Modelling of rare flood meadow species distribution by a combined habitat surface water–groundwater model

Gattringer, Johannes P.; Maier, Nadine; Otte, Annette; Donath, Tobias W.; Kraft, Philipp; Harvolk‐Schöning, Sarah

doi:10.1002/eco.2122

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(114 reference statements)

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“…The daily groundwater level of each of the 254 plots was estimated as the inverse-distance weighted mean of the three nearest groundwater points. For each plot, we calculated three relevant hydrological predictors for species distribution (following Gattringer et al (2019)):…”

Section: Hydrological Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term success of floodplain meadow restoration on species-poor grassland

et al. 2023

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Restoration of floodplain meadows remains a challenge, as many degraded sites suffer from seed limitation. The transfer of seed-containing plant material from species-rich donor sites is a widely used method to restore semi-natural grasslands. However, most studies on the success of such restoration projects comprise limited time frames. As factors determining restoration success may only become evident after many years, long-term observations are crucial. We re-investigated 20 restored grassland sites in the floodplain of the Northern Upper Rhine 13–16 years after plant material transfer with different soil preparation treatments. To this end, we carried out vegetation surveys on 254 permanent plots and studied the potential influence of soil preparation, soil nutrients, and hydrology on plant species composition, diversity, and transfer of target species. Since sustainable agricultural use is important to ensure the long-term stability of restored semi-natural grasslands, we further investigated biomass productivity and feeding value. While most target species increased in frequency or remained stable over time, we found no positive long-term effect of soil preparation on vegetation development and target species establishment. Instead, increased biomass yield and flooding frequency led to reduced restoration success, while higher soil C/N ratios had a positive effect. Overall, restoration measures did not affect the agricultural value of the restored grasslands, which had higher dry matter biomass yields compared with the donor sites. Our results indicate that the positive effect of soil preparation on the number and cover of target species, which is regularly reported in short-term studies, diminishes over time, and other factors such as site conditions become increasingly important. Furthermore, additional plant material transfer or manual seeding may be necessary to support target species establishment. Concerning agricultural usability, the integration of restored floodplain meadows in farming systems is possible and can ensure long-term management and thus stability of these ecosystems. Our study shows that long-term monitoring of restoration projects is necessary, as factors determining restoration success may only become evident in the long-term.

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Section: Hydrological Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term success of floodplain meadow restoration on species-poor grassland

et al. 2023

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“…As shown by Gattringer et al. (2019) predictors from an IHM improve habitat modeling in comparison to groundwater, or surface‐water‐only predictors scenarios. Our results indicated that in some scenarios the trends were not present in water levels, or discharges while they were present in the persistence of dominant water sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Modeling of vegetation development under climate change may be hampered because studies using the process-based model (Politti et al, 2014), a statistical approach (Mosner et al, 2015) do not include hydrodynamic feedback between water from different sources while focusing only on the river, or groundwater levels. As shown by Gattringer et al (2019) predictors from an IHM improve habitat modeling in comparison to groundwater, or surface-water-only predictors scenarios. Our results indicated that in some scenarios the trends were not present in water levels, or discharges while they were present in the persistence of dominant water sources.…”

Section: Implications For Ecological Processesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Impact of Climate Change on Water Sources and River‐Floodplain Mixing in the Natural Wetland Floodplain of Biebrza River

Berezowski,

Partington

2023

Water Resources Research

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The origins of river and floodplain waters (groundwater, rainfall, and snowmelt) and their extent during overbank flow events strongly impact ecological processes such as denitrification and vegetation development. However, the long‐term sensitivity of floodplain water signatures to climate change remains elusive. We examined how the integrated hydrological model HydroGeoSphere and the Hydraulic Mixing‐Cell method could help us understand the long‐term impact of climate change on water signatures and their spatial distribution in the protected Biebrza River Catchment in northeastern Poland. Our model relied on 20th century Reanalysis Data from 1881 to 2015 and an ensemble of EURO‐CORDEX simulations for representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 from 2006 to 2099. The historical component of the simulations was subjected to extensive multiple‐variable validation from 1881 to 2019. The results show that the extents of water sources were rather stable in the floodplain in the 1881–2015 period. The projected future impacts were variable with each analyzed RCP, but in all cases, different significant trends were present for the spatial distribution of water sources and for the river‐floodplain mixing. However, the total volume of water from different sources was less sensitive to climate change than the dominant sources and spatial distribution of water. The simulation results highlight the impact of climate change on the extent of water sources in temperate zone wetlands with significant implications for ecological processes and management. These results also underscore the urgent need to leverage such modeling studies to inform protective and preservation strategies of floodplain wetlands.

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“…In addition, the altered dynamics of riparian ecosystems can trigger the establishment and spread of non-native tree species in floodplains [6,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. On top of this, climate change induced impacts on the alluvial plant communities add to the uncertainty about adequate conservation and restoration measures [15,16]. Whilst the recovery of floodplain forests is one of the most important objectives in alluvial restoration and for the conservation of biodiversity [4], the complex interactions between the physical environment and biological processes are not fully understood, which complicates restoration efforts [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of flooding duration and aeration on saplings of ten hardwood floodplain forest species

et al. 2020

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Alluvial floodplain forests have been reduced drastically in many parts of Europe, due to deforestation, the transformation to settlement and expansion of agricultural areas. Although they have been heavily modified for centuries, generalized frameworks for their management are scarce and the complex interactions between the physical environment and biological processes are often not fully understood. As the zonation of woody species in floodplains is mainly determined by hydrological conditions, flooding tolerance can be regarded as a key factor for the successful establishment of woody species. Furthermore, the oxygen level of the flooding water might affect the responses to flooding. We examined the influence of flooding duration in combination with oxygen supply by aeration on the foliar injury and growth of six-week-old saplings of ten woody species, under controlled common garden conditions. Six of them are considered to be flooding tolerant whereas four are intolerant. In addition, seven are native whereas three are non-native species. During the experiment, the saplings were exposed to partial flooding of different durations (k = 3; three, six and nine weeks) and oxygen levels (k = 2; aerated and not aerated). For comparison, we included an unflooded control. We recorded foliar injury, plant height, number of leaves and stem diameter. We also included a long-term recovery period. Whereas foliar injury decreased for most species with increasing flooding duration, the typical floodplain forest species, classified as flooding tolerant developed better. The differences in species response to flooding could be most likely explained by their ability to react to the resulting stress in morphological, physiological and metabolic terms irrespective whether they are native or not. In addition, the inclusion of a recovery period seems to be important for the assessment of flooding tolerance.

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Modelling of rare flood meadow species distribution by a combined habitat surface water–groundwater model

Cited by 6 publications

References 57 publications

Long-term success of floodplain meadow restoration on species-poor grassland

Long-term success of floodplain meadow restoration on species-poor grassland

Impact of Climate Change on Water Sources and River‐Floodplain Mixing in the Natural Wetland Floodplain of Biebrza River

Influence of flooding duration and aeration on saplings of ten hardwood floodplain forest species

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