Pub Date : 2025-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.001
Martí March-Salas , María Begoña García , Isaac H. Lichter-Marck , Juan Lorite , Manuel J. Steinbauer
Cliffs, all over the world, are often exceptionally rich in endemic, rare and endangered plant species. Historically, cliffs have been among the least human-disturbed habitats, but they now face increasing direct and indirect pressures. Human activities, such as recreational rock climbing, can lead to habitat deterioration or species loss, while the ongoing climate warming can also alter the characteristics of cliff habitats and their inhabitants. Despite their outstanding conservation value and the growing pressures they face, there is relatively little research on cliff ecosystems. Here, we aim to contextualize previous research and showcase contributions from this Special Issue entitled “Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of Cliff Flora”. Articles in this issue address a great variety of perspectives in cliff research such as: evaluating the potential loss of unique genetic diversity in endangered and rare cliff plants; understanding past, present and future distribution patterns, population dynamics, and evolutionary processes in cliffs in the context of climate change; examining abiotic and biotic feedbacks and interactions occurring in these habitats; assessing the current conservation status of cliff flora at global scale, and exploring new pathways to study and monitor the diversity of cliff habitats. Our goal was to present a variety of examples of past and current research, highlight gaps, novel approaches, and future directions for basic and applied cliff ecology. In this context, we aim to help elucidate evolutionary and functional patterns and processes in this unique ecosystem, while also promoting the conservation of cliff habitats and their hosted organisms.
{"title":"Cliff ecosystems: A critical yet uncharted frontier for research and conservation","authors":"Martí March-Salas , María Begoña García , Isaac H. Lichter-Marck , Juan Lorite , Manuel J. Steinbauer","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cliffs, all over the world, are often exceptionally rich in endemic, rare and endangered plant species. Historically, cliffs have been among the least human-disturbed habitats, but they now face increasing direct and indirect pressures. Human activities, such as recreational rock climbing, can lead to habitat deterioration or species loss, while the ongoing climate warming can also alter the characteristics of cliff habitats and their inhabitants. Despite their outstanding conservation value and the growing pressures they face, there is relatively little research on cliff ecosystems. Here, we aim to contextualize previous research and showcase contributions from this Special Issue entitled “Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of Cliff Flora”. Articles in this issue address a great variety of perspectives in cliff research such as: evaluating the potential loss of unique genetic diversity in endangered and rare cliff plants; understanding past, present and future distribution patterns, population dynamics, and evolutionary processes in cliffs in the context of climate change; examining abiotic and biotic feedbacks and interactions occurring in these habitats; assessing the current conservation status of cliff flora at global scale, and exploring new pathways to study and monitor the diversity of cliff habitats. Our goal was to present a variety of examples of past and current research, highlight gaps, novel approaches, and future directions for basic and applied cliff ecology. In this context, we aim to help elucidate evolutionary and functional patterns and processes in this unique ecosystem, while also promoting the conservation of cliff habitats and their hosted organisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 36-42"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.008
Daniel Redondo-Gómez , José M. Gil-Sánchez , Moisés Gonzálvez , Carlos Martínez-Carrasco , Esther Sebastián-González , Lidia Rosell , Pablo Jiménez-Nájar , José A. Sánchez-Zapata , Daniel Martín-Vega , Marcos Moleón
Scavenging has been profusely studied in the last decades. However, carrion is more than a direct source of food for scavengers and decomposers, as it may provide many non-scavenging ecological functions. These include the provision of carrion insects to insectivores and hair to nest-building species. However, the patterns of use of these resources are greatly unknown. In this context, carnivore carcasses may represent an outstanding study model because they usually persist in the environment for longer than herbivore carcasses. Here, we used video-trapping to explore the consumption of carrion insects and hair taking at 99 red fox (Vulpes vulpes) carcasses in three areas of southeastern Spain. Carcasses were frequently used for consuming insects and taking hair (7.3 events in total on average per carcass). These non-scavenging behaviors were observed over eight weeks for most carcasses, peaking around the fifth week. Birds were the main users of carcasses, distantly followed by mammals; reptiles were only recorded feeding occasionally on carrion insects. These behaviors were more frequent during spring, when the demand for insects for offspring feeding and hair for nest building is maximized by many vertebrates. Moreover, the community of species exhibiting each of these behaviors was highly organized, as evidenced from their nested structure. We observed co-occurrence of insect consumption and hair taking in a quarter of carcasses, with co-occurrence being mostly due to chance and certain individuals and groups that used some carcasses for both purposes. Overall, non-scavenging uses of fox carcasses by vertebrates in our study area is more frequent than scavenging, which highlights the broad ecological relevance of carnivore carcasses and opens exciting future research avenues.
{"title":"The extended role of carrion: Insect consumption and hair taking at fox carcasses","authors":"Daniel Redondo-Gómez , José M. Gil-Sánchez , Moisés Gonzálvez , Carlos Martínez-Carrasco , Esther Sebastián-González , Lidia Rosell , Pablo Jiménez-Nájar , José A. Sánchez-Zapata , Daniel Martín-Vega , Marcos Moleón","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scavenging has been profusely studied in the last decades. However, carrion is more than a direct source of food for scavengers and decomposers, as it may provide many non-scavenging ecological functions. These include the provision of carrion insects to insectivores and hair to nest-building species. However, the patterns of use of these resources are greatly unknown. In this context, carnivore carcasses may represent an outstanding study model because they usually persist in the environment for longer than herbivore carcasses. Here, we used video-trapping to explore the consumption of carrion insects and hair taking at 99 red fox (V<em>ulpes vulpes</em>) carcasses in three areas of southeastern Spain. Carcasses were frequently used for consuming insects and taking hair (7.3 events in total on average per carcass). These non-scavenging behaviors were observed over eight weeks for most carcasses, peaking around the fifth week. Birds were the main users of carcasses, distantly followed by mammals; reptiles were only recorded feeding occasionally on carrion insects. These behaviors were more frequent during spring, when the demand for insects for offspring feeding and hair for nest building is maximized by many vertebrates. Moreover, the community of species exhibiting each of these behaviors was highly organized, as evidenced from their nested structure. We observed co-occurrence of insect consumption and hair taking in a quarter of carcasses, with co-occurrence being mostly due to chance and certain individuals and groups that used some carcasses for both purposes. Overall, non-scavenging uses of fox carcasses by vertebrates in our study area is more frequent than scavenging, which highlights the broad ecological relevance of carnivore carcasses and opens exciting future research avenues.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 12-22"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.007
Vijayan Smrithy , Aboli Kulkarni , Bhushan K. Shigwan , Rohan Shetti , Mandar N. Datar
Cliffs in India, as understudied rock outcrops, provide valuable opportunities for studying plant communities. This study quantifies the plant communities on basalt cliff faces in the Northern Western Ghats (NWG) region of India, aiming to explore floristic composition and examine vegetation responses to environmental variations. We employed the Plant Functional Types (PFTs) classification system, which is particularly well-suited for the unique characteristics of the cliff ecosystem. We recorded 231 vascular plant species across 39 locations spanning altitudes from 100 m to 1300 m and latitudes from 15° to 21° N, using the transect-quadrat method. A total of 480 quadrats measuring 1-m² were sampled across 80 transects on the cliff faces. Nine PFTs were identified in NWG cliffs with dominance of carnivores and therophytes. We examined the impact of environmental filters on PFT distribution and their interactions through bivariate and multivariate analyses. Significant variations in PFTs were observed across altitudinal and latitudinal gradients. The principal component analysis identified temperature and precipitation as primary influencers, outweighing altitude and latitude. Redundancy analysis indicated that stress-tolerant PFTs predominated in hotter, drier conditions, whereas stress-avoidant PFTs thrived in areas with higher precipitation, typically found at lower to mid altitudes. Our study underscores a stronger correlation between plant communities on cliff faces and altitude rather than latitude in the NWG. In conclusion, our study elucidates the characteristics of cliff vegetation in the Northern Western Ghats, emphasising the pivotal roles of temperature, precipitation, and seasonality as significant environmental factors influencing plant community structures across our study sites.
{"title":"Floristic composition and plant functional type diversity of the basalt cliffs of Western Ghats, India","authors":"Vijayan Smrithy , Aboli Kulkarni , Bhushan K. Shigwan , Rohan Shetti , Mandar N. Datar","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cliffs in India, as understudied rock outcrops, provide valuable opportunities for studying plant communities. This study quantifies the plant communities on basalt cliff faces in the Northern Western Ghats (NWG) region of India, aiming to explore floristic composition and examine vegetation responses to environmental variations. We employed the Plant Functional Types (PFTs) classification system, which is particularly well-suited for the unique characteristics of the cliff ecosystem. We recorded 231 vascular plant species across 39 locations spanning altitudes from 100 m to 1300 m and latitudes from 15° to 21° N, using the transect-quadrat method. A total of 480 quadrats measuring 1-m² were sampled across 80 transects on the cliff faces. Nine PFTs were identified in NWG cliffs with dominance of carnivores and therophytes. We examined the impact of environmental filters on PFT distribution and their interactions through bivariate and multivariate analyses. Significant variations in PFTs were observed across altitudinal and latitudinal gradients. The principal component analysis identified temperature and precipitation as primary influencers, outweighing altitude and latitude. Redundancy analysis indicated that stress-tolerant PFTs predominated in hotter, drier conditions, whereas stress-avoidant PFTs thrived in areas with higher precipitation, typically found at lower to mid altitudes. Our study underscores a stronger correlation between plant communities on cliff faces and altitude rather than latitude in the NWG. In conclusion, our study elucidates the characteristics of cliff vegetation in the Northern Western Ghats, emphasising the pivotal roles of temperature, precipitation, and seasonality as significant environmental factors influencing plant community structures across our study sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-11DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.003
Maximilian Mühlbauer , Wolfgang W. Weisser , Beate Apfelbeck , Nina Müller , Sebastian T. Meyer
Urban green spaces provide habitats for animals. However, animals differ in habitat requirements depending on their traits. Consequently, it remains unclear how animal guilds differ in their response to characteristics of urban green spaces like shrubs, trees or grass. Using birds inhabiting city squares in Munich as a model system, we ask: Do trait-based bird guilds respond differently to characteristics of small green spaces? What is the difference between an urban-adapted bird community and an exploiter like the Feral Pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica)? Do the responses of guilds and the Feral Pigeon differ between spring and winter?
We show that all guilds profited from green structures, and most guilds benefited from trees and grass cover on city squares. Additional green characteristics influenced some guilds. Cavity-breeding birds needed old trees, and ground-nesting birds decreased with the presence of domestic animals but increased with the shrub volume on a square. Also, insectivorous birds increased with an increasing number of old trees on a square. In contrast to these guilds, the Feral Pigeon did not react to any green characteristic but increased with the abundance of people. Only a few guilds showed differing responses for single variables between seasons. A community analysis revealed that squares differed in the abundance of guilds and the Feral Pigeon. We, therefore, confirm the positive effects of creating urban vegetation for many bird guilds but suggest to plan urban green spaces diversely considering the particular needs of different guilds to promote urban biodiversity.
{"title":"Bird guilds need different features on city squares","authors":"Maximilian Mühlbauer , Wolfgang W. Weisser , Beate Apfelbeck , Nina Müller , Sebastian T. Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.12.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban green spaces provide habitats for animals. However, animals differ in habitat requirements depending on their traits. Consequently, it remains unclear how animal guilds differ in their response to characteristics of urban green spaces like shrubs, trees or grass. Using birds inhabiting city squares in Munich as a model system, we ask: Do trait-based bird guilds respond differently to characteristics of small green spaces? What is the difference between an urban-adapted bird community and an exploiter like the Feral Pigeon (<em>Columba livia</em> f. <em>domestica)</em>? Do the responses of guilds and the Feral Pigeon differ between spring and winter?</div><div>We show that all guilds profited from green structures, and most guilds benefited from trees and grass cover on city squares. Additional green characteristics influenced some guilds. Cavity-breeding birds needed old trees, and ground-nesting birds decreased with the presence of domestic animals but increased with the shrub volume on a square. Also, insectivorous birds increased with an increasing number of old trees on a square. In contrast to these guilds, the Feral Pigeon did not react to any green characteristic but increased with the abundance of people. Only a few guilds showed differing responses for single variables between seasons. A community analysis revealed that squares differed in the abundance of guilds and the Feral Pigeon. We, therefore, confirm the positive effects of creating urban vegetation for many bird guilds but suggest to plan urban green spaces diversely considering the particular needs of different guilds to promote urban biodiversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"83 ","pages":"Pages 23-35"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143098326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.003
Laura M. Boggess , Georgia R. Harrison , James C. Lendemer
Cliffs support rare, endemic, and glacial relict vegetation that may differ from vegetation in surrounding forests. Yet, cliffs are difficult to sample, and rock-dwelling lichens can be challenging to identify; therefore, cliff lichens are often excluded from biodiversity studies. This omission creates fundamental gaps in our understanding of cliff lichens that lead to underestimation of overall community diversity. This study addresses one such gap by asking a basic question: do lichen communities on cliffs differ from rock-dwelling lichen communities in forests? To answer this question, we compared lichen communities from three cliffs in the Linville Gorge (North Carolina, USA; 369 m2 of cliff face surveyed) to rock and soil-dwelling lichen communities in forested plots across the same region (Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA, Alabama to North Carolina; 198 1-hectare forested plots). Forest plots were further divided into three groups based on elevation, proximity to Linville Gorge cliffs, and location within the state of North Carolina. A total of 225 rock or soil-dwelling lichen species were found in forest plots throughout the study area, while 104 species were found on cliffs. Two rare cliff-specialist species, Canoparmelia alabamensis, and Chrysothrix susquehannensis, were locally abundant on the studied cliffs but absent from surrounding forests. Our results show that cliffs support 20% of regional rock-dwelling lichen diversity, and that these cliff communities are distinct from those in forests. The high diversity, occurrence of unique species, and presence of rare lichens on cliffs indicate that cliff lichens should be included in biodiversity inventories and stewardship plans. To support this inclusion, we provide the first checklist for the lichens of Linville Gorge. Checklists like this one, including both cliff and non-cliff lichens, provide data on regional diversity and rarity that inform lichen conservation and rock climbing management.
{"title":"Cliffs support lichen communities unique from nearby forests","authors":"Laura M. Boggess , Georgia R. Harrison , James C. Lendemer","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cliffs support rare, endemic, and glacial relict vegetation that may differ from vegetation in surrounding forests. Yet, cliffs are difficult to sample, and rock-dwelling lichens can be challenging to identify; therefore, cliff lichens are often excluded from biodiversity studies. This omission creates fundamental gaps in our understanding of cliff lichens that lead to underestimation of overall community diversity. This study addresses one such gap by asking a basic question: do lichen communities on cliffs differ from rock-dwelling lichen communities in forests? To answer this question, we compared lichen communities from three cliffs in the Linville Gorge (North Carolina, USA; 369 m<sup>2</sup> of cliff face surveyed) to rock and soil-dwelling lichen communities in forested plots across the same region (Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA, Alabama to North Carolina; 198 1-hectare forested plots). Forest plots were further divided into three groups based on elevation, proximity to Linville Gorge cliffs, and location within the state of North Carolina. A total of 225 rock or soil-dwelling lichen species were found in forest plots throughout the study area, while 104 species were found on cliffs. Two rare cliff-specialist species, <em>Canoparmelia alabamensis,</em> and <em>Chrysothrix susquehannensis,</em> were locally abundant on the studied cliffs but absent from surrounding forests. Our results show that cliffs support 20% of regional rock-dwelling lichen diversity, and that these cliff communities are distinct from those in forests. The high diversity, occurrence of unique species, and presence of rare lichens on cliffs indicate that cliff lichens should be included in biodiversity inventories and stewardship plans. To support this inclusion, we provide the first checklist for the lichens of Linville Gorge. Checklists like this one, including both cliff and non-cliff lichens, provide data on regional diversity and rarity that inform lichen conservation and rock climbing management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"81 ","pages":"Pages 112-120"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142743120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-15DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004
Walter Durka , Stefan G. Michalski , Johannes Höfner , Anna Bucharova , Filip Kolář , Christina M. Müller , Christoph Oberprieler , Kristýna Šemberová , Markus Bauer , Matthias Bernt , Walter Bleeker , Stefan Brändel , Solveig Franziska Bucher , Pia Maria Eibes , Michael Ewald , Ronny Goldberg , Kerstin Grant , Sylvia Haider , Alexander Harpke , Friedhelm Haun , Christian Zidorn
Species diversity and intraspecific genetic diversity play a critical role in conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems. To maintain regional adaptations of native wild plants, seeds for restoration projects are produced regionally. The delineation of regions is organised by seed transfer zones (STZs). Generalised STZs that apply uniformly to many species have been established in several European countries. Ideally, generalised STZs should be based on comprehensive data of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic diversity for a larger number of species. However, such underlying data is missing. The project RegioDiv aims to fill this gap and generate empirical data on genetic variation of multiple grassland plant species across Germany. Here we describe the driving principles and main methods of the project. A total of 33 species were collected at an average density of ∼1 sample/1000 km2 across the 22 existing STZs, and a total of 11,976 samples were genotyped with SNP markers. The analysis of genetic population structure included cluster analysis and analyses of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. An exemplary within-species analysis for Agrostis capillaris, a widespread grass, revealed five intraspecific genetic clusters, distributed in spatially coherent ranges that did not fully match the STZs. Most of the STZs differed genetically following a pattern of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. In an across-species analysis, genetic differentiation was affected by mating system and ploidy. Outcrossed and polyploid species were less differentiated than self-compatible and diploid species. However, genetic differentiation did not significantly differ between grasses and herbs, highlighting the variability among species within these groups. The dataset of the RegioDiv project will advance both basic and applied research on genetic variation of grassland plant species. The results will allow the assessment of the current German STZ system and guide potential improvements.
{"title":"Assessment of genetic diversity among seed transfer zones for multiple grassland plant species across Germany","authors":"Walter Durka , Stefan G. Michalski , Johannes Höfner , Anna Bucharova , Filip Kolář , Christina M. Müller , Christoph Oberprieler , Kristýna Šemberová , Markus Bauer , Matthias Bernt , Walter Bleeker , Stefan Brändel , Solveig Franziska Bucher , Pia Maria Eibes , Michael Ewald , Ronny Goldberg , Kerstin Grant , Sylvia Haider , Alexander Harpke , Friedhelm Haun , Christian Zidorn","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Species diversity and intraspecific genetic diversity play a critical role in conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems. To maintain regional adaptations of native wild plants, seeds for restoration projects are produced regionally. The delineation of regions is organised by seed transfer zones (STZs). Generalised STZs that apply uniformly to many species have been established in several European countries. Ideally, generalised STZs should be based on comprehensive data of intraspecific genetic and phenotypic diversity for a larger number of species. However, such underlying data is missing. The project RegioDiv aims to fill this gap and generate empirical data on genetic variation of multiple grassland plant species across Germany. Here we describe the driving principles and main methods of the project. A total of 33 species were collected at an average density of ∼1 sample/1000 km<sup>2</sup> across the 22 existing STZs, and a total of 11,976 samples were genotyped with SNP markers. The analysis of genetic population structure included cluster analysis and analyses of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. An exemplary within-species analysis for <em>Agrostis capillaris,</em> a widespread grass, revealed five intraspecific genetic clusters, distributed in spatially coherent ranges that did not fully match the STZs. Most of the STZs differed genetically following a pattern of isolation-by-distance and isolation-by-environment. In an across-species analysis, genetic differentiation was affected by mating system and ploidy. Outcrossed and polyploid species were less differentiated than self-compatible and diploid species. However, genetic differentiation did not significantly differ between grasses and herbs, highlighting the variability among species within these groups. The dataset of the RegioDiv project will advance both basic and applied research on genetic variation of grassland plant species. The results will allow the assessment of the current German STZ system and guide potential improvements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"84 ","pages":"Pages 50-60"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143512049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-12DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.011
Sabina Villadangos , Sergi Munné-Bosch
Functional traits have been defined as those that affect organismal performance, that is growth and development, reproduction and survival, so they have been generally associated with acclimation and adaptation. Here, we aimed to study the impact of an extreme drought event on clonal reproduction and hormonal mechanisms underlying acclimation of houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum L.), a plant adapted to survive harsh environments. We also explored the validity of growth- and stress-related phytohormones as functional traits to evaluate stress acclimation responses in the field. We compared the response of plants, considering both mother rosettes and newly produced clones, to a very extreme summer drought event occurring in small cliffs in Les Guilleries mountains (NE Spain). We measured various stress makers in the field together with hormonal profiling through a metabolomic approach using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that clonal propagation was arrested during the study period and revealed a 100-fold increase in abscisic acid content from spring to summer both in mothers and new clones, concomitantly with reductions in relative water content, which decreased by 20% only. The stress-related bioactive jasmonate, jasmonoyl-isoleucine increased simultaneously with abscisic acid, while growth-related hormones, including bioactive cytokinins (2-isopentenyl adenine and trans-zeatin) decreased from spring to summer, which was consistent with growth arrest. It is concluded that S. tectorum adjusts recruitment of new clones during periods of low water availability and withstands extreme drought events during the summer (preventing severe cell turgor loss at soil water contents below 2% and temperatures above 43 ºC) by successfully activating a complex hormonal response that underlies the great capacity of this species to survive extreme climatic events.
{"title":"Impact of an extreme drought event on clonal reproduction and the acclimation capacity of the succulent plant Sempervivum tectorum L.","authors":"Sabina Villadangos , Sergi Munné-Bosch","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Functional traits have been defined as those that affect organismal performance, that is growth and development, reproduction and survival, so they have been generally associated with acclimation and adaptation. Here, we aimed to study the impact of an extreme drought event on clonal reproduction and hormonal mechanisms underlying acclimation of houseleek (<em>Sempervivum tectorum</em> L.), a plant adapted to survive harsh environments. We also explored the validity of growth- and stress-related phytohormones as functional traits to evaluate stress acclimation responses in the field. We compared the response of plants, considering both mother rosettes and newly produced clones, to a very extreme summer drought event occurring in small cliffs in Les Guilleries mountains (NE Spain). We measured various stress makers in the field together with hormonal profiling through a metabolomic approach using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that clonal propagation was arrested during the study period and revealed a 100-fold increase in abscisic acid content from spring to summer both in mothers and new clones, concomitantly with reductions in relative water content, which decreased by 20% only. The stress-related bioactive jasmonate, jasmonoyl-isoleucine increased simultaneously with abscisic acid, while growth-related hormones, including bioactive cytokinins (2-isopentenyl adenine and <em>trans</em>-zeatin) decreased from spring to summer, which was consistent with growth arrest. It is concluded that <em>S. tectorum</em> adjusts recruitment of new clones during periods of low water availability and withstands extreme drought events during the summer (preventing severe cell turgor loss at soil water contents below 2% and temperatures above 43 ºC) by successfully activating a complex hormonal response that underlies the great capacity of this species to survive extreme climatic events.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"81 ","pages":"Pages 96-105"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-07DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.009
Luise Franke , Christine S. Sheppard , Marco R. Brendel , Carsten M. Buchmann , Viktoria Ferenc , Jinlei Zhu , Frank M. Schurr
Strategies to counteract the loss of arable plant diversity often target field margins. Yet there is still need for research on how arable plant diversity is impacted by the type, scale and diversity of margin management. To assess this experimentally, we combined five measures imposing different disturbance regimes (flower-strip mown twice a year, tilling in spring or autumn, adding sand as substrate, and frequent mowing as a control) at two spatial scales.
We explored how plant community dynamics are affected by both single measures and their combination. We addressed four hypotheses: H1) single measures shift community weighted mean (CWM) values of functional traits and reduce the within-measure community weighted standard deviation (CWSD) of these traits; H2) heavy disturbance (early tilling and sand) causes taxonomic and functional diversity (alpha-diversity) to increase over time; H3) combining different measures increases dissimilarity (beta-diversity) and thus gamma-diversity across measures; and H4) increased spatial heterogeneity of measures promotes all levels of diversity.
We found shifts in CWM and reduced CWSD in flower-strips (smaller seed mass, perennial lifespan) and late-tilling (later flowering-onset) whereas sand and early-tilling tended to increase CWSD (H1). Trends across measures indicate shifts towards species with competitive strategies (H1). Compared to frequently mown controls, heavy disturbance (sand and early-tilling) promoted alpha-diversity over time, despite lower initial diversity. Moderate disturbance (flower-strip, late tilling) initially promoted alpha-diversity, but diversity then did not increase further (H2). Combining different measures promoted diversity compared to single measures, but the similarity between measures increased over time (H3). Scale played a minor role in determining community-composition (H4).
Disturbance regimes imposed by different management of field margins shape the functional composition of arable plant communities. Strategies combining different measures help to balance initial benefits of moderate disturbance with the longer-term diversity gains from heavier disturbance.
{"title":"Field margin management for promoting plant diversity—A functional approach to investigating the effects of multiple measures on plant community dynamics","authors":"Luise Franke , Christine S. Sheppard , Marco R. Brendel , Carsten M. Buchmann , Viktoria Ferenc , Jinlei Zhu , Frank M. Schurr","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Strategies to counteract the loss of arable plant diversity often target field margins. Yet there is still need for research on how arable plant diversity is impacted by the type, scale and diversity of margin management. To assess this experimentally, we combined five measures imposing different disturbance regimes (flower-strip mown twice a year, tilling in spring or autumn, adding sand as substrate, and frequent mowing as a control) at two spatial scales.</div><div>We explored how plant community dynamics are affected by both single measures and their combination. We addressed four hypotheses: H1) single measures shift community weighted mean (CWM) values of functional traits and reduce the within-measure community weighted standard deviation (CWSD) of these traits; H2) heavy disturbance (early tilling and sand) causes taxonomic and functional diversity (alpha-diversity) to increase over time; H3) combining different measures increases dissimilarity (beta-diversity) and thus gamma-diversity across measures; and H4) increased spatial heterogeneity of measures promotes all levels of diversity.</div><div>We found shifts in CWM and reduced CWSD in flower-strips (smaller seed mass, perennial lifespan) and late-tilling (later flowering-onset) whereas sand and early-tilling tended to increase CWSD (H1). Trends across measures indicate shifts towards species with competitive strategies (H1). Compared to frequently mown controls, heavy disturbance (sand and early-tilling) promoted alpha-diversity over time, despite lower initial diversity. Moderate disturbance (flower-strip, late tilling) initially promoted alpha-diversity, but diversity then did not increase further (H2). Combining different measures promoted diversity compared to single measures, but the similarity between measures increased over time (H3). Scale played a minor role in determining community-composition (H4).</div><div>Disturbance regimes imposed by different management of field margins shape the functional composition of arable plant communities. Strategies combining different measures help to balance initial benefits of moderate disturbance with the longer-term diversity gains from heavier disturbance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"81 ","pages":"Pages 75-84"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-05DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.001
Till J. Deilmann , Ditte Marie Christiansen , Mariana García Criado , Theresa Möller , Maren Schüle , Alexander Täuber
Bryophyte research is severely underrepresented compared to vascular plant research, even though we know that bryophytes are crucial components of ecosystems and contribute significantly to ecosystem functions and processes, and thus to ecosystem services. This underrepresentation creates many hurdles and barriers that Early Career Researchers (ECRs) must first overcome to establish in this field, which significantly hinders research now and in the future. Therefore, this work deals with the future of bryophyte research, and bryophyte ecology in particular, which is reflected in the perspectives of ECRs in this scientific field. By listing the many barriers that bryophyte researchers and especially ECRs face, including underrepresentation, funding and publishing, but also possible solutions, we want to raise awareness for and advocate to raise the profile of bryophyte research. We here identify multiple barriers that bryophyte-focused ECRs face and what is needed to overcome them. We address different structural and institutional levels, ranging from early education in schools to academia, funding and publishing. Raising the profile of bryophyte research works on many different levels simultaneously. To improve the prospects of bryophytes and thus increase scientific interest in, and ultimately understanding of, this important group of plants, we need to raise awareness now.
{"title":"Early Career Researchers advocate for raising the profile of bryophyte ecological research","authors":"Till J. Deilmann , Ditte Marie Christiansen , Mariana García Criado , Theresa Möller , Maren Schüle , Alexander Täuber","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bryophyte research is severely underrepresented compared to vascular plant research, even though we know that bryophytes are crucial components of ecosystems and contribute significantly to ecosystem functions and processes, and thus to ecosystem services. This underrepresentation creates many hurdles and barriers that Early Career Researchers (ECRs) must first overcome to establish in this field, which significantly hinders research now and in the future. Therefore, this work deals with the future of bryophyte research, and bryophyte ecology in particular, which is reflected in the perspectives of ECRs in this scientific field. By listing the many barriers that bryophyte researchers and especially ECRs face, including underrepresentation, funding and publishing, but also possible solutions, we want to raise awareness for and advocate to raise the profile of bryophyte research. We here identify multiple barriers that bryophyte-focused ECRs face and what is needed to overcome them. We address different structural and institutional levels, ranging from early education in schools to academia, funding and publishing. Raising the profile of bryophyte research works on many different levels simultaneously. To improve the prospects of bryophytes and thus increase scientific interest in, and ultimately understanding of, this important group of plants, we need to raise awareness now.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"81 ","pages":"Pages 106-111"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-28DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.008
Julian Brown, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Kylie Soanes
Cities are important for biodiversity conservation and are a central focus in the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Species reintroductions and population reinforcements (i.e. conservation translocations) are an important component of conservation, yet are rare in urban environments, possibly because of perceived risks in highly modified and complex social-ecological urban systems. Here we review the literature describing urban conservation translocations to provide guidance for their effective implementation. We find that urban translocations have been performed for a variety of aims including focal species conservation, improvements in ecosystem functions in the later stages of restoration projects (e.g. seed dispersal in revegetated sites) and for site remediation (e.g. organic pollution removal), and enhancing human-nature connections. Conservation translocations were found in a range of urban habitat types including formal and informal greenspaces, grey spaces, streams, ponds, and marine environments, ranging from near-historic conditions (e.g. remnant/restored sites) to highly modified novel/designed systems. Barriers and enablers varied between terrestrial and aquatic release sites, with predators, habitat suitability, and leaving release sites being more important in terrestrial sites and disturbance (flooding) regime and pollution being more important in aquatic sites. A range of techniques have been applied to mitigate these barriers. Success rates in urban translocations are high (>90 %) and comparable to conservation translocations in general, suggesting they can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation by assisting species to overcome dispersal barriers and occupy otherwise suitable urban habitats. However, evaluation methods vary widely between urban translocation studies. There is also a need for longer-term monitoring of translocation success that might be achieved simultaneously while enhancing human-nature connections through citizen science programs.
{"title":"Conservation translocations in urban environments: State of the knowledge and future directions","authors":"Julian Brown, Nicholas S.G. Williams, Kylie Soanes","doi":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.baae.2024.10.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cities are important for biodiversity conservation and are a central focus in the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Species reintroductions and population reinforcements (i.e. conservation translocations) are an important component of conservation, yet are rare in urban environments, possibly because of perceived risks in highly modified and complex social-ecological urban systems. Here we review the literature describing urban conservation translocations to provide guidance for their effective implementation. We find that urban translocations have been performed for a variety of aims including focal species conservation, improvements in ecosystem functions in the later stages of restoration projects (e.g. seed dispersal in revegetated sites) and for site remediation (e.g. organic pollution removal), and enhancing human-nature connections. Conservation translocations were found in a range of urban habitat types including formal and informal greenspaces, grey spaces, streams, ponds, and marine environments, ranging from near-historic conditions (e.g. remnant/restored sites) to highly modified novel/designed systems. Barriers and enablers varied between terrestrial and aquatic release sites, with predators, habitat suitability, and leaving release sites being more important in terrestrial sites and disturbance (flooding) regime and pollution being more important in aquatic sites. A range of techniques have been applied to mitigate these barriers. Success rates in urban translocations are high (>90 %) and comparable to conservation translocations in general, suggesting they can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation by assisting species to overcome dispersal barriers and occupy otherwise suitable urban habitats. However, evaluation methods vary widely between urban translocation studies. There is also a need for longer-term monitoring of translocation success that might be achieved simultaneously while enhancing human-nature connections through citizen science programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8708,"journal":{"name":"Basic and Applied Ecology","volume":"81 ","pages":"Pages 85-95"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142651259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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