Vegetation habitat of White-winged flufftail

The White-winged Flufftail is listed as critically endangered and limited knowledge about the species’ ecology has been identified as a limiting factor to effectively conserving the bird. Little is known about the vegetation inhabited by the White-winged Flufftail, which hampers the identification and management of its habitat. This study presents a fine-scale classification and description of the vegetation of wetland sites where the bird is known to be present. A plant phytosociological study was conducted to describe the plant communities and vegetation structure of the habitat. Three sites were selected at Verloren Valei Nature Reserve and two at Middelpunt Wetland, Mpumalanga, South Africa, shortly after the White-winged Flufftail breeding season. A total of 60 sample plots were placed within the study sites, where all plant species present were recorded and identified. Other aspects such as plant height, water depth and anthropogenic influences were also documented. A modified TWINSPAN analysis resulted in the identification of three sub-communities that can be grouped into one major community. The Cyperaceae, Asteraceae and Poaceae families dominate the vegetation, with the sedges Carex austro-africana and Cyperus denudatus being dominant, and the grasses Leersia hexandra and Arundinella nepalensis co-dominant. The broad habitat structure consisted of medium to tall herbaceous plants (0.5-0.7 m) with shallow slow-flowing water.

白翅秧鸡（White-winged Flufftail）被列为极危物种，对该物种生态学认知的匮乏，被认定为制约该鸟类有效保护的关键限制因素。目前对其栖息植被的了解极少，这严重阻碍了其栖息地的识别与管理工作。本研究针对该鸟类已确认栖息的湿地生境植被，开展了精细尺度的分类与描述。为系统描述该栖息地的植物群落与植被结构，研究团队开展了植物群落学调查。研究于南非姆普马兰加省Verloren Valei自然保护区布设3个样点，于Middelpunt湿地布设2个样点，采样时机紧邻白翅秧鸡繁殖期结束后。共设置60个样方，对样方内出现的全部植物物种进行记录与鉴定；同时记录了植株高度、水深及人为干扰等相关环境信息。经改良型双向指示种分析（TWINSPAN）处理后，共识别出3个植物亚群落，可归并为1个核心植物群落。该植被群落以莎草科（Cyperaceae）、菊科（Asteraceae）及禾本科（Poaceae）为优势类群，其中南非苔草（Carex austro-africana）和裸茎莎草（Cyperus denudatus）为绝对优势物种，李氏禾（Leersia hexandra）与尼泊尔野古草（Arundinella nepalensis）为共优势物种。该生境的整体植被结构为：伴缓慢浅流水的中高型草本植物，株高范围为0.5~0.7米。