The Progression Of Succession Through Facilitation And Other Species Interactions

At Wanda Beach, the tall trees and scrubs act as a windbreaker which further protects the sand formation. According to the field work results collected using the anemometer (see figure 3), the Aeolian processes at the front and the top of the primary dune is where the wind speed is highest. So it is important to plant plants such as the hairy spinifex to stabilise the sand due to its expansive root system and its ability to survive low water conditions.

* The efforts of “Wamberal -Terrigal Beach Protection Group” have been mostly successful. Although a small part of the front dune that was covered in spinifex grass has been lost, the erosion at Wamberal would have been significantly worse.

1 The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has stepped in to provide restorative practices upon 500,000 acres of heavily degraded public grasslands. This land is suffering from severe soil erosion as well as degradation due to overgrazing. The suppression of natural fires has caused shrubs and invasive weeds to encroach upon the grasslands. A full scale assessment will take place on this land before restoration efforts begin. The first thing that would need to be assessed is the soil, for it is eroding and holding little nutrient value. Samples would be taken of this soil from various parts of the grasslands including the eroded gullies. Each soil sample would be taken from at least 1 foot below the surface, to test for carbon richness below the topsoil. These would then be tested for texture, density, water retention, and chemical composition. Typically, powerful, healthy soil will contain amounts of both Nitrogen and Phosphorous, which are essential nutrients in sustainable plant growth. These samples would also be tested for any build-up of salts, something known as soil salinization. Unhealthy, salinized soil is created over years of over-hydrating and deep plowing. Excess water will suffocate root systems of once-healthy crops, and salinized soils will reduce crop output up to 20% (Withgott &Brennan, 2011). The next assessment would be in the shrubs and invasive weed species on the land. Knowing the volume and location of these plants gives way to a better understanding of

tides. There are also many programs which help to ensure the stabilization of dunes, these include the planting of new vegetation to combat erosion, fencing and designated

Extracted soil samples indicate simultaneous reduction of rainfall and occasional erosion. Both soil and sediment features show establishment of marked

Geology of major natural system: Overall, in regards to geology, beach dunes are known for typically containing parallel zones of an upper beach area, undulating foredune, transition dune, and lastly a stable dune- which slopes upward and away from the water’s edge (Web World Wonders, n.d.a.). Primarily, all dunes are known to be driven by wave-sand

The impacts of shoreline alterations on widely varied vegetation have expanded as a research design, intended to understand the effects that shoreline progression have on the relationship between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Armoring started in the Puget Sound area when the Aquatic Habitat Guidelines produced a number of successful guidance documents; most relevant in this situation is the Integrated Stream-bank Protection Guidelines (ISPG). The floods of 1996-97 caused catastrophic bank failures along many rivers in Washington State. The response of landowners

Scrubby flatwoods are a functional intermediate between scrub and mesic flatwoods and are often (though not always) found as an ecotone connecting them. The scrubby flatwoods savanna is characterized by an open overstory of widely-spaced pines, sparse understory of scrub oaks and ground cover consisting of scattered grasses, forbs and dwarf shrubs situated among small openings of bare sand. Compared to scrub, scrubby flatwoods relic dune soils are less well drained, however, they are sufficiently drained to preclude ponding, even during heavy rain. In order to maintain open structure, scrubby flatwoods require relatively frequent (5 to 15 years), low intensity surface

However, the Dwight-Irwin soil has more of a deeper, moister quality. Benfield and Dwight-Irwin soils do allow for more species richness than other lower elevated ecosystems but due to the drier soils, Little Bluestem is still the most dominant plant recorded. The dominance of Little Bluestem extends down to the lowest boundaries of the ecosystem, indicating that the soil conditions do stay relatively consistent, despite the change in soil type. This allows “Little Bluestem” to again be the dominant plant species component. The drier qualities of the upper Benfield soil combine with the slightly moister qualities of the lower Dwight-Irwin soil to give the “Dry Mesic” classification. These soil moisture content qualities, the location of this ecosystem along side slopes, and the consistent dominance of the Little Bluestem plant species allows this ecosystem to be classified as Little Bluestem-Dry

The project is located at an elevation of ~730 m above mean sea level and within the Basin and Range physiographic province (BR). The BR is composed of high relief mountains or foothills separated by low-lying valleys and salt flats. The salt flats of the Amargosa do not support plant life, but Phreatophytes (deeply rooted plants) occur on their edges and near the adjacent gravel-dominated alluvial fans. Iodine bush (Allenrolfea occidentalis) grows closet to the salt flats, while saltgrass (Distichlis stricta) and arrowweed (Pluchea sericea) occur more distal. The dominant species in the salt flat-proximal areas is honey mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) that occurs as large stands. Sacatone grass (Sporobolus airoides) and desert holly (Atriplex hymenelytra) intergrown with

The elevation, slope gradient, and slope aspect are all considered to determine an ecosystem classification. In this report the cuesta of Marlatt Park is the main landform. It is the result of erosion from water running over and below the soil surface. The topographical features observed in Marlatt Park shed a light on the existence of the two major sedimentary rocks, limestone and shale. They cause the alternating vales and escarpments on the cuestas at Marlatt Park, due to the difference in resisting erosional force (Keane, 2015). Limestone has more strength and is more erosion-resistant than shale. It is observed that the limestone layers form a gentler slope while the shale layers are more subject to erosion, forming steeper slopes (Keane,

This study aims to compare the scavenger assemblages between seagrass and bare sand habitats in North creek, Richmond River estuary, Ballina, NSW. The hypothesis states that there will be a significant difference in scavenger assemblages between the seagrass habitat and bare sand habitat due to the higher rate of primary production, higher plant and animal abundance and improved nutrient cycling which transfers to higher availability of carrion and dead plant material as a food source for scavengers. The null hypothesis proposes that there will be no significant difference in scavenger assemblages between seagrass and bare sand ecosystems.

The heathland is an environment dominated by low-growing woody vegetation, distinguished by its acidic soils and open landscape, it is commonly situated on free-draining infertile grounds. The generally shrubby flora does not thrive here but rather survives in these dry harsh conditions, due to the plants adapting over time to this habitat suiting themselves to it. The rocky heathland of Springbrook Nation Park resembles the flora found in a beachy environment as it’s canopy comprises of low-level stunted trees including: Sedges, Wattles, tea trees, banksias, small she oaks and small eucalyptuses.

The change in landscapes has been studied across a variety of scales in recent years due to the rapid population growth and urbanization process worldwide. Since 1950s, urban growth becomes prevalent in U.S., especially prominent in suburban and rural areas where the land use is featured by dispersed developments, single-functional, low density and auto-driven transportation (Ramalho, Hobbs, 2012). The expansion of impervious land generates a variety of urban sprawl patterns and raise many environmental concerns including air pollution, biodiversity degradation, coastal erosion, regional sea level rise and et al (Foley et al., 2005; Seto and Shepherd, 2009; Warner et al., 2010). Urban growth, which has been recognized as the indicator of economic

There are four major rainforests there is mixed forest, Marantaceae forest, Monodominant Gilbertiodendron forest and swamp forest. According to the article “Influence of 1100 years of burning on the central African rainforest” the scientists are trying to find the flammability of the different forest types when ignited and whether an increased number of ignition events be human or climatically driven will result in an alteration of the type of forest after recovery (Tovar et al., 2014). This hypothesis is correlates with biology by life cycle. Biology is the study of life. Human or Climate interference alters second succession. In nature, the forest rainforest would be replaced with its original species. In today’s world, it’s been messed up that original species can’t return as easily as the non-native replacements. The burning of the forests that creates another type of forest after recovery is the cycle of life of a rainforest. Figuring out what ignition rates cause alteration of the type of forest after the recovery is important. By having this information will give us a better understanding on how fire can affect rainforests alternating types. Rainforests are becoming less and less so it’s important to know as much as we can and know how the different types of forests are formed.