On the ecology and evolution of annual plants in disturbed environments

Planning restoration in a cultural landscape in Italy using an object-based approach and historical analysis

“…In this study, the target habitats chosen were closely related to environmental characteristics: the introduction of a controlled disturbance in selected areas should promptly trigger erosion in shallow soils, especially on southern slopes, and consequently generate bare biancana surfaces. In addition, periodically or continually disturbed environments are usually colonized and often dominated by annual plants in late successional stages (Symonides, 1988), as in the case of sparsely vegetated areas in the basal micropediment. Following this basic principle, the cutting and burning prescription in small sectors (non-recurring management) can be associated with the reintroduction of grazing (recurring management), also in areas not previously selected during this first survey.…”

Strategies in Mediterranean grassland annuals in relation to stress and disturbance

“…Naveh & Whittaker 1979;Jackson & Roy 1986;Danin & Orshan 1990). Symonides (1988) showed that the theoretically optimal life-history traits, expected to maximize fitness in disturbed environments, do not occur in all annuals. There are many patterns of variation in life history in annual species that enable them to exist in different parts of a mosaic of disturbed environments.…”

Endozoochorous dispersal, seedling emergence and fruiting success in disturbed and undisturbed successional stages of sheep-grazed inland sand ecosystems

“…Erophila verna has a very short life history beginning in September/October and ending in March. There is evidence in some plant species (among them Erophila verna) that the disturbance impact of a highly dynamic environment forces the evolution of a short life-span (Symonides, 1988). However, in our study the other 23 winter annuals recorded showed no significant, consistently positive disturbance response in the stage of fruiting.…”