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Influence of insect herbivory on plant competition
Opltová, Radka ; Kuťáková, Eliška (advisor) ; Florianová, Anna (referee)
Plant communities are influenced by many factors, such as soil properties, humidity, temperature, resource availability or competition and herbivory. This thesis summarizes current knowledge about insect herbivory and its impact on plant competition in the context of plant communities, especially in grasslands. The competition outcome depends on numerous factors, such as the competitiveness of focal as well as neighbouring plants, trade-off between fast growth and production of defensive chemicals, resource availability etc. Insect herbivory can significantly impact plant competition, and the impact depends on herbivore abundance and its specific traits, such as feeding preferences or occupied habitat. Although herbivory often reduces plant biomass, it can stabilize the community structure by suppressing strong competitors and, therefore, keeping higher plant biodiversity. Plant response to herbivory can sometimes develop over a long time, so long-term observations of changes in plant communities are necessary. It is my willingness to continue with research based on this review, within the context of a master thesis. Specifically, I would deal with the impact of belowground herbivory on seminatural mountain grassland in the Krkonoše Mountains. As a model herbivore species I chose the garden chafer...
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Effect of drought on plant-soil interactions
Secká, Gabriela ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Florianová, Anna (referee)
There are feedback processes happening between plants and the soil, called plant-soil feedback (PSF), during which the plants affect the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and the soil in turn affects not only fitness of individual plant types, but also interspecific interactions. The influence of PSF can manifest either instantaneously or with a delay, and it has a lot of external factors affecting it. The aim of my work was literary research, which focuses on the effects of drought on PSF. Frequent and repeating droughts, which are one of the consequences of climate change, affect not only the processes happening in ecosystems, but also individual organisms present in them, including microorganisms living in the soil. Intense droughts mainly cause temperature increases, decreases in soil moisture and soil degradation. The consequences of the drought include lowering of the primary productivity of plants and changes in the composition of soil and plant ecosystems. These changes, which influence the PSF, manifest as either positive or negative feedback.
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The effect of Impatiens parviflora on native vegetation and factors affecting its spread
Florianová, Anna ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Skálová, Hana (referee)
5 ABSTRACT Small balsam (Impatiens parviflora DC.) is one of the most widespread invasive plant species in central Europe. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of its invasion are still poorly understood. In this thesis I attempt to understand the impact of this species on native vegetation and the factors affecting its spread. The impact of small balsam on native vegetation was studied using a removal experiment on permanent plots in oak-hornbeam forests. Following small balsam removal in 2011, a slight increase in both number and abundances of native species was observed on the removal plots during 2012-2014 compared to the invaded plots. The species composition also significantly differed among invaded and removal plots. Species with high affinity to removal plots, i.e. species that are most restricted by small balsam invasion, were mostly species with small releasing height and early start of flowering. The factors affecting the spread of small balsam were studied between 2011 and 2014 on permanent transects in areas where it just started spreading. In each of 321 permanent plots, data on environmental conditions and on small balsam spread and performance were collected. The results show that small balsam seedlings spread mostly into areas with high soil moisture and low native species abundance, indicating...
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The effect of Impatiens parviflora on native vegetation and factors affecting its spread
Florianová, Anna ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Skálová, Hana (referee)
5 ABSTRACT Small balsam (Impatiens parviflora DC.) is one of the most widespread invasive plant species in central Europe. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of its invasion are still poorly understood. In this thesis I attempt to understand the impact of this species on native vegetation and the factors affecting its spread. The impact of small balsam on native vegetation was studied using a removal experiment on permanent plots in oak-hornbeam forests. Following small balsam removal in 2011, a slight increase in both number and abundances of native species was observed on the removal plots during 2012-2014 compared to the invaded plots. The species composition also significantly differed among invaded and removal plots. Species with high affinity to removal plots, i.e. species that are most restricted by small balsam invasion, were mostly species with small releasing height and early start of flowering. The factors affecting the spread of small balsam were studied between 2011 and 2014 on permanent transects in areas where it just started spreading. In each of 321 permanent plots, data on environmental conditions and on small balsam spread and performance were collected. The results show that small balsam seedlings spread mostly into areas with high soil moisture and low native species abundance, indicating...
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Small balsam (Impatiens parviflora DC.) as an invasive neophyte of Central Europe
Florianová, Anna ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Čuda, Jan (referee)
Plant invasions are one of the major threats to global biodiversity. Since there are many invasive species and because their elimination is very expensive, we cannot fight against all of them. To decide with which species we should fight and with which not, we need to have enough relevant knowledge about these species. In this thesis I deal with one of the most widespread invasive plants in Central Europe, small balsam (Impatiens parviflora DC.). I summarise information about origin, invasion history, and current distribution of the species, about its morphology, autecology, impact on native vegetation, and factors limiting its spread. As for the last two points, I point out methodological deficiencies in previous studies that make it impossible for us to distinguish between the cause and the effect of small balsam occurrence, i.e. what is the factor affecting its spread and what is the impact of small balsam on native vegetation. I propose experiments that should resolve these questions.
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