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20 results for “plant encroachment”
WPE01 Assessing the value added of NEON for using machine learning to quantify vegetation mosaics and woody plant encroachment at Konza Prairie
Woody encroachment, or invasion of woody plants, is rapidly shifting tallgrass prairie into shrub and evergreen dominated ecosystems, mainly due to exclusion of fire. Tracking the pace and extent of woody encroachment is difficult because shrubs and small trees are much smaller than the coarse resolution (>10m2) of common remote sensed images. However, the US government has been investing in finer resolution (<2m2) remote sensing through USDA NAIP and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), both of which cost multi-million dollars each year and contain different remote sensed products. We compared two methods of classification (random forests and support vector machines) with these two freely available remotely sensed aerial images to determine if and how much NEON adds to classification accuracy and determine which method of machine learning was more accurate. All models have very high overall classification accuracy (>91%), with the NEON image a few percent more accurate than NAIP. The NEON image significantly relies on canopy height (LiDAR) to make classifications, but the importance of bands is more evenly distributed during NAIP classification. Lastly, accuracy for Eastern Red Cedar specifically is high with NEON (78-84%), compared to the relatively low classification accuracy using NAIP imagery (55-61%).
Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback
<p>This repository contains all code to reproduce the analysis in Koch et al. 2022 "Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback".</p> <p>We use a set of coupled differential equations to describe competition between shrubs and grasses, as well as plant biomass consumption via grazing and browsing. Grazers were assumed to receive a certain level of care from farmers, so that grazer densities emerge dynamically from the combined effect of vegetation abundance and farmer<br>support. Our main goal was to understand how critical transitions from grass-dominated to shrub-dominated system states were affected by the dynamic role of grazing.</p> <p>Our results show that bistability emerges for intermediate levels of farmer support due to positive feedback that arises from competition between shrubs and grasses and from herbivory. We furthermore demonstrate that disturbances, such as drought events, trigger abrupt transitions from the grass dominated to the shrub dominated state and that the system becomes more susceptible to disturbances with increasing farmer support.</p>
Data from: Water regime and nitrogen enrichment facilitate the encroachment of woody plants at various developmental stages in freshwater marshes
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Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback
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Effects of mangrove encroachment on tidal wetland plants and epifauna: 2012-2020
Woody encroachment is occurring in many marsh-mangrove ecotones across the globe, with multiple drivers contributing to an increase in mangrove cover. As a result, marsh plant species are often displaced, resulting in a striking regime shift from grass and forb-dominated habitats to taller, woody vegetation. Our goal was to quantify the bottom-up effects of mangrove woody encroachment into coastal wetlands on associated plant and epifaunal assemblages. In 2012, we established several large (> 20 ha) survey areas at tidal wetland sites with or without black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) on the Texas (USA) coast in the Gulf of Mexico, an area highly susceptible to mangrove encroachment. Starting in 2012, we annually recorded vascular plant cover and diversity and recorded snail (Littoraria irrorata) and fiddler crab (Uca spp.) density along transects perpendicular to the shoreline. Marsh plant species richness was 50% lower at sites with mangroves, and some species, such as Sarcocornia spp. and Distichlis spicata, were relatively rare or absent from sites with mangroves. The wetland plant communities at these sites were relatively unaffected by Hurricane Harvey (August 2017). Epifaunal snails and crabs were common at all sites, with abundances that varied over time. Our results indicate that coastal wetlands dominated by mangroves support different and lower diversity plant assemblages than marsh-dominated areas. These results were largely consistent with the results of a previous manipulative experiment in the same area. Therefore, as woody encroachment continues and mangrove cover gradually increases, this change may lead to complex bottom-up effects on a range of ecosystem processes and services.
Data from: Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: Importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage
1. Recent global trends of increasing woody plant abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems may substantially enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and could represent a strong carbon (C) sink in the terrestrial environment. However, few studies have quantitatively addressed the influence of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and soil properties on SOC storage at the landscape scale. In addition, most studies assessing SOC response to woody encroachment consider only surface soils, and have not explicitly assessed the extent to which deeper portions of the soil profile may be sequestering C. 2. We quantified the direction, magnitude, and pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC in the upper 1.2 m of the profile following woody encroachment via spatially-specific intensive soil sampling across a landscape in a subtropical savanna in the Rio Grande Plains, USA, that has undergone woody proliferation during the past century. 3. Increased SOC accumulation following woody encroachment was observed to considerable depth, albeit at reduced magnitudes in deeper portions of the profile. Overall, woody clusters and groves accumulated 12.87 and 18.67 Mg C ha-1 more SOC compared to grasslands to a depth of 1.2 m. 4. Woody encroachment significantly altered the pattern of spatial heterogeneity of SOC to a depth of 5 cm, with marginal effect at 5-15 cm, and no significant impact on soils below 15 cm. Fine root density explained greater variability of SOC in the upper 15 cm, while a combination of fine root density and soil clay content accounted for more of the variation in SOC in soils below 15 cm across this landscape. 5. Synthesis: Substantial SOC sequestration can occur in deeper portions of the soil profile following woody encroachment. Furthermore, vegetation patterns and soil properties influenced the spatial heterogeneity and uncertainty of SOC in this landscape, highlighting the need for spatially specific sampling that can characterize this variability and enable scaling and modeling. Given the geographic extent of woody encroachment on a global scale, this undocumented deep soil C sequestration suggests this vegetation change may play a more significant role in regional and global C sequestration than previously thought.
Understanding woody plant encroachment: A plant functional trait approach
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Interactive effects of plant litter type and yak excrement on litter decomposition in a shrub-encroached alpine meadow
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Data from: Soil carbon response to woody plant encroachment: Importance of spatial heterogeneity and deep soil storage
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Data from: Contrasting habitat and landscape effects on the fitness of a long-lived grassland plant under forest encroachment: do they provide evidence for extinction debt?
1. Habitat loss, fragmentation and transformation threaten the persistence of many species worldwide. Population and individual fitness are often compromised in small, degraded and isolated habitats, but extinction can be a slow process and extinction debts are common. 2. Long-lived species are prone to persist as remnant populations in low quality habitats for a long time, but the population and individual-level mechanisms of extinction debt remain poorly explored so far. 3. We here investigate the mechanisms involved in the long-term persistence of the common grassland specialist, long-lived, clonal plant Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. (Asparagaceae). after forest encroachment into semi-natural Mediterranean calcareous grasslands in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). For this purpose we assess vegetative (aboveground and belowground) and reproductive plant performance indicators and their habitat and landscape (current and historical) drivers. 4. We confirm the existence of an extinction debt for this species, since current plant frequency is related to historical but not current connectivity, and we also find a positive effect of historical connectivity on seed set. In addition, current tree cover negatively affects individual size and aboveground/belowground biomass ratio, and biotic soil acidification leads to a reduction in the flowering probability of individuals and stems. 5. However, we also find that current connectivity negatively affects flowering and that tree cover enhances seed set. The forestation process, thus, also exerts a positive effect on some fitness traits, probably by providing a moister environment. 6. Synthesis. Habitat loss and deterioration result in a decreased vegetative performance of Aphyllanthes monspeliensis, a grassland specialist, but show contrasting effects on its reproductive performance. However, further forest encroachment would increase light competition and soil acidification, threatening its persistence and promoting the payment of the extinction debt if no conservation measures are taken.
Data from: Fire-sensitive species dominate seed rain in a long unburned Cerrado: implications for plant community diversity and woody encroachment in savannas
Woody encroachment is becoming common in tropical savannas. Seed rain data and seed addition experiments in a long unburned Brazilian savanna indicate that abundant seed rain of fire-sensitive species can surpass limitations to recruitment and lead to woody encroachment. Thus, active fire management may be required to maintain savanna diversity.
Data from: Social-ecological landscape patterns predict woody encroachment from native tree plantings in a temperate grassland
Afforestation is often viewed as the purposeful planting of trees in historically non-forested grasslands, but an unintended consequence is woody encroachment, which should be considered part of the afforestation process. In North America's temperate grassland biome, Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native species used in tree plantings that aggressively invades in the absence of controlling processes. Cedar is a well-studied woody encroacher, but little is known about the degree to which cedar windbreaks, which are advocated for in agroforestry programs, are contributing to woody encroachment, what factors are associated with cedar spread from windbreaks, nor where encroachment from windbreaks is occurring in contemporary social–ecological landscapes. We used remotely sensed imagery to identify the presence and pattern of woody encroachment from windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. We used multimodel inference to compare three classes of models representing three hypotheses about factors that could influence cedar spread: (a) windbreak models based on windbreak structure and design elements; (b) abiotic models focused on local environmental conditions; and (c) landscape models characterizing coupled human-natural features within the broader matrix. Woody encroachment was evident for 22% of sampled windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Of our candidate models, our inclusive landscape model carried 92% of the model weight. This model indicated that encroachment from windbreaks was more likely near roadways and less likely near farmsteads, other cedar plantings, and waterbodies, highlighting strong social ties to the distribution of woody encroachment from tree plantings across contemporary landscapes. Cedar control efforts are insufficient for nearly one-quarter of windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Our model findings indicate where additional investments into cedar control can be prioritized to prevent cedar spread from windbreaks. This approach can serve as a model in other temperate regions to identify where woody encroachment resulting from temperate agroforestry programs is emerging.
High-intensity fires may have limited medium-term effectiveness for reversing woody plant encroachment in an African savanna
<p>1. Woody thickening or "bush encroachment" is a growing concern in savannas worldwide and can reportedly be reversed by applying high-intensity fires. Preliminary findings following experimental fires in 2010 and 2013 indicated that woody plant cover declined one year after high-intensity fires, but increased after low-intensity fires. However, the longer-term outcomes of high-intensity fires are largely unknown.</p> <p>2. To establish longer-term outcomes, we re-assessed sites subjected to Low, Medium and High-intensity fire treatments 10 years after the initial experimental fires. We compared woody vegetation structure in 2010 with that in 2020 using both ground surveys and airborne LiDAR.</p> <p>3. Ground surveys revealed increases in the number of stems and individual shrubs (< 10 m tall) over 10 years, and decreases in shrub height, with no significant differences between treatments. Large trees (≥ 10 m) declined by about 65% in number due to ongoing high mortality across treatments over 10 years.</p> <p>4. LiDAR surveys revealed significant but very small differences in woody plant height and cover between treatments after 10 years. Median height was around 2 m in all treatments, and 90<sup>th</sup> percentile tree height was moderately taller in the Low fire treatment. Mean canopy cover was about 55% in all treatments. The treatments, therefore, did not result in a meaningful reversal of woody encroachment with no discernible difference between the treatment sites after 10 years.</p> <p>5. <em>Synthesis and applications</em>. The application of high-intensity fires did not reverse woody encroachment in the longer term. In addition, the application of such treatments would be impractical at a large scale. Within a framework of Strategic Adaptive Management, the next logical step would be to attempt a different approach. In this case, it is intended to use early or late wet season burns to increase the mortality of shrubs when they are in a more vulnerable phenological state. This study illustrates the importance of ongoing long-term monitoring, review and adaptation for finding practical ways to achieve desired ecological outcomes.</p>
Data from: Fire-sensitive species dominate seed rain in a long unburned Cerrado: implications for plant community diversity and woody encroachment in savannas
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Data from: Environmental predictors of woody plant encroachment in calcareous fens are modified by biotic and abiotic land-use legacies
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Data from: Contrasting habitat and landscape effects on the fitness of a long-lived grassland plant under forest encroachment: do they provide evidence for extinction debt?
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Data from: Do changes in grazing pressure and the degree of shrub encroachment alter the effects of individual shrubs on understorey plant communities and soil function?
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Data from: Social-ecological landscape patterns predict woody encroachment from native tree plantings in a temperate grassland
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Data from: Direct and indirect effects of shrub encroachment on alpine grasslands mediated by plant-flower visitor interactions
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High-intensity fires may have limited medium-term effectiveness for reversing woody plant encroachment in an African savanna
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