Category: Plain language summary

Effects of white-tailed deer exclusion on the plant community composition of an upland tallgrass prairie ecosystem

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Prepared by Kathryn J. Bloodworth, Mark E. Ritchie & Kimberly J. Komatsu

Twenty-two-year-old deer exclusion fences at the Konza Prairie Biological Station in northeastern Kansas, USA. Photo credit: Kimberly Komatsu.

Grasslands make up approximately 40% of the Earth’s ice-free land surface, and they support diverse plant and animal communities that provide many ecological services.…

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Grazing by wild red deer maintains characteristic vegetation of semi-natural open habitats: Evidence from a three-year exclusion experiment

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By Friederike Riesch, Bettina Tonn, Hans Georg Stroh, Marcus Meißner, Niko Balkenhol & Johannes Isselstein

Wild red deer grazing in a semi-natural grassland in Grafenwöhr military training area, Bavaria, Germany. See the experimental grazing exclosure in the foreground. Photo credit: Marcus Meißner.
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A new vegetation-plot database for the coastal forests of Kenya

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By Maria Fungomeli, Anthony Githitho, Fabrizio Frascaroli, Saidi Chidzinga, Marcus Cianciaruso & Alessandro Chiarucci

Kaya Kambe sacred forest, Kenya. Photo credit: Steve Okoko Ashikoye.

After two years of intense research work as a collaboration between the University of Bologna and the National Museums of Kenya, we produced the first standardised data set of the coastal forests of Kenya.…

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The perspective of unmanned aerial systems in forest management: Do we really need such details?

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Prepared by Jan Komárek

Detection of forest stands and identification of its parameters (e.g. height, species group, health status). Photo credit: Jan Komárek.

Traditional methods of terrestrial field survey and measurements at forests are by a majority of landowners still considered to be the most reliable source of tree information.…

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Fine-grained sediment deposition alters the response of plant CSR strategies on the gravel bars of a highly regulated river

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Prepared by Philippe Janssen, Hervé Piégay & André Evette

Along the Rhone, gravel bars with a high proportion of subsoil fine sediments at low elevation benefit stress-tolerant species such as Lythrum salicaria (Photo credit: Philippe Janssen).

Flow regulation by dams profoundly changes the functioning of river ecosystems.…

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Small biodiversity effects on leaf litter production of a seasonal heath vegetation

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By José L.A. Silva, Alexandre F. Souza, Louis S. Santiago, Anderson R. Gripp, Ana E.B. Asato, Gabriel H.S. Silva, Mery I.G. Alencar and Adriano Caliman

Seasonal heath vegetation in the Barreira do Inferno Lauch Center, Parnamirim municipality, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil (5º54’S, 35º10’W, December 2015).
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High resistance of plant biodiversity to moderate native woody encroachment in loess steppe grassland fragments

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By Balázs Teleki, Judit Sonkoly, László Erdős, Béla Tóthmérész, Mátyás Prommer & Péter Török

Loess grassland richly decorated with Adonis vernalis. Photo credit: Balázs Teleki

Loess grasslands are among the most species-rich habitat types in the world, often containing up to 40-60 species on a single square meter.…

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The lowland seasonally dry subtropical forests in central Argentina: vegetation types and a call for conservation

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Prepared by Sebastián R. Zeballos, Melisa A. Giorgis, Marcelo R. Cabido, Alicia T.R. Acosta, María del Rosario Iglesias & Juan J. Cantero

The remaining patches of “Espinal” forest surrounded by an extended matrix of soybean in Central Argentina. Photo Credit: Pereyra Mariana

The introductory photo illustrates the actual conservation status of the lowland seasonally dry subtropical forest in central Argentina and perhaps in many other places in the Neotropics.…

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