Dec 22, 2015
Landscape Ecosystem Perspective
1. Background on ecosystem classification
2. Ecological variation among ecosystems
3. Applications for restoration
• Soils, geomorphology, and biota vary from place to place across a landscape
• These 3 factors interact at a given spot on the landscape to produce an ecosystem
• Landscape ecosystem – volumetric unit of the landscape
• Ecosystem classification – grouping similar sites into ecosystem types
Vegetation
Geomorphology Soils
Ecosystem classification identifies interrelationships within and among geomorphology, soils, and vegetation
Ecosystem Type
Ecological Properties
MA; http://nesoil.com/plymouth/catena.gif
Soil catena
Soil-geomorphic relations in upper Michigan
• Classification is a data reduction or information reduction technique
• This works because combos of similar geomorphology, soils, and veg reoccur across a landscape
• Continuous vs. classification
• An ecosystem type has ecological properties (e.g., soil texture), which differ among ecosystems
• Notes on multifactor and multivariate: simply mean many factors or variables
• Classification has long history in ecology – EC emphasizes interactions and geomorphology/soils
• Geomorphology/soil relatively stable – e.g., topographic features, soil texture
• Vegetation useful, but not essential
0
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X O/B X C/ML S O/MF M H/B M H/R
Ecosystem type
So
lum
th
ickn
ess
(cm
)Identifying key environmental variables
Southern Appalachian Mountains solum = A + B horizon
• EC not a panacea; yet practical tool
• Examples of EC systems – US FS TES, NRCS site types, research-grade EC
• EC provides framework for studying how properties vary among ecosystems
• Here are some examples:
Nutrient Cycling
Landscape ecosystem control over tree mortality
Longleaf pines in SE USA – in very moist, waterlogged ecosystems, rooting depth is restricted.
Trees more susceptible to wind damage (uprooting) due to shallow root system
But lightning mortality important on upland xeric sites!
Plant composition and diversity
From a Michigan project of the federally endangered Kirtland’s warbler in jack pine forests
Findings: We noted significant differences in climate, physiography, soil, and vegetation between 10 landscape ecosystems at the ecological level of landforms. Moreover, jack pine height growth differed significantly among the 10 ecosystems, and the landforms exhibited marked differences in the timing of initial colonization and duration of occupancy by the warbler. Ecosystems favoring jack pine growth - those with a warmer microclimate or higher-quality soil - were typically colonized first but had the shortest duration of occupancy, while colder, drier, and less fertile ecosystems were colonized later but had longer durations of occupancy.
Summary of warbler relations to landscape ecosystem habitat
Archaeological Resources
• Upper Michigan: Locations of historical logging camps can be predicted using LEC
• Eastern white pine was desirable timber species in late 1800s – logging camps located by pines and by water for transporting logs
• Michigan Archaeologist 43:87-102.
1920-2660 m elevations
6300-8700 ft
Ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, aspen
Entisols, Inceptisols, Alfisols, Mollisols
Slope gradients mostly < 10%
Methods• 102, 0.05-ha plots sampled in 2003 (66 core plots)
• 55, 500, 513, 523, 536, 551, 558, 570, 582, 585, and 611 soil types
• Geomorphology, soils, plant communities
• Cored 2 dominant, open-grown pines of pre-1875 origin
• Seed bank samples
• 0-15 and 15-50 cm soil samples analyzed for texture, gravel content, organic C, total N, pH, CaCO3 equivalent, and water-holding capacity
• Multivariate and univariate analyses
Limitations
Springs and other rare ecosystems not sampled
More plots
Pre-existing published data
Seed bank methodology
Ecosystem classification
Cluster analysis and ordination
10 ecosystem types on 66 plots
Ecosystem types internally similar in environment and vegetation characteristics
Black cinders/Phacelia (558) Red cinders/Bahia (513) Clay basalt/Gutierrezia (523) Xeric limestone/Bouteloua (500) Mesic limestone/mixed flora (536) Xeric basalt/Muhlenbergia (551, 570) Rocky basalt/Sporobolus (570, 582, 585) Mesic basalt/Festuca (551, 570, 582, 585) Aspen/Lathyrus (611) Park/Symphyotrichum (55)
Black cinders/Phacelia
452800
3905545
UTM 452794E, 3905543N
Elevation 2007 m
Low upper soil fertility
Cinders Clay
1 Haasis, F.W. 1921. Relations between soil type and root form of western yellow pine seedlings. Ecology 2:292-303.
Ponderosa pine seedling growth in 19201
Mesic basalt/Festuca
UTM 432074E, 3903341N
silt: 53% (0-15 cm) organic C: 2.2% total N: 0.14%
C3 Arizona fescue
Xeric basalt/Muhlenbergia
UTM 441833E, 3917442N
silt: 41% (0-15 cm) organic C: 1.2% total N: 0.09%
C4 mountain muhly
Red cinders/Bahia
UTM 446730E, 3915773N
Elevation 2326 m
High gravel content, sandy
loam soils, slow tree growth
UTM 452716E, 3898173N
Elevation 2079 m
Rocky basalt/Sporobolus
UTM 445788E, 3877037N
Elevation 7252 ft
Lupinus argenteus Lathyrus lanszwertii Vicia americana
0-15 cm soil total N: 0.26%
next highest ecosystem: 0.15%
Populus/Lathyrus
UTM 424674E, 3886663N
Elevation 2215 m
Park/Symphyotrichum 31% 0-15 cm clay
Age 50-150 yr mean annual diameter increment of pre-1875 origin ponderosa pine
Means without shared letters differ at P < 0.05 (Fisher’s LSD) Error bars are 1 SD
Plant species richness
Means without shared letters differ at P < 0.05 (Fisher’s LSD)
Error bars are 1 SD
Soil moisture (% of dry soil weight, 0-15 cm depth) for 7 ecosystems measured June 19, 2004. Means without shared letters differ at P < 0.05. Error bars are 1 SD.
dcd
bc bcb
aa
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Blackcinders
Redcinders
Mesiclimestone
Xericlimestone
Mesicbasalt
Park Aspen
So
il m
ois
ture
(%
)
Silvery lupine Arizona fescue White Mountain sedge
Estimating ponderosa pine diameter growth based on importance of key plant species
51, 10-m2 exclosures
Grazing effects partly related to environmental gradients
Environmental influences:
- vegetation productivity - water availability - animal movement - other factors
Abiotic and biotic influences on 0-15 cm organic matter below Gambel oak
2.9% limestone: Campbell Mesa
5.9% dry benmoreite: northern Centennial Forest
7.2% basalt: Coulter Cabin
Seed bank composition(greenhouse emergence method)
103 seed bank species detected, 280 aboveground species
Untreated samples, 0-10 cm mineral soil
Erigeron divergens, fleabane (35% of 102 plots) Verbascum thapsus, mullein (25%) Gnaphalium exilifolium, cudweed (13%) Muhlenbergia minutissima, annual muhly (12%) Chamaesyce serpyllifolia, sandmat (12%) Carex geophila, White Mountain sedge (12%)
Others: Muhlenbergia montana, Nama dichotomum, Poa fendleriana, Chenopodium graveolens
Ecosystem-specific seed bank composition
e.g., black cinders
wishbone fiddleaf annual muhly fetid goosefoot
Nama dichotomum (wishbone fiddleleaf)
21 plots where it occurred in seed bank samples:
0-15 cm sand = 70%
45 plots where it did not occur in seed bank samples:
0-15 cm sand = 37%