Effects of mowing cessation and hydrology on plant trait distribution in natural fen meadows

Opdekamp, Wout; Beauchard, Olivier; Backx, Hans; Franken, F.; Cox, Tom J. S.; Diggelen, Rudy van; Meire, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2012.01.011

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Opdekamp et al. () found that cessation of mowing in Polish fens favored taller species and decreased species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, certain light‐demanding herbs in fens showed competitive release when woody cover was experimentally reduced (Curtis, ; Jacobson et al., ; Harding, ), and native and exotic shrubs invaded several Wisconsin fens coincident with a change in land‐use practices. In Europe, mowing, grazing, and burning helped keep some calcareous fens open, and cessation of these practices has led to the local loss of many characteristic species (Opdekamp et al., ; Menichino et al., ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changes in fen vegetation over the past few decades have raised conservation concerns in Europe and North America (Verhoeven et al., ; Jacobson et al., ; Fojt, ; van Diggelen et al., , ; Jímenez‐Alfaro et al., ) and have been variously ascribed to eutrophication, invasive species, or changes in hydrology or disturbance regime. The relative importance of hydrology and traditional management activities (mowing, grazing, burning, turf cutting) has been much debated, especially in Europe (Fojt and Harding, ; Opdekamp et al., ). Boyer and Wheeler's geochemical mechanism, if correct, suggests a means of managing fens that would depend critically on the maintenance of regional hydrology, with central importance attached to sustaining high flow rates of carbonate‐laden water from springheads.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Plant distribution, stature, rarity, and diversity in a patterned calcareous fen: tests of geochemical and leaf‐height models

Stockmeier

Givnish

2019

American J of Botany

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Premise In patterned fens, patches of short, sparse, species‐rich vegetation often occur on substrates rich in precipitated carbonates near calcareous springheads, with taller, denser vegetation farther away. Boyer and Wheeler (1989) hypothesized that phosphorus co‐precipitation near springheads limits plant productivity and coverage, and Givnish (1982) proposed that aggregations of rare, short‐statured plant species might reflect their competitive restriction to sparsely covered microsites. Methods We tested these hypotheses by quantifying species distributions, leaf heights, plant coverage, community composition, and substrate and leaf chemistry of Eupatorium perfoliatum along a gradient of hydrology and geochemistry in a wetland complex in southeastern Wisconsin, USA, ranging from marl flats and fens on peat mounds near springheads to surrounding sedge meadows. Results Community composition was strongly correlated with a one‐dimensional environmental gradient along which coverage and height increased moving downslope from marl flats, while soil carbonate, phosphorus immobilization capacity, and local species richness decreased, consistent with theory. Regionally rare species were short and restricted to sparsely covered microsites; within and among species, leaf height increased with local coverage. NPK tissue stoichiometry did not entirely support the Boyer‐Wheeler hypothesis, although nitrogen limitation appeared strongest in sedge meadows. Shifts in stature and tissue chemistry of E. perfoliatum along the marl flat–sedge meadow gradient suggested that zinc toxicity may help limit coverage near springheads despite no significant change in soil zinc content. Conclusions We propose a modified Boyer‐Wheeler hypothesis to account for cascading effects of phosphorus co‐precipitation near springheads on nitrogen fixation, nitrogen+phosphorus co‐limitation, and zinc mobility.

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“…Opdekamp et al. () found that cessation of mowing in Polish fens favored taller species and decreased species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant distribution, stature, rarity, and diversity in a patterned calcareous fen: tests of geochemical and leaf‐height models

Stockmeier

Givnish

2019

American J of Botany

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“…Unmanaged lands were subjected to secondary succession and gradual encroachment of tall-growing macroforbs, shrubs and trees. Such phenomenon, directly leading to the deterioration and fragmentation of habitats, was repeatedly observed in calcareous grasslands [1], heathlands [2,3] and meadows [4,5,6]. As a result of advanced fragmentation of habitats, many species currently occur as small and isolated populations, suffering from loss of genetic diversity and high risk of extinction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The life-history traits influencing reproduction success and the recruitment of seedlings of Dianthus superbus L. in different stages of meadow overgrowing

Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt

2014

Acta Agrobot

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A b s t r a c tA study of the life-history traits and seedling recruitment in small and isolated populations of a rare clonal species, Dianthus superbus L., was carried out in the years 2011-2012 in Kraków-Kostrze (Southern Poland). Observations were conducted in unmanaged Molinietum caeruleae meadows situated along the successional gradient. The patch representing the initial stage of succession (P1) was dominated by small species creating delicate erect or procumbent stems, the patch representing the temporary stage of succession (P2) was prevailed by large-tussock grasses and tall-growing macroforbs, while the patch representing the terminal stage of succession (P3) was partly overgrown by bushes and trees. The number of generative shoots, flowers, fruits and seeds of Dianthus superbus L. diminished gradually from P3 via P2 to P1. The increase in abundance of generative shoots and flower number in the vicinity of tall plants contributes to increased visibility of inflorescences and may enhance the chances for nocturnal pollinator visits. A significant production of fruits and seeds in competitive neighborhood may augment the chances for successful dispersal and colonization of new, perhaps more favorable habitats. The recruitment of seedlings occurred only in artificially created gaps in plant canopy and litter. The appearance of seedlings and their survivorship were better in P1 than in P2 and P3. Such a phenomenon might be due to the locally rising water level and the diminishing amount of light reaching to the soil area along the successional gradient.Concluding, it should be asserted that a low production of generative shoots, flowers, fruits and seeds by the population of Dianthus superbus L. established in the patch dominated by small meadow species is compensated by the highest seedling recruitment and their survival. On the other hand, a substantial production of generative structures is not sufficient to ensure the persistence of populations in meadows in advanced stages of secondary succession.

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“…Special attention is paid to the requirements and tolerance of wetland vegetation species to a variability of water levels in a classical (phytosociological) approach (Caldwell et al 2011). Moreover, the appropriate interpretation of water levels from a modern (traitbased) ecological approach appears to be even more important (Opdekamp et al 2012). Either way, the most critical hydrological variables determining the status of riparian and mire ecosystems are associated with indices related to groundwater depths (e.g., average groundwater depth within the vegetation path, magnitude of water table fluctuations, minimum and maximum groundwater depths and duration of inundation).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Too wet and too dry? Uncertainty of DEM as a potential source of significant errors in a model-based water level assessment in riparian and mire ecosystems

Mirosław‐Świątek

Kiczko

Szporak-Wasilewska

et al. 2017

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Modelling groundwater depths in floodplains and peatlands remains a basic approach to assessing hydrological conditions of habitats. Groundwater flow models used to compute groundwater heads are known for their uncertainties, and the calibration of these models and the uncertainty assessments of parameters remain fundamental steps in providing reliable data. However, the elevation data used to determine the geometry of model domains are frequently considered deterministic and hence are seldom considered a source of uncertainty in model-based groundwater level estimations. Knowing that even the cutting-edge laser-scanning-based digital elevation models have errors due to vegetation effects and scanning procedure failures, we provide an assessment of uncertainty of water level estimations that remain basic data for wetland ecosystem assessment and management. We found that the uncertainty of the digital elevation model (DEM) significantly influenced the results of the assessment of the habitat's hydrological conditions expressed as groundwater depths. In extreme cases, although the average habitat suitability index (HSI) assessed in a deterministic manner was defined as 'unsuitable', in a probabilistic approach (grid-cell-scale estimation), it reached a value of 40% probability, signifying 'optimum' or 'tolerant'. For the 24 habitats analysed, we revealed vast differences between HSI scores calculated for individual grid cells of the model and HSI scores computed as average values from the set of grid cells located within the habitat patches. We conclude that groundwater-modelling-based decision support approaches to wetland assessment can result in incorrect management if the quality of DEM has not been addressed in studies referring to groundwater depths.

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Effects of mowing cessation and hydrology on plant trait distribution in natural fen meadows

Cited by 17 publications

References 38 publications

Plant distribution, stature, rarity, and diversity in a patterned calcareous fen: tests of geochemical and leaf‐height models

Plant distribution, stature, rarity, and diversity in a patterned calcareous fen: tests of geochemical and leaf‐height models

The life-history traits influencing reproduction success and the recruitment of seedlings of Dianthus superbus L. in different stages of meadow overgrowing

Too wet and too dry? Uncertainty of DEM as a potential source of significant errors in a model-based water level assessment in riparian and mire ecosystems

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