Biosystems Diversity (E-Journal - Dnipro National University)
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Resistance of plant life forms of native and regenerated alpine plant communities to experimental trampling
Get PDFTrampling of vegetation as a result of recreation can adversely affect natural habitats, leading to loss of vegetation and degradation of plant communities. Many studies indicated that intrinsic properties of plant communities appear to be the most important factors determining the response of vegetation to trampling disturbance. Specifically, the dominant life-form of a plant community accounts for more variation in the resistance of communities to trampling than the intensity of the trampling experienced, suggesting that simple assessments based on this trait could guide decisions on access to natural sites. We verify these claims in the Belianske Tatry National Nature Reserve in Slovakia, which has been closed since 1978 due to destruction by mass tourism, with the exception of one trail made accessible since 1993. In researching the resistance of communities according to dominant life forms we adjusted the number of passes according to the minimum (75 tourists) and maximum (225 tourists) daily visitation during the tourist season. The studied communities occur in close proximity to the trails on the saddles through which the open trail passes. Available evidence from our studies suggests that vegetation dominated by hemicryptophytes is more resistant to trampling and recovers from trampling to a greater extent than vegetation dominated by other life forms. Therefore, we selected three alpine communities dominated by hemicryptophytes. In the Juncetum trifidi community, they almost completely dominate, they are mainly composed of grasses. Although they dominate the Junco trifidi-Callunetum vulgaris community, the species, Calluna vulgaris has been added to the woody chamephytes, and thus the woody Chamaephytes achieve a higher cover than in the Juncetum trifidi community. Although in the community Seslerietum tatrae biscutelletosum laevigatae hemicryptophytes dominate, it consists of several plant life forms and its grasses reach greater heights than in previous communities. We found that it is not possible to estimate the resilience of communities to trampling by dominant life forms. Life forms within one community react very similarly, but this statement cannot be generalized globally for all communities. At the same time, we found that if we damage the native community, which subsequently regenerates, the life forms of the community behave differently when damaged repeatedly. More detailed research is needed worldwide, which would point out patterns of behaviour of alpine plant vegetation to trampling
Dependence of some physiological indicators of generative and vegetative organs of Sambucus nigra on habitat conditions
Get PDFWe carried out studies on water deficiency of Sambucus nigra L. (black elderberry) plant leaves extract and fruit juice, relative turgidity, sucrose content in fruits, chlorophyll content in the leaves, as well as gas exchange rates in the leaves, in particular, the changes in the concentrations of oxygen released during photosynthesis by leaves and carbon dioxide released during leaf respiration depending on habitat conditions (altitude of the habitat, position of slopes, average annual precipitation). Taking into account the difference in climatic conditions and the generality of some indicators, Vanadzor (1326–1600 m above sea level) and Stepanavan (1400–1830 m above sea level) regions of Lori Province, "Dilijan" National Park, Lake Parz, and the forest areas adjacent to the city of Dilijan (1240–1612 m above sea level) in Tavush Province in Armenia were chosen as the research sites. The test samples were taken from eight different test sites in Lori and Tavush provinces. Tavush Province is more humid than Lori Province. The highest rate of water deficiency in the leaves of the studied plants was recorded in S. nigra f. laciniata (L.) Zabel., and the lowest in S. nigra in Vanadzor forest. It can be assumed that the index of water deficiency in the leaves may depend on the position of the slopes of the test sites and the value of the filtration coefficient of the soil types. On the north-facing slope at the height of 1341 m above sea level and on the south-facing slope at the height of 1830 m above sea level, the values of water deficiency of the leaves are almost the same. Such data allows us to assume that the degree of water deficiency in the leaves is also affected by the filtration coefficient of habitat soil types. In two points that have north-facing positions, the water deficiency of leaves at the height of 1341 m above sea level is 2.14 times more than at the height of 1328 m above sea level. At 1328 m above sea level the filtration coefficient is small and the plant absorbs a lot of water. Based on the data we received we obtained rankings of plants according to the different criteria of the experimental plants: water deficiency in leaves tissues, relative turgidity, the sum of chlorophylls in the leaves, the sucrose content in the fruits, percentage of oxygen released as a result of photosynthesis, percentage of carbon dioxide released as a result of respiration. We found a certain dependence between the indicators of the water regime and the height above sea level of the researched habitats. We also found out that the water regime is influenced by certain microclimatic conditions such as the position of the slopes, whether they are north or south facing, as well as the average annual precipitation. Knowing the physiological processes taking place in the vegetative and generative organs of the S. nigra plant is important from the point of view of evaluating the intensity of growth and development of the generative organs. We consider that the results of the study will be applicable in the process of plant selection based on the indicators of the physiological processes taking place in the plant organism
Which index is better for assessing the success of reclamation: Naturalness or hemeroby?
Get PDFThe destruction of soil and vegetation caused by mining, if not prevented through careful planning, is usually extreme, as the original ecosystems have been grossly disturbed or buried in the mining process. A radical reconstruction is therefore necessary. In nature, this happens through the well-known processes of primary succession, without human intervention. In the interests of the economy and the preservation of our natural resources, reclamation should try to involve the same processes. When planning reclamation, it is crucial to clearly define goals, objectives and success criteria to allow for systematic reclamation. The need for methods to assess the effectiveness in achieving environmental and social goals is increasing, especially if agricultural land is to be restored. Over time, reclamation goals may need to be modified depending on the direction of the reclamation succession. The reclamation of mined areas requires the application of monitoring tools to understand the achievement of potential success. This problem can be solved by studying the biodiversity of plant communities and soil factors of mining areas as habitats in industrialized post-mining landscapes. Thus, the reclamation of territories disturbed by industrial activities is planned with the need to correct the trajectory of the restoration process, so it requires indicators that can be used to monitor the success of the planned process. The article tests the following hypotheses: 1) the dynamics of the reclamation process can be monitored using the indices of naturalness and hemeroby; 2) at the initial stages of reclamation, the hemeroby index has an advantage due to its greater sensitivity in this range of anthropogenic transformation levels. The plant community formed as a result of spontaneous growth of the reclamation sites was represented by 70 species of vascular plants. The projective vegetation cover was 22.0 ± 0.30%. In one test plot, 8.4 ± 0.1 plant species were found. The analysis of the synoptic phytosociological table revealed that the vegetation cover of the reclamation site was represented by nine associations from the vegetation classes Artemisietea vulgaris and Stellarietea mediae. The hemeroby of the communities averaged 85.0 ± 0.22. The lowest level of hemeroby was found within the Cirsio-Lactucetum serriolae association. The average level of hemeroby was found for the associations Medicagini lupulinae-Agropyretum repentis, Ambrosio artemisiifoliae-Cirsietum setosi and Carduo acanthoidis-Onopordetum acanthi. The highest level of hemeroby was found for the associations Agropyretum repentis and Convolvulo arvensis-Agropyretum repentis. The highest level of hemeroby was observed in those plant communities formed on lithozems on the red-brown clays, and the lowest formed on the pedozems. A negative correlation was found between hemeroby and naturalness for all lithozems. No statistically significant correlation was found for pedozems. For the classification of associations, environmental factors such as salt content in the soil solution, nitrogen content, ombroclimate, light regime, and naturalness are of greatest importance. The traditional application of the hemeroby scale is to assess the level of anthropogenic transformation of an ecosystem, i.e. to quantify how far the ecosystem has deviated from its natural state. In our study, we use the hemeroby index to observe how the plant community returns to its natural state, which can be considered as a marker of the effectiveness of the reclamation process. This approach allows us to contrast the indicators of naturalness and hemeroby, which are formally symmetrical: the higher the hemeroby, the lower the naturalness should be. In a wide range of levels of anthropogenic pressure, this pattern is certainly true. The peculiarity of the naturalness index is that it is more sensitive in the range of anthropogenic transformation that occurs at the initial stages of deviation of the natural community from the natural state at low levels of anthropogenic impact. In turn, the hemeroby index is more sensitive to changes in the community under conditions of a high level of anthropogenic transformation
Assessment of metal trace elements in the echinoderm Paracentrotus lividus from the North-Eastern coast of Algeria
Get PDFThe echinoderm sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus Lamarck, 1816 (Echinodermata, Echinoidea) is a good species to be used in environmental and toxicology research, in particular as a heavy metal bio-indicator. Our study’s objective is to evaluate the amounts of Zn, Pb, Fe, and Cu in sea urchin specimens collected from the coast of Skikda (Northeast Algeria) in order to validate the fact that sea urchins are good indicators of metal pollution and can be used effectively for environmental biomonitoring. To realize our objectives, three sampling sites were chosen based on suspected forms and sources of contamination. The main physicochemical parameters of the seawater were measured to determine their quality. 15 specimens of urchins in each station were obtained from exposed rocky surfaces and transported to the laboratory. Before dissection, the biometric parameters and the total wet weight were determined. The soft organs (gut and gonads) of individuals were separated and utilized to evaluate the levels of heavy metals. The condition index and metal indices were also determined. Our study confirmed that P. lividus may be considered a valuable bioindicator of heavy metal contamination in marine ecosystems. The results show that the amounts of heavy metals differed significantly between stations. Samples taken from the Larbi Ben M’hidi station showed greater amounts of Pb, Zn, and Cu. These amounts are above the recommended limits for fish and aquatic animals. Also, the heavy metals found in sea urchins vary depending on the physicochemical parameters, trace metals in the seawater, and the individual biometric parameters. These higher concentrations of metals in seawater and in P. lividus individuals at the Larbi Ben M’hidi station are largely caused by the construction of a massive oil industry complex and terminal with several refineries and petrochemical units near this station, as well as by a considerable amount of domestic wastewater. Finally, to avoid this metallic pollution risk, it is necessary that permanent controls be imposed as soon as possible. Urban and industrial wastes must be treated before being released, in the hope of reducing future metal concentrations
The importance of relief for explaining the diversity of the floodplain and terrace soil cover in the Dnipro River valley: The case of the protected area within the Dnipro-Orylskiy Nature Reserve
Get PDFFloodplains are centers of species diversity, so floodplain habitats often contain protected areas. However, conservation strategies pay little attention to soils, on which the functional stability of both individual ecosystems and landscape chains as a whole depends. Soil morphology provides structural and functional information about floodplain ecosystems. The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of soil morphology is a cost-effective ecological indicator that can be easily integrated into rapid assessment protocols for floodplain and riverine ecosystem restoration projects. Therefore, the aim of our work was to consider the morphological features of soils of the Dnipro-Orylskiy Nature Reserve and assess the role of soil diversity as a factor of structural and functional sustainability of ecosystems of the protected area, as well as to identify the significance of geomorphological predictors for differentiation of soil types to create a soil map of the territory. The World Reference Base for Soil Resources reference soil groups were classified using geomorphological predictors. Soil types were able to explain 90% of the variation in elevation occupied by soils. Arenosols occupied a statistically significantly higher position in topography than other soil types. In turn, Eutric Arenosols occupied a higher position (68.91 ± 0.48 m) than Eutric Lamellic Arenosols (63.32 ± 0.54 m). Other soils occupied positions in the topography that were not statistically significantly different in height. Soil types were able to explain 38% of the variation in elevation that the soils occupied. The highest Topography Wetness Index values were found for Fluvisols (12.73 ± 0.23) and Solonetz (13.06 ± 0.28 m). Differences between these soils were not statistically significant. Topography Wetness Index was slightly lower for Cambisols (11.80 ± 0.21) and Eutric Lamellic Arenosols (12.21 ± 0.28), which also did not differ on this measure. The lowest Topography Wetness Index value was found for Gleysols (11.15 ± 0.17) and Eutric Arenosols (10.95 ± 0.24), which did not differ from each other on this index. Eutric Arenosols and Eutric Lamellic Arenosols are formed at great depths of the water table (7.89 ± 0.50 and 2.62 ± 0.46 m, respectively). Gleysol and Solonetz form at close groundwater level to the surface (0.28 ± 0.27 and 0.21 ± 0.46 m, respectively) compared to Fluvisol and Cambisol (0.46 ± 0.38 and 0.41 ± 0.35 m, respectively). Elevation was the most informatively valuable predictor, but Topography Wetness Index and Vertical Distance to Channel Network significantly improved discrimination. Arenosols were very different from other soils which occupy an automorphic position. Cambisols occupied a transitional position. Other soils occupied hydromorphic positions. Fluvisols and Solonetz occupied wetter positions, while Gleysol occupied less wet positions. Fluvisols and Solonetz differed in the groundwater table. Solonetz predominantly occurred at close groundwater levels. The classification matrix confirmed the possibility of using geomorphological predictors to build a model of spatial variation of soils in the study area. The spatial model demonstrates the organization of the soil cover of the reserve. Calculations showed that Cambiosols occupy 20.7% of the area, Eutric Arenosols occupy 16.0%, Eutric Lamellic Arenosols occupy 17.9%, Fluvisols occupy 15.2%, Gleysols occupy 28.7%, and Solonetz occupy 1.5%
Elm (Ulmus) leaf miners in North-East Kazakhstan
Get PDFLeaf miners are increasingly causing damage to plants, often causing their death. There are about 10 thousand species of leaf miners in the world. The purpose of this study is to establish the location, species diversity, as well as the degree of damage caused by leaf miners to the leaves of Ulmus L. genus trees in the Pavlodar Region. In the course of the study, a visual inspection of the affected areas was used, as well as the selection, drying of damaged foliage and, subsequently, the removal of larvae and adult insects from it, followed by their study. During the vegetation seasons in 2019–2022, in Pavlodar, Ekibastuz and Aksu cities, as well as in Zhelezinka and Koktobe villages, elm leaves were studied for the presence of leaf miners, a visual inspection of the damage locations was conducted, and samples were taken, which later became the material for growing and detailed study of insects at different development stages. The article considers phyllophagous insects mining elm leaves in the North-East of Kazakhstan (Pavlodar Region) in 2019–2022. In the course of the conducted studies on the territory of the Pavlodar Region, 8 species belonging to 5 genera were identified: Stigmella Schrank, 1802, Orchestes Illiger, 1798, Fenusa Leach, 1817, Bucculatrix Zeller, 1839 and Phyllonorycter Hubner, 1822. Leaf miners that belong to the Agromyza genus of the Agromyzidae family were also identified. All representatives are obligate leaf miners, developing at the larval stage in the mesophyll of elm leaves. Most of the leaf-mining insects are represented by Agromyza and Stigmella species. They are among the most dangerous for the biocoenosis of the Pavlodar Region. Moreover, Agromyza insects have high plasticity and may become a problem in other regions. The obtained data will help to contribute to further studies in this direction, and also show the development degree of an understudied problem: the influence of leaf miners on the nature of Kazakhstan
Characteristics of marine strain Streptomyces sp. with antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity
Get PDFThe Black Sea is a unique water basin consisting of a thin superficial oxygenic layer with moderate salinity, and a deep anoxic water mass. The microbiota of the Black Sea remains relatively understudied, which makes it interesting first of all from the most practical point of view of the search for producers of new biologically active compounds. A strain of actinobacteria Streptomyces sp. ONU 561 was isolated from the surface of mussel shells collected in the coastal zone of Odesa. It demonstrated a wide range of antagonistic activity, inhibiting the growth of a set of opportunistic pathogens, including representatives of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In addition, bacteria of this strain were able to inhibit the growth of all tested strains of mycelial fungi, including representatives of Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and Fusarium oxysporum species, and Candida albicans yeast. A significant cytotoxic effect was revealed in the cell cultures of human malignant cells – human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) and human laryngeal adenocarcinoma (Hep-2). Analysis of the exometabolome of the strain did not explain these effects.The strain was comprehensively characterized, including physiological, biochemical, and morphological traits. The complete genome of the strain was sequenced using Illumina HiSeq 4000 (2x150) and ONT and annotated using NCBI PGAP. Its genome has a size of 8 359 197 bp. GC content – 71.59%. Using antiSMASH 7.0, 35 biosynthetic clusters were revealed. The indices of digital DNA-DNA hybridization and orthoANI for all of the type strains with Streptomyces sp. ONU 561 are much lower than threshold values for the species separation. The obtained results, including a comparative analysis of the genome, indicate the possible affiliation of the strain Streptomyces sp. ONU 561 to a new species and the potential ability of these actinobacteria to synthesize previously unknown antibiotic compounds
Functional diversity along disturbance and environmental gradients in Ethiopian moist Afromontane forest
Get PDFConsidering multiple measures to fully capture functional diversity is important. However, the effects of disturbance gradients on diversity have been controversial, as species diversity alone may not fully capture these effects. This study aimed to evaluate trait-based diversity across disturbance gradients in the moist Afromontane forest of Ethiopia, Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve (YCFBR). Vegetation data and relevant traits related to plant-life strategies, competition, and responses to disturbances were collected. A multiple regression model was used to test the response of functional diversity to disturbances and environmental gradients. The results revealed functional diversity in plant communities, including dendrogram-based functional diversity for plot-based (FDp), functional richness (FRic), functional evenness (FEve), functional divergence (FDiv), functional dispersions (FDis), and community-weighted mean of maximum tree height (CWM.Hmax), showed decreasing patterns with increasing disturbance intensity in the YCFBR. Additionally, the findings highlighted that FDis and Hmax are the most vulnerable functional traits to anthropogenic factors and are less tolerant in disturbed ecosystem environments. Therefore, reducing disturbances is crucial to maintaining higher levels of these functional diversities. For example, the results showed that the CWM.Hmax declined from 27.25 m to 15 m, indicating a shift towards shorter plant species. In contrast, the community-weighted mean of woody density (CWM.WD), the community-weighted mean of specific leaf area (CWM.SLA), and the community-weighted mean of seed mass (CWM.SM) increased significantly with an increase in disturbance intensity. For instance, CWM.SM and CWM.SLA changed from 5 to 14.25 (g) and 90 to 130 (cm2/g), respectively. These indices may serve as indicators of ecosystem resilience at disturbed forest ecosystem sites. Furthermore, the regression results indicated that FDp, FRic, FEve, FDiv, FDis, CWM.WD, and CWM.Hmax showed increasing patterns with increasing species richness, which suggests that protecting and promoting species diversity can contribute to maintaining high levels of functional diversity. The mixed effects model revealed that anthropogenic disturbance and elevational gradients had significant effects on functional diversity in the YCFBR. Therefore, when managing and conserving biodiversity in heterogeneous environments, both anthropogenic factors and environmental variables need to be considered. Species with low SLA and SM are recommended for the restoration of disturbed ecosystems. Overall, this study demonstrates that trait-based functional diversity is useful for predicting the adaptation potentials of species in heterogeneous environments and disturbance gradients
Contribution to the evaluation of the biomass of medicinal and aromatic plants in Mo-rocco: Case of Globularia alypum
Get PDFMorocco is distinguished by the richness of its flora, including medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) which play an important role, particularly in rural populations. Due to pressures often associated with overexploitation, monitoring of MAPs is essential to ensure their sustainability. This study looked to explore the status of Globularia alypum in the Amsittene site of biological and ecological interest (SBEI) in Morocco. A destructive technique was adopted to quantify biomass and productivity of G. alypum at six sites with different ecological characteristics in the Amsisttene SBEI. Linear regression was used to model G. alypum biomass as a function of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Tree cover had the greatest influence on G. alypum dynamics, showing a significant effect on shrub height, leaf productivity, and total productivity, as did the cutting method, with the highest biomass estimated based on pair matching of similar individuals. NDVI was found to be an adequate indicator of G. alypum biomass, given their high correlation (0.84) with the selected model having an R2 of 0.7. The yield of extracted essential oils ranged from 3.19 to 113.43 L, from which 10 chemical compounds were identified, with ethylvanillin being the most prominent
Population dynamics and spatial distribution of large carnivores in the Ukrainian Carpathians and Polissya
Get PDFLarge carnivores play an important role as indicators of the state of the natural ecosystems. The analysis of the number and distribution of large carnivores (brown bear – Ursos arctos, Eurasian lynx – Lynx lynx and grey wolf – Canis lupus) was established in the Ukrainian Carpathians and Ukrainian Polissya. Annual data on the number of large carnivores on the territories of hunting units and nature conservation areas from 2009 to 2019 was summarized. To analyze the number and distribution of large carnivores in the Ukrainian Carpathians, data from 4 regions were taken into account, namely Lviv, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions. To analyze the number and distribution of large carnivores in Ukrainian Polissya, data from 6 regions were taken into account – Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions. According to official data obtained from hunting units and nature conservation areas in 2019, there were 375 bears, 435 lynxes and 563 wolves in the Ukrainian Carpathians; and 4 bears, 128 lynxes and 609 wolves in Ukrainian Polissya. Based on the collected data, the maps of the distribution of large carnivores in the Ukrainian Carpathians and Ukrainian Polissya were created in the format of a grid of squares of 10 by 10 km (cell size 100 km²), namely – density maps of populations of large carnivores, as well as maps of forest habitats of large carnivores. The obtained results provided a better understanding of the dynamics of large carnivores over the last decade in terms of regions, as well as the density of populations of large carnivores in certain areas and their distribution areas in the Ukrainian Carpathians and Ukrainian Polissya. However, the summary results of the number of individuals obtained based on official reports of hunting units and nature conservation areas are overestimated due to the problem of "double" accounting of animals by users of adjacent lands (hunting units, nature conservation areas). Therefore, it is important to establish synchronization of accounting between users of adjacent lands (nature protection areas, forestries, etc.), to use unified research methods, and to exchange monitoring data and information between institutions of different state subordination. Such scientifically based data are the basis for the development and implementation of measures for the conservation and management of large carnivore populations at the regional, national and international levels