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Undergrowth

About: Undergrowth is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 795 publications have been published within this topic receiving 11911 citations. The topic is also known as: understorey & underbrush.


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Journal ArticleDOI
10 Mar 2016-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: Insect folivory is unlikely to pose a barrier for reforestation in the tropical Andean mountain forest zone at present, but leafcutter ants may become problematic if local temperatures increase in the wake of global warming.
Abstract: Insect herbivory constitutes an important constraint in the viability and management of targeted reforestation sites. Focusing on young experimental stands at about 2000 m elevation in southern Ecuador, we examined foliar damage over one season as a function of tree species and habitat. Native tree species (Successional hardwood: Cedrela montana and Tabebuia chrysantha; fast-growing pioneer: Heliocarpus americanus) have been planted among prevailing local landcover types (abandoned pasture, secondary shrub vegetation, and a Pinus patula plantation) in 2003/4. Plantation trees were compared to conspecifics in the spontaneous undergrowth of adjacent undisturbed rainforest matched for height and foliar volume. Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that H. americanus as a pioneer species suffers more herbivory compared to the two successional tree species, and that damage is inversely related to habitat complexity. Overall leaf damage caused by folivorous insects (excluding leafcutter ants) was low. Average leaf loss was highest among T. chrysantha (7.50% ± 0.19 SE of leaf area), followed by H. americanus (4.67% ± 0.18 SE) and C. montana (3.18% ± 0.15 SE). Contrary to expectations, leaf area loss was highest among trees in closed-canopy natural rainforest, followed by pine plantation, pasture, and secondary shrub sites. Harvesting activity of leafcutter ants (Acromyrmex sp.) was strongly biased towards T. chrysantha growing in open habitat (mean pasture: 2.5%; shrub: 10.5%) where it could result in considerable damage (> 90.0%). Insect folivory is unlikely to pose a barrier for reforestation in the tropical Andean mountain forest zone at present, but leafcutter ants may become problematic if local temperatures increase in the wake of global warming.

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The vertical distribution of ants in broadleaf forests and red oak stands formed two clusters: the influents occupied the lower (herbage and shrub) vegetation layers, while the subdominants and dominants occupied the upper (shrub and arboreal) ones.
Abstract: Investigations were carried out in June–August 2012 and 2013 in broadleaf forests and planted stands of the northern red oak Quercus rubra in Kiev. The ant visitation rates of 3–6 most abundant plant species within each vegetation layer were analyzed. In all, 16 species of ants were found in the broadleaf forest (Quercus robur + Acer spp. + Carpinus betulus), with the dominance of three species: Formica rufa, Lasius fuliginosus, and L. emarginatus. Eight ant species occurred in Q. rubra stands with the undergrowth of Acer campestre and A. platanoides; the dominant species were Lasius fuliginosus and L. emarginatus. The northern red oak stands with conspecific undergrowth had only four ant species with no dominants among them. Plants with the highest ant visitation rates in the herbage layer of the broadleaf forest were the invasive Impatiens parviflora and the native Aegopodium podagraria. Ants were rare or absent on the remaining herbs: Impatiens noli-tangere, Carex sylvatica, Stellaria holostea, and Galium odoratum. The herbage layer was mostly visited by influents, the dominants being represented only by Lasius emarginatus. Within the shrub layer, ants most frequently visited the undergrowth of the maple Acer platanoides, often harboring colonies of the aphid Periphyllus lyropictus; the highest visitation rates were recorded in the dominants L. emarginatus and L. fuliginosus. The arboreal layer had the highest visitation rate and was most often visited by the dominants Lasius fuliginosus, L. emarginatus, and F. rufa. The common oak Q. robur was the most visited tree in broadleaf forests. In addition to providing ants with food (colonies of the aphids Lachnus roboris and Stomaphis quercus, and also phytophagous insects and other invertebrates), these trees were used for nesting by the dominants L. fuliginosus and L. emarginatus. The presence of aphid colonies was also typical of ripe trees and undergrowth of the maple A. platanoides, the second-visited tree in broadleaf forests. The common hornbeam Carpinus betulus was the least frequently visited, though some ant species, usually L. emarginatus, nested in the trunks and branches of old trees. The vertical distribution of ants in broadleaf forests and red oak stands formed two clusters: the influents occupied the lower (herbage and shrub) vegetation layers, while the subdominants and dominants occupied the upper (shrub and arboreal) ones. The smallest number of ant species (1 or 2) in all the vegetation layers was recorded in the areas with F. rufa; areas with L. fuliginosus had twice as many species; the greatest numbers of ant species were found in the areas with L. emarginatus and in those without dominants. This pattern may result from different territoriality of the dominants: the strongest in F. rufa (defending the whole territory) and the weaker in the other two species (defending only a part of the territory). Plants of all the vegetation layers varied in their attractiveness to ants. As a result, the layers had a mosaic structure in their vertical (between-layer) and horizontal (between different plant species within one layer) arrangement. From 60 to 100% of plants of certain species were visited by ants while plants of other species were not visited at all. The main reason for visiting plants by ants was the presence of aphid colonies.

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Brachiaria reptans, Dichantium coricosum, Thespesia lanpas, Achyrantes aspera, Stachytarpeta indica, Axonopus compressus and Oplismenus burmanii were predominant in study area and the invasion of A. nilotica has decreased the carryng capacity of savanna in Baluran National Park to the banteng.
Abstract: . Djufri, Wardiah. 2017. The diversity of undergrowth plants on Acacia nilotica stands as food resources of banteng (Bos javanicus) in Baluran National Park, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 288-294. The objectives of this research were to determine species composition, importance value of species, diversity index and evenness index of the undergrowth plants of Acacia nilotica stands. The quadratic method was used in this study. The similarity indeks and cluster analysis were performed to classify the community structure of undergrowth plants of Acacia nilotica. The results of this study showed that there were 63 species of plant belonging to 18 families. The importance value ranged between 0.97-42.58 and high and medium importance values belonged to Brachiaria reptans, Thespesia lampas, Oplismenus burmannii, Dichanthium coricosum, Axonopus compressus, and Synedrella nodiflora. The diversity index and evenness ranged 1.1504-2.7556 and 1.1067-1.7854, respectivelly. The Brachiaria reptans, Dichantium coricosum, Thespesia lanpas, Achyrantes aspera, Stachytarpeta indica, Axonopus compressus and Oplismenus burmanii were predominant in study area. In addition the invasion of A. nilotica has decreased the carryng capacity of savanna in Baluran National Park to the banteng. Keywords: Acacia nilotica, species composition, banteng, Baluran National Park

5 citations

01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, two Scots pine stands were selected in Haguenau forest, Alsace, France, to assess the contribution of each layer to eVective leaf area index (LAI) in stratieed forest canopies.
Abstract: In order to assess the contribution of each layer to eVective leaf area index (LAI) in stratieed forest canopies, two Scots pine stands were selected in Haguenau forest, Alsace, France. One stand, 80 years old, had a sparse tree layer and a dense herb layer. The other stand, 50 years old, had a closed tree layer and dense herb and shrub layers. Hemispherical photographs, taken at 10-metre intervals along transects beneath each layer, were digitized and analysed. In the two-layered stand, mean LAI was 0.9 for herbs and 1.5 for trees, contributing 37% and 63%, respectively, to total LAI. A positive and signie cant correlation was found between layers, suggesting that the herb layer had not yet adjusted to the recent thinning of the stand. In the three-layered stand, mean LAI was 1.1 for herbs, 0.4 for shrubs and 2.1 for trees, a contribution of 31%, 11% and 58%, respectively, to total LAI. The positive and signie cant correlation for LAI among layers may be explained by the presence of a mixture of light demanding and shade-tolerant species in the undergrowth. Horizontal spatial auto-covariance of estimates was not signie cant, denoting adequate sampling interval for statistically independent measurements. Such in situ assessments of LAI, diVerentiating vegeta- tion strata, are useful from the perspective of remote sensing of forests, since undergrowth plays an important role in the integrated spectral response of whole canopies.

5 citations

Book
01 Jan 1967

5 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202337
202293
202133
202030
201934
201836