干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Effects of Topography and Land use on Woody Plant Species Composition and Beta Diversity in an Arid Trans-Himalayan Landscape, Nepal

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	Effects of Topography and Land use on Woody Plant Species Composition and Beta Diversity in an Arid Trans-Himalayan Landscape, Nepal
	Shishir Paudel; Vetaas Ole R
来源期刊	Journal of Mountain Science
ISSN	1672-6316
出版年	2014
卷号	11 期号:5 页码:1112-1122
英文摘要	Distribution patterns of plant species are believed to be impacted by small-scale habitat heterogeneity. However, there have been few comparative studies examining how woody vegetation composition and diversity varies with aspects of different orientations in the Trans-Himalayan region at a local scale. Here, we examined the effects of incoming solar radiation on variation in woody species composition and compared the diversity between the northeast- and southwest-facing slopes in a Trans-Himalayan valley of Nepal. We also examined the implicit interactions between slope orientation and land use in determining the compositional variations between the slopes. We selected two pairs of northeast- and southwest-facing slopes where the first pair has a similar land use and differs in exposure only (Pisang site) while the other pair has clear differences in land use in addition to slope exposure (Braka site). In each site, we sampled 72 plots (36 on each slope) in which the presence and absence of woody species, environmental variables,and disturbance were recorded. Correspondence Analysis (CA) results suggested that the woody species composition significantly varied between northeast- and southwest-facing slopes at both sites,and was significantly correlated with measured environmental variables such as radiation index,altitude, and canopy openness. In the Braka site, mean alpha diversity was significantly higher on southwest-facing slopes. In contrast, beta diversity and gamma diversity were greater on northeast-facing slopes at both sites. Our results suggest that topographic variables (e.g., radiation index) affect species composition between the slopes, likely due to their influence on small scale abiotic environmental variables. However, the effects of land use, such as livestock browsing/grazing may interact with the effects of slope exposure, effectively reducing differences in species composition within slopes but enhancing the differences in beta diversity between contrasting slopes in the Braka. We conclude that slope orientation and land use are important factors in structuring the woody species composition and diversity in the arid Trans-Himalayan region. We suggest that both environmental and land use variables should be taken into consideration in future studies on plant community structure along the cultural landscapes.
英文关键词	Correspondence analysis Diversity Environmental gradients Himalaya Land use Topographic aspect Woody vegetation
类型	Article
语种	英语
收录类别	CSCD
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
CSCD记录号	CSCD:5260418
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/335405
作者单位	Shishir Paudel, Natural Resources Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, 74078, USA.; Vetaas Ole R, Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Bergen, Hordaland N-5020, Norway.
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Shishir Paudel,Vetaas Ole R. Effects of Topography and Land use on Woody Plant Species Composition and Beta Diversity in an Arid Trans-Himalayan Landscape, Nepal[J],2014,11(5):1112-1122.
APA	Shishir Paudel,&Vetaas Ole R.(2014).Effects of Topography and Land use on Woody Plant Species Composition and Beta Diversity in an Arid Trans-Himalayan Landscape, Nepal.Journal of Mountain Science,11(5),1112-1122.
MLA	Shishir Paudel,et al."Effects of Topography and Land use on Woody Plant Species Composition and Beta Diversity in an Arid Trans-Himalayan Landscape, Nepal".Journal of Mountain Science 11.5(2014):1112-1122.