Sier N Species Ip Ows
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United States Department of Agriculture Sier N ows: .. Forest Service Species Ip I" rSI Pacific Southwest Research Station Raymond D. Ratliff P.O. Box 245 Berkeley California 94701 Research Note PSW-RN-415 October 1993 eadows are the most biologi Diversity has two components, richness cally active of the plant and evenness.5,6 Richness refers to the community types of the number (variety) of different kinds of Sierra Nevada, California. They contribute things (species, for example), while even a high proportion of the forage for many ness refers to the equality of the kinds of forest grazing allotments, park preserves, things (abundance or numbers, for example). and wilderness areas. They supply habitats A key to the high biological activity, for wildlife populations. By providing hence diversity, of meadows is the mix of scenic vistas, the meadows' timbered edges plant communities represented by indi are favored campsites of forest, park, and vidual sites. Meadow sites are defined as wilderness visitors. The meadows also help areas of homogeneous species composi Ratliff, Raymond D. 1993. Sierra Nevada to filter sediments from water from sur tion that have a general species composi meadows: species alpha diversity. Res. Note PSW-RN-41S. Albany, CA: Pacific rounding slopes, thereby assuring clean tion visually different from that of adja 7 Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, streams and lakes. These characteristics cent areas. The plant species present may U.S. Department of Agriculture; 5 p. indicate that the meadows of the Sierra be the same, but their proportions of the Plant species diversity refers to variety Nevada possess high biological diversity. vegetation will be visually different on and abundance; it does not necessarily relate Biological diversity refers to variety different sites. Meadow site classes are to meadow health but may provide information and abundance; it involves ecological composed of sites with the same dominant important in an ecosystem context. Monitoring processes, structures, and functions and species and similar composition. to detect change in diversity usually begins 1 with estimating alpha (within) diversity of may occur at any spatial scale; it is variety Climax plant communities are often plant communities. Because few such estimates or multiformity-of different forms or thought to possess higher diversity than exist for meadow site classes or specific sites kinds.2 Included under the biological seral communities. But within specific of the Sierra Nevada, California, we com umbrella are genetic, species, structural, sites, physical/chemical factors or intense puted Margalef's diversity index (Dm), which and landscape diversities. competition, or both, may work to reduce stresses species richness, and Simpson's index (Ds), which stresses species dominance, Furthermore, there are alpha (within), diversity.8 Also, gamma diversity will for two sets of frequency data. Frequency was beta (between), and gamma (large scale) likely be higher when the communities of estimated by the nearest shoot-to-point method diversities.3 Alpha diversity is represented an area are in different stages of a sere than and the rooted quadrat method. In addition, a by a plant community, the populations when they are all in the same stage. relative index (Dr) was calculated on the basis co-occurring at a specific time in a specific Increasingly, land managers are asked of the number of species on individual sites 4 divided by the average number of species space. Beta diversity is represented by to monitor and estimate change in diversity. recorded for 107 meadow sites. Regardless of differences between communities present In order to derive the greatest benefit from the data set or index, species diversity was along a gradient (e.g., topography, soil monitoring efforts, managers need to know lower for sites at or near the environmental acidity, or moisture regime) or the same how to interpret high versus low diversity extremes of moisture. The methods used to place over time. Gamma diversity is repre within and among different plant commu estimate frequency, estimating species num bers, and the value of diversity estimates are sented by the kinds of plant communities nities. Monitoring diversity will usually discussed. present or the total number of species begin with an estimate of alpha diversity. present in a specific geographic area (e.g., Nevertheless, now such estimates are rare Retrieval Terms: Relative index, Margalef's index, Simpson's index, jack-knife estimates, meadow system or watershed). for meadows of the Sierra Nevada. plant species, frequency 1 USDA Forest Service Res. Note PSW-RN-41S. 1993. The objective of this paper, therefore, In addition, a relative index ( Dli = s/ the llum bt'fS of sites were generally few is to provide land managers indi ces of plant Ss) was uscd , w'here Si is the number of and did not constitute a random sample. commun ity alpha diversity to serve as species fo und on a specific sile (i) and Ss Species totals for all 100 quadrats were guides to indices that can be expected gi ven is a standard number of species. 'I his u. ed 10 compute the three diversity indices similar vegetation. Two sel" of di versi ty simple index was used to avoid problems for e eh of the J2 sites in Yosemite. to indice are given: ( I ) average diversit ies such as variation in sampli ng techniques. Jack-kn ife diver<;ity estimate~ and ['or meadow site classc~ and (2) , verage It is a mea<;u re [species richnes I' lalive pscudovalues were Ule n computed by de diversities for ind ividual sites,9, IO to the standard. leting, ill turn, eacb random sample {)f len quadrats, Pseudovalues frOIll the jack-knife METHODS AnaJyses procedure are a~ympto tically normally dis A guiding motive wa:, to provide man tributed. their mean is Ule best esti mate of Data agers est imates of alpha di versity that could diversity. anu the "t" distribution may be Data from 82 meadow sites in 14 be compared with estimates found on used to compute confluence intervals.6 meadow site classes (Stanislaus National meadow sit s ith similar vegetation. Therefore. from the ps udovalues, the For SI to the Sequoia National Forest) DireCI comparISon of differen t indices for average and standard error of each di versity 7 were u!>ed The data from e' ch ~ile eo;timaLin g alpha di vcn, ity w a ~ not intended. index were derived for each sile. constituted a list of the plan! specie.'> found Dr. Om. and Os we re calculated fo r each In all cases, the value of Ss used Lo (excepltrees) and their ares! !'ihoot-lo of 82 sites .7 Average diver~ity was CalCll compute Dr was Ule average of the Si from poi nt frequencies , Species lists \\' ere laleu fo r all 82 sites and for eac h of 14 107 siles sampled over a LO-ycar pCliod derived fro m thorough searches oflhe sites meadow. ite classes (wble J).1,9 Within (1 973 to IY83 ). As above. Ule sites were before and during sampling, Frequencies cl ass variances were estimated but not used; not a random ScUll pIe of meadow sites of were calcu lated from a sample of 300 points per site. second set of data came [To m two Table l-ClllSS names, numbers ofsites sampled (N), average 'Illmbers o/species (SIJ),perceTlt cOlllpo~itinn lif "II' III/1St frequent specie .~ (COlllp), (II/d llleans of three indices of species diversity Jor 14 meadow site meado s in Yosemite 'ati lOal Park. to d.lJs~es illihe Sierra .'VI'vada, Cllfi/amia. Rooted frequency (presem:e) was recorded --- for the species on 12 sites in the meadows, r Divcr'ii y index ' using 100 random ly located quadrats p r site. For purpose ' of this study, the quad Mcadow C J a$~ 2 N Sp Comp1 0, Om D. rats from each site were randomized into pel 10 samples of 10. For sampl ing rooted HypericuJl/Ip'0I)'FiOlLum!Violp Ihi Ibid; bl)g) 19 29.6 9.4· 1.31/6' .. 3.691 3.1188 frequency, the quadrat size used ( 10 cm x 10 cm) wa" found < ppropriate n dry TrijaiiulII/l\linlllills (carpel clover) .t 28,S 19.7 1.357 3,375 8.010 meadows in Idaho and is used on mead Allms'i (bcntgra~s). , . 2 . '20.0 ;!:n .0.944 . 3.06R 7,-R3(l 0\ . of the Paci fi c Soulhwest Region of the Fore~t Service. I I,I~ Deschamp\ia/;\sler (tufted hairgrass) 6 n 5 14.2 1.062 2. 6:1 9 7.986 Diversity Indices Poa (Ken\Uck ~ blut:g~,\ssj . 3 210 4!!.3 0.991 2.631) 4.021 Two common indices of diversity were MlIhlt.'ll bergia/He/eaeharis (puJlup ll1 uhly) 8 23.0 2 1.9 1.086 2.542 6.665 used: ( I ) Margalcfs {Om = (S -1) lin N J, where S is U,e number of ~ pecies and N is He/eocliari.w,WuM<'Ilberglu 8' 20A ..33. ~ . 0.962 .2.476 .. 5,766 ,r<.'wnewered <;pikerush ) .. the total number of imJividu als (hits or occurrence ') for all sp cies: (2) Simpson's C(/ia/1la~ro s li s/O ryZ()p s is (shorthair) 8 )8.5 39.3 0.873 2., 89 4.560 {Os = liD}, n 'ifbiiuIIIIMufjhmben:!d (lllngsloik c lover) ..4 20,0 13.f:J U.944 .. 2;279 6.2+1 s where 0 = L (n; (IIi - I)/N (N - 1)) Gel/lian a/Aster (I!cn tian -a~!er) J 19.3 [3 .1 0.9 12 2. 104 5.947 i = j and l1 i i<; the number of individuals of tbe C"rex 1~,('b"{/#t!II\'i~ (Ncbniska 'ed~eJ ' 5 "HUi 38.2 .