceous plants were Agropyron cristatum and Stipa grandis, Agropyron cristatum and Carex aridula, and Kobresia humilis and Carex crebra, respectively, while on NF they were Carex spp. and Polygonum macrophyllum. The baseline survey points to the need to consider underlying patterns in abiotic conditions when planning restoration programs in these degraded mountain habitats, and to select native plants similar to the original vegetation. The survey provides a vital milestone for the development of policy-based funding initiatives and for ongoing vegetation monitoring during restoration to assess if these vegetative targets have been met.

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Recovery of soil and vegetation in semi-arid Australian old fields

Cited by 27 publications

References 42 publications

Soil nitrogen cycling is resilient to invasive annuals following restoration of coastal sage scrub

Soil nitrogen cycling is resilient to invasive annuals following restoration of coastal sage scrub

Early life‐history stages drive community reassembly in Australian old‐fields

Influence of Slope Aspect on Plant Community Composition and its Implications for Restoration of a Chinese Mountain Range

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