Relationships among environmental factors, vegetation zones, and species richness in a North American calcareous prairie fen

Bowles, Marlin L.; Kelsey, Patrick; McBride, Jenny L.

doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2005)025[0685:raefvz]2.0.co;2

Cited by 24 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Nutrient availability in prairie fen is low, a factor that contributes to the high plant species diversity (Boeye et al 1997;Nekola 2004;Bowles et al 2005). In our study, we did not find significant differences in soil nitrogen, phosphorous, or potassium between invaded and uninvaded fen, although nitrate, ammonia, phosphorous, and potassium levels were all numerically higher in invaded areas.…”

Section: Nutrient Availabilitycontrasting

confidence: 63%

Biotic and Abiotic Conditions in Michigan Prairie Fen Invaded by Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Fiedler

Landis

2012

Natural Areas Journal

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Section: Nutrient Availabilitycontrasting

confidence: 63%

Biotic and Abiotic Conditions in Michigan Prairie Fen Invaded by Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Fiedler

Landis

2012

Natural Areas Journal

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“…The strong influence of topography on species composition reflects multiple edaphic characteristics that vary with site elevation: flood frequency, fire frequency, and a host of chemical attributes of soil including pH, oxygen, and nutrient availability (e.g., Schalles and Shure 1989, Svenning 2001, De Steven and Toner 2004, Bowles et al 2005, Dick and Gilliam 2007, Laliberte et al 2007.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape

Wing

Strömberg

Hickey

et al. 2012

Ecological Monographs

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Abstract. We describe an in situ fossil flora of Late Cretaceous age (;73 Ma [megaannum or million years]) from Big Cedar Ridge in central Wyoming, USA, which we sampled using a modified line-intercept method to quantify the relative abundances of 122 taxa at 100 sites across 4 km of exposed sedimentary deposits. We also measured three physical variables at each site: paleotopographic level, grain size, and total organic content. Paleoenvironmental conditions and paleofloral composition at Big Cedar Ridge covary strongly and are highly heterogeneous on small spatial scales. The reconstructed vegetation has some similarities with extant topogenous fens, but also important differences. Non-monocot angiosperms were abundant only on wet, mineral substrates that had been disturbed shortly before preservation, consistent with the weedy life histories that are inferred for their Early Cretaceous ancestors. Many non-monocot angiosperms grew in small, dispersed populations, consistent with the hypothesis that they were biotically pollinated. Overall, non-monocot angiosperm abundance was low compared with many modern wetlands. A single species of coryphoid palm was the dominant on moist, stable, moderately organic-rich sites, a pattern seen in some subtropical to tropical wetlands in the present day. Fern thickets at Big Cedar Ridge occupied highly organic, possibly low-nutrient substrates, and were dominated by Dipteridaceae, Gleicheniaceae, Schizaeaceae, and Matoniaceae. The overall high diversity and abundance of pteridophytes is unusual in the context of modern vegetation, regardless of climate zone, and probably represents a late occurrence of pteridophyte-dominated vegetation that was common earlier in the Mesozoic. Plant distributions at Big Cedar Ridge combine aspects of pre-angiosperm and modern vegetation in a way that suggests both niche conservatism and niche evolution on geological time scales.

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“…Others (e.g., high deer and beaver populations) may be more manageable at the local level, but uncertainty or disagreement over how much management is allowed (i.e., ''nature knows best'') often prevents effect measures from being implemented. Fens are particularly vulnerable to land cover/land use changes that affect the supply of base-rich groundwater, sedimentation, and increased inputs of Na and Cl from urban pollution (Grace 1999; Bowles et al 2005), and management strategies that minimize impacts on wetland hydrology are perhaps most critical for Abe Run. Although public ownership brings protection from some disturbances (e.g., fire, local landscape alteration), impacts of others (e.g., high deer population, road building, public visitation) may have been increased.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation along hydrologic, edaphic, and geochemical gradients in a high-elevation poor fen in Canaan Valley, West Virginia

Rentch

Anderson

Lamont

et al. 2008

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Wetland plant community composition and pattern are regulated by a host of abiotic/environmental gradients and biotic factors. We used multivariate analyses to classify wetland plant communities and determine the relation of hydrologic, edaphic, and geochemical gradients on community composition and spatial distribution among 18 vegetation, hydrology, and soil sampling points in Abe Run, a botanically unique poor fen in northeastern West Virginia. We also examined the interactions of disturbance with the physical environment and species composition. A total of 179 vascular plant species were identified from sample plots. Vegetative composition and structure, dominant soil texture, and hydrology lacked the distinct concentric zonation of northern peatlands; instead, all were patchy and varied considerably over short distances. Graminoid-forb meadows with primarily silt-loam mineral horizons, greater depth to groundwater, and fewer days of inundation characterized the lower reaches of the wetland. These plots were more acidic, with absent or shallow O horizons, and lower concentrations of soil base cations (Ca, Mg, K). In the upper reaches of the wetland, mixed herb-shrub-tree dominated communities were structurally and compositionally more complex; here, organic horizons were much more prominent, peat depth ranged from 80 to 100 cm, and the average depth to water table was 10 cm less than for wells in the lower reaches of the wetland. Plots from upper transects (3-6) tended to have more shrub and tree cover, and higher concentrations of soil base cations. Much of the variability among plots in the upper and lower reaches of the wetland are consistent with beaver inundation of a large portion of the wetland during the 1980s. Multipleresponse permutation procedures verified the difference (P \ 0.0001) between vegetation of plots in the lower and upper reaches of the watershed. Because fens are connected to groundwater, these habitats are particularly vulnerable to disturbances, particularly those that alter existing land use and land cover. Minimization of disturbances in the surrounding watershed, controls on an excessive deer population, removal of exotic, nonnative species, and control on foot traffic are all integral to maintaining the integrity of this high-value wetland.

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Relationships among environmental factors, vegetation zones, and species richness in a North American calcareous prairie fen

Cited by 24 publications

References 56 publications

Biotic and Abiotic Conditions in Michigan Prairie Fen Invaded by Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Biotic and Abiotic Conditions in Michigan Prairie Fen Invaded by Glossy Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape

Vegetation along hydrologic, edaphic, and geochemical gradients in a high-elevation poor fen in Canaan Valley, West Virginia

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