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97 results for “vegetation structure”
Bird capture and vegetation structure data from 12 forest sites in Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, Peru
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Landscape structure, bird, and vegetation recruitment in restoration plantations
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SGS-LTER Effects of grazing on ecosystem structure and function (GZTX): Vegetation basal cover on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1992-2011, ARS Study Number 32
This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. When the CPER was established in 1939, researchers constructed a .5-1 ha grazing exclosure in each of the pastures. These areas have remained protected from grazing for the past 70 years. The remaining areas have been grazed for the past 20+ years. This collection of pastures and exclosures provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinitiate grazing and protection, and evaluate the balance between degradation and aggradation. We proposed to rearrange fences and expose areas to grazing that have been protected for 50 years, and protect areas from grazing that had been grazed for 50 years. The combinations of grazing conditions were: 1. Long-term protection 2. Long-term grazing (moderate) 3. 50 years of protection followed by grazing 4. 50 years of grazing followed by protection Net primary production, nitrogen dynamics, cattle utilization, and community dynamics of vegetation were measured. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85596.
SGS-LTER Effects of grazing on ecosystem structure and function (GZTX): Vegetation density on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1992-2008, ARS Study Number 32
This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. When the CPER was established in 1939, researchers constructed a .5-1 ha grazing exclosure in each of the pastures. These areas have remained protected from grazing for the past 70 years. The remaining areas have been grazed for the past 20+ years. This collection of pastures and exclosures provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinitiate grazing and protection, and evaluate the balance between degradation and aggradation. We proposed to rearrange fences and expose areas to grazing that have been protected for 50 years, and protect areas from grazing that had been grazed for 50 years. The combinations of grazing conditions were: 1. Long-term protection 2. Long-term grazing (moderate) 3. 50 years of protection followed by grazing 4. 50 years of grazing followed by protection Net primary production, nitrogen dynamics, cattle utilization, and community dynamics of vegetation were measured. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85596.
SGS-LTER Effects of grazing on ecosystem structure and function (GZTX): Nitrogen concentration of vegetation on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1992-2011, ARS Study Number 32
This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. When the CPER was established in 1939, researchers constructed a .5-1 ha grazing exclosure in each of the pastures. These areas have remained protected from grazing for the past 70 years. The remaining areas have been grazed for the past 20+ years. This collection of pastures and exclosures provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinitiate grazing and protection, and evaluate the balance between degradation and aggradation. We proposed to rearrange fences and expose areas to grazing that have been protected for 50 years, and protect areas from grazing that had been grazed for 50 years. The combinations of grazing conditions were: 1. Long-term protection 2. Long-term grazing (moderate) 3. 50 years of protection followed by grazing 4. 50 years of grazing followed by protection Net primary production, nitrogen dynamics, cattle utilization, and community dynamics of vegetation were measured. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85596.
Vegetation structure and soil chemistry on Hog Island, Northampton Co. Virginia, May/June 2012
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Data from: Structural complexity and large-sized trees explain shifting species richness and carbon relationship across vegetation types
<p>1. It is prominently claimed that enhancing forest diversity would play a dual role of nature conservation and climate regulation. While the idea is intuitively appealing, studies show that species richness effects on aboveground carbon (AGC) are not always positive, but instead unpredictable especially across scales and complex terrestrial systems having large-diameter and tall-stature trees. Previous studies have further considered structural complexity and larger trees as determinants of AGC. Yet it remains unclear what drives differential diversity-AGC relationships across vegetation types.</p> <p>2. Here, we test whether structural complexity and large-sized trees play an influential role in explaining shifting diversity-AGC relationships across vegetation types, using a 22.3 ha sampled dataset of 124 inventory plots in woodlands, gallery forests, tree/shrub savannahs and mixed plantations in West Africa.</p> <p>3. Natural vegetation had greater species richness and structural complexity than mixed plantations, as expected. In addition, AGC was highest in gallery forests and mixed plantations, which is consistent with favorable environmental conditions in the former and high stocking densities and presence of fast-growing species in the latter. Significant interaction effects of species richness and vegetation on AGC revealed a vegetation-dependent species richness-AGC relationship: consistently, we found positive species richness-AGC relationship in both mixed plantations and woodlands, and nonsignificant patterns in gallery forests and tree/shrub savannah. Further, there was a vegetation-dependent mediation of structural complexity in linking species richness to AGC, with stronger positive structural complexity effects where species richness-AGC relationships were positive, and stronger positive large-sized trees' effect where species richness-AGC relationships were neutral.</p> <p>4. Our study provides strong evidence of vegetation-dependent species richness-AGC relationships, which operated through differential mediation by structural complexity of the species richness and large trees' effects. We conclude that even higher species richness in diversified ecosystems may not always relate positively with AGC, and that neutral pattern may arise possibly as a result of larger dominant individual trees imposing a slow stand dynamic flux and overruling species richness effects.</p>
Substrate quality drives fungal necromass decay and decomposer community structure under contrasting vegetation types
<p>1. Fungal mycelium is increasingly recognized as a central component of soil biogeochemical cycling, yet our current understanding of the ecological controls on fungal necromass decomposition is limited to single sites and vegetation types.</p> <p>2. By deploying common fungal necromass substrates in a temperate oak savannah and hardwood forest in the midwestern USA, we assessed the generality of the rate at which high- and low-quality fungal necromass decomposes; further, we investigated how the decomposer 'necrobiome' varies both across and within sites under vegetation types dominated by either arbuscular (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) plants.</p> <p>3. The effects of necromass quality on decay rate were robust to site and vegetation type differences, with high-quality fungal necromass decomposing, on average, 2.5 times faster during the initial stages of decay. Across vegetation types, bacterial and fungal communities present on decaying necromass differed from bulk soil microbial communities and were influenced by necromass quality. Moulds, yeasts and copiotrophic bacteria consistently dominated the necrobiome of high-quality fungal substrates.</p> <p>4. Synthesis: We show that regardless of differences in decay environments, high-quality fungal substrates decompose faster and support different types of decomposer microorganisms when compared with low-quality fungal tissues. These findings help to refine our theoretical understanding of the dominant factors affecting fast cycling components of soil organic matter (SOM) and the microbial communities associated with rapid decay.</p>
Data from: Fallow management increases habitat suitability for endangered steppe bird species through changes in vegetation structure
In the face of the dramatic worldwide decline of farmland bird populations, the preservation of fallow fields is a conservation measure encouraged through subsidies (e.g. agri‐environmental schemes, AES). Beyond the general benefits of increasing fallow availability for endangered steppe bird populations, there is a lack of knowledge on how fallow management can contribute to meeting species‐specific habitat requirements. We used occurrence data from three steppe bird species protected at the EU level (Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, and Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra), framed in a quasi‐experimental approach covering an unprecedented spatio‐temporal scale that included 612 fallow fields over a three‐year study period in an agricultural Mediterranean landscape (Spain). We used path analysis to explore the mechanisms by which common agricultural practices affected species‐specific occurrence. We examined partial effects of agricultural practices on vegetation structure and food availability, and the partial effect of these variables on bird occurrence compared to control fields (no agricultural practices applied). Agricultural practices had a significant effect on the presence of the three studied species. Through changes in the vegetation structure, Shredding + Herbicide and Tillage increased the occurrence of the Stone Curlew and Shredding increased the occurrence of the Little Bustard. The occurrence of Calandra Lark was mostly affected by landscape variables. Synthesis and applications. Our study highlights that, in addition to the acknowledged positive role of fallow availability, applying a limited number of specific agricultural practices before the breeding season can further increase bird occurrence by changing the vegetation structure. Using path analysis, we explored the mechanisms driving the occurrence of three steppe bird species under different agricultural practices. Such information is key to providing specific recommendations for future conservation management of endangered species within agri‐environmental schemes.
FIGURE. Coprolites preserved in an early Permian fern mesophyll. A, Gross morphology of a fragmentary fern frond, specimen PB23532. B, Basal part of a penultimate pinna showing sphenopteroid vegetative pinnules. C, Polished surface showing two sporangia with typical annulus structures (white arrowheads). D, SEM image showing an in situ trilete spore. E, The fertile pinnule which contains numerous coprolites along a transverse wound area. F, Enlargement showing coprolites filled with brown to black contents. G, SEM image of the same part in E. H, SEM image showing locally preserved epidermal cells and nearby coprolites. in Discovery of coprolites in an Early Permian fern mesophyll
FIGURE. Coprolites preserved in an early Permian fern mesophyll. A, Gross morphology of a fragmentary fern frond, specimen PB23532. B, Basal part of a penultimate pinna showing sphenopteroid vegetative pinnules. C, Polished surface showing two sporangia with typical annulus structures (white arrowheads). D, SEM image showing an in situ trilete spore. E, The fertile pinnule which contains numerous coprolites along a transverse wound area. F, Enlargement showing coprolites filled with brown to black contents. G, SEM image of the same part in E. H, SEM image showing locally preserved epidermal cells and nearby coprolites.
The relative influence of history, climate, topography and vegetation structure on local animal richness varies among taxa and spatial grains
<p>Understanding the spatial scales at which environmental factors drive species richness patterns is a major challenge in ecology. Due to the trade-off between spatial grain and extent, studies tend to focus on a single spatial scale, and the effects of multiple environmental variables operating across spatial scales on the pattern of local species richness have rarely been investigated.</p> <p>Here, we related variation in local species richness of ground beetles, landbirds, and small mammals to variation in vegetation structure and topography, regional climate, biome diversity, and glaciation history for 27 sites across the USA at two different spatial grains.</p> <p>We studied the relative influence of broad-scale (landscape) environmental conditions using variables estimated at the site level (climate, productivity, biome diversity, and glacial era ice cover) and fine-scale (local) environmental conditions using variables estimated at the plot level (topography and vegetation structure) to explain local species richness. We also examined whether plot-level factors scale up to drive continental scale richness patterns. We used Bayesian hierarchical models and quantified the amount of variance in observed richness that was explained by environmental factors at different spatial scales.</p> <p>For all three animal groups, our models explained much of the variation in local species richness (85-89%), but site-level variables explained a greater proportion of richness variance than plot-level variables. Temperature was the most important site-level predictor for explaining variance in landbirds and ground beetles richness. Some aspects of vegetation structure were the main plot-level predictors of landbird richness. Environmental predictors generally had poor explanatory power for small mammal richness, while glacial era ice cover was the most important site-level predictor.</p> <p>Relationships between plot-level factors and richness varied greatly among geographical regions and spatial grains, and most relationships did not hold when predictors were scaled up to continental scale. Our results suggest that the factors that determine richness may be highly dependent on spatial grain, geography, and animal group. We demonstrate that instead of artificially manipulating the resolution to study multi-scale effects, a hierarchical approach that uses fine grain data at broad extents could help solve the issue of scale selection in environment-richness studies. </p>
Data for: The formation of "mega‐flocks" depends on vegetation structure in montane coniferous forests of Taiwan
<p>A mixed-species bird flock is a social assemblage where two or more bird species are moving together while foraging and might benefit from increased foraging efficiency and antipredator vigilance. A "mega-flock," which includes flocking species from different vegetation layers, often exhibits high species diversity. Mechanisms for the formation of mega-flocks have not yet been explored. In this study, we evaluated the influence of vegetation structure and bird species diversity/richness in driving the occurrence of mega-flocks. We investigated the composition of mixed-species flocks, local bird communities, and vegetation structure in five vegetation types of two high-elevation sites in central Taiwan. (For more details, please see the paper which has been published in Ecology and Evolution, entitled "The formation of "mega-flocks" depends on vegetation structure in montane coniferous forests of Taiwan." Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8608)</p>
Apendices(Effect of Vegetation Structure on Secondary Wind Dispersal Distance of Diaspores)
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FIGURE 1. Begonia pentandra. Vegetative structures and habit. A in A new section (Begonia sect. Oligandrae sect. nov.) and a new species (Begonia pentandra sp. nov.) in Begoniaceae from New Guinea
FIGURE 1. Begonia pentandra. Vegetative structures and habit. A, colony on limestone wall; B, stem indument and stipules. A–B without collection, Juha South, February 2008.
FIGURE 2. Distrianthes exxonmobilensis. Vegetative structures. A in Distrianthes exxonmobilensis (Loranthaceae), a new species in a formerly monotypic genus from Papua New Guinea
FIGURE 2. Distrianthes exxonmobilensis. Vegetative structures. A, abaxial surfaces; B, adaxial surfaces. A–B from Takeuchi, Gambia & Jisaka 23094.
Data from: Population genetic structure of the giant cactus Echinopsis terscheckii in northwestern Argentina is shaped by patterns of vegetation cover
Species inhabiting drylands commonly depend on the surrounding vegetation for recruitment under stress, while competition may affect populations in moister environments. Our objective was to analyze how different climates and vegetation affect the fine-scale spatial genetic structure (SGS) of the columnar cactus Echinopsis terscheckii. At four sites we estimated vegetation cover by digitized patches and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). We mapped 30 individuals per population and collected tissue for isozyme electrophoresis using 15 putative loci. Spatial autocorrelation between all possible genotype pairs and the number of genetically homogeneous groups and families were calculated for each population. Greater cover (66%) and average NDVI values were detected in the most humid habitat that consisted of fewer, larger, and more dispersed vegetation patches. All populations were genetically diverse and showed significant SGS. Positive correlations were found between the distance at which maximum autocorrelation and kinship values were reached and vegetation area and patch size. Also higher NDVI values were associated with lower number of patches. Populations exposed to higher precipitation and vegetation cover consisted of sparse individuals that clustered at larger distances whereas vegetation patches in arid climates produced groups of closely related genotypes at small distances. These results support the stress-gradient genetic hypothesis. Under water stress, facilitation promotes establishment underneath patchy vegetation resulting in fine-scale family structure. In moister xerophilous forests competition for resources, i.e. light, results in sparse individuals and thus coarse-scale neighborhoods. This information can guide conservation and/or restoration efforts, such as the spatial scale to be considered in germplasm collection.
Data from: Landscape structure influences urban vegetation vertical structure
Vegetation vertical structure is important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. In cities, however, while variation in the spatial extent and distribution of vegetation has been widely investigated, vertical vegetation structure and its potential drivers have not. Understanding how vegetation vertical structure varies across cities and identifying the potential drivers of this variation will improve the management of urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services. We used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to quantify the vertical structure of vegetation across Brisbane, Australia, at 1-km2 and 1-ha spatial scales and investigated how this structure varied in response to biophysical, socioeconomic, urban form and landscape structure variables. Using model selection techniques, we found that landscape structure variables related to tree cover (tree cover extent and spatial configuration) best explained the vegetation vertical structure at both spatial scales. Biophysical and urban form variables were also important, but only in combination with landscape structure. Mean vegetation vertical complexity, foliage projective cover and canopy height at a site all decreased as the treed proportion of the surrounding urban landscape decreased. In general, these vertical structure variables also increased where patches of vegetation were clustered together spatially. Synthesis and applications. Using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and model selection techniques, we show that the extent and vertical structure of urban vegetation are not independent and that reduced extent and increased fragmentation of urban vegetation are associated with simplification of its vertical structure. If common, this relationship means that managing urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services should not focus solely on the amount of tree cover or green space present across cities, but also on identifying where interventions to improve vegetation vertical complexity are required. Our study provides important insights into where these locations may be in cities.
The vegetation composition, structure and regeneration status of Gole Natural Forest, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
<p>This study was conducted in Gole natural forest (Dodola) West Arsi Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study was intended to investigate the vegetation composition, structure, community types and the regeneration status. To collect the vegetation data, systematically 62 plots 20 m × 20 m (400 m<sup>2</sup>) were established at 100 m interval, starting from the top of the mountain. Tree and shrub species were counted and their cover abundance value was estimated. The data for herbaceous species were collected from five 2 m × 2 m sub-plots laid at the four corners each and one at the centre of the main plot. Height and diameter at breast height (DBH) of all woody species taller than 1.5 m and thicker than 2 cm were measured. R package was applied for cluster analysis. Indicator species analysis was performed in R Interpolated species accumulation curves. Estimate S 8.2 Software and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze the data. Rarefaction was applied to compare the species richness of the plant communities in the study area. Sorensen's similarity coefficient was used to detect similarities and dissimilarities among communities.</p> <p>A total of 114 plant species belonging to 57 families and 94 genera were identified. The most dominant families were Asteraceae, followed by Acanthaceae and Lamiaceaae. Out of 114 species 17 were endemic to Ethiopia. The study showed that high density was seen at lower height and DBH classes. Five plant community types were identified. The rarefaction revealed that there is difference in species richness among communities. The Sorensen's similarity index showed that, there was a difference in the distribution of plant species composition among the five plant communities.</p>
Land surface modeling over the Dry Chaco: the impact of model structures, and soil, vegetation and land cover parameters
<p>The datasets archived here include simulation results shown in the paper, “Land surface modeling over the Dry Chaco: the impact of model structures, and soil, vegetation and land cover parameters”, published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (Maertens et al., 2021). The simulations were conducted over the South-American Dry Chaco and output on the different water budget components was produced with three land surface models (CLM2.0, CLSM-F2.5, and Noah3.6) embedded in the NASA Land Information System (LIS). The default LIS parameters were revised with (i) improved soil parameters, (ii) satellite-based interannually varying vegetation indices (leaf area index and green vegetation fraction), and (iii) yearly land cover information. For each experiment described in the manuscript, we provide daily netcdf files (0.125° resolution, period Jan 1992 – Dec 2015). The conducted experiments are simulations with (i) default LIS parameters (BL), (ii) updated soil parameters (REV<sub>s</sub>) and (iii) interannualy varying vegetation and land cover parameters (REV<sub>SV</sub>).<br> For details, please refer to</p> <p>Maertens, M., De Lannoy, G. J. M., Apers, S., Kumar, S. V., and Mahanama, S. P. P.: Land Surface modeling over the Dry Chaco: the impact of model structures, and soil, vegetation and land cover parameters, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences.</p> <p>Please contact Michiel Maertens (michiel.maertens@kuleuven.be) or Gabriëlle De Lannoy (gabrielle.delannoy@kuleuven.be) for any questions.</p>
Data from: Temperature and vegetation complexity structure mixed-species flocks along a gradient of elevation in the tropical Andes
<p>Mixed-species flocks constitute community modules that can help test mechanisms driving changes to community composition across environmental gradients. Here, we examined elevational patterns of flock diversity (species richness, taxonomic diversity, species and guild composition) and asked if these patterns were reflections of the full bird community at a given elevation (open-membership hypothesis), or if they were instead structured by environmental variables. We surveyed both the overall avian community and mixed-species flocks across an undisturbed elevational gradient (~1350 – 3550 m) in the Bolivian Andes. We then tested for the role of temperature (a surrogate for abiotic stress), resource diversity (arthropods, fruits) and foraging niche diversity (vegetation vertical complexity) in structuring these patterns. Patterns for the overall and flocking communities were similar, supporting our open-membership hypothesis that Andean flocks represent dynamic, unstructured aggregations. Membership openness and the resulting flock composition, however, also varied with elevation in response to temperature and vegetation complexity. We found a mid-elevation peak in flock species richness, size, and Shannon's diversity at ~2300 m. The transition of flocking behavior towards a more open-membership system at this elevation may explain a similar peak in the proportion of insectivores joining flocks. At high elevations, increasing abiotic stress and decreasing fruit diversity led more generalist, gregarious tanagers (Thraupidae) to join flocks, resulting in larger yet more even flocks alongside a loss of vegetation structure. At lower elevations, flock species richness increased with greater vegetation complexity, but a greater diversity of foraging niches resulted in flocks that were more segregated into separate canopy and understory sub-types. This segregation likely results from increased costs of interspecific competition and activity matching (i.e., constraints on movement and foraging rate) for insectivores. Mid-elevation flocks (~2300 m) seemed, therefore, to benefit from both the open-membership composition of high-elevation flocks and the high vegetation complexity of mid- and low-elevation forests.</p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
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The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.