Grouping and prioritization of vascular plant species for conservation: combining natural rarity and management need

Pärtel, Meelis; Kalamees, Reïn; Reier, Ülle; Tuvi, Eva-Liis; Roosaluste, Elle; Vellak, Ain; Zobel, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.11.014

Cited by 90 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Wiens 1989Wiens , 1995Haslett 2001;Vos et al 2001;Murphy and Lovett-Doust 2004;Billeter et al 2008). Variable and flexible strategies must be developed to incorporate different dynamics across many scales (Ejrnaes et al 2002;Pärtel et al 2005). Although the EU Habitats Directive recognises priority habitats and species to be conserved (Annex I and II), it does not consider that ecosystems can change through succession, inherent ecosystem dynamics (Evans 2006;Hobbs et al 2006), land use and climate change (Devictor et al 2008).…”

Section: Rationale For the Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

et al. 2010

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Protecting species and their habitats through the designation and management of protected areas is central to present biodiversity conservation efforts in Europe. Recent awareness of the importance of ecosystem dynamics in changing environments and of human needs for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services expose potential weaknesses in current European conservation management strategies and policy. Here we examine these issues in the light of information gained from reviews, workshops, interviews and discussions undertaken within the RUBICODE project. We present a new conceptual framework that joins conventional biodiversity conservation with new requirements. The framework links cultural and aesthetic values applied in a static environment to the demands of dynamic ecosystems and societal needs within social-ecological systems in a changing Europe. We employ this framework to propose innovative ways in which ecosystem service provision may be used to add value to traditional conservation approaches by supporting and

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Section: Rationale For the Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

et al. 2010

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“…Furthermore, the conservation of communities or ecosystems can also act as a surrogate for the species, particularly for those species yet undescribed or poorly known (Cowling & Heijnis, 2001;Nicholson et al, 2009), thus providing a precious service when considering that, despite strenuous efforts, only less than 5% of the estimated number of described species (less than 7% when considering only plants) has been evaluated for inclusion in the IUCN Red List by 2015 (IUCN, 2015b). The assessment of communities or ecosystems also allows to incorporate further information, such as the role of species richness/diversity, offering precious tools both for species and habitat's prioritization (see, e.g., Berg et al, 2014;Lindenmayer et al, 2008;Pärtel et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitats on the grid: The spatial dimension does matter for red-listing

Gigante

Foggi

Venanzoni

et al. 2016

Journal for Nature Conservation

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a b s t r a c tBesides species Red Lists, recently, a variety of frameworks have been proposed for assessing higher levels of biological organisation, i.e. ecosystems, habitats, plant communities. Most of these protocols refer to 'plant species assemblages' or 'vegetation types' as proxies for ecosystems or habitats. Indeed, the habitat concept based on plant communities has acquired a central role as a key approach for biodiversity conservation above the species level. Plant communities, like every complex biological system, hold scaledependent 'emergent' properties which vary as a function of the scale of observation. With reference to red-listing, these scale-dependent properties have far-reaching consequences for both identification and classification, as well as for representation and evaluation, and become particularly challenging when dealing with criteria regarding decline in distribution or restricted distribution. The recent discussion on the red-listing protocols has evidenced several aspects that claim special efforts for a suitable use. In the present paper, starting with the analysis of some recently proposed protocols for the red-listing of habitats and ecosystems, we discuss and test some 'emergent' properties of species assemblages, providing cues for reflection. Based on a variety of theoretical models and scientific outcomes in literature from the last decades, we theorise that plant communities own some intrinsic, ecologically based and scale-dependent spatial features, which give rise to different types of pattern of spatial occupancy. We discuss a model where, in natural conditions, the possible patterns of spatial occupancy are referred to 3 basic types: areal, linear and point. This approach is here proposed as a tool to discriminate among different broad categories of plant community-based habitat types and optimise their assessment in the red-listing process. Starting from a homogeneous data set, the proposed case studies prove that the choice of the scale affects the comprehension of the habitats' occurrence, with a substantial relapse on the estimates of their distribution size. In particular, habitats with linear and point distribution, often naturally small in size and dispersed, are more susceptible to biased evaluation of their actual distribution and consequently of their threat status. The intrinsic spatial attributes of plant communities should not be neglected in a red-listing process and claim for a 'habitat-tailored' approach. The use of different gridcell sizes and thresholds for the three main patterns of spatial occupancy here proposed, might certainly avoid inaccurate statements.

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“…Another classification scheme has been proposed by Huenneke (1991), who distinguishes between 'new rare species' (those that used to be widespread and common, but then became rare because of human influences) and 'old rare species' (those that naturally occur only in isolated and/or small populations). Notwithstanding these terminological differences, it has recently been emphasized that the management need of rare species should be included in a sound prioritization of plant species conservation (Pärtel et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the endangeredApium repens(Jacq.) Lag. rare because of a narrow regeneration niche?

Burmeier

Jensen

2008

Plant Species Biology

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The conservation of rare plant species is an important aspect of global biodiversity protection, but in many cases these species and the reasons why they are rare are poorly understood. The perennial umbellifer Apium repens is generally regarded to be a rare species all over its European range. We hypothesized that its rarity might be caused by a restricted regeneration niche, that is, highly specific requirements for sexual regeneration, low seed dispersal potential and low endurance capacity of seeds in the ground. We conducted several experimental investigations on its germination ecology, hydrochorous dispersal potential and soil seed bank properties. Apium repens showed high germination success under a variety of abiotic conditions. Either light or cold-wet stratification was necessary to stimulate germination. Seeds were able to float for more than 50 days when protected from precipitation, and soil seed bank sampling revealed that at least some seeds of A. repens were contained in soil depths of up to 10 cm. Overall, our findings do not support the hypothesis that the rarity of A. repens is caused by highly specific requirements for its sexual regeneration. Nonetheless, its germination ecology should be considered when designing conservation measures for this endangered species.

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Grouping and prioritization of vascular plant species for conservation: combining natural rarity and management need

Cited by 90 publications

References 34 publications

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

Changing conservation strategies in Europe: a framework integrating ecosystem services and dynamics

Habitats on the grid: The spatial dimension does matter for red-listing

Is the endangeredApium repens(Jacq.) Lag. rare because of a narrow regeneration niche?

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