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.

The Psychotria vogeliana-community in the spontaneous undergrowth of teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) plantations in south-Benin: ecological and sllvicultural indicatory values

Abstract: The spontaneous undergrowth of teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) plantation in Djigbe forest (south Benin) has been studied. The Psychotria vogeliana-community is identified from ten representative phytosociological releves. This community is an indicator of sandy plateau soils generally associated with the least productive plantations. It's composed of 91 species with a mean of 32 species per releve. The study of distribution spectra reveals the abundance of phanerophytes, secondary forest species and phytogeographically widespread species; they represent respectively 86%, 48% and 50% of the total number of species. The analysis of species diversity indicates that the Psychotria vogeliana-community is somewhat diversified, but the species abundance is weakly balanced (2.1 for Shannon-Wiever index and 0.48 for evenness index).

Effects of Robinia pseudoacacia on the undergrowth of herbaceous plants and soil properties in the Loess Plateau of China

Abstract: The introduction of Robinia pseudoacacia (RP) has some effects on undergrowth herbaceous plants (UH), soil properties and their relationships, which may be related to the vegetation zone. However, few studies have tested effects of RP on UH and soil over a large-scale area of the Loess Plateau. The study area consisted of three vegetation zones (the steppe, forest-steppe and forest zone). Two canopy plant types were selected: RP stands and adjacent native vegetation. We measured five leaf functional traits: leaf carbon content (LC), leaf nitrogen content (LN), leaf phosphorus content (LP), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf tissue density (LTD). The functional diversity, species diversity and community-weighted mean (CWM) traits were calculated. (i) CWM.LN, CWM.LP and CWM.SLA increased significantly, whereas CWM.LC and CWM.LTD decreased significantly in the three vegetation zones, compared with the native communities. (ii) Species diversity, functional diversity and community biomass decreased in the steppe zone, increased in the forest zone, and did not differ significantly in the forest-steppe zone. (iii) We found only soil organic carbon (P < 0.05) and soil total nitrogen (P < 0.05) in the forest zone decreased significantly compared with the native plots. (iv) The relationship between UH and soil properties was affected by RP and the vegetation zone. Overall, the effect of RP on UH and soil properties was associated with the vegetation zone. This result is of great significance to the planning of restoration and reconstruction of artificial forests in the Loess Plateau.

Effect of Forest Fire on Soil Nutrients in Blue Pine ( Pinus wallichiana A.B. Jackson) Ecosystems

Abstract: Forest fire is recognized as one of the major natural disaster, damaging huge forest and grassland areas worldwide. Fire can change plant composition, devastate biomass, alter soil physical and chemical properties and decrease nutrient pools. In recent years, Blue Pine ( Pinus wallichiana ) forests in South Kashmir are experiencing a heavy loss due to fire with respect to damage to undergrowth and disturbance in soil nutrient status. An assessment of damage in terms of ecological and economic attributes due to fire is deemed to be much. The frequency of fire is rising as biotic pressure on forest resources. This study demonstrates assessment of soil macro-nutrient alteration on sites on burnt with unburnt sites. The study sites are in South circle of Kashmir division in Jammu and Kashmir State of India. Our samples show 60% less soil carbon at 0-30 cm depth in burnt sites against their respective unburnt sites, Available soil nitrogen concentration was 35.28% lower on burnt sites, Available soil phosphorus was 38.89 % higher in burnt than unburnt sites and available soil potassium was 29.66 % higher on burnt sites in comparison to unburnt sites. Some implications of these results for forest managers are discussed. Organic carbon and nitrogen decreased in burnt areas while as potassium and phosphorus concentration witnesses an increase in burnt sites.

Recreational Evaluation of Forests in Urban Environments: Methodological and Practical Aspects

Abstract: This literature review shows that there is no up-to-date common approach to assess the recreational potential of forests. The aim of the study is to present methodological and practical aspects of the evaluation of forests in urban environments for recreational purposes based on the example of urban forests in Poznań (Poland). In this research, the following evaluation criteria were selected: types of forest habitats, ages of dominant species, stand composition, stocking index, the share of undergrowth, soil cover, canopy closure, and surface water. All these criteria are presented in the forest management plan (FMP). We prove that the majority of stands within the study area (81.86%) have medium potential for recreational purposes. Moreover, regarding recreation services, documents existing within the study area are not specified enough. The undoubted advantages of the proposed method are a forestry perspective on the problem, a uniform dataset included in FMPs, data availability, and the possibility of comparing data from different areas.