Dominance and Diversity Dominance Uses of Dominance Determining
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Dominance and Diversity Dominance •Dominant – most conspicuous and abundant species •Dominance – relative importance of a species related to degree of influence it has on ecosystem components – Soils, other plants, animals • Based on competition for resources – Light, water, nutrients, space • Difficult to measure belowground influence Uses of Dominance Determining Dominance • Used to characterize plant communities, • Can be species, functional group, or plant habitat types and ecological sites life form based • Help identify system responses to climate and • Use several vegetation measures to arrive disease at dominant species • Useful for management – Frequency, density, biomass, cover • Dominants as indicators of proper management Determinates of Diversity In general: IF environmental complexity, THEN species diversity 1 Species Richness • Species richness - # of species – Done several times of year due to different phenologies – Labor intensive • Subsample using quadrats transect quadrat 1965 Species Richness **Can use line-point method supplemented by thorough searches for other species Increase in # of species: 1. Sampling more individuals increase chances of new species 2. Larger area is more environmentally heterogenous Herrick et al. 2009 Volume II Gurevitch et al. 2006, The Ecology of Plants Species Richness Species Evenness • Species evenness – relative abundance of species • HOWEVER, quadrat size depends on what plants are sampled – Trees v. grasses v. mosses 2 Measuring Diversity Calculating Diversity •Simpson’s Index: • Incorporates species richness and evenness s • Based on either: D = Σ (p 2) i=1 i – # individuals –biomass •D = Value of Simpson’s diversity index. •pi = proportion of individuals in the ith species. •s = # of species Calculating Diversity Calculating Diversity •Simpson’s Index: s s • Inverse of Simpson’s Index 2 D = Σ (pi ) D = Σ n (n -1) i=1 i=1 i i N(N-1) D •D = Value of Simpson’s diversity index. – As index increases, diversity decreases •ni = # of individuals (or biomass) in the ith species. 1 •N = total # of individuals or total biomass for all D species. – As index increases, diversity increases Advantages and Disadvantages Calculating Diversity of Simpson’s Index • Shannon-Wiener Index: • Does not require all species be s H’ = - Σ pi x ln(pi) represented i=1 • Measures chance that two individuals are •H’ = value of S-W diversity index. from same species •pi = proportion of individuals in the ith • Sensitive to changes in common species species. • Weighted towards most abundant species •ln = natural logarithm. • Opposite of dominance •s = Number of species in community. 3 Calculating Diversity Advantages and Disadvantages • Shannon-Wiener Index: Shannon-Wiener’s Index s s n n i x ln i • All species must be represented H’ = - Σ pi x ln(pi) H’ = - Σ ( N ) ( N ) i=1 i=1 • Relatively easy to calculate • Sensitive to changes in rare species •H’ = value of S-W diversity index. •ni = # of individuals (or biomass) in the ith species. •N = total # of individuals or total biomass •ln = natural logarithm. •s = number of species in community. Ch. 13 Diversity and Productivity Diversity and Productivity Great Smoky Mtns. North Dakota grassland Grasslands & forest - Estonia Fen in United Kingdom Gurevitch et al. 2006, The Ecology of Plants Diversity and Productivity Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis Connell 1978 4.