| 1. |
- Ceulemans, Tobias, et al.
(författare)
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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in European grasslands under nutrient pollution
- 2019
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 28:12, s. 1796-1805
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Our aim was to quantify the extent to which nutrient pollution explains arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community richness and composition.Location: Europe.Time period: 2014-2016.Major taxa studied: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.Methods: We sampled soils of calcareous and acidic grasslands and roots of 34 host plant species across a large geographical gradient of atmospheric nitrogen deposition and soil phosphorus availability. Furthermore, we performed an independent pairwise comparison between fertilized and unfertilized grasslands in Belgium and Iceland to compare results.Results: We found that nitrogen deposition had a significant negative relationship to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal richness, with a negative community threshold of 7.7 kg N/ha/year corresponding to the greatest reduction in operational taxonomic units. Additionally, we found that soil phosphorus had a significant negative relationship to mycorrhizal fungal richness.Main conclusions: Our results highlight the necessity to revisit the critical loads of atmospheric nitrogen deposition used in European environmental policy, currently set at 10-15 kg N/ha/year. Importantly, our observed threshold of 7.7 kg N/ha/year does not correspond to a critical load below which there is no environmental harm, because the least negative changes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities were observed at < 5 kg N/ha/year. Therefore, to avoid compromising the policy tenet of no environmental harm with respect to grassland mycorrhizal fungi, areas of zero tolerance to nitrogen pollution should be delimited. Our results also indicate that environmental policy biased towards reducing nitrogen pollution alone will fail to preserve mycorrhizal biodiversity in European grasslands. We advocate increased policy attention to avoid phosphorus enrichment, particularly through agricultural fertilization. Here too, areas of zero phosphorus input, ideally set in the currently unpolluted (or least polluted) areas, seem key for effective environmental policy, because elevated levels of soil phosphorus after phosphorus fertilization are known to be extremely persistent.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Hooftman, Danny A. P., et al.
(författare)
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Could green infrastructure supplement ecosystem service provision from semi-natural grasslands?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - Stockholm : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 328
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ancient semi-natural grasslands in Europe are important for ecosystem service (ES) provision. Often, the surrounding matrix contains ‘Grassland Green Infrastructure’ (GGI) that contain grassland species which have the potential to supplement grassland ES provision across the landscape. Here we investigate the potential for GGI to deliver a set of complementary ES, driven by plant composition.We surveyed 36 landscapes across three European countries comprising core grasslands and their surrounding GGI. We calculated community-level values of plant species characteristics to provide indicators for four ES: nature conservation value, pollination, carbon storage and aesthetic appeal.Inferred ES delivery for GGI was substantially lower than in core grasslands for conservation, pollination and aesthetic appeal indicators, but not for carbon storage. These differences were driven by the GGI having 17% fewer plant species, and compositional differences, with 61% of species unique to the core grasslands. In addition, connectivity to the core, the amount of GGI and inferred seed dispersal distances by livestock, were strongly positively correlated with conservation value, pollination and aesthetic indicators. All ES indicators showed similar responses to the GGI spatial structure and distance to the core, suggesting robust effects of these drivers on ES. We projected that improved landscape-wide delivery of nature conservation value and pollination could be achieved through targeted GGI management. Reductions in the distances seeds would need to disperse, more GGI, along with a diversification of the GGI elements, were predicted to enhance service credits.We conclude that for vegetation-related ES, species surveys can be employed to assess potential ES delivery. Creating and enhancing GGI is a useful landscape management strategy to supplement the ES delivered by ancient grasslands.
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| 4. |
- Hooftman, Danny, et al.
(författare)
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Dispersal limitation, eutrophication and propagule pressure constrain the conservation value of Grassland Green Infrastructure
- 2021
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207 .- 1873-2917. ; 258
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Semi-natural grasslands harbour many of Europe's species of conservation interest. Although larger grasslands are the focus of most conservation activity, many grassland fragments are scattered across landscapes –in small patches or along linear elements– which can form Grassland Green Infrastructure (GGI). GGI has the potential to enhance landscape diversity by creating functioning metacommunities comprising of large semi-natural grasslands and these surrounding fragments. While often highlighted in conservation policy, little is known about the biodiversity supported by green infrastructure itself and thus its conservation potential.To address this issue, we contrasted plant communities in 36 ‘core’ grassland sites across three European countries with communities in the surrounding GGI. We related compositional differences to amount and type of GGI habitat (patches or linear), and the distances for seed dispersal by livestock from core sites. We found substantial differences between the GGI and the core sites, with a mean 54% species turn-over. These differences indicated filtering of stress tolerant species characteristic of low nutrient conditions, and semi-natural grassland specialists. Species with poorer dispersal abilities declined strongly with increasing distances from the core sites. The many additional species in the GGI, not found in the core sites, were predominantly those with a competitive strategy and high seed dispersal ability.We conclude that the biodiversity-supporting role of GGI across Europe is severely constrained by eutrophication, dispersal limitation and external propagule pressure. Actions to improve the quality of GGI might include enhancing dispersal by livestock combined with more type-diversification and less intensively used grassland habitats.
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| 5. |
- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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| 6. |
- Marini, Lorenzo, et al.
(författare)
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Traits related to species persistence and dispersal explain changes in plant communities subjected to habitat loss
- 2012
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Ingår i: Diversity & distributions. - : Wiley. - 1366-9516 .- 1472-4642. ; 18:9, s. 898-908
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss but it is insufficiently known how much its effects vary among species with different life-history traits; especially in plant communities, the understanding of the role of traits related to species persistence and dispersal in determining dynamics of species communities in fragmented landscapes is still limited. The primary aim of this study was to test how plant traits related to persistence and dispersal and their interactions modify plant species vulnerability to decreasing habitat area and increasing isolation. Location Five regions distributed over four countries in Central and Northern Europe. Methods Our dataset was composed of primary data from studies on the distribution of plant communities in 300 grassland fragments in five regions. The regional datasets were consolidated by standardizing nomenclature and species life-history traits and by recalculating standardized landscape measures from the original geographical data. We assessed the responses of plant species richness to habitat area, connectivity, plant life-history traits and their interactions using linear mixed models. Results We found that the negative effect of habitat loss on plant species richness was pervasive across different regions, whereas the effect of habitat isolation on species richness was not evident. This area effect was, however, not equal for all the species, and life-history traits related to both species persistence and dispersal modified plant sensitivity to habitat loss, indicating that both landscape and local processes determined large-scale dynamics of plant communities. High competitive ability for light, annual life cycle and animal dispersal emerged as traits enabling species to cope with habitat loss. Main conclusions In highly fragmented rural landscapes in NW Europe, mitigating the spatial isolation of remaining grasslands should be accompanied by restoration measures aimed at improving habitat quality for low competitors, abiotically dispersed and perennial, clonal species.
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| 7. |
- Plue, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Does the seed bank contribute to the build-up of a genetic extinction debt in the grassland perennial Campanula rotundifolia?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Annals of Botany. - : Oxford University Press. - 0305-7364 .- 1095-8290. ; 120:3, s. 373-385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Habitat fragmentation threatens global biodiversity. Many plant species persist in habitat fragments via persistent life cycle stages such as seed banks, generating a species extinction debt. Here, seed banks are hypothesized to cause a temporal delay in the expected loss of genetic variation, which can be referred to as a genetic extinction debt, as a possible mechanism behind species extinction debts.Methods: Fragmented grassland populations of Campanula rotundifolia were examined for evidence of a genetic extinction debt, investigating if the seed bank contributed to the extinction debt build-up. The genetic make-up of 15 above- and below-ground populations was analysed in relation to historical and current levels of habitat fragmentation, both separately and combined.Key Results: Genetic diversity was highest in above-ground populations, though below-ground populations contained 8 % of unique alleles that were absent above-ground. Above-ground genetic diversity and composition were related to historical patch size and connectivity, but not current patch characteristics, suggesting the presence of a genetic extinction debt in the above-ground populations. No such relationships were found for the below-ground populations. Genetic diversity measures still showed a response to historical but not present landscape characteristics when combining genetic diversity of the above- and below-ground populations.Conclusions: The fragmented C. rotundifolia populations exhibited a genetic extinction debt. However, the role of the seed banks in the build-up of this extinction debt is probably small, since the limited, unique genetic diversity of the seed bank alone seems unable to counter the detrimental effects of habitat fragmentation on the population genetic structure of C. rotundifolia .
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| 8. |
- Plue, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Functional rather than structural connectivity explains grassland plant diversity patterns following landscape scale habitat loss
- 2020
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context Functional connectivity is vital for plant species dispersal, but little is known about how habitat loss and the presence of green infrastructure interact to affect both functional and structural connectivity, and the impacts of each on species groups. Objectives We investigate how changes in the spatial configuration of species-rich grasslands and related green infrastructure such as road verges, hedgerows and forest borders in three European countries have influenced landscape connectivity, and the effects on grassland plant biodiversity. Methods We mapped past and present land use for 36 landscapes in Belgium, Germany and Sweden, to estimate connectivity based on simple habitat spatial configuration (structural connectivity) and accounting for effective dispersal and establishment (functional connectivity) around focal grasslands. We used the resulting measures of landscape change to interpret patterns in plant communities. Results Increased presence of landscape connecting elements could not compensate for large scale losses of grassland area resulting in substantial declines in structural and functional connectivity. Generalist species were negatively affected by connectivity, and responded most strongly to structural connectivity, while functional connectivity determined the occurrence of grassland specialists in focal grasslands. Restored patches had more generalist species, and a lower density of grassland specialist species than ancient patches. Conclusions Protecting both species rich grasslands and dispersal pathways within landscapes is essential for maintaining grassland biodiversity. Our results show that increases in green infrastructure have not been sufficient to offset loss of semi-natural habitat, and that landscape links must be functionally effective in order to contribute to grassland diversity.
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| 9. |
- Plue, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Green infrastructure can promote plant functional connectivity in a grassland species around fragmented semi-natural grasslands in NW-Europe
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 2022:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Species may benefit from green infrastructure, i.e. the network of natural and anthropogenic habitat remnants in human-dominated landscapes, if it helps isolated populations in remaining habitat patches to be functionally connected. The importance of green infrastructure is therefore increasingly emphasized in conservation policy to counter biodiversity loss. However, there is limited evidence, particularly in plants, that green infrastructure promotes functional connectivity, i.e. supports the colonization of habitat patches across a landscape. We applied landscape genetics to test whether the green infrastructure supports structural and functional connectivity in the grassland perennial Galium verum, in 35 landscapes in Belgium, Germany and Sweden. We used multivariate genetic clustering techniques, nestedness analyses and conditional inference trees to examine landscape-scale patterns in genetic diversity and structure of plant populations in the green infrastructure surrounding semi-natural grasslands. Inferred functional connectivity explained genetic variation better than structural connectivity, yielding positive effects on genetic variation. The road verge network, a major structural component of the green infrastructure and its functional connectivity, most effectively explained genetic diversity and composition in G. verum. Galium verum ramets occupying the surrounding landscape proved to be genetic subsets of focal grassland populations, shaping a nested landscape population genetic structure with focal grasslands, particularly ancient ones, harbouring unique genetic diversity. This nested pattern weakened as road network density increased, suggesting road verge networks enable high landscape occupancy by increased habitat availability and facilitates gene flow into the surrounding landscape. Our study proposes that green infrastructure can promote functional connectivity, providing that a plant species can survive outside of core habitat patches. As this often excludes habitat specialist species, conservation practice and policy should primarily focus on ancient, managed semi-natural grasslands. These grasslands both harbour unique genetic diversity and act as primary gene and propagule sources for the surrounding landscape, highlighting their conservation value.
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| 10. |
- Plue, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Isolation by 454-sequencing and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers in the tetraploid perennial herb Campanula rotundifolia
- 2015
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Ingår i: Conservation Genetics Resources. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1877-7252 .- 1877-7260. ; 7:3, s. 721-722
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Campanula rotundifolia is a perennial polyploid herb with a wide circumpolar distribution growing in a range of grassland, heathland and dune communities. The species is showing signs of strong decline in most parts of its range due to habitat degradation. Eight polymorphic microsatellites were developed using a 454-sequencing approach and subsequently characterized in 323 tetraploid individuals from 15 populations in a fragmented landscape in central Sweden. Between 7 and 26 alleles were observed per locus with observed and expected heterozygosity ranging between 0.71-0.98 and 0.71-0.93, respectively. C. rotundifolia may serve as a model species for studying the relative importance of life-history traits in genetic diversity responses to environmental changes.
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