| Abstract Detail
Recent Topics Posters Rollinson, Emily [1]. The diversity of riparian plant communities of small woodland streams in northern New York State. The species composition of a riparian plant community is strongly influenced by the nature of the river that it borders. Plant distributions in the riparian zone are likely controlled at least partially by the frequency of inundation and the susceptibility of plants to flood damage. Disturbed habitats are generally thought to facilitate the establishment of introduced species, and riparian plant communities are often observed to contain a greater abundance of introduced plant species than upland communities. In the riparian zones of small streams, however, these patterns that have been observed along the banks of larger rivers may or may not hold true. Riparian plant communities were surveyed along three small streams in the Upper Hudson Watershed (New York, USA), as were adjacent upland communities removed from direct influence of the stream. Species richness of herbaceous vascular plants was almost twice as high in riparian plant communities as in paired upland plant communities; invasive herbaceous species were also more abundant in the riparian zone. These observations are consistent with previous comparisons of riparian and upland plant communities. Broader Impacts:
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1 - Stony Brook University, Ecology And Evolution, 650 Life Sciences, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA
Keywords: Riparian ecology plant community invasive plants introduced.
Presentation Type: Recent Topics Poster Session: P Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013 Time: 5:30 PM Number: PRT027 Abstract ID:1322 Candidate for Awards:None |