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| Description | Most textbooks on measuring terrestrial vegetation have focused on the characteristics of biomass, cover, and the density or frequency of dominant life forms (trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs), or on classifying, differentiating, or evaluating and monitoring dominant plant communities based on a few common species. Sampling designs for measuring species richness and diversity, patterns of
plant diversity, species-environment relationships, and species distributions have received less attention. There are compelling, urgent reasons for plant ecologists to do a far better job measuring plant diversity in this new century. Rapidly invading plant species from other countries are affecting rangeland condition and wildlife habitat, placing more plant species on threatened and endangered
species lists, and increasing wildfire fuel loads. Attention has shifted from the classification of plant communities to accurately mapping rare plant assemblages and species of management concern to afford them better protection. More ecologists, wildlife biologists, and local and regional planners recognize the value in understanding patterns, dynamics, and interactions of rare and common plant
species and habitats to better manage grazing, fire, invasive plant species, forest practices, and restoration activities. Thus, revised and new sampling approaches, designs, and field techniques for measuring plant diversity are needed to assess critical emerging issues facing land managers.
This book offers alternatives to the approaches, designs, and techniques of the past that were chiefly
designed for dominant species and other purposes. The author focuses on field techniques that move beyond classifying, mapping, and measuring plant diversity for relatively homogeneous communities. This book complements methods for measuring the biomass and cover of dominant plant species. Most species are sparse, rare, and patchily distributed. It empowers the reader to take an experimental
approach in the science of plant diversity to better understand the distributions of common and rare species, native and non-native species, and long-lived and short-lived species. |
| Contents |
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I: The Past and Present
1.
Introduction
2.
History and Background, Baggage and Direction
3.
A Framework for the Design of Plant Diversity Studies
Part II: An Experimental Approach to Sampling
4.
Single-scale Sampling
5.
Multi-scale Sampling
6.
Comparing Multi-scale Sampling Designs - Taking an Experimental Approach
7.
Case Study: Comparing Rangeland Vegetation Sampling Techniques
Part III: Scaling to Landscapes
8.
Case Study on Multi-phase and Multi-scale Sampling
9.
Case Study: Designing a Monitoring Program for Assessing Patterns of Plant Diversity in Forests Nationwide
10.
Case Study: Patterns of Plant Invasions in Forests and Grasslands
11.
Case Study: Evaluating the Effects of Grazing and Soil Characteristics on Plant Diversity
12.
Case Study: Assessments of Plant Diversity in Arid Landscapes
Part IV: Modeling Patterns of Plant Diversity
13.
Non-Spatial Statistical Modeling of Plant Diversity
14.
Spatial Analysis and Modeling, Part V: Monitoring Plant Diversity
15.
Concepts for Assessing Temporal Changes in Plant Diversity
16.
Case Study: Monitoring Shifts in Plant Diversity in Response to Climate Change
Part VI: Research Needs
17.
Case Study: Testing a Nested-Intensity Sampling Design
18.
Quantifying Trends in Space And Time
Glossary
References
|
| Authors, editors,
and contributors |
Thomas J. Stohlgren, Science Program Director, National Institute of Invasive Species Science, Natural Resources Ecology Lab, Colorado State University
|
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