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- Dengler, Juergen, et al.
(author)
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GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
- 2018
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In: Phytocoenologia. - : Schweizerbart. - 0340-269X. ; 48:3, s. 331-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board.
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- Prentice, Honor C, et al.
(author)
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Changes in allozyme frequencies in Festuca ovina populations after a 9-year nutrient/water experiment
- 2000
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In: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 88:2, s. 331-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1 The grass Festuca ovina is an important constituent of the species-rich 'alvar' grasslands on the Baltic island of Oland. Levels of allozyme polymorphism are high and variation is known to be correlated with habitat variation (soil moisture, pH and depth). 2 A 9-year field experiment on species diversity provided replicate plots (in three sites) that had been subjected to six different experimental treatments (control; N + P + K; P + K; N + K; K; water). 3 Samples of F. ovina were collected and analyses of deviance were used to investigate associations between allele frequencies, at each of four polymorphic loci, and the nutrient/water treatments. We also used the models to estimate predicted values for the alleles in different nutrient/water treatments and in interactions involving the nutrient/water treatments and additional explanatory variables (vegetation height and clipping). 4 There were significant allozyme frequency differences between samples of F. ovina from the six different nutrient/water treatments in the grassland experiment. Frequencies in the fertilized or watered plots had diverged from those in the control plots. There were also significant allele-habitat associations (after the removal of site effects), especially at the Pgi-2 locus. 5 Soil moisture was the only variable that was common to this study and an earlier study of variation in F. ovina in natural habitats. In natural populations, the Pgi-2-2 allele was significantly associated with soil moisture and was more common in dry habitats. Our findings that the frequency of the Pgi-2-2 allele was significantly affected by the nutrient/water treatments, and that it was rarest in the treatment that involved the addition of extra water, were therefore as predicted. 6 The study supports the conclusion, from an earlier study of populations in unmanipulated grassland habitats, that selection is contributing to the fine-scale patterning of genetic variation in the alvar populations of F. ovina.
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- Reitalu, Triin, et al.
(author)
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Determinants of fine-scale plant diversity in dry calcareous grasslands within the Baltic Sea region
- 2014
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In: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2305 .- 0167-8809. ; 182, s. 59-68
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We used an extensive dataset (1220 vegetation plots of 1 m(2)) to study vegetation gradients and fine-scale plant diversity in dry calcareous grasslands (including alvar grasslands) in the Baltic Sea region. The study area covers the entire European distributional range of alvar habitats: Sweden (Oland, Gotland, Gotaland), Estonia (Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, north Estonia, west Estonia), and western Russia (Izhora, lzborsk). Fine-scale plant diversity was characterized by species richness and standardized phylogenetic diversity (comparing the observed mean pairwise phylogenetic distance (MPD) with MPD values from random communities). Ordination techniques (DCA) were used to characterize the main vegetation gradient. Variables describing local environment, climate, the biogeographic composition of the plant communities, and geographic location were related to fine-scale species richness and phylogenetic diversity using variation partitioning techniques and linear mixed models. The main vegetation gradient in the dry calcareous grasslands in the Baltic Sea region had a strong geographic component, was associated with soil depth, species' stress- and disturbance-tolerance and the age of the grassland habitat. Fine-scale phylogenetic diversity and species richness were negatively associated suggesting that these two diversity components are influenced by different sets of environmental and historical parameters. Fine-scale species richness was unimodally associated with the main vegetation gradient, and the highest levels of species richness were found under intermediate environmental (disturbance, light conditions and temperature) conditions where there was a mixture of species from different biogeographic regions. In contrast to species richness, fine-scale phylogenetic diversity was negatively associated with the main vegetation gradient. The highest phylogenetic diversity was found in the extremely thin-soiled alvar grasslands in Gotaland and on the Baltic islands (especially on Oland) where the high phylogenetic diversity is likely to be a reflection of a long history of continuous openness that has allowed time for the "collection" of phylogenetically different species within these unique habitats. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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- Riibak, Kersti, et al.
(author)
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Dark diversity in dry calcareous grasslands is determined by dispersal ability and stress-tolerance
- 2015
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In: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 38:7, s. 713-721
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Temperate calcareous grasslands are characterized by high levels of species richness at small spatial scales. Nevertheless, many species from a habitat-specific regional species pool may be absent from local communities and represent the dark diversity' of these sites. Here we investigate dry calcareous grasslands in northern Europe to determine what proportion of the habitat-specific species pool is realized at small scales (i.e. how the community completeness varies) and which mechanisms may be contributing to the relative sizes of the observed and dark diversity. We test whether the absence of particular species in potentially suitable grassland sites is a consequence of dispersal limitation and/or a low ability to tolerate stress (e.g. drought and grazing). We analysed a total of 1223 vegetation plots (1 x 1 m) from dry calcareous grasslands in Sweden, Estonia and western Russia. The species co-occurrence approach was used to estimate the dark diversity for each plot. We calculated the maximum dispersal distance for each of the 291 species in our dataset by using simple plant traits (dispersal syndrome, growth form and seed characteristics). Large seed size was used as proxy for small seed number; tall plant height and low S-strategy type scores were used to characterise low stress-tolerance. Levels of small-scale community completeness were relatively low (more species were absent than present) and varied between the grasslands in different geographic areas. Species in the dark diversity were generally characterized by shorter dispersal distances and greater seed weight (fewer seeds) than species in the observed diversity. Species within the dark diversity were generally taller and had a lower tolerance of stressful conditions. We conclude that, even if temperate grasslands have high levels of small-scale plant diversity, the majority of potentially suitable species in the regional species pool may be absent as a result of dispersal limitation and low stress-tolerance.
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