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Contributors
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- By Rose Teteki Abbey, K. C. Abraham, David Tuesday Adamo, LeRoy H. Aden, Efrain Agosto, Victor Aguilan, Gillian T. W. Ahlgren, Charanjit Kaur AjitSingh, Dorothy B E A Akoto, Giuseppe Alberigo, Daniel E. Albrecht, Ruth Albrecht, Daniel O. Aleshire, Urs Altermatt, Anand Amaladass, Michael Amaladoss, James N. Amanze, Lesley G. Anderson, Thomas C. Anderson, Victor Anderson, Hope S. Antone, María Pilar Aquino, Paula Arai, Victorio Araya Guillén, S. Wesley Ariarajah, Ellen T. Armour, Brett Gregory Armstrong, Atsuhiro Asano, Naim Stifan Ateek, Mahmoud Ayoub, John Alembillah Azumah, Mercedes L. García Bachmann, Irena Backus, J. Wayne Baker, Mieke Bal, Lewis V. Baldwin, William Barbieri, António Barbosa da Silva, David Basinger, Bolaji Olukemi Bateye, Oswald Bayer, Daniel H. Bays, Rosalie Beck, Nancy Elizabeth Bedford, Guy-Thomas Bedouelle, Chorbishop Seely Beggiani, Wolfgang Behringer, Christopher M. Bellitto, Byard Bennett, Harold V. Bennett, Teresa Berger, Miguel A. Bernad, Henley Bernard, Alan E. Bernstein, Jon L. Berquist, Johannes Beutler, Ana María Bidegain, Matthew P. Binkewicz, Jennifer Bird, Joseph Blenkinsopp, Dmytro Bondarenko, Paulo Bonfatti, Riet en Pim Bons-Storm, Jessica A. Boon, Marcus J. Borg, Mark Bosco, Peter C. Bouteneff, François Bovon, William D. Bowman, Paul S. Boyer, David Brakke, Richard E. Brantley, Marcus Braybrooke, Ian Breward, Ênio José da Costa Brito, Jewel Spears Brooker, Johannes Brosseder, Nicholas Canfield Read Brown, Robert F. Brown, Pamela K. Brubaker, Walter Brueggemann, Bishop Colin O. Buchanan, Stanley M. Burgess, Amy Nelson Burnett, J. Patout Burns, David B. Burrell, David Buttrick, James P. Byrd, Lavinia Byrne, Gerado Caetano, Marcos Caldas, Alkiviadis Calivas, William J. Callahan, Salvatore Calomino, Euan K. Cameron, William S. Campbell, Marcelo Ayres Camurça, Daniel F. Caner, Paul E. Capetz, Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi, Patrick W. Carey, Barbara Carvill, Hal Cauthron, Subhadra Mitra Channa, Mark D. Chapman, James H. Charlesworth, Kenneth R. Chase, Chen Zemin, Luciano Chianeque, Philip Chia Phin Yin, Francisca H. Chimhanda, Daniel Chiquete, John T. Chirban, Soobin Choi, Robert Choquette, Mita Choudhury, Gerald Christianson, John Chryssavgis, Sejong Chun, Esther Chung-Kim, Charles M. A. Clark, Elizabeth A. Clark, Sathianathan Clarke, Fred Cloud, John B. Cobb, W. Owen Cole, John A Coleman, John J. Collins, Sylvia Collins-Mayo, Paul K. Conkin, Beth A. Conklin, Sean Connolly, Demetrios J. Constantelos, Michael A. Conway, Paula M. Cooey, Austin Cooper, Michael L. Cooper-White, Pamela Cooper-White, L. William Countryman, Sérgio Coutinho, Pamela Couture, Shannon Craigo-Snell, James L. Crenshaw, David Crowner, Humberto Horacio Cucchetti, Lawrence S. Cunningham, Elizabeth Mason Currier, Emmanuel Cutrone, Mary L. Daniel, David D. Daniels, Robert Darden, Rolf Darge, Isaiah Dau, Jeffry C. Davis, Jane Dawson, Valentin Dedji, John W. de Gruchy, Paul DeHart, Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards, Miguel A. De La Torre, George E. Demacopoulos, Thomas de Mayo, Leah DeVun, Beatriz de Vasconcellos Dias, Dennis C. Dickerson, John M. Dillon, Luis Miguel Donatello, Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev, Susanna Drake, Jonathan A. Draper, N. Dreher Martin, Otto Dreydoppel, Angelyn Dries, A. J. Droge, Francis X. D'Sa, Marilyn Dunn, Nicole Wilkinson Duran, Rifaat Ebied, Mark J. Edwards, William H. Edwards, Leonard H. Ehrlich, Nancy L. Eiesland, Martin Elbel, J. Harold Ellens, Stephen Ellingson, Marvin M. Ellison, Robert Ellsberg, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Eldon Jay Epp, Peter C. Erb, Tassilo Erhardt, Maria Erling, Noel Leo Erskine, Gillian R. Evans, Virginia Fabella, Michael A. Fahey, Edward Farley, Margaret A. Farley, Wendy Farley, Robert Fastiggi, Seena Fazel, Duncan S. Ferguson, Helwar Figueroa, Paul Corby Finney, Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald, Thomas E. FitzGerald, John R. Fitzmier, Marie Therese Flanagan, Sabina Flanagan, Claude Flipo, Ronald B. Flowers, Carole Fontaine, David Ford, Mary Ford, Stephanie A. Ford, Jim Forest, William Franke, Robert M. Franklin, Ruth Franzén, Edward H. Friedman, Samuel Frouisou, Lorelei F. Fuchs, Jojo M. Fung, Inger Furseth, Richard R. Gaillardetz, Brandon Gallaher, China Galland, Mark Galli, Ismael García, Tharscisse Gatwa, Jean-Marie Gaudeul, Luis María Gavilanes del Castillo, Pavel L. Gavrilyuk, Volney P. Gay, Metropolitan Athanasios Geevargis, Kondothra M. George, Mary Gerhart, Simon Gikandi, Maurice Gilbert, Michael J. Gillgannon, Verónica Giménez Beliveau, Terryl Givens, Beth Glazier-McDonald, Philip Gleason, Menghun Goh, Brian Golding, Bishop Hilario M. Gomez, Michelle A. Gonzalez, Donald K. Gorrell, Roy Gottfried, Tamara Grdzelidze, Joel B. Green, Niels Henrik Gregersen, Cristina Grenholm, Herbert Griffiths, Eric W. Gritsch, Erich S. Gruen, Christoffer H. Grundmann, Paul H. Gundani, Jon P. Gunnemann, Petre Guran, Vidar L. Haanes, Jeremiah M. Hackett, Getatchew Haile, Douglas John Hall, Nicholas Hammond, Daphne Hampson, Jehu J. Hanciles, Barry Hankins, Jennifer Haraguchi, Stanley S. Harakas, Anthony John Harding, Conrad L. Harkins, J. William Harmless, Marjory Harper, Amir Harrak, Joel F. Harrington, Mark W. Harris, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Van A. Harvey, R. Chris Hassel, Jione Havea, Daniel Hawk, Diana L. Hayes, Leslie Hayes, Priscilla Hayner, S. Mark Heim, Simo Heininen, Richard P. Heitzenrater, Eila Helander, David Hempton, Scott H. Hendrix, Jan-Olav Henriksen, Gina Hens-Piazza, Carter Heyward, Nicholas J. Higham, David Hilliard, Norman A. Hjelm, Peter C. Hodgson, Arthur Holder, M. Jan Holton, Dwight N. Hopkins, Ronnie Po-chia Hsia, Po-Ho Huang, James Hudnut-Beumler, Jennifer S. Hughes, Leonard M. Hummel, Mary E. Hunt, Laennec Hurbon, Mark Hutchinson, Susan E. Hylen, Mary Beth Ingham, H. Larry Ingle, Dale T. Irvin, Jon Isaak, Paul John Isaak, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Hans Raun Iversen, Margaret C. Jacob, Arthur James, Maria Jansdotter-Samuelsson, David Jasper, Werner G. Jeanrond, Renée Jeffery, David Lyle Jeffrey, Theodore W. Jennings, David H. Jensen, Robin Margaret Jensen, David Jobling, Dale A. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Maxwell E. Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Mark D. Johnston, F. Stanley Jones, James William Jones, John R. Jones, Alissa Jones Nelson, Inge Jonsson, Jan Joosten, Elizabeth Judd, Mulambya Peggy Kabonde, Robert Kaggwa, Sylvester Kahakwa, Isaac Kalimi, Ogbu U. Kalu, Eunice Kamaara, Wayne C. Kannaday, Musimbi Kanyoro, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Frank Kaufmann, Léon Nguapitshi Kayongo, Richard Kearney, Alice A. Keefe, Ralph Keen, Catherine Keller, Anthony J. Kelly, Karen Kennelly, Kathi Lynn Kern, Fergus Kerr, Edward Kessler, George Kilcourse, Heup Young Kim, Kim Sung-Hae, Kim Yong-Bock, Kim Yung Suk, Richard King, Thomas M. King, Robert M. Kingdon, Ross Kinsler, Hans G. Kippenberg, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Clifton Kirkpatrick, Leonid Kishkovsky, Nadieszda Kizenko, Jeffrey Klaiber, Hans-Josef Klauck, Sidney Knight, Samuel Kobia, Robert Kolb, Karla Ann Koll, Heikki Kotila, Donald Kraybill, Philip D. W. Krey, Yves Krumenacker, Jeffrey Kah-Jin Kuan, Simanga R. Kumalo, Peter Kuzmic, Simon Shui-Man Kwan, Kwok Pui-lan, André LaCocque, Stephen E. Lahey, John Tsz Pang Lai, Emiel Lamberts, Armando Lampe, Craig Lampe, Beverly J. Lanzetta, Eve LaPlante, Lizette Larson-Miller, Ariel Bybee Laughton, Leonard Lawlor, Bentley Layton, Robin A. Leaver, Karen Lebacqz, Archie Chi Chung Lee, Marilyn J. Legge, Hervé LeGrand, D. L. LeMahieu, Raymond Lemieux, Bill J. Leonard, Ellen M. Leonard, Outi Leppä, Jean Lesaulnier, Nantawan Boonprasat Lewis, Henrietta Leyser, Alexei Lidov, Bernard Lightman, Paul Chang-Ha Lim, Carter Lindberg, Mark R. Lindsay, James R. Linville, James C. Livingston, Ann Loades, David Loades, Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole, Lo Lung Kwong, Wati Longchar, Eleazar López, David W. Lotz, Andrew Louth, Robin W. Lovin, William Luis, Frank D. Macchia, Diarmaid N. J. MacCulloch, Kirk R. MacGregor, Marjory A. MacLean, Donald MacLeod, Tomas S. Maddela, Inge Mager, Laurenti Magesa, David G. Maillu, Fortunato Mallimaci, Philip Mamalakis, Kä Mana, Ukachukwu Chris Manus, Herbert Robinson Marbury, Reuel Norman Marigza, Jacqueline Mariña, Antti Marjanen, Luiz C. L. Marques, Madipoane Masenya (ngwan'a Mphahlele), Caleb J. D. Maskell, Steve Mason, Thomas Massaro, Fernando Matamoros Ponce, András Máté-Tóth, Odair Pedroso Mateus, Dinis Matsolo, Fumitaka Matsuoka, John D'Arcy May, Yelena Mazour-Matusevich, Theodore Mbazumutima, John S. McClure, Christian McConnell, Lee Martin McDonald, Gary B. McGee, Thomas McGowan, Alister E. McGrath, Richard J. McGregor, John A. McGuckin, Maud Burnett McInerney, Elsie Anne McKee, Mary B. McKinley, James F. McMillan, Ernan McMullin, Kathleen E. McVey, M. Douglas Meeks, Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon, Ilie Melniciuc-Puica, Everett Mendoza, Raymond A. Mentzer, William W. Menzies, Ina Merdjanova, Franziska Metzger, Constant J. Mews, Marvin Meyer, Carol Meyers, Vasile Mihoc, Gunner Bjerg Mikkelsen, Maria Inêz de Castro Millen, Clyde Lee Miller, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, Alexander Mirkovic, Paul Misner, Nozomu Miyahira, R. W. L. Moberly, Gerald Moede, Aloo Osotsi Mojola, Sunanda Mongia, Rebeca Montemayor, James Moore, Roger E. Moore, Craig E. Morrison O.Carm, Jeffry H. Morrison, Keith Morrison, Wilson J. Moses, Tefetso Henry Mothibe, Mokgethi Motlhabi, Fulata Moyo, Henry Mugabe, Jesse Ndwiga Kanyua Mugambi, Peggy Mulambya-Kabonde, Robert Bruce Mullin, Pamela Mullins Reaves, Saskia Murk Jansen, Heleen L. Murre-Van den Berg, Augustine Musopole, Isaac M. T. Mwase, Philomena Mwaura, Cecilia Nahnfeldt, Anne Nasimiyu Wasike, Carmiña Navia Velasco, Thulani Ndlazi, Alexander Negrov, James B. Nelson, David G. Newcombe, Carol Newsom, Helen J. Nicholson, George W. E. Nickelsburg, Tatyana Nikolskaya, Damayanthi M. A. Niles, Bertil Nilsson, Nyambura Njoroge, Fidelis Nkomazana, Mary Beth Norton, Christian Nottmeier, Sonene Nyawo, Anthère Nzabatsinda, Edward T. Oakes, Gerald O'Collins, Daniel O'Connell, David W. Odell-Scott, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Kathleen O'Grady, Oyeronke Olajubu, Thomas O'Loughlin, Dennis T. Olson, J. Steven O'Malley, Cephas N. Omenyo, Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro, César Augusto Ornellas Ramos, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, Kenan B. Osborne, Carolyn Osiek, Javier Otaola Montagne, Douglas F. Ottati, Anna May Say Pa, Irina Paert, Jerry G. Pankhurst, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Samuele F. Pardini, Stefano Parenti, Peter Paris, Sung Bae Park, Cristián G. Parker, Raquel Pastor, Joseph Pathrapankal, Daniel Patte, W. Brown Patterson, Clive Pearson, Keith F. Pecklers, Nancy Cardoso Pereira, David Horace Perkins, Pheme Perkins, Edward N. Peters, Rebecca Todd Peters, Bishop Yeznik Petrossian, Raymond Pfister, Peter C. Phan, Isabel Apawo Phiri, William S. F. Pickering, Derrick G. Pitard, William Elvis Plata, Zlatko Plese, John Plummer, James Newton Poling, Ronald Popivchak, Andrew Porter, Ute Possekel, James M. Powell, Enos Das Pradhan, Devadasan Premnath, Jaime Adrían Prieto Valladares, Anne Primavesi, Randall Prior, María Alicia Puente Lutteroth, Eduardo Guzmão Quadros, Albert Rabil, Laurent William Ramambason, Apolonio M. Ranche, Vololona Randriamanantena Andriamitandrina, Lawrence R. Rast, Paul L. Redditt, Adele Reinhartz, Rolf Rendtorff, Pål Repstad, James N. Rhodes, John K. Riches, Joerg Rieger, Sharon H. Ringe, Sandra Rios, Tyler Roberts, David M. Robinson, James M. Robinson, Joanne Maguire Robinson, Richard A. H. Robinson, Roy R. Robson, Jack B. Rogers, Maria Roginska, Sidney Rooy, Rev. Garnett Roper, Maria José Fontelas Rosado-Nunes, Andrew C. Ross, Stefan Rossbach, François Rossier, John D. Roth, John K. Roth, Phillip Rothwell, Richard E. Rubenstein, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Markku Ruotsila, John E. Rybolt, Risto Saarinen, John Saillant, Juan Sanchez, Wagner Lopes Sanchez, Hugo N. Santos, Gerhard Sauter, Gloria L. Schaab, Sandra M. Schneiders, Quentin J. Schultze, Fernando F. Segovia, Turid Karlsen Seim, Carsten Selch Jensen, Alan P. F. Sell, Frank C. Senn, Kent Davis Sensenig, Damían Setton, Bal Krishna Sharma, Carolyn J. Sharp, Thomas Sheehan, N. Gerald Shenk, Christian Sheppard, Charles Sherlock, Tabona Shoko, Walter B. Shurden, Marguerite Shuster, B. Mark Sietsema, Batara Sihombing, Neil Silberman, Clodomiro Siller, Samuel Silva-Gotay, Heikki Silvet, John K. Simmons, Hagith Sivan, James C. Skedros, Abraham Smith, Ashley A. Smith, Ted A. Smith, Daud Soesilo, Pia Søltoft, Choan-Seng (C. S.) Song, Kathryn Spink, Bryan Spinks, Eric O. Springsted, Nicolas Standaert, Brian Stanley, Glen H. Stassen, Karel Steenbrink, Stephen J. Stein, Andrea Sterk, Gregory E. Sterling, Columba Stewart, Jacques Stewart, Robert B. Stewart, Cynthia Stokes Brown, Ken Stone, Anne Stott, Elizabeth Stuart, Monya Stubbs, Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, David Kwang-sun Suh, Scott W. Sunquist, Keith Suter, Douglas Sweeney, Charles H. Talbert, Shawqi N. Talia, Elsa Tamez, Joseph B. Tamney, Jonathan Y. Tan, Yak-Hwee Tan, Kathryn Tanner, Feiya Tao, Elizabeth S. Tapia, Aquiline Tarimo, Claire Taylor, Mark Lewis Taylor, Bishop Abba Samuel Wolde Tekestebirhan, Eugene TeSelle, M. Thomas Thangaraj, David R. Thomas, Andrew Thornley, Scott Thumma, Marcelo Timotheo da Costa, George E. “Tink” Tinker, Ola Tjørhom, Karen Jo Torjesen, Iain R. Torrance, Fernando Torres-Londoño, Archbishop Demetrios [Trakatellis], Marit Trelstad, Christine Trevett, Phyllis Trible, Johannes Tromp, Paul Turner, Robert G. Tuttle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Peter Tyler, Anders Tyrberg, Justin Ukpong, Javier Ulloa, Camillus Umoh, Kristi Upson-Saia, Martina Urban, Monica Uribe, Elochukwu Eugene Uzukwu, Richard Vaggione, Gabriel Vahanian, Paul Valliere, T. J. Van Bavel, Steven Vanderputten, Peter Van der Veer, Huub Van de Sandt, Louis Van Tongeren, Luke A. Veronis, Noel Villalba, Ramón Vinke, Tim Vivian, David Voas, Elena Volkova, Katharina von Kellenbach, Elina Vuola, Timothy Wadkins, Elaine M. Wainwright, Randi Jones Walker, Dewey D. Wallace, Jerry Walls, Michael J. Walsh, Philip Walters, Janet Walton, Jonathan L. Walton, Wang Xiaochao, Patricia A. Ward, David Harrington Watt, Herold D. Weiss, Laurence L. Welborn, Sharon D. Welch, Timothy Wengert, Traci C. West, Merold Westphal, David Wetherell, Barbara Wheeler, Carolinne White, Jean-Paul Wiest, Frans Wijsen, Terry L. Wilder, Felix Wilfred, Rebecca Wilkin, Daniel H. Williams, D. Newell Williams, Michael A. Williams, Vincent L. Wimbush, Gabriele Winkler, Anders Winroth, Lauri Emílio Wirth, James A. Wiseman, Ebba Witt-Brattström, Teofil Wojciechowski, John Wolffe, Kenman L. Wong, Wong Wai Ching, Linda Woodhead, Wendy M. Wright, Rose Wu, Keith E. Yandell, Gale A. Yee, Viktor Yelensky, Yeo Khiok-Khng, Gustav K. K. Yeung, Angela Yiu, Amos Yong, Yong Ting Jin, You Bin, Youhanna Nessim Youssef, Eliana Yunes, Robert Michael Zaller, Valarie H. Ziegler, Barbara Brown Zikmund, Joyce Ann Zimmerman, Aurora Zlotnik, Zhuo Xinping
- Edited by Daniel Patte, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
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- The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
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- 05 August 2012
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Appendix A - Classification system of ferns and lycophytes
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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3 - Ecological insights from fern population dynamics
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- By Joanne M. Sharpe, Sharplex Services, Klaus Mehltreter, Instituto de Ecología
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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- Fern Ecology
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Summary
Key points
1. Any comprehensive population study of ferns is based on the demography of the three major stages of the life cycle of ferns (spore, gametophyte and sporophyte) and recognizes asexual alternatives to the main sexual life cycle such as apogamy and vegetative reproduction. Knowledge of spore and gametophyte viability and development in natural habitats is critical to our understanding of the life cycle of ferns and their ecology, but most studies have focused on the larger sporophyte.
2. Classifying sequential life history stages for ferns facilitates the assessment of growth and reproductive responses to environmental stimuli. Recognition of a life history stage in ferns is based on leaf and plant morphology because age estimates for fern individuals are complicated by several problems such as gradually decomposing older tissue in rhizomes of understory ferns and variable growth rates throughout the life of an individual tree fern.
3. Basic phenological variables (e.g., leaf count, leaf and spore production rates, and leaf life span) are monitored for a better understanding of seasonal patterns, population structure and biomass turnover. Factors that influence productivity of ferns have been addressed only recently for tropical species.
4. Population studies have compared different fern species within the same habitat and the ferns have shown surprising sensitivity to microhabitat characteristics. Recent investigations of fern population responses to altitudinal and latitudinal gradients and to environmental changes over time have been based on innovative monitoring methods and transition matrices of life history stages.
5. Future research in fern population dynamics should focus on the connection between critical demographic patterns in ferns and their relevance to comprehensive community and ecosystem studies by using consistent methodologies, expanding into larger geographic ranges (especially in tropical regions) and increasing the focus on long-term monitoring.
List of contributors
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10 - Current and future directions in fern ecology
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- By Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Klaus Mehltreter, Instituto de Ecología, Joanne M. Sharpe, Sharplex Services
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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- Fern Ecology
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Summary
Introduction
The ecology of ferns is a rapidly growing discipline that offers new and exciting insights into general ecological principles and applications. Progress has been made in studying fern biogeography, population dynamics, natural resource use, disturbance responses, species interactions and links with humans (Table 10.1). In this concluding chapter, we explore the lessons learned about each of these topics and how they clarify the ecological role of ferns. We then raise some unanswered questions that might become the foci for future research on fern ecology and improve the integration of ferns into general studies of ecology.
Ferns (and lycophytes) differ from seed plants in fundamental ways. Ferns have a different evolutionary background, phenology, nutrient acquisition patterns, adaptations to xeric environments, responses to disturbance, interactions with fungi and animals and invasion patterns that provide an excellent contrast to seed plants. However, ferns also share fundamental similarities with seed plants, especially herbaceous perennials. Ferns have similar physiological pathways of energy capture and nutrient distribution and share some common traits such as colonization abilities, habitat specificity, leaf function, growth patterns, vegetative propagation, population dynamics, species interactions (e.g., shading) and mycorrhizal infection. Examining differences and similarities between ferns and seed plants is one useful approach to the rapidly expanding field of fern ecology.
Biogeography: dispersal, habitats and diversity
Ferns have only one potentially long distance dispersal phase (spores) while seed plants have two (pollen and seeds). The ecological implications of these contrasting dispersal modes are unclear.
Plate section
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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Photo credits
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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6 - Ferns, disturbance and succession
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- By Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Joanne M. Sharpe, Sharplex Services
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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Summary
Key points
1. Ferns often colonize habitats disturbed by tectonic activity, wind, water, fire and humans.
2. Fern dispersal into disturbed habitats can result from long distance movement of spores but is usually by short distance spore dispersal or vegetative expansion of nearby plants.
3. Rapid establishment and dense growth can make ferns competitive with other vascular plants through light reduction and nutrient uptake or immobilization. Fern thickets can delay successional transitions but ferns also provide regeneration sites for other species and stabilize slopes. Fern influences may vary across environmental resource (e.g., light, water, nutrients) and topographic gradients.
4. Ferns can have important roles in the restoration of disturbed ecosystems.
Introduction
A typical image of fern habitat is a wet, shady forest untouched by disturbance. In fact, many ferns colonize recently disturbed and exposed areas such as scoured riverbanks (Reudink et al.,2005) or the uprooted pits, mounds and trunks of fallen trees (Peterson et al., 1990; Nadkarni and Wheelwright, 2000). Ferns tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions (Hemp, 2001), and some species can colonize such highly disturbed habitats as lava flows, dunes, landslides or floodplains as well as areas of forests that have been damaged by burning, ice storms, hurricanes or logging (Walker et al., 1996b; Barson, 1997; Russell et al., 1998; Arens and Sánchez Baracaldo, 1998, 2000; Woods, 2002). One reason some ferns readily colonize recent disturbances is that they have widely dispersed spores that reach even the most remote islands (see Chapter 2; Carlquist, 1980).
Index
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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Frontmatter
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Contents
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1 - Ecological importance of ferns
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- By Joanne M. Sharpe, Sharplex Services, Klaus Mehltreter, Instituto de Ecología, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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Summary
Introduction
Ferns immediately capture the imagination of all who are fortunate enough to notice them. With their large, highly dissected and shiny green leaves, ferns are so visually appealing that many are sold as ornamentals. Most moist woodlands will have a number of fern species blanketing the understory with their pungent foliage. In tropical woodlands, ferns are often at eye level or above, providing an aesthetic and delicate subcanopy. Even in arid lands or on newly exposed surfaces such as burns, clear-cuts or landslides, ferns can be present and sometimes dominant, catching your full attention as you push through fern thickets or get snagged by their spines. Beyond their immediate visual appeal, ferns are curious objects. How do plants of such ancient origin persist in the modern world? How can something so fragile survive trampling, burning, logging or grazing? Ferns and lycophytes were long considered as mystical plants, because people did not understand how they could reproduce without ever producing a flower, a fruit or a seed (Moran, 2004). In this book, we address the mystique that surrounds ferns by exploring fern ecology, or how ferns relate to their environment. Throughout the world, whenever ferns are the focus of ecological research, important and often surprising findings emerge.
We present four approaches to fern ecology. First, we provide a conceptual synthesis of the rapidly expanding field of fern ecology in order to establish a framework for future research and to encourage interdisciplinary approaches to studies of ferns.
Preface
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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There are many ways to appreciate ferns and lycophytes. We admire their shapes, from tiny, filmy ferns on tree trunks, to lacy maidenhair ferns in rock crevices, to sturdy tree ferns with their huge, dissected leaves. We wonder at the beauty of their leaves that vary from subtle shades of green to gray, pale yellow, reddish or even iridescent blue. As we become more acquainted with ferns, the fascination deepens and the questions begin. Some of the first questions are about fern habitats. How do they survive in the deep shade of forest understories? On flooded banks of streams? On wind-swept mountain tops? On hot, vertical rock faces? Why are they so abundant on tropical mountains and oceanic islands? Questions then arise about fern growth. How do they survive drought or freezing temperatures? How do they reproduce? How old are they? What is a spore and that always elusive little “gametophyte”? We also ponder how the presence of ferns impacts other organisms. Do ferns compete with seed plants? Do they get eaten by herbivores? Finally, how do humans interact with ferns? Which species are edible or have medicinal qualities? Why are some ferns a nuisance to us? What makes them weedy ferns? We, the editors of this book, have each pondered these questions, both as people who are fascinated by the beauty and variety of ferns and as scientists whose job it is to question how the natural world is assembled, collate information about it and synthesize what is known.
Glossary
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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Appendix C - Geological timescale
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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- Fern Ecology
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- 05 June 2012
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- 03 June 2010, pp 406-406
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Fern Ecology
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, Joanne M. Sharpe
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- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
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- 03 June 2010
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Ferns are an integral part of the world's flora, appreciated for their beauty as ornamentals, problematic as invaders and endangered by human interference. They often dominate forest understories but also colonize open areas, invade waterways and survive in nutrient-poor wastelands and eroded pastures. Presented here is the first comprehensive summary of fern ecology, with worldwide examples from Siberia to the islands of Hawaii. Topics include a brief history of the ecological study of ferns, a global survey of fern biogeography, fern population dynamics, the role of ferns in ecosystem nutrient cycles, their adaptations to xeric environments and future directions in fern ecology. Fully illustrated concepts and processes provide a framework for future research and utilization of ferns for graduate students and professionals in ecology, conservation and land management.
8 - Problem ferns: their impact and management
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- By Roderick C. Robinson, Landward Consultancy, Elizabeth Sheffield, University of Manchester, Joanne M. Sharpe, Sharplex Services
- Edited by Klaus Mehltreter, Lawrence R. Walker, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Joanne M. Sharpe
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- Book:
- Fern Ecology
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 03 June 2010, pp 255-322
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Summary
Key points
1. Despite the popular image of ferns as decorative, innocuous plants, certain fern species can become substantial problems where human activities disturb the natural equilibrium. Making the distinction between native and alien species helps us to understand how some ferns become problematic in the first place and how such problems can be managed.
2. About 60 species of ferns create problems for ecology and conservation in terrestrial and aquatic environments. Some of these ferns have significant negative impacts on human and animal health, food production and management of both land and water.
3. Where legislative or other preemptive controls fail, problem ferns need to be managed by timely and effective combinations of physical, chemical and biological methods. Researchers continue to improve methods of managing problem fern species in order to enhance efficacy and to minimize damage to nontarget vegetation and the local environment.
4. The full human, economic and environmental costs of problem ferns have not been investigated on a global basis. Continued international development of effective legislation and chemical and biological management of problem ferns will be required in order to contain their further spread which, in some cases, may be extensive and catastrophic.
Introduction
At least 60 fern species (see Table 8.1) have the proven or potential ability to occupy areas where they may create a variety of problems. The terrestrial ferns in this group can disrupt local ecosystems, conservation efforts, wildlife management and the productivity of land (including grazing lands, certain crops and forestry).
Understorey fern responses to post-hurricane fertilization and debris removal in a Puerto Rican rain forest
- Leslie Finical Halleck, Joanne M. Sharpe, Xiaoming Zou Zou
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- Journal:
- Journal of Tropical Ecology / Volume 20 / Issue 2 / March 2004
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 17 March 2004, pp. 173-181
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Controls over net primary productivity are the subject of a long-term experiment within a lowland subtropical wet forest in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. Responses of the fern community to fertilization and debris-removal treatments and to monitoring activities were assessed 6 y after the experiment began in October 1989, just after the passage of Hurricane Hugo. Negative fern responses to fertilization included a qualitative change in species composition and a 13-fold reduction in density compared with controls. Plants were smaller and spore production rates were lower. Debris removal reduced the number of species and increased the proportion of terrestrial species. Density of Nephrolepis rivularis individuals in debris-removal plots was only 5% that of control levels while abundance of Thelypteris deltoidea nearly doubled. Buffer-zone fern density was 36% greater than and per cent of leaves damaged was half that of the monitored zones. The magnitude of the responses of ferns to experimental treatments and to monitoring effects suggest that they may be good early indicators of change in a tropical forest.