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.

白翅绒秧鸡（White-winged Flufftail）被列为极危物种，而对该物种生态学特征的认知不足被认定为有效开展该鸟类保护工作的限制因素。目前学界对其栖息的植被环境知之甚少，这一现状阻碍了其栖息地的识别与管理工作。本研究针对该鸟类已知栖息的湿地生境植被开展了精细尺度的分类与描述。研究采用植物群落学调查方法，对栖息地的植物群落与植被结构进行系统描述。于南非普马兰加省的失落谷自然保护区选取3处样点、米德尔蓬特湿地选取2处样点，采样时机选在白翅绒秧鸡繁殖季结束后不久。研究区域内共布设60个样方，对样方内所有现存植物物种进行记录与鉴定；同时还记录了植物高度、水深及人为干扰等相关环境参数。经改良的双向指示种分类法（TWINSPAN）分析，共识别出3个植物亚群落，可归为1个主要植物群落。该湿地植被以莎草科（Cyperaceae）、菊科（Asteraceae）和禾本科（Poaceae）为主，优势物种为南非苔草（Carex austro-africana）和裸柱莎草（Cyperus denudatus），李氏禾（Leersia hexandra）与尼泊尔野古草（Arundinella nepalensis）为共优势种。整体生境结构为高度0.5-0.7米的中高型草本植物，伴生浅水环境且水流平缓。