Emergent or submergent macrophytes can enhance the survival of Anopheles larvae by providing favorable microhabitat and refuge from predation. The relationships among the amount of aquatic macrophyte cover, the density of Gambusia affinis, and survivorship of Anopheles freeborni larvae were tested experimentally. Larval survivorship was positively related to amount of plant cover and negatively...

Two integrations of a global general circulation model, differing only in the prescribed surface albedo in the Sahara, show that an increase in albedo resulting from a decrease in plant cover causes a decrease in rainfall. Thus any tendency for plant cover to decrease would be reinforced by a decrease in rainfall, and could initiate or perpetuate a drought.

Excessive herbivory can have transformative effects on forest understory vegetation, converting diverse communities into depauperate ones, often with increased abundance of non-native plants. White-tailed deer are a problematic herbivore throughout much of eastern North America and alter forest understory community structure. Reducing (by culling) or eliminating (by fencing) deer herbivory is e...

The rangeland in the Khangai mountain region in Mongolia has degraded for the last decades mainly because of overgrazing and climate change. Livestock production is important part of the economy and is based on natural rangeland. In this research we seek to elucidate the influence of five years (2004-2009) of protection from grazing on vegetation cover of different degradation levels of Fes...

We assessed plant interspaces in July 2007 using continuous line intercepts in twice-replicated pastures of northern mixed-grass prairie with contrasting grazing treatments: 1) long-term (25 yr) heavily grazed, dominated by the bunchgrass blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), and 2) ungrazed, dominated by the rhizomatous grass western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii). The number of plant interspaces ...

the degradation rate of mediterranean steppes, especially in north africa is 1% per year, and this considered as high a rate of degradation. this study conducted in 2014 in the south slope of the al-jabal al-akhdar, northeast libya to quantify the vegetation recovery rate and assess selected vegetation indices (vis) for mapping rangelands degradation status using remote sensing technology. thro...