Extreme droughts in oligotrophic mountain grasslands cause substantial species abundance changes and amplify community filtering

Stanik, Nils; Peppler‐Lisbach, Cord; Rosenthal, Gert

doi:10.1111/avsc.12617

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In the subsequent wetter years of 2019–2021, Festuca may have regenerated more quickly than Avenella and increased its abundance. Similar effects of summer drought on narrow‐leaved Festuca species have been observed in Central European lowlands (Kröel‐Dulay & Garadnai, 2008; Fischer et al, 2020), and negative effects of drought on the dominant species have also been found in experiments in Central European mountain grasslands (Stanik et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…It declined between the 1970s and 2000s and was gradually replaced by Avenella flexuosa, but it increased again in unmanaged areas between the 2000s and 2021. Its recent increase may be due to the summer droughts of 2015-2018, which resulted in the dieback of some patches of species-poor grasslands.In the subsequent wetter years of 2019-2021, Festuca may have regenerated more quickly than Avenella and increased its abundance.Similar effects of summer drought on narrow-leaved Festuca species have been observed in Central European lowlands(Kröel-Dulay & Garadnai, 2008;Fischer et al, 2020), and negative effects of drought on the dominant species have also been found in experiments in Central European mountain grasslands(Stanik et al, 2021).The most obvious vegetation change, however, was the transition from species-rich grasslands to heathlands dominated by Vaccinium myrtillus (on mesic, oligotrophic soils) or tall-forb vegetation (on moist, nutrient-rich soils). This change occurred mainly between the 1970s and 2000s, and was also observed in the other mountain groups with summit grasslands in the Sudetes (Krkonoše: M. Fabšičová, personal communication 2022; Králický Sněžník: Husek, 2020).…”

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confidence: 71%

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Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Klinkovská

Kučerová

Pustková

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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Aims The summit grasslands of many European mountain ranges were historically used for summer grazing, which ceased in the 20th century. These grasslands are changing, partly through succession after abandonment and partly owing to environmental changes. Subalpine vegetation is also affected by artificially reduced avalanche frequency. Recent conservation efforts have attempted to reverse the negative trends of change. We ask: (1) How has subalpine vegetation changed following the abandonment and avalanche control? (2) Was conservation management able to reverse the post‐abandonment trend of vegetation change? (3) Did avalanche disturbance have a positive effect on plant species diversity? Location Summit area of the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains (1,491 m a.s.l.), Eastern Sudetes, Czech Republic. Methods Vegetation plots sampled in the 1970s were resurveyed in the 2000s and again in 2021. Subalpine vegetation was classified into six types, and transitions between these types over time were quantified. Vascular plant species richness and the proportion of threatened species were compared between periods, between areas with and without conservation management, and between areas affected vs unaffected by a large avalanche from 2019. Species composition was analysed using principal coordinate analysis and distance‐based redundancy analysis. Results Vegetation types remained relatively stable except for species‐rich grasslands, some of which changed to heathlands or tall‐forb vegetation. Some competitive species have increased, and species specialized to threatened habitats declined. Conservation management systematically implemented after 2010 slowed the decline of habitat‐specialized species but did not reverse it. Disturbance by an avalanche positively affected species richness but not the number of threatened species. Conclusions Subalpine vegetation is slowly losing its plant diversity owing to grazing cessation and possibly acidification from past atmospheric deposition. Recently implemented conservation management and restoration of avalanche activity are essential to stop this trend, but future monitoring is needed to evaluate the success of management actions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

supporting

confidence: 71%

Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Klinkovská

Kučerová

Pustková

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…This concept is consistent with the shift in conservation ethic that has been observed recently, where ecological research and measures of grassland health are transitioning away from comparisons of species composition with historic baselines, towards measures of ecosystem functions and services (Craine et al 2011;Hoover et al 2014;Li et al 2018). With climate change, species compositions are going to shift (Yang et al 2011;Stanik et al 2021;Batbaatar et al 2022). In response, conservation and restoration of grassland ecosystems is also shifting to a community function focus, regardless of the species composition, acknowledging that even grasslands invaded by exotic species may be providing important ecosystem functions.…”

Section: Management Applicationssupporting

confidence: 76%

Structure, Function and Drought Resilience of Northern Prairie Communities, 50 Years After Grazing Disturbance

Robertson

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With climate change threatening the function of grassland ecosystems, conservation and restoration strategies are shifting from comparisons of species compositions with baseline conditions, to assessments of ecosystem functions and resilience. Here, I present research from Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba, to illustrate the links between plant community composition, leaf traits of dominant plants, and grassland community function. I also discuss applications for the management of grassland ecosystems. I use plant community data, collected in 1973, 2010 and 2020, to understand the long-term effects of grazing on the function and resilience of northern fescue prairies. I test whether legacies of historic grazing continue to affect the structure, diversity, and composition of grassland communities, and whether historic grazing predicted community leaf trait composition in fescue grassland ecosystems. I also explore how nutrient and carbon cycling may be influenced by leaf traits of dominant plants, including their leaf carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Fifty years after grazing, heavily grazed prairies continued to have lower plant diversity. However, prairies with light grazing had lower spatial variation in plant composition. By 2020, community leaf trait composition could not be predicted by historic grazing, and instead, plant trait composition was driven by exotic species invasions. Similarity in traits between Poa pratensis and Festuca hallii resulted in a functional redundancy between lightly and heavily grazed grasslands. Invasions of Poa pratensis increased the values of leaf density, and leaf C:N over the years while Bromus inermis increased the value of specific leaf area (SLA), illustrating that changes in grassland composition correlate with changes in the traits of dominant plants that have the potential to affect the resilience of grasslands to drought as well as their function. This study describes how community trait composition can impact grassland drought tolerance and ecosystem functions, and the management implications of those consequences.

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Could the presence of preformed leaves inside the seed be more important than seed size for the establishment and growth of Cerrado seedlings?

Silva,

Puntieri,

Melo

et al. 2023

Acta Bot. Bras.

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Extreme droughts in oligotrophic mountain grasslands cause substantial species abundance changes and amplify community filtering

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri butio n-NonCo mmerc ial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Cited by 3 publications

References 51 publications

Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Subalpine vegetation changes in the Eastern Sudetes (1973–2021): Effects of abandonment, conservation management and avalanches

Structure, Function and Drought Resilience of Northern Prairie Communities, 50 Years After Grazing Disturbance

Could the presence of preformed leaves inside the seed be more important than seed size for the establishment and growth of Cerrado seedlings?

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