Life Sciences Commons^™

Plant Functional Types Do Not Predict Biomass Responses To Removal And Fertilization In Alaskan Tussock Tundra, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Michelle C. Mack, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Daniel B. Sloan, Jennie Demarco, Gaius R. Shaver, Peter M. Ray, Zy Biesinger, F. Stuart Chapin

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

1. Plant communities in natural ecosystems are changing and species are being lost due to anthropogenic impacts including global warming and increasing nitrogen (N) deposition. We removed dominant species, combinations of species and entire functional types from Alaskan tussock tundra, in the presence and absence of fertilization, to examine the effects of non-random species loss on plant interactions and ecosystem functioning.

2. After 6 years, growth of remaining species had compensated for biomass loss due to removal in all treatments except the combined removal of moss, Betula nana and Ledum palustre (MBL), which removed the most biomass. Total vascular plant …

Herbaceous Plant Cover Establishment In A Barren Materials Quarry, Nikolaos Arambatzis, Kitikidou Kyriaki

Turkish Journal of Botany

The ability to establish cover using grass and legume species without any soil preparation was studied in a barren materials quarry. The biodiversity indexes (Simpson) during the growing season as well as the vegetation cover and composition were measured. The results showed that the established species had a satisfactory cover (up to 87.5%). This means that we can achieve significant soil rehabilitation after mining using herbaceous plant cover and reduce the cost of rehabilitation by cutting the expenses of soil preparation.