| 1. |
- Marteinsdóttir, Bryndís, 1980-
(författare)
-
Plant community assembly in grazed grasslands
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Species assembly into local communities from the surrounding region can be caused either by species failure to reach the site (i.e. seed limitation) or to establish (i.e. establishment limitation). The aim of this thesis was to investigate plant species assembly and to determine the relative importance of different factors in that process.In a cultivated landscape in southeast Sweden, plant community assembly was studied in grazed ex-arable fields. Community assembly from the surrounding region into the local community was explored using trait-based null models and seed sowing and transplanting experiments. The influence of local environmental factors and landscape history and structure on community assembly was also studied. In addition, differences in species assembly between ex-arable fields and semi-natural grasslands were explored.Seed limitation was the strongest filter on local community assembly. Only a fraction (36%) of species in a region dispersed to a local site and adding seeds/transplants increased species establishment. Species abundance at the regional scale, species dispersal method and seed mass strongly influenced which species arrived at the local sites. Establishment limitation also affected the assembly. Of species arriving at a site 78% did establish, seedling survival was low and which species established was influenced by species interactions, local environmental conditions and stochastic events. In addition, landscape structure that determined the species richness in the regional species pool influenced the local assembly. The comparison between assembly in ex-arable fields and semi-natural grasslands indicated that the main cause of difference in species assembly between them was difference in their age.The main conclusion of this thesis is that regional processes are more important than local factors in determining plant community assembly.
|
|
| 2. |
- Marteinsdottir, Bryndis, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
-
Plant community assembly in semi-natural grasslands and ex-arable fields : a trait-based approach
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Vegetation Science. - : Wiley. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 25:1, s. 77-87
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- QuestionThe assembly of plants into communities is one of the central topics in plant community ecology. The objective of this study was to investigate how plant functional trait diversity and environmental factors influence community assembly in two different grassland communities, and if variation in these factors could explain the difference in species assembly between these communities. LocationSix grazed ex-arable fields and eight semi-natural grasslands in southeast Sweden. MethodsWe estimated species abundance and measured soil attributes at each site. For each species within each site we measured specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and seed mass. We analysed the data both for abundance-weighted species values and species occurrence. ResultsTrait gradient analysis indicated random distribution of species among sites, while CCA analysis indicated that both soil phosphorus and moisture were related to species assembly at a site. Correlations and fourth-corner analysis also revealed a relationship between measured species traits and soil phosphorus and moisture. There was a lower average seed mass and higher SLA of species in ex-arable fields compared to species in semi-natural grasslands. ConclusionsEven though trait gradient analysis indicated that plant community assembly in the studied grasslands was random, other results implied that species occurrence and abundance was influenced both by environmental factors and species traits. Higher species richness in semi-natural grasslands was associated with more large-seeded species found there compared to ex-arable fields, indicating that large-seeded species establish in grasslands later than small-seeded species.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Marteinsdóttir, Bryndís, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
-
Trait-based filtering from the regional species pool into local grassland communities
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Plant Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1752-9921 .- 1752-993X. ; 7:4, s. 347-355
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For plants to establish in a local community from a pool of possible colonizers from the region, it must pass through a series of filters. Which of the filters is most important in this process has been much debated. In this study, we explored how species are filtered from the regional species pool into local communities. The aim was to determine if differences in species abundance and functional traits could explain which species from the regional species pool establish at the local scale and if the filtering differed between grassland communities.This study took place in a cultivated landscape in southeastern Sweden. We estimated plant species abundance in 12 ex-arable field sites and 8 adjacent seminatural grassland sites and in a 100-m radius around the center of each site. We used Monte Carlo simulations to examine if species abundance and functional traits (height, seed mass, clonal abilities, specific leaf area and dispersal method) controlled the filtering of species from the regional pool into local communities.On average, only 28% of species found in the regional pool established in the ex-arable field sites and 45% in the seminatural grassland sites, indicating that the size of the regional species pool was not limiting local richness. For both grassland types, species abundance in the regional pool was positively correlated with species occurrence at the local scale. We found evidence for both species interaction filtering and dispersal limitation influencing the local assembly. Both local and regional processes were thus influencing the filtering of species from the regional species pool into local communities. In addition, the age of the communities influenced species filtering, indicating that community assembly and the importance of different filters in that process change over succession.
|
|
| 5. |
- Plue, Jan, et al.
(författare)
-
European soil seed bank communities across a climate and land-cover gradient
- 2020
-
Annan publikationabstract
- This is the data set used for the publication Buffering effects of soil seed banks on plant community composition in response to land use and climate, published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.Aim.Climate and land use are key determinants of biodiversity, with past and ongoing changes posing serious threats to global ecosystems. Unlike most other organism groups, plant species can possess dormant life-history stages such as soil seed banks, which may help plant communities to resist or at least postpone the detrimental impact of global changes. This study investigates the potential for soil seed banks to achieve this.Location. EuropeTime period. 1978 – 2014Major taxa studied. Flowering plantsMethods.Using a space-for-time/warming approach, we study plant species richness and composition in the herb layer and the soil seed bank in 2796 community plots from 54 datasets in managed grasslands, forests and intermediate, successional habitats across a climate gradient.Results.Soil seed banks held more species than the herb layer, being compositionally similar across habitats. Species richness was lower in forests and successional habitats compared to grasslands, with annual temperature range more important than mean annual temperature for determining richness. Climate and land use effects were generally less pronounced when plant community richness included seed bank species richness, while there was no clear effect of land use and climate on compositional similarity between the seed bank and the herb layer.Main conclusions.High seed bank diversity and compositional similarity between the herb layer and seed bank plant communities may provide a potentially important functional buffer against the impact of ongoing environmental changes on plant communities. This capacity could, however, be threatened by climate warming. Dormant life-history stages can therefore be important sources of diversity in changing environments, potentially underpinning already observed time-lags in plant community responses to global change. However, as soil seed banks themselves appear, albeit less, vulnerable to the same changes, their potential to buffer change can only be temporary, and major community shifts may still be expected.MethodsThis dataset is a collection of 41 published and 5 unpublished data sets, consisting of 2796 plots with corresponding seed bank and herb layer community data. Sampling effort varied across data sets, but involved sampling of the soil and subsequent germination trials in a greenhouse to determine seed bank composition. Herb layer communities were determined by the identification of plants in relevés. Please consult the readme file and published paper for further details.Usage NotesPlease contact database or individual data set authors for further information and collaboration when using the data set or any of its component parts. Please also note that some of these data sets have already been published alongside their orginal papers. Finally, please cite data and datasets according to community standards.
|
|
