Article
Ecology
Kristy Udy, Matthias Fritsch, Katrin M. Meyer, Ingo Grass, Sebastian Hanss, Florian Hartig, Thomas Kneib, Holger Kreft, Collins B. Kukunda, Guy Pe'er, Hannah Reininghaus, Britta Tietjen, Teja Tscharntke, Clara-Sophie van Waveren, Kerstin Wiegand
Summary: This study found that environmental heterogeneity explains species richness better than area for predicting native mammal species richness worldwide and within biogeographical regions, suggesting that niche-related processes are more prevalent at broad scales.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Peter B. Reich, Javier G. P. Gamarra, Tom Crowther, Cang Hui, Albert Morera, Jean-Francois Bastin, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Jens-Christian Svenning, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Cory Merow, Brian Enquist, Maria Kamenetsky, Junho Lee, Jun Zhu, Jinyun Fang, Douglass F. Jacobs, Bryan Pijanowski, Arindam Banerjee, Robert A. Giaquinto, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Valerio Avitabile, Gerardo A. Aymard, Radomir Balazy, Chris Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Meredith L. Bastian, Philippe Birnbaum, Robert Bitariho, Jan Bogaert, Frans Bongers, Olivier Bouriaud, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Eben North Broadbent, Filippo Bussotti, Wendeson Castro da Silva, Ricardo Gomes Cesar, Goran Cesljar, Victor Chama Moscoso, Han Y. H. Chen, Emil Cienciala, Connie J. Clark, David A. Coomes, Selvadurai Dayanandan, Mathieu Decuyper, Laura E. Dee, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel, Geraldine Derroire, Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo, Tran Van Do, Jiri Dolezal, Ilija D. Dordevic, Julien Engel, Tom M. Fayle, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jonas K. Fridman, David J. Harris, Andreas Hemp, Geerten Hengeveld, Bruno Herault, Martin Herold, Thomas Ibanez, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vivian Kvist Johannsen, Tommaso Jucker, Ahto Kangur, Victor N. Karminov, Kuswata Kartawinata, Deborah K. Kennard, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Gunnar Keppel, Mohammed Latif Khan, Pramod Kumar Khare, Timothy J. Kileen, Hyun Seok Kim, Henn Korjus, Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Diana Laarmann, Nicolas Labriere, Mait Lang, Simon L. Lewis, Natalia Lukina, Brian S. Maitner, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew R. Marshall, Olga V. Martynenko, Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza, Petr V. Ontikov, Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alain Paquette, Minjee Park, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Pablo Luis Peri, Pascal Petronelli, Sebastian Pfautsch, Oliver L. Phillips, Nicolas Picard, Daniel Piotto, Lourens Poorter, John R. Poulsen, Hans Pretzsch, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Mirco Rodeghiero, Rocio Del Pilar Rojas Gonzales, Samir G. Rolim, Francesco Rovero, Ervan Rutishauser, Purabi Saikia, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Vladimir Seben, Marcos Silveira, Ferry Slik, Bonaventure Sonke, Alexandre F. Souza, Krzysztof Jan Sterenczak, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, Nadja Tchebakova, John Terborgh, Elena Tikhonova, Armando Torres-Lezama, Fons van der Plas, Rodolfo Vasquez, Helder Viana, Alexander C. Vibrans, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent A. Vos, Hua-Feng Wang, Bertil Westerlund, Lee J. T. White, Susan K. Wiser, Tomasz Zawila-Niedzwiecki, Lise Zemagho, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Irie C. Zo-Bi, Jingjing Liang
Summary: One of the fundamental questions in ecology is how many species exist on Earth. This study estimated the total number of tree species globally, using global crowdsourced data. The findings suggest that there are approximately 73,000 tree species globally, with around 9,000 species yet to be discovered. These results highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to human-induced changes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Robin J. Pakeman, David O'Brien, David Genney, Rob W. Brooker
Summary: Attributing biodiversity trends to individual drivers is crucial for conservation and restoration strategies. In Scotland, trends in bryophyte and lichen species were linked to specific drivers, such as temperature change, nitrogen pollution, and land use intensity. Positive trends were observed in bryophyte species from heathlands and woodlands, while lichen species from these habitats showed negative trends. Furthermore, drier habitats and locations tended to have more positive trends, while wetter habitats tended to have negative trends.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Keaghan J. Yaxley, Alexander Skeels, Robert A. Foley
Summary: The relationship between phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity varies across environmental gradients such as latitude and is influenced by ecological phenomena such as migration. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using phylogenetic diversity as a proxy for functional diversity, and empirical observations should be evaluated against biogeographically constrained and ecologically informed null models.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Akira S. Mori, Forest Isbell, Marc W. Cadotte
Summary: Biodiversity changes can have serious consequences for ecosystem functionality. This study introduces different methods to assess the relationship between diversity and multifunctionality, focusing on redundancy/uniqueness and the influence of the number and identity of functions. The results highlight the importance of retaining high levels of diversity in managed assemblages and emphasize the need to unravel the hierarchical roles of biodiversity. Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and multifunctionality is crucial for both theory and practice.
Article
Forestry
Lisa Petersson, Staffan Nilsson, Emma Holmstrom, Matts Lindbladh, Adam Felton
Summary: This study compared the species richness, cover, and community composition of bryophytes and lichens in Scots pine and Norway spruce dominated forests. The results showed higher cover and species richness of lichens in Scots pine stands, while bryophyte species richness was higher in Norway spruce stands. Canopy cover and light transmission to the forest floor were identified as important drivers for the differences in forest floor communities between the two tree species.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Alessandro Chiarucci, Riccardo Guarino, Salvatore Pasta, Alfonso La Rosa, Pietro Lo Cascio, Frederic Medail, Daniel Pavon, Jose Maria Fernandez-Palacios, Piero Zannini
Summary: This study confirms that the plant species richness in the Aeolian Archipelago follows typical Island Species-Area Relationship (ISAR), shows no peculiarities compared to land bridge archipelagos, and has somewhat unclear signal for the small-island effect.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Sophia I. Passy, Joseph L. Mruzek, William R. Budnick, Thibault Leboucher, Aurelien Jamoneau, Jonathan M. Chase, Janne Soininen, Eric R. Sokol, Juliette Tison-Rosebery, Annika Vilmi, Jianjun Wang, Chad A. Larson
Summary: This study is the first spatially explicit examination of the species-area relationship (SAR) in subcontinental freshwater ecosystems, focusing on the shape and origins of the SAR across different organismal groups (diatoms, insects, and fish) with varying body size and dispersal capacity. The results show that scale and species group are the most important predictors of the SAR shape, while climatic factors and metacommunity properties are secondary predictors. Different models are applicable to different organismal groups, scales, and metacommunity properties. Therefore, future research should investigate how climate change affects metacommunity properties and alters the SAR.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marco Tulio P. Coelho, Elisa Barreto, Thiago F. Rangel, Jose Alexandre F. Diniz-Filho, Rafael O. Wuest, Wilhelmine Bach, Alexander Skeels, Ian R. McFadden, David W. Roberts, Loic Pellissier, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Catherine H. Graham
Summary: This study reveals that the size and fragmentation of climate conditions play a crucial role in biodiversity and species turnover among terrestrial tetrapods. By considering both climate characteristics and its geographic attributes, we can explain almost 90% of global species richness variation, with half of the explanatory power attributed to climate or the geography of climate.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ewa Stefanska-Krzaczek, Grzegorz Swacha, Jan Zarnowiec, Malgorzata W. Radula, Zygmunt Kacki, Monika Staniaszek-Kik
Summary: Bryophytes are good indicators of habitat conditions and their diversity and distribution in Central European forests were assessed in this study using vegetation records from the Polish Vegetation Database. The study found that bryophyte species number and cover were high in moist forest types with both deciduous and coniferous tree stands, and their composition and abundance depended on substrate moisture, fertility, pH, and tree species composition.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Veronica Sebald, Andrea Goss, Elisabeth Ramm, Julia V. Gerasimova, Silke Werth
Summary: Lichens play an important role as bioindicators of air pollution in cities. This study investigated the diversity of epiphytic lichens in Munich, Germany, and found that the species composition of lichen communities was mainly influenced by NO2 pollution levels. The results highlight the ongoing threat of NO2 air pollution to lichen diversity and emphasize the importance of large urban green spaces in promoting biodiversity.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Juan A. Encina-Dominguez, Eduardo Estrada-Castillon, Miguel Mellado, Cristina Gonzalez-Montelongo, Jose Ramon Arevalo
Summary: "Disturbances in the pine forests of Mexico, primarily caused by cattle, horses, goat, and sheep grazing, have resulted in low tree recruitment, establishment of invasive shrubs, changes in species composition, and invasion of weeds primarily spread by livestock. This study compared a grazing-excluded pine forest stand with a nearby area subjected to livestock grazing in the Sierra de Zapaliname natural protected area in northeast Mexico. The results showed that grazing has altered the understory species composition and reduced evenness in the control plots. To maintain species diversity and forest structure, it is recommended to restrict extensive grazing or reduce the number of animals in areas of high ecological value."
Article
Ecology
Leo Ohyama, Robert D. Holt, Thomas J. Matthews, Andrea Lucky
Summary: This study focused on the species-area relationship (SAR) of ants, using data from insular ant communities to examine the effects of climate, biogeographic realms, and latitude on SAR slope values. The study found differences in SAR slopes and intercept values between mainland and insular systems, with evidence of thresholds in the global insular SAR. The general slope coefficient for insular systems was observed to be lower than in previous studies, highlighting the need for further research on the influences of climate and biogeographic realms on ant SAR.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Eden W. Tekwa, Matthew A. Whalen, Patrick T. Martone, Mary I. O'Connor
Summary: Species richness is a crucial indicator of ecosystem states and dynamics, but limited sampling effort and spatial aggregation of organisms hinder accurate observation of every species. In this study, we propose a non-parametric, asymptotic, and bias-minimized estimator called omega, which accounts for spatial abundance characteristics. Our simulation tests and real surveys demonstrate that omega consistently outperforms other estimators in balancing bias, precision, and difference detection accuracy. An R-package, Richness, is developed to facilitate the implementation of our proposed estimators. Our findings shed light on the impact of natural and observer-induced variations on species observation, and emphasize the importance of further improving biodiversity assessments.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yanyu Wang, Wenqiang Wu, Hancheng Guo, Qianqian Chen, Hanyi Xu, Tieli Xie, Zhou Shi
Summary: Understanding past and present biodiversity patterns in China is crucial for development planning and biodiversity management. Satellite data analysis, specifically the Dynamic Habitat Indices (DHIs) using MODIS input, can effectively characterize the spatial distribution of species and support biodiversity conservation efforts. This study evaluated different surrogates for annual species richness in China and analyzed the trends and triggers of DHI variation from 2003 to 2018. The results showed that DHI Cum and DHI Min had strong explanatory power for estimating species richness, while DHI Var performed poorly. The best-performing individual DHI was GPP-DHI Cum. Trend analysis revealed a decrease in habitat appropriateness for species in areas with high suitability over time, while there was an increase in habitat appropriateness in areas with low suitability. The correlation factors for biodiversity variation varied spatially, with factors such as solar radiation, temperature, precipitation, and human activities influencing biodiversity changes differently in different regions. These findings contribute to a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics and can inform biodiversity conservation efforts and policy-making.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Fabrizio Buldrini, Giovanna Pezzi, Martina Barbero, Alessandro Alessandrini, Lucia Amadei, Sebastiano Andreatta, Nicola Maria Giuseppe Ardenghi, Stefano Armiraglio, Simonetta Bagella, Rossano Bolpagni, Ilaria Bonini, Daniela Bouvet, Lisa Brancaleoni, Giuseppe Brundu, Massimo Buccheri, Gabriella Buffa, Simona Ceschin, Alessandro Chiarucci, Annalena Cogoni, Gianniantonio Domina, Luigi Forte, Riccardo Guarino, Leonardo Gubellini, Laura Guglielmone, Nicole Hofmann, Mauro Iberite, Lorenzo Lastrucci, Fernando Lucchese, Rossella Marcucci, Giacomo Mei, Umberto Mossetti, Juri Nascimbene, Nicodemo Giuseppe Passalacqua, Simonetta Peccenini, Filippo Prosser, Giovanni Repetto, Gabriele Rinaldi, Enrico Romani, Leonardo Rosati, Annalisa Santangelo, Anna Scoppola, Giovanni Spampinato, Adriano Stinca, Maria Tavano, Fulvio Tomsich Caruso, Roberta Vangelisti, Roberto Venanzoni, Marisa Vidali, Thomas Wilhalm, Francesco Zonca, Carla Lambertini
Summary: We analysed the invasion history of two North American macrophytes (Elodea canadensis and E. nuttallii) in Italy, through an accurate census of all available herbarium and field records, dating between 1850 and 2019, and a rich literature collection describing the initial introduction and naturalisation phase that supports the results obtained by the occurrence records. The study found that both species had multiple invasion phases, with Elodea canadensis arriving before 1866 and experiencing two invasion phases, while E. nuttallii arrived in the 1970s and is still ongoing. Botanical gardens and fish farming played a crucial role in the dispersal and naturalisation of both species. The study also highlighted the importance of the River Po as a dispersal barrier and strategic monitoring site to prevent further invasion.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Gabriele Midolo, Tomas Herben, Irena Axmanova, Corrado Marceno, Ricarda Patsch, Helge Bruelheide, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Svetlana Acic, Ariel Bergamini, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Michele De Sanctis, Olga Demina, Jurgen Dengler, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Emmanuel Garbolino, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Friedemann Goral, Behlul Guler, Guillermo Hinojos-Mendoza, Florian Jansen, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Aaron Perez-Haase, Remigiusz Pielech, Vadim Prokhorov, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Eszter Ruprecht, Solvita Rusina, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Zvjezdana Stancic, Irina Tatarenko, Milan Chytry
Summary: This article presents a new dataset that identifies optimal positioning of European plant species along gradients of natural and anthropogenic disturbance. The dataset includes disturbance indicator values for 6382 vascular plant species. These indicator values are crucial for integrating disturbance niche optima into large-scale vegetation analyses and macroecological studies.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Izabela Jaszczuk, Wiktor Kotowski, Lukasz Kozub, Jurgen Kreyling, Ewa Jablonska
Summary: Nutrient availability affects the growth and chlorophyll content of brown mosses in calcareous fens. Brown mosses reach their maximum growth rates and chlorophyll contents at higher nutrient concentrations than those naturally occurring. Competition for light with vascular plants limits the occurrence of brown mosses in nutrient-rich habitats, preventing them from occupying their entire fundamental niche.
Article
Plant Sciences
Pascal Reutimann, Regula Billeter, Juergen Dengler
Summary: This study compared the influence of grazing and mowing on the diversity and species composition of wet grassland vegetation. The results showed that there was no significant difference in vascular plant diversity between these management regimes at the plot scale. Therefore, both grazing and mowing should be eligible for subsidies from a conservation perspective. At the landscape scale, it is beneficial to have both management types present to ensure high gamma-diversity.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nicola Alessi, Gianmaria Bonari, Piero Zannini, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Emiliano Agrillo, Fabio Attorre, Roberto Canullo, Laura Casella, Marco Cervellini, Stefano Chelli, Michele Di Musciano, Riccardo Guarino, Stefano Martellos, Marco Massimi, Roberto Venanzoni, Stefan Zerbe, Alessandro Chiarucci
Summary: Assessing the performance of different sampling approaches for documenting community diversity is important for conservation and monitoring planning. This study compared probabilistic and preferential sampling approaches for estimating plant diversity in Italian forests and found that a combination of both approaches is recommended for detecting multiple aspects of plant community diversity.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lubomir Tichy, Irena Axmanova, Juergen Dengler, Riccardo Guarino, Florian Jansen, Gabriele Midolo, Michael P. P. Nobis, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Svetlana Acic, Fabio Attorre, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Helge Bruelheide, Juan Antonio Campos, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Mirjana Cuk, Renata Custerevska, Yakiv Didukh, Daniel Dite, Zuzana Dite, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Eduardo Fernandez-Pascual, Emmanuel Garbolino, Rosario G. G. Gavilan, Jean-Claude Gegout, Ulrich Graf, Behlul Guler, Michal Hajek, Stephan M. M. Hennekens, Ute Jandt, Anni Jaskova, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Philippe Julve, Stephan Kambach, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Gerhard Karrer, Ali Kavgaci, Ilona Knollova, Anna Kuzemko, Filip Kuzmic, Flavia Landucci, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marceno, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Pavel Novak, Aaron Perez-Haase, Tomas Peterka, Remigiusz Pielech, Alessandro Pignatti, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Solvita Rusina, Arne Saatkamp, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Milan Chytry
Summary: This study aims to create a harmonized data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values applicable at the European scale by incorporating indicator values from other European regions. The researchers collected and compared data from 13 data sets and provided a new data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values for 8908 European vascular plant species.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Monika Janisova, Igor Bojko, Cosmin M. Ivascu, Anamaria Iuga, Alina-Sorina Biro, Martin Magnes
Summary: This review explores the knowledge on grazing hay meadows in the Carpathian Mountains, including its historical distribution, impacts on grassland productivity and biodiversity, and implications for grassland conservation and restoration. The research findings show that grazing hay meadows has positive impacts on grassland biodiversity and can be considered a promising tool in current conservation efforts.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Nichola A. Strandberg, Mary Edwards, Joanna C. Ellison, Manuel J. Steinbauer, Anna Walentowitz, Patricia L. Fall, David Sear, Peter Langdon, Shane Cronin, Alvaro Castilla-Beltran, Ian W. Croudace, Matiu Prebble, William D. Gosling, Sandra Nogue
Summary: In this study, we investigated how changing sea levels and recurrent volcanic eruptions have influenced vegetation dynamics in low-lying coastal areas in Tonga. We analyzed pollen, charcoal, and sediment characteristics from a sediment core to examine past vegetation and environmental change. We found that relative sea level change has impacted vegetation on three out of the four investigated islands, while volcanic eruptions were not identified as a driver of vegetation change.
Article
Ecology
Vanessa Cutts, Dagmar M. Hanz, Martha Paola Barajas-Barbosa, Franziska Schrodt, Manuel J. Steinbauer, Carl Beierkuhnlein, Pierre Denelle, Jose Maria Fernandez-Palacios, Pierre Gauzere, Matthias Grenie, Severin D. H. Irl, Nathan Kraft, Holger Kreft, Brian Maitner, Francois Munoz, Wilfried Thuiller, Cyrille Violle, Patrick Weigelt, Richard Field, Adam C. Algar
Summary: Current models of island biogeography treat endemic and non-endemic species as if they were functionally equivalent, focussing primarily on species richness. Thus, the functional composition of island biotas in relation to island biogeographical variables remains largely unknown.
Article
Ecology
Thore Engel, Helge Bruelheide, Daniela Hoss, Francesco M. Sabatini, Jan Altman, Mohammed A. S. Arfin-Khan, Erwin Bergmeier, Tomas Cerny, Milan Chytry, Matteo Dainese, Juergen Dengler, Jiri Dolezal, Richard Field, Felicia M. Fischer, Dries Huygens, Ute Jandt, Florian Jansen, Anke Jentsch, Dirk N. Karger, Jens Kattge, Jonathan Lenoir, Frederic Lens, Jaqueline Loos, Ulo Niinemets, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Wim A. Ozinga, Josep Penuelas, Gwendolyn Peyre, Oliver Phillips, Peter B. Reich, Christine Roemermann, Brody Sandel, Marco Schmidt, Franziska Schrodt, Eduardo Velez-Martin, Cyrille Violle, Valerio Pillar
Summary: This study evaluates the effects of dominance and niche partitioning on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships in grassland systems worldwide. The results indicate that dominance effects, related to the traits of the dominant species, have a significant impact on BEF relationships, while functional diversity (FD) does not affect primary productivity (NDVI).
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Giuliano Bonanomi, Mohamed Idbella, Adriano Stinca, Giulia Maisto, Anna De Marco, Gian Pietro Giusso Del Galdo, Riccardo Guarino, Maurizio Zotti
Summary: This study investigates the holistic effects of cushion-forming plants in alpine environments. The research finds that these plants act as ecosystem engineers, moderating microclimate and creating a fertility island. The facilitation effect of these plants also increases with elevation.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Balazs Deak, Adam Bede, Zoltan Radai, Iwona Dembicz, Iva Apostolova, Peter Batary, Robert Galle, Csaba Albert Toth, Jozsef Dozsai, Ivan I. Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wojcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Georgi Nekhrizov, Fedor N. Lisetskii, Zhanna A. Buryak, Szabolcs Kis, Sandor Borza, Laura Godo, Tatyana M. Bragina, Ilya Smelansky, Abel Molnar, Miklos Ban, Ferenc Bathori, Zoltan Argay, Janos Dani, Reka Kiss, Orsolya Valko
Summary: Ancient civilizations have shaped global ecosystems through the coevolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of these civilizations are often overlooked in the conservation of the Eurasian steppe biome. This study investigated how ancient burial mounds can contribute to grassland conservation in the Eurasian steppes. The results showed that these burial mounds played a significant role in preserving grasslands, particularly in transformed landscapes outside protected areas. The study suggests that considering cultural values in conservation efforts can lead to positive synergistic effects. Rating: 8/10.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Susanne Riedel, Stefan Widmer, Manuel Babbi, Serge Buholzer, Andreas Gruenig, Felix Herzog, Nina Richner, Juergen Dengler
Summary: Grasslands in Europe are important for species diversity but are threatened. This study presents the Historic Square Foot Dataset, which provides insights into grassland diversity and species composition over 100 years ago. The dataset is valuable for studying grassland biodiversity and productivity.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Luisa Conti, Enrique Valencia, Thomas Galland, Lars Gotzenberger, Jan Leps, Anna E-Vojtko, Carlos P. Carmona, Maria Majekova, Jiri Danihelka, Juergen Dengler, David J. Eldridge, Marc Estiarte, Ricardo Garcia-Gonzalez, Eric Garnier, Daniel Gomez, Vera Hadincova, Susan P. Harrison, Tomas Herben, Ricardo Ibanez, Anke Jentsch, Norbert Juergens, Miklos Kertesz, Katja Klumpp, Frantisek Krahulec, Frederique Louault, Rob H. Marrs, Gabor Onodi, Robin J. Pakeman, Meelis Partel, Begona Peco, Josep Penuelas, Marta Rueda, Wolfgang Schmidt, Ute Schmiedel, Martin Schuetz, Hana Skalova, Petr Smilauer, Marie Smilauerova, Christian Smit, MingHua Song, Martin Stock, James Val, Vigdis Vandvik, David Ward, Karsten Wesche, Susan K. Wiser, Ben A. Woodcock, Truman P. Young, Fei-Hai Yu, Martin Zobel, Francesco de Bello
Summary: Ecological theory suggests that the stability patterns in plant populations are influenced by their ecological strategies. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the specific traits underlying species stability across different biomes. In this study, we analyzed a worldwide collection of long-term vegetation records and found that leaf dry matter content and seed mass were associated with greater stability over time. Other traits also played a role, but to a lesser extent. Further research is needed to understand the role of other traits and intraspecific variability in species stability.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Riccardo Testolin, Fabio Attorre, Vanessa Bruzzaniti, Riccardo Guarino, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Michele Lussu, Stefano Martellos, Michele Di Musciano, Salvatore Pasta, Francesco Maria Sabatini, Francesco Santi, Piero Zannini, Alessandro Chiarucci
Summary: Small islands in the Mediterranean have a significant amount of biodiversity, but little is known about the distribution of plant species richness and the factors that influence it. This study used species-area models to identify hotspots of plant species richness on 54 Central Mediterranean islands. The results showed that island area and plot size were significant predictors of species richness, with larger islands and larger plots having higher richness. Climate factors also played a secondary role in determining species richness. This study provides valuable insights into the patterns and drivers of plant diversity on small islands and can inform conservation efforts.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
