Biogeographic variability of coastal perennial grasslands at the European scale

Vecchio, Silvia Del; Fantinato, Edy; Janssen, John; Bioret, Frédéric; Acosta, Alicia Teresa Rosario; Prisco, Irene; Tzonev, Rossen; Marcenò, Corrado; Rodwell, J. S.; Buffa, Gabriella

doi:10.1111/avsc.12356

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The contribution of the single species characterizing each habitat was concordant in the two datasets (Table S2 and Figure S2 of supplementary material). regional/local scale, as in our case study, communities of fixed dunes also have similar floristic compositions [47,51]. This confirms that in habitats with strong environmental gradients, local variability is more important in shaping communities than larger scale variability.…”

Section: Effect Of Sampling Size Reductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

et al. 2020

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A robust survey method that samples the main characteristics of plant assemblages is needed to assess the conservation status of European habitat in the Natura 2000 network. A measure of variability, called pseudo-multivariate dissimilarity-based standard error (MultSE), was recently proposed for assessing sample-size adequacy in ecological communities. Here, we used it on coastal sand dune systems in three Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Tuscany. Our aim was to assess the minimum number of replicates necessary to adequately characterize sand dune environments in terms of differences between habitats and SACs, after a preliminary baseline assessment of plant diversity. Analysis of α and β diversity indicated that especially between habitats the three SACs protect different plant communities. The study of the MultSE profiles showed that the minimum number of replicates needed to assess differences among habitats varied between 10 and 25 plots. Two-way PERMANOVA and SIMPER analysis on the full and reduced datasets confirmed that SACs and habitats host different plant communities, and that the contribution of the target species remained unchanged even with a reduced sample size. The proposed methodological approach can be used to develop cost-effective monitoring programs and it can be useful for plant ecologists and biodiversity managers for assessing ecosystem health and changes.

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Section: Effect Of Sampling Size Reductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

et al. 2020

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“…Comparing the representativeness of the macro-categories, it appears that the "Coastal" habitats are the less represented in Italy in relation to the European variety. This is possibly due to a predefined rigid geographical classification of the TFH types, based on the distribution of the main European seas (Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, Atlantic coasts) which neglected a number of actual floristic and biogeographic differentiations (see, e.g., Agır et al 2014;Del Vecchio et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussion Criticalities and Future Perspectives: Toward Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The habitat typology was developed ad hoc for the EU-RLH project, based on the EUNIS classification (EUropean Nature Information System, Davies et al 2004;EUNIS 2007) at level 3, considered as the most appropriate framework for the assessment of terrestrial and freshwater habitats at the European level, updated and partly rearranged based on the most recent scientific advances in vegetation science (Janssen et al 2016). The EU-RLH typology strongly contributed to the ongoing revision of the EUNIS classification (EEA 2015;Schaminée et al 2012Schaminée et al , 2013Schaminée et al , 2014Schaminée et al , 2015.…”

Section: Overview and Methodological Benchmarks: The European Red Lismentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat conservation in Italy: the state of the art in the light of the first European Red List of Terrestrial and Freshwater Habitats

Gigante

Acosta²,

Agrillo

et al. 2018

Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei

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The importance of taking into account ecosystems, plant communities and habitats for the development of biodiversity conservation strategies is increasingly acknowledged. Recently, the first ever European Red List of Habitats was produced, which provided an evaluation of the extinction risk of EUNIS-based natural and semi-natural habitats in Europe. As assessment unit, it used the habitat intended as a plant community, thus representing a landmark for the role of vegetation science in nature conservation. In the present paper, the results of the European Red List of Habitats are analyzed at the national scale with specific reference to the terrestrial and freshwater habitat types occurring in Italy. More than three-quarters of the assessed European habitat types were recognized for the Italian territory. The distribution of the threat categories reflects approximately the situation at the EU28 level. About 35% of the assessed habitat types are referred to a threat category; no critically endangered habitat is present in Italy. The most frequently used criteria are those related to a reduction in quantity. Some critical issues arising from the analyses are discussed. In particular, the presence of knowledge gaps is pointed out, with remarkable reference to the poor availability of spatial and quantitative data, severely affecting the application of the criteria adopted for the assessment. Descriptions of habitat types from Italy are reported, some of which are representative, emblematic or even exclusive to the Italian territory. The outcomes of the analysis represent the starting point for the future development of a national-scale Red List of Habitats. Results also emphasized how habitat types with a too broad definition pose a limit to a proper evaluation of the regional biogeographic variability, often very high in Italy, with local floristic and phytocoenotic peculiarities which do not find room in the adopted European typology. This is the reason why the development of national subtypes stands as a necessary step for the development of a realistic and effective assessment at the national scale.

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“…Other studies also confirm the hypothesis that the coastal dune vegetation is exposed to local climate influence which has significant effects on both floristic composition and plant community structure. As a result, the coastal phytocoenoses are particularly prone to the effect of possible climate change which may change species composition and distribution as well as disturb the native plant communities' development (Del Vecchio et al, 2018). That is why research on this vegetation type is highly relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Syntaxonomy and ecological differentiation of the pioneer vegetation of Ukraine. 1. Classes: Cakiletea maritimae, Ammophiletea, Crithmo-Staticetea, Crypsietea aculeatae, Therosalicornietea

et al. 2020

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Pioneer plant communities grow on newly-formed ecotopes of coastal and partially continental areas, on patches that have dried after the surface water flooding. They are affected by sea tides, wind-induced effect, salinity, denudation, accumulation and sharp changes in soil humidity. To these factors are added chemical and biological pollution, as well as anthropogenic pressure. Due to these reasons, such plant communities have a specific floristic composition, structure, functional regime and resilience mechanisms, which are different from coenoses of more stable habitats. On the basis of the analysis of more than 600 phytosociological relevés using TWINSPAN modified algorithm the current state of littoral and halophytic classes of pioneer vegetation in Ukraine has been established and their syntaxonomic structure identified. It has been determined that the level of pioneer phytocoenoses diversity in Ukraine is similar to that of Central Europe. The Cakiletea maritimae class is presented by 1 order, 1 alliance, and 4 associations; Ammophiletea – by 1 order, 1 alliance, and 8 associations; Crithmo-Staticetea – by 1 order, 2 alliances, and 3 associations; Crypsietea aculeatae – by 1 order, 3 alliances, and 4 associations, Therosalicornietea – by 1 order, 2 alliances, and 10 associations. Synoptic tables of vegetation classes are given and nine alliances are briefly characterized. Using DCA-ordination analysis of syntaxa in the association-rank level we identified that the main factors of ecological differentiation are soil humidity and aeration as well as the nitrogen content. For the pioneer plant communities, other significant impact factors are the extremality of environmental conditions, their unevenness and non-equilibrium, in particular, the mechanical action of the sea waves, the dynamic processes of denudation and accumulation, salinity, as well as the variability of damping during the year. This research contributes to the identification of the place of the distinguished syntaxa of Ukrainian pioneer vegetation in the European system.

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Biogeographic variability of coastal perennial grasslands at the European scale

Cited by 32 publications

References 57 publications

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

Enough Is Enough? Searching for the Optimal Sample Size to Monitor European Habitats: A Case Study from Coastal Sand Dunes

Habitat conservation in Italy: the state of the art in the light of the first European Red List of Terrestrial and Freshwater Habitats

Syntaxonomy and ecological differentiation of the pioneer vegetation of Ukraine. 1. Classes: Cakiletea maritimae, Ammophiletea, Crithmo-Staticetea, Crypsietea aculeatae, Therosalicornietea

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