Woody vegetation encroachment in natural grasslands is a concern in many parts of the world. We evaluated the effect of Baccharis uncinella (Asteraceae) encroachment on grassland vegetation in southern Brazil, in terms of plant composition and richness. We conducted a vegetation survey in 12 plots of 10 × 10 m. The study site was a forest-grassland mosaic where management practices have been ex...

Germination response to fluctuating temperatures is a mechanism by which seeds detect gaps in vegetation canopies and depth of burial in soil, and it is very important for plants. Thus, studies on the effect of fluctuating temperature on germination at the community level are valuable for understanding community structure and biodiversity maintenance. We determined the effects of two alternatin...

Plants can influence the level of herbivory experienced by neighboring plants. The importance such belowground associational effects are poorly understood. In this study we examine whether Jacobaea vulgaris provides resistance against nematodes to Thirteen species (6 forbs, 3 grasses and 4 legumes) were each grown in mixtures with J. monocultures. A nematode community was introduced half pots. ...

The rangeland in the Khangai mountain region in Mongolia has degraded for the last decades mainly because of overgrazing and climate change. Livestock production is important part of the economy and is based on natural rangeland. In this research we seek to elucidate the influence of five years (2004-2009) of protection from grazing on vegetation cover of different degradation levels of Fes...

Abstract Knowledge about biotic (plant species diversity, biomass) and/or abiotic (physicochemical substrate parameters) factors that determine enzyme activity and functional diversity of the on hard coal spoil heaps is limited. Spontaneously developed vegetation patches dominated by herbaceous commonly occurring these heaps: grasses ( Poa compressa, Calamagrostis epigejos ) forbs Daucus carota...