Does habitat restoration enhance spring biodiversity and ecosystem functions?

Lehosmaa, Kaisa; Jyväsjärvi, Jussi; Virtanen, Risto; Rossi, Pekka M.; Rados, Dimitrios; Chuzhekova, Tatiana; Markkola, Annamari; Ilmonen, Jari; Muotka, Timo

doi:10.1007/s10750-016-2760-4

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Therefore, despite the constant cold temperature and the marked oligotrophic status of Vera Spring, leaf litter breakdown was faster than that of other warmer and nutrient enriched freshwater habitats. In accordance with our results, Lehosmaa et al (2017) found that detritus breakdown of Alnus incana leaves in Finnish cold springs (temperature range 2.7–7.0 °C) was twofold higher than that of a mountain stream in southern Poland (Galas, 1995), while no substantial differences were found in the breakdown rate of American elm leaves between cold springs and first/second order streams in North America (Gazzera, Cummins & Salmoiraghi, 1991; Sangiorgio et al, 2010). Furthermore, Benstead & Huryn (2011) demonstrated that the breakdown rate of Salix alaxensis leaves in an Alaska cold spring (temperature range 3.7–7.8 °C) was similar to that found in streams at lower latitudes with temperature of about 26 °C.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Data on the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in affecting plant litter decomposition are also essential to predict impacts of climate warming on freshwater ecosystem functioning and global carbon fluxes (Boyero et al, 2011, 2014, 2016; Jyväsjärvi et al, 2015; Follstad Shah et al, 2017). However, compared to other freshwater habitats, data on leaf-litter breakdown in spring/springbrook habitats are still scarce and fragmentary (Bartodziej & Perry, 1990; Robinson & Gessner, 2000; Sangiorgio et al, 2010; Benstead & Huryn, 2011; Lehosmaa et al, 2017), mostly because of the lack of standardized methodologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A modification of the leaf-bags method to assess spring ecosystem functioning: benthic invertebrates and leaf-litter breakdown in Vera Spring (Central Italy)

Cristiano

Cicolani

Miccoli

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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The evaluation of leaf detritus processing (decomposition and breakdown) is one of the most simple and cost-effective method to assess the functional characteristics of freshwater ecosystems. However, in comparison with other freshwater habitats, information on leaf litter breakdown in spring ecosystems is still scarce and fragmentary. In this paper, we present results of the first application of a variant of the leaf-bags method to assess structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages and leaf-litter breakdown in a Central Apennines (Italy) cold spring which was investigated from July 2016 to October 2016. Notwithstanding the stable conditions of almost all hydrological and physico-chemical parameters, we found significant temporal differences in (i) % of mass loss of poplar leaves (ii) number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa, (iii) shredder and predator densities. We demonstrate that detritus processing in cold springs may be faster than or as fast as in warmer streams/rivers. Shredders activity and biocoenotic interactions, rather than temperature and nutrients load, were the main drivers of the process. A routine application of the modified leaf-bags may contribute to expand our knowledge on detritus processing in cold springs and may help to predict impacts of climate warming on freshwater ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modification of the leaf-bags method to assess spring ecosystem functioning: benthic invertebrates and leaf-litter breakdown in Vera Spring (Central Italy)

Cristiano

Cicolani

Miccoli

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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“…Springs with a distinct pool at the springhead and an outflowing streamlet are classified as limno-rheocrenes. They are frequent only in specific geographic areas (e.g., Finland; Lehosmaa et al 2017), and in many cases this special morphology has been accentuated by human alterations such as digging of the pool and/or damming of the outlet. The spring studied belongs to this ecomorphological category, and U. flexuosa subsp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…very limited fluctuations of physical and chemical characteristics) (Cantonati et al 2006(Cantonati et al , 2012. Spring habitats are also valuable hotspots for biodiversity conservation (e.g., Nowicka-Krawczyk & Żelazna-Wieczorek 2016;Lehosmaa et al 2017), and refugia for rare and threatened biota (e.g., Bravakos et al 2016;Saber et al 2017). However, they are highly menaced by diverse human impacts, the most important being over-exploitation of the water they discharge (Powell et al 2015;Powell & Fensham 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyphasic approach to a characteristic Ulva population from a limno-rheocrenic, mineral (chloride, sodium, sulphate) spring in the Siwa Oasis (Western Desert of Egypt)

Saber¹,

Mareš²,

Guella³

et al. 2018

Fottea

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An interesting population of ulvacean green algae was collected from a limno-rheocrenic, thermal, mineral (chloride, sodium, sulphate) spring known as "Ain Abu Sherouf" in the Siwa Oasis, the Western Desert of Egypt. A detailed combined investigation on its morphotaxonomy, autecology, and a multilocus sequence data set including the chloroplast-encoded rbcL gene and the nuclear-encoded nrDNA SSU and ITS allowed us to identify this population as Ulva flexuosa subsp. paradoxa (syn. Ulva paradoxa, Ulvales, Chlorophyta), although the algal thalli were in average narrower than usual in this taxon. Analysis of the molecular rbcL-ITS sequencing data demonstrated a close phylogenetic relationship of the studied population to two Ulva isolates from Japan and China and their taxonomic status was further discussed. The pigment profiling confirmed chlorophylls and carotenoids typical of the Ulvaceae (lutein, α/β-carotenes, violaxanthin, and neoxanthin). Lipidomic analysis revealed the presence of the monogalactosyl diacylglycerols (MGDG), digalactosyl diacylglycerols (DGDG), sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerols (SQDG), and diacylglyceryl N,N,N-trimethylhomoserine (DGTS) lipid classes. Presence of the plasma membrane DGTS lipids in remarkable proportion might be an adaptation to this nutrient-poor mineral spring habitat, with relatively low phosphorus values. The lower unsaturation index (UI) values of the plastidial DGDG and SQDG lipids are likely to reflect the need to maintain adequate membrane fluidity in this thermal mineral spring system. This polyphasic study not only extended our little knowledge on the distribution, autecology, and adaptive mechanisms of U. flexuosa subsp. paradoxa in the Saharan habitats of Africa, but also reassessed and refined the taxonomic and phylogenetic affiliation of previously sampled close relatives from East Asia.

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“…Similar to most other small water bodies, springs are threatened by a multitude of anthropogenic activities. Chemical contamination impairs groundwater quality and land drainage alters groundwater hydrology, lowering the water table and reducing groundwater discharge into springs (Lehosmaa et al 2017). As the upmost headwater sites within river networks, springs are isolated aquatic islands in a terrestrial matrix and are not well connected to other similar habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying taxonomic and functional surrogates for spring biodiversity conservation

Jyväsjärvi

Virtanen

Ilmonen

et al. 2018

Conservation Biology

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Surrogate approaches are widely used to estimate overall taxonomic diversity for conservation planning. Surrogate taxa are frequently selected based on rarity or charisma, whereas selection through statistical modeling has been applied rarely. We used boosted-regression-tree models (BRT) fitted to biological data from 165 springs to identify bryophyte and invertebrate surrogates for taxonomic and functional diversity of boreal springs. We focused on these 2 groups because they are well known and abundant in most boreal springs. The best indicators of taxonomic versus functional diversity differed. The bryophyte Bryum weigelii and the chironomid larva Paratrichocladius skirwithensis best indicated taxonomic diversity, whereas the isopod Asellus aquaticus and the chironomid Macropelopia spp. were the best surrogates of functional diversity. In a scoring algorithm for priority-site selection, taxonomic surrogates performed only slightly better than random selection for all spring-dwelling taxa, but they were very effective in representing spring specialists, providing a distinct improvement over random solutions. However, the surrogates for taxonomic diversity represented functional diversity poorly and vice versa. When combined with cross-taxon complementarity analyses, surrogate selection based on statistical modeling provides a promising approach for identifying groundwater-dependent ecosystems of special conservation value, a key requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive.

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Does habitat restoration enhance spring biodiversity and ecosystem functions?

Cited by 29 publications

References 45 publications

A modification of the leaf-bags method to assess spring ecosystem functioning: benthic invertebrates and leaf-litter breakdown in Vera Spring (Central Italy)

A modification of the leaf-bags method to assess spring ecosystem functioning: benthic invertebrates and leaf-litter breakdown in Vera Spring (Central Italy)

Polyphasic approach to a characteristic Ulva population from a limno-rheocrenic, mineral (chloride, sodium, sulphate) spring in the Siwa Oasis (Western Desert of Egypt)

Identifying taxonomic and functional surrogates for spring biodiversity conservation

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