bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mycorrhizae in Prairie Restoration: Response of Three Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Populations to Mycorrhizal Inoculum from a Single Source
Authors: Anderson Roger C. , Roberts Karl J. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn prairie restoration, use of seeds from nonlocal sources has been of concern to restorationists. We examined the specificity between vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi obtained from a single location and little bluestem obtained from three localities. Seed was obtained from three sources: (1) a commercial seed supplier in Nebraska, (2) Sand Ridge State Forest (SRSF), Mason County, Illinois, the site from which the experimental soil containing the mycorrhizal inoculum was obtained, and (3) Sand Prairie Scrub Oak Nature Preserve (SPSO), 32 km southwest of SRSF. Plants were grown in three substrates: (1) autoclaved soil, (2) autoclaved soil to which a mycorrhizal fungal‐free sieving of nonautoclaved soil was added, and (3) nonautoclaved soil. All plants grown in nonautoclaved soil were colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, whereas none of those grown in other substrates were colonized. Plants grown from SRSF seeds produced significantly (p < 0.05) more biomass than those grown from Nebraska seeds (X̄± SE, SRSF = 0.54 ± 0.04 g, SPSO = 0.49 ± 0.03 g, Nebraska = 0.37 ± 0.03 g). Plants grown in nonautoclaved soil, regardless of seed source, produced less biomass (0.27 ± 0.02 g) than plants grown in autoclaved soil (0.58 ± 0.03 g) or autoclaved soil plus sievings (0.59 ± 0.03 g).The results provide no clear indication of a host‐endophyte specificity. However, the data suggest that the local genotypes of S. scoparium are better adapted to their native soil environment than are genotypes from other localities.
Restoring the Pygmy Pine Forests of New Jersey's Pine Barrens
Authors: Fimbel Robert A. , Kuser John E. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe Pinelands National Reserve and UNESCO Biosphere encompass a large portion of southern New Jersey's Pine Barrens. Within the core preservation zone of these Reserves lies the Warren Grove Weapons Range, a military installation where exercises during the past 50 years have devastated portions of the indigenous pygmy pine‐oak forest. In 1987, restoration efforts were initiated to identify materials and techniques that promote a diverse and productive native plant community atop drastically disturbed portions of the range. We used trial plantings to examine fertilizer and sewage compost fertility amendments, the effect of different native plant mixtures (including the dwarfed race of pitch pine,Pinus rigida), the influence of the ectomycorrhizal fungusPisolithus tinctoriuson the growth of pines and associated species, and mulch applications to conserve moisture and add organic matter. Following two growing seasons, test plantings exhibited 25% of the vegetation production found in the surrounding pine‐oak community, 50% canopy closure, and levels of diversity comparable to the reference site. Maximum biomass and cover were achieved following the application of 16 Mg/ha compost and the establishment of pitch pine seedlings. Pitch pine was the dominant species in all plots where it was planted, with herbaceous species comprising the balance of the developing vegetation. Amendments of seeded grasses,P. tinctorius, and mulch influenced species composition but failed to enhance total plant production. We recommend restoring drastically disturbed sites in the pine plains with cultural input of compost to the spoils and planting of pitch pines and other woody species to accelerate the structural blending of reforested sites with the surrounding native vegetation.
Vegetation of Restored Rock‐Plowed Wetlands of the East Everglades
Authors: Dalrymple Nancy K. , Dalrymple George H. , Fanning Kathy A. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractResults of a short‐term study of the revegetation of illegally rock‐plowed wetlands in the East Everglades are reported. Comparisons of the plant communities on a restored site, an unrestored site, and the natural control areas directly adjacent to these sites were made using line intercept transects. On the site where removal of the rock‐plowed material and grading of the surface to below original elevation were required for restoration, less than 20% of plant cover was of nonwetland species, and the occurrence of exotic species was low. On the rock‐plowed site where no restoration efforts were performed, 61% of plant cover was of nonwetland species, and there was a higher occurrence of exotic species compared to the restored rock‐plowed and the control sites.
Seed Stores for Restoration of Species‐Rich Shrubland Vegetation Following Mining in Western Australia
Authors: Bellairs Sean M. , Bell David T. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe extreme species richness of native shrubland vegetation (kwongan) near Eneabba, Western Australia, presents a major problem in the restoration of sites following mineral sand mining. Seed sources available for post‐mining restoration and those present in the native kwongan vegetation were quantified and compared. Canopy‐borne seeds held in persistent woody fruits were the largest seed source of perennial species in the undisturbed native vegetation and also provided the most seeds for restoration. In undisturbed vegetation, the germinable soil seed store (140–174 seeds · m−2) was only slightly less than the canopy‐borne seed store (234–494 seeds · m−2), but stockpiled topsoil provided only 9% of the germinable seeds applied to the post‐mining habitat. The age of stockpiled soil was also important. In the three‐year‐old stockpiled topsoil, the seed bank was only 10.5 seeds · m−2 in the surface 2.5 cm, compared to 56.1 to 127.6 seeds · m−2 in fresh topsoil from undisturbed vegetation sites. In the stockpiled topsoil, most seeds were of annual species and 15–40% of the seeds were of non‐native species. In the topsoil from undisturbed vegetation, over 80% of the seeds were of perennial species, and non‐native species comprised only 2.7% of the seed bank. Additional seeds of native species were broadcast on restoration areas, and although this represented only 1% of the seed resources applied, the broadcast seed mix was an important resource for increasing post‐mining species richness. Knowledge of the life‐history characteristics of plant species may relate to seed germination patterns and assist in more accurate restoration where information on germination percentages of all species is not available.
Wildlife‐Habitat Restoration in an Urban Park in Southern California
Authors: Morrison Michael L. , Scott Thomas A. , Tennant Tracy 
Published: April 2006

AbstractWithin an urban park in southern California, the relationship between the structure and floristics of vegetation and the distribution, abundance, and behavior of wildlife was studied in relatively undisturbed areas (San Luis Rey) and in contiguous areas (Guajome Park) in need of restoration. These data were used to develop recommendations for the enhancement of native animal species in the park. The abundance of amphibians and reptiles was highest in native upland scrub and willow (Salix)‐riparian vegetation types, and lowest in dry, disturbed sites. Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) were the most abundant reptile throughout both study areas. Overall, bullfrogs (Rana catesbiana), an exotic species, were the dominant amphibians; the native Pacific treefrog (Hyla regilla) was rare throughout. At both study areas, the small mammal community was dominated by western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and, to a lesser extent, by brush mice (P. boylii) and exotic house mice (Mus musculus). Negative correlations in abundance existed between house mice and harvest mice, and between house mice abundance and overall small mammal abundance. In riparian sites, cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and various height classes of willow were the dominant factors in the majority of bird abundance–habitat‘correlations and where foraging activities were concentrated. Recommendations for enhancing native animal species include reduction of marsh sedimentation, removal of feral species, and development of connections between the park and nearby natural areas. A corridor of native riparian vegetation (primarily cottonwood‐willow) should be developed to replace the existing agricultural fields, thereby linking Guajome with the San Luis Rey River.
Construction of Sand Shinnery Oak Communities of the Llano Estacado: Animal Disturbances, Plant Community Structure, and Restoration
Authors: Dhillion Shivcharn S. , McGinley Mark A. , Friese Carl F. , Zak John C. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractIn land restoration it is imperative to study the potential role of disturbances, biotic or abiotic, that may provide sites for colonization by specific plants. Disturbances can alter community composition by removing species or allowing others to become established. In communities where animal‐generated disturbances open sites for seedling establishment, animals may have important indirect effects on several aspects of plant community structure. Animal disturbances in Quercus havardii communities of western Texas appear to open sites for colonization by herbaceous species. These animal disturbances vary in spatial distribution, density, and abiotic and biotic characteristics. The abundance of herbaceous plant seedlings is positively related to bare ground and the number of distinct disturbances. Thus, the density and the spatial distribution of these disturbances may be expected to have an important influence on the abundance and dispersion of plant species. Therefore, successful restoration efforts of sand shinnery oak communities and other similar habitats must consider the effects of animal disturbances and the role of plant‐animal and plant‐soil microbe interactions on plant community composition and the maintenance of plant species diversity.
Rehabilitation of Tropical Lands: A Key to Sustaining Development
Authors: Brown Sandra , Lugo Ariel E. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractLand rehabilitation is proposed as a management strategy to reverse the negative consequences of tropical deforestation and land degradation. We first define the concepts associated with ecosystem modification—conversion, damage, and degradation—and those associated with ecosystem repair—restoration, rehabilitation, and reclamation. We then present a scheme of sustainable land use in the tropics, with illustrations of how rehabilitation and restoration activities fit into the overall scheme of the use of land. Because damaged lands cannot contribute effectively to sustained economic development, land rehabilitation is a necessary step for increasing the chances of attaining sustainability. Approaches for rehabilitating ecosystems are discussed, including the management of stressors and subsidies in relation to their point of interaction in the ecosystem. Finally, we illustrate the concepts of ecosystem rehabilitation of damaged, degraded, and derelict lands with examples of case studies from dry to humid life zones in island and continental situations throughout the tropics. The case studies demonstrate that opportunities for success exist, even with severely degraded lands, but a considerable amount of research remains to be done before we have a full understanding of the complexity of the task facing us.
Bioindication of Soil Fertility and a Mathematical Model for Restoration Assessment
Authors: Růžek Lubomír 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThis article contributes to the worldwide trend of using microbiological methods for bioindication of the influence of abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic factors on the soil environment, especially on the plough layer of soils. It compares two approaches to assess microbial biomass‐C: (1) chemical treatment of soil samples by CHCl3 vapor, followed by extraction, and (2) heat treatment in the range of 62–65°C for 24 hours, followed by extraction. It recommends the analysis of different forms of organic carbon, the total carbon of soil organic mass, and microbial biomass‐C and other forms of organic carbon extractable with 0.5 M K2SO4 and 0.5 M (NH4)2SO4 respectively. It presents a simple mathematical model suitable for assessment of microbial recuperation of the topsoil (0–15 cm) after restoration. The relation between the measured values and the values calculated with the model expressed as percentages expresses the quality of restoration achieved and the stage of disturbance of the living microbial part of the topsoil. It indicates not only the ecological impact but also the deficit and stress situations, to which the living microbial part of the topsoil is exposed in the long term.
Native Seed Collection, Processing, and Storage for Revegetation Projects in the Western United States
Authors: Lippitt Laurie , Fidelibus Matthew W. , Bainbridge David A. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThe foundation of a successful revegetation or restoration program is quality native seed. This requires careful collection, processing, and storage. Mature seed should be collected from healthy, local stands with a sufficiently broad genetic base. Careful identification of the site characteristics and seed‐lot tracking are essential. Yearly variation in seed production and seed quality can be very high, and an early determination of seed quality can prevent expensive failures. Nondestructive evaluation using X‐rays is effective and economical, but techniques such as staining, inspection, and germination tests can also be helpful. Cleaning, dewinging, and upgrading seed before storage can (1) reduce weight and bulk, (2) improve storage life, (3) increase germination, and (4) make greenhouse production and field planting easier and more economical. The seeds of many native plants can lose their viability quickly if they are not stored under controlled conditions. Seeds in storage must also be protected from rodents, pests, and disease. Dormancy is common in the seeds of many native species, and experimentation is often necessary to determine the best way to break seed dormancy. This can be complicated by year‐to‐year and plant‐to‐plant variation.
Biodiversity Resources for Restoration Ecology
Authors: Handel Steven N. , Robinson George R. , Beattie Andrew J. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractBiological resources can be more usefully incorporated into many aspects of restoration ecology. During the planning and design stage, the wide genotypic variation in natural plant populations must be recognized and exploited. This will ensure that genotypes used on a site are best adapted to local conditions and have a greater probability of survivorship than arbitrarily chosen material. Also, certain unusual genotypes can be located using the principles of evolutionary ecology and can be installed in areas with extreme conditions, such as soils contaminated with heavy metals, in areas where rapid colonizing ability (high seed set and/or clonal growth) is particularly advantageous, or where soils are of poor quality. Similarly, where high herbivore pressure is a threat to restoration, genotypes that are well defended, chemically or mechanically, against animal enemies should be selected to initiate the restoration process. The nursery industry can be encouraged to supply an ecologically wider selection of material for restoration, originating from local biological reserves and natural habitats. During the management phase of a restoration, local natural habitats are critical as reservoirs of biological control agents, seed sources for plant species, and members of higher trophic levels and additional plant species needed during succession. Mutualists such as pollinators, seed dispersers, and mycorrhizal fungi are vital to the success of a restoration project, and these must invade from nearby natural habitats or must be deliberately introduced. During the evaluation phase of restoration, local natural areas should be used as templates of community composition and structure from which one measures success. A functioning restoration project will interact biologically with surrounding areas, the exchange of species and genes being particularly important. Analysis of the microbial and invertebrate communities that have invaded the installed plant community may be useful and accurate determinants of ecological function. For these latter stages of the restoration process, the value of preserving local habitat remnants is high and complements their usefulness as a source of ecologically precise material for installation.
A Comparative Study of Spider (Araneae) Communities of Rehabilitated Bauxite Mines and Surrounding Forest in the Southwest of Western Australia
Authors: Simmonds S. J. , Majer J. D. , Nichols O. G. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractA study of spider (Araneae) communities was conducted in rehabilitated bauxite mines at the Jarrahdale mine site of Alcoa of Australia Ltd. and in the nearby native jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest in southwest Western Australia. The study was conducted from March to August 1993 in five rehabilitated sites of different age and method of rehabilitation and in two forest sites. A variety of collection methods was used, including pitfall trapping, litter sampling, sweep netting, tree beating, and visual searching. These methods were the same as those carried out in a previous study of some of these areas in 1983. We collected 151 spider species belonging to 102 genera and 34 families. We examined the relationship between various habitat features, including the age and method of rehabilitation, of the spider communities present. It was found that leaf litter depth and cover and vegetation density had a significant positive influence on recolonization by the various spider guilds. The age and method of rehabilitation were found to influence different vegetational and habitat features; these, in turn, influenced the spider communities. Thus, the older a rehabilitated site the greater the species richness of both plants and spiders. We compared these results with those of the 1983 study to determine the spider succession of the aging rehabilitation. The spider communities and guild composition were found to change as the vegetation matured, from a dominance of pioneer species to a community of species requiring less harsh conditions. By comparison with the pre‐1983 rehabilitation, the latest method of rehabilitation increased the rate of recolonization by both plants and spiders.
Fire‐Regime Disruption and Pine‐Oak Forest Structure in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Durango, Mexico
Authors: Fule Peter Z. , Covington W. Wallace 
Published: April 2006

AbstractFire is a common but poorly understood disturbance in the forested ecosystems of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. In this study, fire history, forest structure (density, species composition, regeneration, forest floor fuels, herbaceous cover, and age of pines), and the dendrochronological tree‐ring record were measured at two unharvested 70‐ha pine‐oak sites near Ojito de Camellones, Durango, Mexico. Study sites were matched in slope, aspect, elevation, slope position, and plant composition, but they differed in fire history since 1945 and in forest structure. The long‐term mean fire intervals (MFI) for all fires at both sites up to 1945 were similar—4.0 years at Site 1 (1744–1945) and 4.1 years at Site 2 (1815–1945)—but Site 1 burned only three times at the site margins since 1945 while Site 2 had 9 fires that scarred two or more sample trees and 15 total fires since 1945. Density measurements and age and diameter distributions showed that Site 1 was dominated by numerous, younger, smaller trees (mean total basal area of 23.4 m2/ha and 2730 trees/ha), while Site 2 had fewer, older, larger trees (basal area of 37.2 m2/ha, 647 trees/ha). Large, rotten fuel loading and duff depth were also greater at Site 1. Because regeneration averaged 6200 stems/ha at Site 1 and 8730 stems/ha at Site 2 (no significant difference), forest density at Site 2 was not limited by regeneration capability. The distributions of overstory diameter and pine age at both sites indicate that tree establishment occurred in pulses, with the largest cohort of trees establishing at Site 1 following the 1945 fire. The dense regeneration and heavy fuel accumulation at Site 1 are likely to support a switch from the former low‐intensity fire regime to a high‐intensity, stand‐replacing fire across the site when the next suitable combination of ignition and weather occurs. Baseline quantitative information on fire frequency and ecological effects is essential to guide conservation or restoration of Madrean forests and may prove valuable for restoration of related fire‐dependent ecosystems that have experienced extended fire exclusion elsewhere in North America.
From Biodiversity to Ecodiversity: A Landscape‐Ecology Approach to Conservation and Restoration
Authors: Naveh Z. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractAn environmental revolution is urgently needed that will lead to a post‐industrial symbiosis between man and nature. This can be realized only if the present unrestrained biological impoverishment and neotechnological landscape degradation are replaced by the creation of healthy and attractive landscapes. Restorationists can fulfill a vital role in this process. They must broaden their scales from biodiversity restoration in small, protected nature islands to the large‐scale restoration of natural and cultural landscapes. To achieve this they must restore not only the patterns of vegetation but also the processes that create these patterns, including human land uses. Their goal should be to restore the total biological, ecological, and cultural landscape diversity, or “ecodiversity,” and its intrinsic and instrumental values of highly valuable, endangered seminatural, agricultural and rural landscapes. For this purpose it is essential to maintain and restore the dynamic flow equilibrium between biodiversity, ecological, and cultural landscape heterogeneity, as influenced by human land uses, which occur at different spatial and temporal scales and intensities. Recent advances in landscape ecology should be utilized for broader assessment of ecodiversity, including proposed indices of ecodiversity, new techniques such as Intelligent Geographical Information Systems (IGIS), and Green Books for the holistic conservation and restoration of valuable endangered landscapes. Restoration ecology can make an important contribution to an urgently needed environmental revolution. This revolution should lead to a new symbiosis between man and nature by broadening the goal of vegetation restoration to ecological and cultural landscape restoration, and thereby to total landscape ecodiversity.