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Eine Ursache des Insektenrückgangs ist die Abnahme der für Arthropoden wichtigen Lebensräume. Der kleinstrukturierte Obstanbau als Dauerkultur mit vielfältigen Strukturen (Bäume, Grünland, offener Boden) kann als Refugium wirken. Gerade Dauerkulturen, welche über viele Jahre bestehen bleiben, können einen großen ökologischen Wert für Insekten und Spinnentiere darstellen, wenn die negativen Einflüsse der Bewirtschaftung durch gezielte Maßnahmen minimiert werden. Im Gegensatz zu den gut untersuchten Streuobstwiesen liegen bisher nur wenige oder ungenaue Daten über die Arthropodenfauna in Erwerbsobstanlagen vor. Ziele dieser Arbeit sind eine genauere Erfassung der Arthropodenfauna in Erwerbsobstanlagen, Benennung der Einflussfaktoren und Erarbeitung einer indikatorgestützten Bewertungsmethode mit Entwicklung von Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Biodiversität. Es wurde eine intensive Erfassung der Insekten und Spinnentiere auf Basis von Individuenzahlen, Verteilung der Tiere auf Großgruppen, Artenzahlen der Käfer (inkl. Rote Liste) und Wanzen, deren Diversität und der sie beeinflussenden Faktoren auf vier Erwerbsobstflächen und einer Streuobstwiese als Referenzfläche in der Gemeinde Zornheim (Rheinland-Pfalz) untersucht. Mittels des erarbeiteten Bewertungsbogens wurden die Auswirkungen der fünf Faktorenkomplexe: Sonderstrukturen, Anlagenstruktur, Beschattung, Mahdregime und Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln auf die Arthropodenfauna erhoben und die auf der Fläche zu erwartende Biodiversität ermittelt. Die visuelle Darstellung der Einflussfaktoren mit Netzdiagrammen zeigt biodiversitätsbeeinträchtigende Faktoren und ermöglicht so Empfehlungen zur Aufwertung der Biodiversität. Die Bewertungsmethode kann nach Verifizierung im Rahmen von erfolgsorientierten Agrarumwelt- und Klimamaßnahmen (AUKM), zur Anerkennung von Kompensationsmaßnahmen (z.B. PIK) und zur Ermittlung des ökologischen Wertes (Ökosystemdienstleistung) von Obstanlagen genutzt werden. In modifizierter Form könnte es ebenfalls im Bereich der Flächenbewertung in Landschafts- und Bauleitplanung eingesetzt werden.
Agricultural intensification is leading to a severe decline in farmland biodiversity worldwide. The resulting landscape simplification through the expansion of monocultures and removal of non-crop habitats has a major impact on arthropod communities in agricultural landscapes. While arable fields are often highly disturbed and ephemeral habitats that are unsuitable for many species, non-crop habitats in agroecosystems can provide important refugia. The creation of non-crop habitats through agri-environmental schemes (AES) in intensive agricultural landscapes, such as the ‘Maifeld’ region in western Germany, is intended to mitigate the negative effects of agricultural intensification, although the effectiveness of these measures for nature conservation is still controversial. Therefore, this work focuses on the taxonomic and functional diversity of beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneida), being important providers of ecosystem services, between wheat fields and different non-crop habitats, namely grassy field margins adjacent to wheat and oilseed rape fields, small- and large-scale set-aside areas sown with wildflowers, and permanent grassland fallows. Arthropods were collected between 2019 and 2020 using pitfall traps and suction sampling. Land-use type influenced beetle and spider diversity in the study area, with significantly higher values in grassland fallows than wheat fields. Surprisingly, species diversity differed little among all non-crop habitats, but all harboured distinct species assemblages. In particular, large long-term grassland fallows showed the largest within-group variation of beetle and spider assemblages and represented important habitats, especially for habitat specialists and threatened species, likely due to their variable soil moisture and complex habitat structure. In contrast, the homogeneous arthropod assemblages of wheat fields exhibited lower trait richness and were dominated by a few predatory species adapted to such disturbed, man-made habitats. Interestingly, all conservation measures complemented each other in that they contributed in different ways to supporting beetles and spiders in agricultural landscapes. Even small-scale non-crop habitats and existing habitat boundaries in an agricultural matrix appear to be valuable habitats for farmland arthropods by enhancing taxonomic diversity. Field margins and small wildflower-sown patches can link isolated non-crop habitats and contribute to a heterogeneous agricultural landscape. Consequently, a combination of various small- and large-scale greening measures leads to increased compositional and configurational landscape heterogeneity, resulting in improved beetle and spider diversity. Considering the ongoing loss of farmland biodiversity worldwide, agri-environmental schemes should be promoted in the future, as they are particularly important for arthropod conservation in intensive agricultural landscapes such as the Maifeld region.
In this thesis, I present the results of my studies on taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) in Madagascar and the Comoro islands.
In Chapter 1 I reviewed the literature on taxonomy and classification of Balsaminaceae, on habitat, world distribution, morphology, molecular phylogenetics and infrageneric classification of the genus Impatiens. In Chapters 2-15 (Fischer & Rahelivololona 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2015a, 2015b, 2015c, 2016, Fischer et al. 2004. 2017, 2018a, b submitted, Rahelivololona et al. 2003) I presented the first results of a revision of Balsaminaceae of Madagascar and the Comoro islands including the description of 78 new species. In Chapter 16 (Yuan et al. 2004) we worked on the phylogeny and biogeography of Balsaminaceae inferred from ITS sequences using combined results from molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses. In Chapter 17 (Rahelivololona et al. 2018) we conducted a phylogeny and assessment of the infrageneric classification of species in the Malagasy Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) with a particular emphasis on taxa collected from Marojejy.
Below I summarise the most important findings of each chapter and provide an outlook for future studies.
How many species of Impatiens occur in Madagascar and the Comoro islands?
To provide additional information on the taxonomic revision of Impatiens in Madagascar and the Comoro islands, the identification of already described species as well as the description of new species was conducted. Based on herbarium specimens from BR, G, K, NEU, P, TAN and on living plants collected during several field trips, 78 new species and 6 nomina nova have been published and another 70 new taxa are already identified. Actually more than 260 species occur in Madagascar and the Comoro islands and all of them are endemic. For each species, a description of the morphology, phenology, ecology and known distribution range was provided. Apart from new taxa, the delimitation of already described species like Impatiens firmula Baker and Impatiens hildebrandtii Baill. could be clarified by studying the types and by observing the variability in the field.
Are the groups of Impatiens in Madagascar monophyletic, and what is the systematic position of Trimorphopetalum?
Yuan & al. (2004) conducted a molecular phylogenetic study to examine the morphological and karyological evolution, and the historical biogeography of the Balsaminaceae family by using nucleotide sequence data of internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The results support the monophyly of the Malagasy endemic section Trimorphopetalum and show that the cleistogamous Impatiens inaperta should be included in the sect. Trimorphopetalum which is the most derived within Impatiens. Therefore, the section Preimpatiens proposed by Perrier de la Bâthie (1934) is paraphyletic.
Rahelivololona & al. (2018) provided a phylogenetic study focused on three subdivisions (based on macromorphological characters) proposed by Perrier de la Bâthie (1934). The analysis was done using two nuclear AP3/DEF homologues (ImpDEF1 and ImpDEF2) and the plastid atpB-rbcL spacer to reassess or assess the monophyly of the Malagasy Impatiens, of the sections Preimpatiens (Humblotianae and Vulgare groups) and Trimorphopetalum. A focus was on the species of Impatiens from the Marojejy National Park and of the morphologically variable species I. elatostemmoides, I. “hammarbyoides”, I. inaperta and I. manaharensis, using monophyly as the primary criterion.
As results the Malagasy Impatiens are paraphyletic and the section Preimpatiens sensu Perrier de la Bâthie (1934) (= subgen. Impatiens sensu Fischer & Rahelivololona 2002) was not resolved as a monophyletic group. The section Trimorphopetalum sensu Perrier de la Bâthie (1934) (= subgen. Trimorphopetalum sensu Fischer & Rahelivololona 2002), however, was strongly confirmed as a monophyletic lineage (BS: 92; BPP: 1). Neither the Humblotianae group nor the Vulgare group was supported as monophyletic. None of the morphologically variable species appeared to be monophyletic and the sampled species of Impatiens from the Marojejy National Park do also not form a monophyletic group.
What are the biogeographical position and the distribution patterns of Impatiens in Madagascar and the Comoro islands?
Investigation of the geographical affinities and species distribution of section Impatiens (including Humblotianae group and Vulgare group) and section Trimorphopetalum were conducted and the origin and evolution as well as species richness and endemism were discussed.
The isolation, the climate and the complex topography of Madagascar have generated the microhabitats and ecological niches favourable to the diversification of Impatiens species. Impatiens of Madagascar with 260 endemic species is actually the largest genus in Madagascar. Therefore, Madagascar and the Comoro islands are among the most species-rich regions in the world for Impatiens.
Future studies
In Impatiens on Madagascar, there remain numerous unresolved questions that need to be adressed:
• A further study based on a much larger molecular data set and sampling from the entire geographic ranges of Impatiens in Madagascar is needed to retest the monophyly of the different subgenera and sections, as well as a molecular dating of the Malagasy Impatiens.
• The study of pollinators as a key for understanding the radiation and species richness is required: Within Impatiens the different shapes of spur are related to pollinators (bees, birds, butterflies and moths). Therefore pollinator observation of specific species need to be done to understand the radiation of species by adaptation and coevolution with these pollinators. A pollination study with a large number of species within section Trimorphopetalum will help to understand the mechanism of complete disappearance of the spur, the shift of pollinators and the evolution of species richness.
• The destruction of the natural habitats of Impatiens and the subsequent reduction of humidity in logged area constitute a severe threat for the survival of many species. The conservation and reforestation of vulnerable areas such as Ankaratra, Daraina, Mandraka and Col des Tapia near Antsirabe is required.
• In terms of conservation and to mitigate the threat on the genus, a study on the ex-situ-conservation of Malagasy Impatiens species is very important as long as some species are suitable for horticultural purposes (e.g. Impatiens mayae-valeriae, Impatiens emiliae and species with broad red spur).
• Finally, the publication of the revision of Impatiens of Madagascar and the Comoro islands will help other botanists to identify the species and will thus increase our knowledge on the group.
Heat exchangers are used for thickening of various products or desalination of saltwater. Nevertheless, they are used as cooling unit in industries. Thereby, the stainless steel heat transferring elements get in contact with microorganism containing media, such as river water or saltwater, and corrode. After at least two years of utilization the material is covered with bacterial slime called biofilm. This process is called biofouling and causes loss in efficiency and creates huge costs depending on cleaning technique and efficiency. Cleaning a heat exchanger is very expensive and time consuming. It only can be done while the device is out of business.
Changing the surface properties of materials is the best and easiest way to lengthen the initial phase of biofilm formation. This leads to less biofouling (Mogha et al. 2014).
Thin polymer films as novel materials have less costs in production than stainless steel and are easy to handle. Furthermore, they can be functionalzed easily and can be bougth in different sizes all over the world. Because of this, they can reduce the costs of cleaning techniques and lead to a longer high efficiency state of the heat exchanger. If the efficiency of the heat exchanger decreases, the thin polymer films can be replaced.
For a successful investigation of the microbial and the process engineering challenges a cooperation of Technical University of Kaiserslautern (chair of seperation science and technology) and University of Koblenz-Landau (working goup microbiology) was established.
The aim of this work was design engineering and production of a reactor for investigation of biofouling taking place on thin polymeric films and stainless steel. Furthermore, an experimental design has to be established. Several requirements have to be applied for these tasks. Therefore, a real heat exchanger is downscaled, so the process parameters are at least comparable. There are many commercial flow cell kits available. Reducing the costs by selfassembling increased the number of samples, so there is a basis for statistic analysis. In addition, fast and minimal invasive online-in-situ microscopy and Raman spectroscopy can be performed. By creating laminary flow and using a weir we implemented homogenous inflow to the reactors. Reproduceable data on biomass and cell number were created.
The assessment of biomass and cell number is well established for drinking water analysis. Epifluorescense microscopy and gravimetric determination are the basic techniques for this work, too. Differences in cell number and biomass between surface modifications and materials are quantified and statistically analysed.
The wildtype strain Escherichia coli K12 and an inoculum of 500 ml fresh water were used to describe the biofouling of the films. Thereby, we generated data with natural bacterial community in unknown media properties and data with well known media properties, so the technical relevance of the data is given.
Free surface energy and surface roughness are the first attachment hurdles for bacteria. These parameters were measured according to DIN 55660 and DIN EN ISO 4287. The materials science data were correlated with the number of cells and the biomass. This correlation acts as basal link of biofouling as biological induced parameter to the material properties. Material properties for reducing the biofouling can be prospected.
By using Raman spectroscopy as a cutting edge method future investigations could be shortened. If biomass or cell number can be linked with the spectra, new functional materials can be investigated in a short time.
Cultural eutrophication due to excessive inputs of nutrients seriously threatens aquatic ecosystems worldwide and is one of the major anthropogenic stressors on aquatic biota in European rivers. In streams and shallow rivers, its effects include excessive periphyton growth, which causes biological clogging and thereby oxygen depletion in the hyporheic zone. The result is a serious degradation of habitat quality for benthic invertebrates as well as for the eggs and larvae of gravel-spawning fish. Unlike in standing waters, efficient tools for controlling eutrophication in rivers are lacking. However, top-down control of the food-web by manipulating fish stocks, similar to the biomanipulation successfully applied in lakes, offers a promising approach to mitigating the effects of eutrophication in shallow rivers, especially those in which major reductions in nutrient inputs are not feasible. The overall aim of this thesis was to assess the potential for top-down control by two large cypriniform fish, the common nase (Chondrostoma nasus), the only obligate herbivorous fish species in European rivers, and the omnivorous European chub (Squalius cephalus), to mitigate the effects of eutrophication in medium-sized rivers. I therefore conducted field experiments on different spatial and temporal scales in the hyporhithral zone of a eutrophic gravel-bed river. Generally, the results of those experiments revealed the crucial role of fish-mediated top-down effects in river food webs. In a 4-year reach-scale experiment, the key contribution of my thesis, the enhancement of fish densities significantly increased both oxygen availability and water exchange in the upper layer of the hyporheic zone, even though the top-down effects of the fish on periphyton biomass were relatively small. These findings were supported by those of a 4-week mesocosm experiment, which also provided insights into the mechanisms underlying the mitigation of eutrophication effects by nase and chub. The top-down effects of both fish species reduced hyporheic oxygen depletion, suggesting a reduction of biological clogging. The positive effects of herbivorous nase on hyporheic oxygen availability could be attributed to benthic grazing, whereas the reduction of hyporheic oxygen depletion in the presence of omnivorous chub was best explained by the enhanced bioturbation induced by the fish’s benthic foraging. Overall, the results of my thesis demonstrate that biomanipulation achieved by enhancing herbivorous and omnivorous fish stocks can mitigate the effects of eutrophication in medium-sized European rivers. The results may be the first step towards the establishment of biomanipulation as a supportive management tool for eutrophication control in running waters and therefore as a strategy to preserve aquatic biodiversity.
Aim of this study was the assessment of the conservation status of vascular plants in East African rain forests with the background of establishing an ex-situ culture of local endangered plants at the Botanic Garden of the Maseno University (Kenya).
For a sustainable implementation it was first necessary to learn more about the general species inventory, especially concerning species composition and abundance under human impact, and to assess the conservation priority of each plant species. Representative for East African rain forests, Kakamega Forest (Kenya) and Budongo Forest (Uganda) were selected to serve as model forests.
Beside the general floristic investigations including all vascular plants, a special focus was laid on vascular epiphytes and their vulnerability to forest disturbance. To assess the conservation priority of the plants, a rating system was developed based on seven threat criteria. By carrying out first plant collections, the exsitu culture in Maseno Botanic Garden was already initiated.
Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war die Darstellung floristisch-pflanzensoziologischer Abhängigkeiten sommergrüner grundwasserferner Laubwaldgesellschaften vom Naturraumpotenzial im Laacher Kuppenland als Grundlage für die Bewertung der naturräumlichen Zuordnung. An Anfang stand eine Vorstellung des Untersuchungsgebietes, indem die derzeit gültige Gliederung des Naturraumes, die geologischen Verhältnisse, Oberflächenformen und Formungsprozesse sowie Klima dargestellt wurden. Hieran schloss sich die vegetationskundlich-standörtliche Charakterisierung der Waldgesellschaften – Hainsimsen-Buchenwald (Luzulo-Fagetum), Hainsimsen-(Habichtskraut)- Traubeneichenwald (Luzulo luzuloides-Quercetum petraeae), Waldmeister-Buchenwald (Galio-Fagetum), Waldlabkraut-Eichen-Hainbuchenwald (Galio sylvatici-Carpinetum betuli), Eschen-Ahorn-Steinschuttschatthangwald (Fraxino-Aceretum pseudoplatani) und verschiedenartige Trauben-Eichen-Bestände – an. Den Beschreibungen lagen zahlreiche Vegetationsaufnahmen zu Grunde, die eine auf standörtlichen Unterschieden beruhende Differenzierung der Gesellschaften möglich machten. Die Waldtypen zeigten ein abgestuftes Maß an Natürlichkeit. Den naturnächsten Charakter - und daher das standörtliche Potenzial am besten anzeigend – wiesen die Rot-Buchen-dominierten Laubwaldgesellschaften sowie einige Eschen-Ahorn-Steinschuttschatthangwälder auf. Nutzungsbedingt naturferner waren Hainsimsen-(Habichtskraut)- Traubeneichenwald und Waldlabkraut-Eichen-Hainbuchenwald. Forstwirtschaftliche Ersatzgesellschaften von Buchenwaldgesellschaften waren im Untersuchungsgebiet verschiedenartige Trauben-Eichen-Bestände. Auf Grundlage der Untersuchungsergebnisse sowie einer Literaturauswertung erfolgte eine Bewertung des Anschlusses des Laacher Kuppenlandes an eine Gruppe von naturräumlichen Haupteinheiten. Sowohl das floristische als auch das vegetationskundliche Inventar untermauerten die These, dass das Laacher Vulkanbergland als Teilgebiet des Mittelrheinischen Becken zu betrachten ist. Abschließend wurden Betrachtungen zu Biodiversität und Naturschutz vorgenommen. Als deren Fazit wurde vorgeschlagen, einen Nationalpark einzurichten, um zum Erhalt und zur Förderung der Artenvielfalt beizutragen und um der internationalen Verantwortung Deutschlands für Buchenwaldökosysteme nachzukommen.
Diese Dissertation beschreibt Ökologie und Verhalten einer Hirschkäferpopulation im Moseltal im Bereich der Gemeinden Alf und Bullay (Kreis Cochem-Zell). Im Rahmen einer Kartierung werden darüber hinaus Vorkommen im nördlichen Rheinland-Pfalz dokumentiert. Grundlage der Untersuchung ist die Radiotelemetrie der adulten Hirschkäfer im Freiland. Die Anwendung dieser Methode liefert auch über den eigentlichen Untersuchungszweck hinausgehende quantitative und qualitative Erfahrungswerte für diese noch selten bei fliegenden Käfern angewendete Methode. Daneben werden Fundortmeldungen, Brutstättenmonitoring, Morphometrie und Insektarienuntersuchungen als ergänzende und vergleichende Methoden eingesetzt. Es erfolgt so eine quantitative Beschreibung geschlechtsspezifischer Verhaltenweisen adulter Hirschkäfer wie z. B. Aktivitäts-, Dispersions-und Fortpflanzungsverhalten, Habitatpräferenzen sowie eine Beschreibung der Entwicklungsabläufe im Bruthabitat. Die Ergebnisse zeichnen ein Bild vom Leben der Hirschkäfer, das von den bisherigen Vorstellungen weitgehend abweicht. Hirschkäfer brauchen Offenlandstrukturen und sind im Moseltal erfolgreiche Kulturfolger. Sie leben heute dort nahezu unbemerkt in der urbanen Landschaft. Die vielfach beschriebene enge Bindung an die Baumart Eiche ist keine zwingende Voraussetzung für eine erfolgreiche Populationsbildung. Im gesamten Fortpflanzungsverhalten kommt der Brutstätte eine zentrale Bedeutung zu, dabei ist die Vernetzung der Brutstätten eine Grundvoraussetzung. Das Fortpflanzungsverhalten unterliegt einer Regelstrategie, zu der es aber auch Alternativen gibt. Das beobachtete Dispersionsverhalten ermöglicht die Abgrenzung von Populationen. Für den Naturschutz ergeben sich aus den Ergebnissen Konsequenzen und Möglichkeiten für Schutzgebiete und die Anlage künstlicher Bruthabitate. Daneben wirft diese Untersuchung aber auch die Frage der Bewertung von Gefährdung und Seltenheit dieser Art als Ergebnis subjektiver Wahrnehmungen auf.
Diversität und Verbreitung von Schluchtwäldern (Tilio-Acerion) im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge
(2012)
Im Rahmen dieser Studie wurde die Diversität der Gefäßpflanzen von Edellaubmischwäldernrn im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge statistisch erfasst und dabei erstmalig deren Artenzusammensetzung anhand einer angewandten Standortanalyse soziologisch-floristisch beschrieben sowie deren Verbreitung im Einzugsbereich von unterer Mosel, unterer Lahn und dem Mittelrheingebiet zusammenfassend dargestellt.
Zudem war es Ziel dieser Untersuchung die Variabilität und Struktur der Artenzusammensetzung in Abhängigkeit von edaphischen und mikroklimatischen Umweltfaktoren auf Schiefer als anstehendem Gestein zu analysieren und diesbezüglich das Tilio-Acerion des Untersuchungsraums mit den bisher vorwiegend auf kalkhaltigem Untergrund untersuchten Edellaubmischwaldgesellschaften der übrigen deutschen Gebirge zu vergleichen. Mit Blick auf die Einstufung dieser Waldgesellschaft als "prioritären Lebensraum" innerhalb des NATURA 2000-Schutzgebietssystems und der an die FFH-Richtlinie gekoppelten Berichtspflicht von Rheinland-Pfalz, die alle 6 Jahre erfüllt werden muss,wurde die bisherige Einstufung der Ausprägung dieser Waldgesellschaft für die naturräumlichen Haupteinheiten im Untersuchungsraum revidiert. Dabei wurden auch anthropogene Gefährdungen untersucht und Schutzmaßnahmen für den Erhalt dieses in Mitteleuropa streng geschützten Fauna-Flora-Habitats diskutiert sowie Vorschläge zur Eingliederung von bisher unberücksichtigten Regionen in das NATURA 2000-Schutzgebietssystem abgegeben. Insgesamt wurden 191 Taxa in 1209 Aufnahmen erfasst und 29 Arten davon auf Grund ihrer Seltenheit oder Schutzwürdigkeit als bemerkenswert eingestuft. Des Weiteren wurden 3 Assoziationen und eine bisher noch unbekannte Festuca altissima-Tilia cordata-Gesellschaft beschrieben, wobei der überwiegende Teil der Aufnahmen dem Fraxino-Aceretum pseudoplatani zugeordnet wurde, das sich synsystematisch in weitere standörtlich bedingte Untereinheiten differenzieren lässt. Dabei hebt sich das Tilio-Acerion im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge gemeinsam mit Beständen weiterer silikatischer Gebirge von Edellaubmischwäldern auf karbonatischen Gebirgen in Deutschland durch säuretolerante Arten einer Polystichum aculeatum-Variante syntaxonomisch ab. Zudem konnte das in der Literatur bisher umstrittene Adoxo moschatellinae-Aceretum als eigene, dem Tilio-Acerion zugehörige Assoziation anhand von Kennarten wie dem im Untersuchungsraum hochsteten Polystichum aculeatum in der für die syntaxonomische Bewertung prioritären Krautschicht validiert werden. Regionale Unterschiede der Edellaubmischwälder sind im Untersuchungsgebiet anhand der dortigen Verbreitungsgrenzen submediterraner, (sub-)atlantischer und (sub-)kontinentaler Florenelemente erkennbar. Edaphische und mikroklimatische Faktoren haben sich als besonders einflussreich für diverse Ausprägungen der Schluchtwaldflora herausgestellt. Das Tilio-Acerion ist im Einzugsbereich der Mosel besonders artenreich, was lokal auch auf das Lahngebiet zutrifft. Der Straßen- und Wegebau wird als häufigste Gefährdung eingestuft, in den Tieflagen des oberen Mittelrhein- und Moselgebiets kommen Niederwald-Effekte in Form von haselreichen Degradationsstadien hinzu, in den Hochlagen sind Nadelwaldaufforstungen problematisch. Entsprechend wird gefordert derartige Maßnahmen sowie die Abholzung und Totholzentnahme in Edellaubmischwäldern zu vermeiden und diese sich stattdessen ihrer natürlichen Sukzession zu überlassen.
Die Studie hat gezeigt, dass die naturräumlichen Haupteinheiten Hunsrück, Westerwald, Taunus sowie das Mosel-, Lahn- und Mittelrheintal entgegen bisheriger Einstufung ein "Hauptvorkommen" an Schlucht- und Hangmischwäldern mit "guter Ausprägung" aufweisen.
Ecological assessment approaches based on benthic invertebrates in Euphrates tributaries in Turkey
(2019)
Sustainable water management requires methods for assessing ecological stream quality. Many years of limnological research are needed to provide a basis for developing such methods. However, research of this kind is still lacking in Turkey. Therefore, the aim of this doctoral thesis was to provide basic research in the field of aquatic ecology and to present methods for the assessment of ecological stream quality based on benthic invertebrates. For this purpose, I selected 17 tributaries of the Euphrates with a similar typology/water order and varying levels of pollution or not affected by pollution at all. The characterisation of the natural mountain streams was the first important step in the analysis of ecological quality. Based on community indices, I found that the five selected streams had a very good ecological status. I also compared the different biological indications, collected on two occasions ¬– once in spring (May) and once in autumn (September) – to determine the optimal sampling time. The macroinvertebrate composition differed considerably between the two seasons, with the number of taxa and Shannon index being significantly higher in autumn than in spring. In the final step, I examined the basal resources of the macroinvertebrates in the reference streams with an isotope analysis. I found that FPOM and biofilm were the most relevant basal resources of benthic invertebrates. Subsequently, based on the similarity of their community structures, I divided the 17 streams into three quality classes, supported by four community indices (EPT [%], EPTCBO [%], number of individuals, evenness). In this process, 23 taxa were identified as indicators for the three quality classes. In the next step, I presented two new or adapted indices for the assessment of quality class. Firstly, I adapted the Hindu Kush-Himalaya biotic index to the catchment area of the Euphrates and created a new, ecoregion-specific score list (Euph-Scores) for 93 taxa. The weighted ASPT values, which were renamed the Euphrates Biotic Score (EUPHbios) in this study, showed sharper differentiations of quality classes compared to the other considered ASPT values. Thus, this modified index has proved to be very effective and easy to implement in practical applications. As a second biological index, I suggested the proportion of habitat specialists. To calculate this index, the habitat preferences of the 20 most common benthic invertebrates were identified using the new habitat score. The proportion of habitat specialists differed significantly among the three quality classes with higher values in natural streams than in polluted streams. The methods and results presented in this doctoral thesis can be used in a multi-metric index for a Turkish assessment programme.
Because silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are broadly applied in consumer products, their leaching will result in the continuous release of Ag NPs into the natural aquatic environment. Therefore, bacterial biofilms, as the prominent life form of microorganisms in the aquatic environment, are most likely confronted with Ag NPs as a pollutant stressor. Notwithstanding the significant ecological relevance of bacterial biofilms in aquatic systems, and though Ag NPs are expected to accumulate within these biofilms in the environment, the knowledge on the environmental and ecological impact of Ag NPs, is still lagging behind the industrial growth of nanotechnology. Consequently, aim of this thesis was to perform effect assessment of Ag NP exposure on bacterial biofilms with ambient Ag NPs concentrations and under environmentally relevant conditions. Therefore, a comprehensive set of methods was applied in this work to study if and how Ag NPs of two different sizes (30 and 70 nm) affect bacterial biofilms i.e. both monospecies biofilms and freshwater biofilms in environmentally relevant concentrations (600 - 2400 µg l-1). Within the first part of this work, a newly developed assay to test the mechanical stability of
monospecies biofilms of the freshwater model bacterium Aquabacterium citratiphilum was validated. In the first study, to investigate the impact of Ag NPs on the mechanical stability of bacterial biofilms, sublethal effects on the mechanical stability of the biofilms were observed with negative implications for biostabilization. Furthermore, as it is still challenging to monitor the ecotoxicity of Ag NPs in natural freshwater environments, a mesocosm study was performed in this work to provide the possibility for the detailed investigation of effects of Ag NPs on freshwater biofilms under realistic environmental conditions. By applying several approaches to analyze biofilms as a whole in response to Ag NP treatment, insights into the resilience of bacterial freshwater biofilms were obtained. However, as revealed by t-RFLP fingerprinting combined with phylogenetic studies based on the 16S gene, a shift in the bacterial community composition, where Ag NP-sensitive bacteria were replaced by more Ag NP-tolerant species with enhanced adaptability towards Ag NP stress was determined. This shift within the bacterial community may be associated with potential detrimental effects on the functioning of these biofilms with respect to nutrient loads, transformation and/or degradation of pollutants, and biostabilization. Overall, bringing together the key findings of this thesis, 4 general effect mechanisms of Ag NP treatment have been identified, which can be extrapolated to natural freshwater biofilms i.e. (i) the identification of Comamonadaceae as Ag NP-tolerant, (ii) a particular resilient behaviour of the biofilms, (iii) the two applied size fractions of Ag NPs exhibited similar effects independent of their sizes and their synthesis method, and (iv) bacterial biofilms show a high uptake capacity for Ag NPs, which indicates cumulative enrichment.
Foliicolous lichens are one of the most abundant epiphytes in tropical rainforests and one of the few groups of organisms that characterize these forests. Tropical rainforests are increasingly affected by anthropogenic disturbance resulting in forest destruction and degradation. However, not much is known on the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the diversity of foliicolous lichens. Understanding such effects is crucial for the development of appropriate measures for the conservation of such organisms. In this study, foliicolous lichens diversity was investigated in three tropical rainforests in East Africa. Godere Forest in Southwest Ethiopia is a transitional rainforest with a mixture of Afromontane and Guineo-Congolian species. The forest is secondary and has been affected by shifting cultivation, semi-forest coffee management and commercial coffee plantation. Budongo Forest in West Uganda is a Guineo-Congolian rainforest consisting of primary and secondary forests. Kakamega Forest in western Kenya is a transitional rainforest with a mixture of Guineo-Congolian and Afromontane species. The forest is a mosaic of near-primary forest, secondary forests of different seral stages, grasslands, plantations, and natural glades.
The ongoing loss of species is a global threat to biodiversity, affecting ecosystems worldwide. This also concerns arthropods such as insects and spiders, which are especially endangered in agricultural ecosystems. Here, one of the main causing factors is management intensification. In areas with a high proportion of traditionally managed grassland, extensive hay meadows that are cut only once per year can still hold high levels of biodiversity, but are threatened by conversion into highly productive silage grassland. The Westerwald mountain range, western Germany, is such a region. In this thesis, I compare the local diversity of bees, beetles, hoverflies, leafhoppers, and spiders of five grassland management regimes along a gradient of land-use intensity. These comprise naturally occurring grassland fallows, three types of traditionally managed hay meadows, and intensively used silage grassland. By using three different sampling methods, I recorded ground-dwelling, flower-visiting, and vegetation-dwelling species. The results show that in most cases species richness and diversity are highest on fallows, whereas variation among different managed grassland types is very low. Also, for most sampled taxa, fallows harbour the most distinct species assemblages, while that of other management regimes are largely overlapping. Management has the largest effect on species composition, whereas environmental parameters are of minor importance. Long-term grassland fallows seem to be highly valuable for arthropod conservation, even in a landscape with a low overall land-use intensity, providing structural heterogeneity. In conclusion, such fallows should be subsidized agri-environmental schemes, to preserve insect and spider diversity.
Coat color and pattern are a distinguished feature in mammalian carnivores, shaped by climatic cycles and habitat type. It can be expressed in various ways, such as gradients, polymorphisms, and rare color variants. Although natural selection explains much of the phenotypic variation found in the wild, genetic drift and heterozygote deficiency, as prominent in small and fragmented populations, may also affect phenotypic variability through the fixation of recessive alleles. The aim of this study was to test whether rare color variants in the wild could relate to a deficiency of heterozygotes, resulting from habitat fragmentation and small population size. We present an overview of all rare color variants in the order Carnivora, and compiled demographic and genetic data of the populations where they did and did not occur, to test for significant correlations. We also tested how phylogeny and body weight influenced the presence of color variants with phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models (PGLMMs). We found 40 color-variable species and 59 rare color variants. In 17 variable phenotypic populations for which genetic diversity was available, the average AR was 4.18, HO = 0.59, and HE= 0.66, and FIS= 0.086. We found that variable populations displayed a significant reduction in heterozygosity and allelic richness compared to non-variable populations across species. We also found a significant negative correlation between population size and inbreeding coefficients. Therefore, it is possible that small effective size had phenotypic consequences on the extant populations. The high frequency of the rare color variants (averaging 20%) also implies that genetic drift is locally overruling natural selection in small effective populations. As such, rare color variants could be added to the list of phenotypic consequences of inbreeding in the wild.
In the present study the flora and vegetation of Kakamega Forest, an East African rainforest in Western Kenya, was investigated. Kakamega Forest is highly degraded and fragmented and is an ideal model to study the anthropogenic influence on the forest inventory. The main focus was to analyse the influence of human impact on the vascular plant species composition. During five field phases in the years 2001 to 2004 a total of 19 study sites scattered over the whole forest including all fragments were investigated regarding forest structure, species composition and plant communities. The different forest sites were analysed by three different methods, phytosociological relevés, line-transect and with the variable-area transect method. The forest survey revealed about 400 taxa of vascular plant species, among them 112 trees, 62 shrubs, 58 climbers and 114 herbs. Several species are restricted to this forest in Kenya, but only one endemic species, the herb Commelina albiflora, could be discovered. About 15 species were recorded as new for Kenya and probably at least one species is new to science. Kakamega Forest is a unique mixture of Guineo-Congolian and Afromontane floral elements. About one half of the vascular plant species has its origin in the lowland forests of the Congo basin and one third originates from Afromontane habitats. The present study represents the first description of plant communities of Kakamega Forest. An analysis of different forest sites and plantations resulted in 17 different vegetation units. For the mature forest sites eleven plant communities were described. The young succession stage consists of two plant communities. Since the disturbance history and the age of the different plant communities could be estimated, their chronology was also described. An exception are the study sites within the plantations and afforested sites. The four defined vegetation units were not described as plant communities, because they are highly affected by man and do not belong to the natural succession of Kakamega Forest. Nevertheless, the regeneration potential of such forests was investigated. Due to the different succession stages the changing species composition along a disturbance gradient could be analysed. Most of Kakamega Forest consists of middle-aged secondary forest often surrounded by very young secondary forest. A true primary rainforest could not be found due the massive influence by over-exploitation. In all parts of the forest the anthropogenic influence could be observed. The forest develops towards a climax stage, but a 2 Abstract comparison with former surveys shows that the regeneration is much slower than expected. Human impact has to be avoided to allow the forest to develop into a primary-like rainforest. But several climax tree species might be missing anyway, because after the broad logging activities in the past there are not enough seed trees remaining. Species richness was highest in disturbed forest sites. A mixture of pioneer, climax and bushland species could be recorded there. Therefore, a high species richness is not a suitable indicator for forest quality. The proportion of climax species typical for Kakamega Forest would be a better measure. Compared to the main forest block the forest fragments do not lack in diversity as expected due to fragmentation processes. Instead, the only near primary forest could be recorded in Kisere, a northern fragment. The high amount of climax species and the more or less undisturbed forest structure is a result of the strict protection by the Kenya Wildlife Service and due to low logging activities. Differences in species composition between the studied forest sites are either a result of the different logging history or management regime rather than due to different edaphic or climatic conditions.
Human population pressure increased with the population growth around the NNP and Cyamudongo with disturbance impacts on the forests isolating populations into fragments and today, Cyamudongo natural forest is located a way at a distance of at least 8.5 km horizontal distance to Nyungwe main block with a surface area estimated at 300 ha. Under Cyamudongo project implementation, there was a need to understand how the flora diversity responded to human imposed challenges and to forest restoration initiatives. Three physiognomic landscapes forest were identified and considered for three phases of vegetation survey in Cyamudongo and related to the closest area of Nyungwe main block. In this study, 15 transects were laid in each physiognomic forest landscape and 10 and 5 plots were set respectively in Cyamudongo and Gasumo study area. In total, 315 phytosociological relevés were performed and the Braun-Blanquet methods used for three times vegetation surveys. Species life-forms and chorophyte were evaluated and tree species dbh and height have been measured. Data were subjected to different statistical analyses using different softwares such as PAST, R 3.5.2, and SPSS. The mapping was done using Arc GIS and the Multi-Spectral Remote Sensing used to find NDVI for the vegetation classification.
NDVI trends showed that there has been fluctuations in vegetation classifications of the studied area. In this study, 494 vascular plant species from 106 families were harbored in the study area and distributed differently among forest landscapes and study phases. Although, 43.54% were common to Cyamudongo and Gasumo landscapes while 48.54 % of species diversity were hold only by Cyamudongo and 7.92% confined to Gasumo and 12 in total were found new records for Rwanda while several others suspected require detailed research for identification showing how the flora diversity of Cyamudongo is of special interest and extremely important for discoveries.
The finding of the study on diversity indices, the PCA, CA and the Cluster analysis, all statistical analyses (MANOVA, ANOVA) and life form spectra unanimously showed that the anthropogenic disturbance shaped the vegetation cover, the floristic composition, the species diversity, the forest landscapes community structure, the life form spectrum and the phytoclimate of Cyamudongo and Gasumo forest landscapes. Although, the vegetation analysis couldn’t clearly identify communities and sub-communities at the initial and final vegetation surveys and cluster groups were heterogeneous as well as overlapping and species associations not clearly defined due to the high level of similarities in species composition among forest landscapes and vegetation surveys. The species diversity was found high in secondary forest and Gasumo landscape forest and low in the primary forest and the buffer zone of Cyamudongo and the disturbance with gaps openings was found to be associated to the species diversity with a seasonal variation. The patterns of dbh for the buffer zone and of the size classes of all landscapes with an inverted ‘J’ indicated a healthy regeneration in the forest landscapes and tree species explained a good regeneration and recruitment capacity. Different shapes in the pattern of dbh with respectively an inverted ‘J’, ‘J ‘and ‘U’ for the buffer zone, primary and together the secondary and Gasumo forest landscapes indicated differences in the landscapes health and degree of regeneration and recruitment capacity.
Findings from differents measuements showed at which extend human activities have shaped the flora diversity and structure of forest landcapes studied. For instance, disturbances due human activities were daily oberved and trees were logged by neighboring communities such as Batwa populations at Cyamudongo and local populations at Gasumo. Some species were evenly observed targeted for their barks such as Ocotea usambarensis, Parinari excelsa for medicines and many others for their wood quality, fire wood collection and for agricultural purposes.
In the period of Cyamudongo project implementation, important achievements included the increase of forest biomass and therefore the photosynthetic capacity and the evapotranspiration potential that influence the rainfall regime; the regulation of weather conditions and then species diversity; supporting local communities and limiting human activities; raising awareness on conservation and protection of biodiversity and improving of living conditions of neighboring populations by providing paid employment and so to restore to the Cyamudongo forest ecosystem functions. Moreover, Cyamudongo forest remains vulnerable as surrounded by local communities with a high population pressure relying on forest resources for its survival. Cyamudongo harbors a high level of endemism and is a small hotspot for biodiversity conservation. It is therefore recommended to strengthen conservation and protection measures and continue the support of local communities.
More than 10,000 organic chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, ingredients of personal care products and biocides are ubiquitously used in every day life. After their application, many of these chemicals enter the domestic sewer. Research has shown that conventional biological wastewater treatment in municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is an insufficient barrier for the release of most of these anthropogenic chemicals into the receiving waters.
This bears unforeseen risks for aquatic wildlife and drinking water resources. Especially for recently introduced and/or detected compounds (so called emerging micropollutants), there is a growing need to investigate the occurrence and fate in WWTPs. In order to get a comprehensive picture on the behavior in municipal wastewater treatment, the following groups of emerging organic micropollutants, spanning a broad range of applications and physico-chemical properties, were selected as target compounds: pharmaceuticals (beta blockers, psycho-active drugs), UV-filters, vulcanization accelerators (benzothiazoles), biocides (anti-dandruffs, preservatives, disinfectants) and pesticides (phenylurea and triazine herbicides).
The stands surveyed are among the last closed canopy forests in Rwanda. Their exploration began in the early twentieth century and is still ongoing. Previous studies were mainly concerned with plant sociological issues and presented references to environmental factors in anecdotal form, at best using indirect ordination methods. The present study undertakes a classification of the vegetation with numerical methods and establishes quantitative relationships of the species’ distributional structure to environmental parameters using spatially explicit procedures. For this purpose, 94 samples were taken in 100 m² hexagonal plots. Of these, 70 samples are from Nyungwe, 14 are from Gishwati, and 10 are from Cyamudongo. Given the homogeneity of the terrain and vegetation, all vegetation types encountered, all types of stands, and all vegetation strata were included. The beta diversity is expressed by an average Bray-Curtis dissimilarity of 0.92, and in JOST’S (2007) numbers equivalents, 37.90 equally likely samples would be needed to represent the diversity encountered. Within the survey, 1198 species in 127 families were collected. Among the specimens are 6 local endemics and 40 Albertine Rift endemics. Resulting from UPGMA and FCM-NC, 20 to 40 plant communities were established depending on the level of resolution. It can be inferred by means of a Mantel correlogram that the mean zone of influence of a single vegetation stand, as sampled by a 100 m² plot in Nyungwe Forest, ranges between 0.016 and 3.42 km. Of the communities compiled using FCM-NC and UPGMA, 50% consist of individual samples. Beyond undersampling, natural small-scale discontinuities are reflected by this result. Partial db-RDA resulted in an explained variation of 9.60% and 14.41% for environmental and soil factors, respectively. Utilising variation partitioning analyses based on CCA and tb-RDA, between 21.70% and 37.80% of the variation in vegetation data could be explained. The spatially structured fraction of these parameters accounts for between 30.50% and 49.80% of the explained variation (100%). The purely environmental parameters account for a share of 10.30% to 16.30%, whereby the lower limit originates from the unimodal approach and has lost its statistical significance. The soil variables, also after partial analysis, account for a share of 19.00% to 35.70%. While the residual impact of the climatic parameters is hardly significant, the effect of the soil properties is prevalent. In general, the spatially structured fraction of the parameters is predominant here. While on the broad-scale climatic factors, the altitude a.s.l. and the geology are determining factors, some soil parameters and matrix components also show their impacts here. In the mid-range of the scale, it is the forest matrix, the soil types, and the geology that determine species distribution. While in the fine range of the scale, some unrecorded parameters seem to have an effect, there are also neutral processes that determine species composition.
The implementation of physiological indicators reflecting the response of organisms to changes in their environment is assumed to provide potential benefits for ecological studies. By analysing the physiological condition of organisms in freshwater ecological studies rather than their ultimate effects, physiological indicators can contribute to a faster assessment of effects than using traditional ecological indicators, such as the evaluation of the benthic community structure or the determination of the reproductive success of organisms. This can increase the effectiveness of environmental health assessment and experimental ecology. In this respect the thesis focuses on physiological measures characterizing the energetic condition and energy consumption (the concentration of energy storage compounds, the adenylate energy charge, the energy consumption in vivo), as well as individual growth (RNA:DNA ratio) of organisms. Although these sub-individual indicators are commonly applied in marine ecology and more recently in ecotoxicology, they have been rarely applied in freshwater ecology to date. With respect to an increased use of physiological indicators in freshwater ecological studies, the objectives of the present thesis are twofold. First, it highlights the potential of assessing the individual fitness by means of physiological indicators in freshwater ecological studies. For that reason, Chapter 2 provides the basic assumptions as well as the theoretical and methodological fundamentals necessary for the application of physiological indicators within freshwater ecology and, furthermore, points out their applicability by several case studies. As second objective, the thesis addresses selected ecophysiological aspects of native and non-native freshwater amphipods, which are considered suitable candidates for the determination of physiological indicators in ecological studies due to their function as keystone species within aquatic habitats. The studies presented in Chapters 3−5 of the thesis provide information on (i) species- and sex-specific seasonal variations within the energetic condition of natural Gammarus populations (G. fossarum, G. pulex), (ii) differences in metabolic activity and behaviour between different amphipod species (G fossarum, G. roeselii and D. villosus), as well as (iii) the direct effects of ambient ammonia on the physiology and behaviour of D. villosus. The fundamental conclusions drawn from the conducted field and laboratory studies, as well as their relevance and general implications for the application of physiological indicators in freshwater ecological research are discussed in Chapter 6.
Nandi forests (South and North Nandi forests) are situated in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya very close to Kakamega forest. From previous documents it has been seen that Kakamega and Nandi forests were connected to each other forming one big "U" shaped forest block till the beginnings of 1900s. Due to human pressures, currently there are three different forests form the previous one block forest. Although they were one forest, information on Nandi forests is very scanty when it is compared to that of Kakamega forest. The species composition and diversity as well as plant communities and population structure of Nandi forests have not been studied. Information is not available about the similarity status of South and North Nandi forests. Furthermore the natural regeneration potential (seedling bank) of these forests is not well studied and documented. Hence this study aims to fill these gaps.
In this study totally 76 quadrates (49 from South Nandi and 27 from North Nandi) were used to collect data. In the South Nandi forests 27 of the quadrates were laid in the better side of the forest (at Kobujoi) and the remaining 22 were in the heavily disturbed part of this forest (Bonjoge). The quadrates were arranged on transects that have one to one and half km which were parallel to the slope. The distance between the quadrates was 100 meter and transects are 500 m apart. The size of the main quadrate was 400 m2 (20 X 20 m) which also had five small plots (3 X 3 m) distributed on the four corners and in the center. Each woody plants (climbers, shrubs and trees) having more than one meter and greater than two centimeter diameter at breast height (dbh) were measured and recorded. Seedlings and herbaceous plants were sampled in the smaller plots. Individual plants were identified at species level and when it was not possible to identify in the field voucher specimen were prepared and latter identified at the East African Herbarium, National Museum of Kenya, and Nairobi. Clustering and ordination were performed using PC-ORD and CANOCO ecological softwares, respectively. For both clustering and ordination abundance data of the species was used. Shannon diversity index and evenness were computed using PC-ORD while similarity indices, Fisher alpha, rarefaction, species richness estimation (nonparametric species richness estimators) were conducted using EstimateS. Indicator species analysis was undertaken using PC-ORD. Basal area and height class distribution at forests level or site level (Bonjoge and Kobujoi) and diameter (dbh) class distribution for selected trees species were performed to evaluate population structure.
Furthermore importance value (IV) of woody plant species was calculated. SPSS version 16 was used to undertake both parametric (when data assume normal distribution) and nonparametric (when data are not assuming normal distribution) comparison of means, correlation and regression analysis.
In this study totally 321 vascular plant species comprising 92 families and 243 genera were identified in Nandi forests (both South and North Nandi forests). In South Nandi forest 253 plant species form 82 families and 201 genera were recorded while in North Nandi 181 species comprising 67 families and 155 genera were recorded. Jackknife second order estimators gave the highest species richness estimate for both South and North Nandi forests i.e. 284 and 209, respectively. In the case of highly disturbed and less disturbed parts of South Nandi forest 138 and 172 vascular plant species were recorded, respectively. Asteraceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae are the top three species rich families of Nandi forests. In terms of different diversity measures (i.e. alpha and beta diversity, Fisher alpha, Shannon diversity and evenness indices) South Nandi is more diverse than North Nandi forest. Sörensen and Jaccard (classic) as well as their respective abundance based similarities showed that there is a low species similarity between South and Nandi forests. The cluster analysis resulted in three different plant communities and this result is supported by the ordination result.
South and North Nandi forest has inverted "J" height class distribution showing that larger proportion of woody plant individuals are found in the lower height classes. Similar pattern is observed when the diameters of all woody plants were considered together. However, different diameter class distributions (seven types) were identified when selected tree species were analyzed separately. It has been observed that the basal area of South Nandi forest is significantly lower than that of North Nandi forest (Mann-Whitney U =358, p < 0.001). Similarly Bonjoge has significantly lower basal area (t-value=3.77, p<0.01) than that of Kobujoi. Number of woody plat seedlings in South Nandi forest is significantly higher than that of North Nandi (Mann-Whitney U = 362.5, p<0.001). In the same way Bonjoge has significantly smaller number of ssedlings than Kobujoi (t-value 4.24, p<0.001). Most of species in both forests are able to resprout from stumps after physical damage; hence this helps the regeneration of the forests in addition to seedling banks. This study enables to fill some of the information gaps about Nandi forests especially of floristic composition, population structure, natural regeneration and human impacts on this ecosystem.