Climate and landscape heterogeneity drive spatial pattern of endemic plant diversity within local hotspots in South-Eastern Alps

Tordoni, Enrico; Casolo, Valentino; Bacaro, Giovanni; Martini, F.; Rossi, Angélica; Boscutti, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2020.125512

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…These proportions support the view that peripheral species contribute significantly to the high species richness of biogeographical crossroads (Spector, 2002), and highlights the conservation value of mountains in sheltering marginal populations (Loidi et al, 2015;Tordoni et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Living at the limit in the Pyrenees: Peripheral and endemic plants are rare but underrepresented in protection lists

Pironon

Gómez

Font

et al. 2022

Diversity and Distributions

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Aim Mountains shelter high biological diversity and constitute both important barriers and confluence areas for species. They often contain species whose populations occur at their range limit (peripheral species), which according to the “Centre‐Periphery” hypothesis (CPH) are expected to occur in marginal environments, exhibit low abundance and consequently high vulnerability. Our study investigates this hypothesis for the flora of the Pyrenees, a biogeographical crossroads containing a large proportion of the total European plant diversity. Location Pyrenees. Methods We determined whether more than 2600 native plant species were endemic to the Pyrenees or found at the centre or periphery of their whole distribution range within the mountain chain. We then compared the ecological preferences, local and regional abundance, and conservation status among central, peripheral and endemic species. Results A quarter of the flora was found at its geographic range limit within the Pyrenees. Endemic and peripheral species were more likely to be soil specialists in alpine grasslands and rocks, and exhibited smaller regional ranges than central species, but their local abundance did not tend to differ. Peripheral species at their southern range edge were more widespread regionally than at their northern range edge. Peripheral taxa were more prevalent in the Pyrenean red list of threatened species (55%) compared to national and regional protection lists (40% and 31%, respectively). Main conclusions Peripheral species contribute substantially to the diversity of the Pyrenean flora. They follow the predictions of the CPH given their occurrence in scarce habitats, their low regional abundance and their high vulnerability according to the Pyrenean red list, although they tend to show similar local abundances as other species and are infrequent in protection lists. Integrative and cross‐border assessments of the ecology and rarity of mountain floras provide better estimates of their vulnerability and ensure more efficient prioritization of their conservation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Living at the limit in the Pyrenees: Peripheral and endemic plants are rare but underrepresented in protection lists

Pironon

Gómez

Font

et al. 2022

Diversity and Distributions

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“…It was proposed by the general climate-based hypotheses of plant richness distribution, which theory is based on water-energy dynamics 51 , 52 . Exotic species were limited in more humid (large mean rainfall) and cold areas, which refer to the alpine and mountain areas 40 , whereas native species were favoured by larger mean rainfall, as proved also for richness of endemic species 53 . Exotic species were found to be related to intermediate precipitation regimes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Agricultural land use curbs exotic invasion but sustains native plant diversity at intermediate levels

Pellegrini

Buccheri²,

Martini³

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Unveiling the processes driving exotic plant invasion represent a central issue in taking decisions aimed at constraining the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services. The invasion success is often linked to anthropogenic land uses and warming due to climate change. We studied the responses of native versus casual and naturalised exotic species richness to land uses and climate at the landscape level, relying on a large floristic survey undertaken in North - Eastern Italy. Both climate and land use drove exotic species richness. Our results suggest that the success of plant invasion at this scale is mainly due to warm climatic conditions and the extent of urban and agricultural land, but with different effects on casual and naturalized exotic species. The occurrence of non-linear trends showed that a small percentage of extensive agricultural land in the landscape may concurrently reduce the number of exotic plant while sustaining native plant diversity. Plant invasion could be potentially limited by land management, mainly focusing on areas with extensive agricultural land use. A more consciousness land management is more and more commonly required by local administrations. According to our results, a shift of intensive to extensive agricultural land, by implementing green infrastructures, seems to be a win–win solution favouring native species while controlling the oversimplification of the flora due to plant invasion.

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“…Bedrock is mainly Paleozoic metamorphic siliceous sand‐ and mudstone (Venturini 2006). The area is in the central area of South‐Eastern Alps, which are recognized for their richness in plant diversity and endemism, favoured by the high climatic and landscape heterogeneity (Tordoni et al 2020). The study was conducted in dwarf shrub communities ( Rhododendro‐Vaccinion ) (Mucina et al 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant growth shapes the effects of elevation on the content and variability of flavonoids in subalpine bilberry stands

et al. 2020

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The study of morphological and physiological responses of shrubs to climate is crucial for the understanding of future scenarios regarding climate change. In this light, studying shrub growth and physiological acclimation along an elevation gradient might be insightful. The phenolic metabolic pathway represents a powerful tool to interpret such processes. In the South‐Eastern Alps, we investigated the relationships between elevation, plant traits (i.e. age, xylem ring width, annual shoot length), plant–plant interaction (i.e. shrub cover) and flavonoids in Vaccinium myrtillus L. (leaves, berries) in stands above the treeline. The relationships were parsed within causal networks using a confirmatory path analysis. Elevation was the main driver of V. myrtillus growth, having both direct and indirect effects on the leaf flavonoid content, but this was less evident for berries. In particular, the content of foliar flavonoids showed a peak at mid‐elevation and where the growth of xylem rings was intermediate, while it decreased in stands with higher shoot length. Flavonoid content variability of both leaves and berries was affected by elevation and shoot length. In berries, flavonoid variability was further related to all growth traits and shrub cover. These findings evidence that flavonoid content is influenced by both elevation and growth traits of V. myrtillus, often showing non‐linear relationships. These results suggest a trait‐mediated response of this plant to climate conditions as a result of trade‐offs between plant growth, plant defence, environmental stress and nutrient/resource availability.

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Climate and landscape heterogeneity drive spatial pattern of endemic plant diversity within local hotspots in South-Eastern Alps

Cited by 21 publications

References 69 publications

Living at the limit in the Pyrenees: Peripheral and endemic plants are rare but underrepresented in protection lists

Living at the limit in the Pyrenees: Peripheral and endemic plants are rare but underrepresented in protection lists

Agricultural land use curbs exotic invasion but sustains native plant diversity at intermediate levels

Plant growth shapes the effects of elevation on the content and variability of flavonoids in subalpine bilberry stands

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