This study examined the effects of seedbed and seedling environment on establishment of early and late seral dominant alpine species. Species studied included late seral dominant forbs (Geum rossii, Artemisia scopulorum, and Polemonium viscosum), early seral dominant forbs (Potentilla diversifolia and Sibbaldia procumbens), a late seral dominant grass (Festuca idahoensis), and early seral dominant grasses (Calamagrostis purpurascens and Deschampsia cespitosa). Germination responses of each species to wet vs. dry cold stratification and light vs. dark conditions were investigated. No statistical differences were observed in the seed germination of early and late seral dominant forbs or early and late seral dominant grasses, but significant differences were observed in the responses of grasses and forbs. Seed germination of forbs was greater under light than dark conditions and following wet cold storage. Effects of fertilization on growth responses and nutrient uptake of G. rossii and D. cespitosawere evaluated in a factorial greenhouse experiment in which seedlings of each species were grown at four levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). The late seral dominant forb responded more like a species from a low-nutrient environment exhibiting lower relative growth rates, higher root:shoot ratios, and a smaller response to N than the early seral dominant. A field experiment on the Beartooth Plateau, Montana, examined the soil environment and seedling emergence, growth, and survival of seeded early and late seral dominants on loamy sand soils of a severe disturbance and on peat soils of an undisturbed area during two growing seasons. Effects of fertilizer and mulch were examined on the severely disturbed area. Differences between uncleared turf and turf cleared of vegetation (gap disturbance) were evaluated on the undisturbed area. The gap disturbance had higher levels of N and P and warmer soil than the severe disturbance or vegetated undisturbed area. Soil water potentials were never low enough to result in plant stress. Seedling growth was slow - .005 g to .04 g dry weight the first growing season and .02 g to .20 g the second growing season. Growth was greatest on the gap disturbance and on fertilized plots of the severely disturbed area. Early seral dominants had the largest seedlings and the smallest R/R+S ratios. Mortality was low - odds of .50 were rarely exceeded even after two years. Survival was higher on warm, nutrient rich soils of the gap disturbance. Mulch increased emergence and survival on the severe disturbance. Fertilization increased mortality, probably because an initial pulse of N was followed by a rapid decline. Higher mortality occurred in 1986 than 1985 as 1986 had a shorter growing season and cooler air and soil temperatures early in the growing season.

The aim of this thesis is to make a survey of vegetation present on permanent plots in the restored flood plain of the Hučina stream. Another a im is to compare the results with the results of Lazárková (2012), who studied the area before the restoration. The thesis includes also a herbarium and photo-herbarium demonstrating traits of the plant species. The study was conducted on 26 permanent plots laid on three transects. Permanent plots occurred in grasslandareas, in a woodyareas and the streambed. I created a list of all plant species and their abundances on each plot, separately for the moss, herb, bush and tree layers. . Overall, 48 plant species were found.

I have studied arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis of 44 herbaceous invasive neophytes occuring in the Czech Republic. My results show that about 70% of the examined species are capable to form symbiotic association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the field. To my knowledge, mycorrhizal status of 23 invasive species is reported here for the first time. I predicted, based on the hypothesis of Urcelay & Díaz (2003), that the intensity of AMF in the roots of invasive species will be correlated with that of the native dominant species of invaded plant community, but collected data did not support this hypothesis. In addition, the effects of habitat and community characteristics on the intensity of AMF colonization of the invasive species{\crq} roots were tested. My results show that, at the within-species level, plants in the habitats with higher light and temperature conditions have less colonized roots whereas intensity of mycorrhizal colonization increases with habitat moisture. At the among-species level, invasive species occurring in the habitats with elevated nitrogen availability have higher mycorrhizal colonization of their roots. The effect of nitrogen availability is revealed at the among-species level and stays significant even after phylogenetic correction, suggesting this is an evolutionary adaptation rather than a phenotypic plasticity.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:30:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 894815 bytes, checksum: 23d109fd9106676bd17192daf3b75f95 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-31 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Competition is a controversial theme in theoretical ecology. Studies involving competition and ants have demonstrated contradictories results. Thus, experimental work is necessary to elucidate the real importance of competition on structuring ant communities. Then, the aim of this study was to experimentally determinate the immediate effect of exclusion of two dominant ant species on the structure of ants communities which forage on baits. I collected data between February and April of 2007, in Darwin, NT, Australia and between January and February of 2010 in Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. I established three plots in each country where we experimentally removed the two most aggressive ant species. The plots were made of 100 baits spaced in ten lines of ten baits spaced in 3m. The baits were made of ¼ of a paper with 30g of sardine deposited on it. The experiment was divided in three parts of three days each one. The first part was called before exclusion , when the ants were collected without previous interference. In the second part, during exclusion , the dominant ants nests were blocked with plastic bowls. Finally, after exclusion , after we unblock the dominant ants nests. One hour after the baits installation, we collected the ants and noted its abundance. During exclusion in Australia, the richness and abundance of ants increased significantly when compared with others treatments. Furthermore, the ant species composition on baits changed during the dominant species exclusion. In Brazil, there was a decrease of those values during and after exclusion, probably due to a subdominant species (Cephalotes pusillus) that increased in abundance and frequency and may have had a stronger negative effect on ant community. Some species were collected only when the dominant species were blocked in Australia. Our analysis indicates there is an important change in the ant species diversity and composition with the dominant species exclusion. In Australia, dominant species may regulate momentary diversity of ant community while in Brazil it has a buffer effect. This may indicate that competition is a strong factor structuring ant assemblage. / A competição é um tema controverso na teoria ecológica. Estudos que tenham envolvido competição e formigas têm demonstrado resultados contraditórios. Assim, trabalhos experimentais são necessários para elucidar a importância da competição sobre a estrutura de comunidades de formigas. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse estudo foi determinar experimentalmente o efeito a curto prazo da exclusão de duas espécies dominantes de formigas sobre a estrutura de comunidades de formigas que forrageiam em iscas. Coletei os dados entre fevereiro e abril de 2007, em Darwin, NT, Austrália, e entre janeiro e fevereiro de 2010, em Uberlândia, MG, Brasil. Nós estabelecemos três grids em cada país, onde nós bloqueamos as espécies dominantes. Os grids eram compostos de 100 iscas espalhadas em 10 linhas de 10 iscas, sempre espaçadas em 3m. As iscas foram feitas de ¼ de papel branco com 30g de sardinha depositada sobre ela. O experimento foi divido em três partes de três dias cada um. A primeira parte foi chamada antes do bloqueio , em que as formigas foram coletadas sem interferência prévia. Na segunda parte, durante o bloqueio , os ninhos das formigas dominantes foram bloqueados com bacias plásticas. Finalmente, depois do bloqueio , quando os ninhos foram desbloqueados. Depois de uma hora da instalação das iscas, nós coletávamos as formigas e anotávamos a sua abundância. Durante o bloqueio na Austrália, a riqueza e a abundância de formigas cresceram significativamente quando comparadas aos demais tratamentos. Além disso, a composição de espécies de formigas nas iscas mudou durante o bloqueio da espécie dominante. No Brasil, houve uma queda desses valores durante e depois do bloqueio, provavelmente devido a uma espécie subdominante (Cephalotes pusillus), que aumentou em abundância e frequência e parece ter tido um efeito negativo maior sobre a comunidade de formigas. Algumas espécies foram coletadas apenas quando as espécies dominantes estavam bloqueadas na Austrália. Nossas análises indicam que existem mudanças importantes sobre a diversidade e a composição de espécies com o bloqueio das espécies dominantes. Na Austrália, as espécies dominantes podem regular a diversidade momentânea, enquanto no Brasil elas podem ter um efeito estabilizador. Isso sugere que a competição pode ser um importante processo na estruturação de comunidades de formigas.