Scale matters: Impact of management regime on plant species richness and vegetation type diversity in Wadden Sea salt marshes

Wanner, Antonia; Suchrow, Sigrid; Kiehl, Kathrin; Meyer, Wiebke; Pohlmann, Nina; Stöck, Martin; Jensen, Kai

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.08.014

Cited by 50 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…These results suggest that, in almost all xeric grasslands from North-Eastern Romania, species richness is highest in the low intensity mowed and grazed areas, which is consistent with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (Grime, 1973). Increase in species richness in low intensity managed grasslands was also emphasized in other studies in Romania (Turtureanu et al, 2014) and Europe (Wanner et al, 2014) and such periodical disturbances are required in order to maintain high diversity in grasslands ecosystems (Bonanomi et al, 2013). These results are consistent with the opinion that landscape-scale processes determine the potential for plant community species richness and local processes within the community determine the local diversity (Pärtel et al, 2005).…”

Section: Diversity -Environment Relatioshipssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…From another perspective, species richness from a certain region depends on numerous factors and the effect of ecological factors or management type on species richness is scale-dependent (Dengler, 2009a;Giladi et al, 2011;Reitalu et al, 2012;Siefert et al, 2012;Turtureanu et al, 2014;Wanner et al, 2014). In this respect, species-area relationships can be used in order to investigate plant diversity patterns across scales (Dengler, 2008;Dengler, 2009b;Wilson et al, 2012) and their relationships with above mentioned factors, using the z-values of the power-law function S = cA z (S = species richness, A = area), values which can be regarded as a measure of spatial turnover or β-diversity (Drakare et al, 2006;Turtureanu et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Diversity-Environment Relationships in Xeric Grasslands of North-Eastern Romania

Mardari¹

2016

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract. Dry grasslands are plant communities with major importance for biodiversity. In this study, xeric grasslands of the order Festucetalia valesiacae from North-Eastern Romania were analyzed, in 45 nested series, at seven grain sizes (0.0001-100 m 2 ), sampled in 5 plant communities within above mentioned phytosociological unit. The aim was to test the relative importance of different environmental factors on species richness (α-diversity) and species turnover (β-diversity), the last one expressed as the exponent of the power-law species-area relationship, and to detect which is the influence of spatial scale on diversity-environment relationship. Generalized linear models were used to assess the relative importance of predictors in shaping diversity in all seven spatial scales. The results showed that diversityenvironment relationships were dependent on the scale of analysis, different factors being influential at different spatial scales. Local environmental conditions and land use practices were more related to species richness while general soil characteristics explained a larger proportion of spatial species turnover. In conclusion, diversity-environment relationships in the xeric grasslands from North-Eastern Romania are scale dependent, with local factors more important at small spatial scales and soil parameters more important for larger scales.

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Section: Diversity -Environment Relatioshipssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Diversity-Environment Relationships in Xeric Grasslands of North-Eastern Romania

Mardari¹

2016

Appl Ecol Env Res

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“…() and Wanner et al. (), who suggest that, in salt marshes with low sedimentation rates (1–3 mm·yr −1 ), abandonment of grazing and drainage are appropriate measures to achieve large‐scale heterogeneity in vegetation composition. In salt marshes with high sedimentation rates, however, a mosaic of grazed and ungrazed areas and active measures to reinforce rewetting might be needed to prevent dominance of species from late‐successional stages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their overall area increased from 6747 ha in 1988 to 8861 ha in 2006 (the latter corresponding to around 45% of all the Wadden Sea mainland salt marshes in 2006; Wanner et al. ). The salinity of inundation water decreases from about 25–32 practical salinity units (psu) at the northern to about 10–12 psu at the southern end of the study area (Landesamt für den Nationalpark Schleswig‐Holsteinisches Wattenmeer und Umweltbundesamt ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Succession in salt marshes – large‐scale and long‐term patterns after abandonment of grazing and drainage

Rupprecht

Wanner

Stöck³

et al. 2014

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions In the early 1990s, grazing and drainage have been abandoned in many artificially created mainland salt marshes of the Wadden Sea to increase their natural character and heterogeneity of vegetation composition. We asked: how did vegetation succession in the low and high marsh respond to this change in management from a large‐scale and long‐term perspective, and what were the major drivers of successional change? Location Wadden Sea coast, Schleswig‐Holstein, Germany. Methods We used vegetation data from the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program (TMAP) for around half of the Wadden Sea mainland salt marshes to identify main successional pathways of the TMAP vegetation types Puccinellia maritima and Festuca rubra, dominating low and high marsh areas, respectively, prior to the change in management. Drivers of succession were analysed using classification and regression tree models, a non‐parametric vegetation modelling technique. Results Since the abandonment of grazing and drainage, progressive succession towards the TMAP vegetation types Atriplex portulacoides and Elymus athericus strongly increased and mostly occurred in abandoned areas at medium to high elevation. Retarded and retrogressive succession decreased and mostly occurred in grazed and low‐lying areas. Persistance of the early successional vegetation type Puccinellia maritima in the salt marshes of the northern Wadden Sea suggests that large‐scale gradients of salinity, inundation frequency and sedimentation lead to geographical variation in the pace of succession. Conlusions Considered from a large‐scale and long‐term perspective, abandonmnent of grazing and drainage caused spread of grazing‐sensitive plant species from mid‐ and late‐successional stages. This change in vegetation composition affects species diversity and ecosystem functions of the Wadden Sea mainland salt marshes. Grazing regime and elevation were found to be the most important drivers of succession. To achieve and maintain large‐scale heterogeneity in vegetation composition, we recommend management to maintain a mosaic of grazed and ungrazed areas, and to consider the role of large‐scale gradients of environmental factors driving succession.

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“…These areas are characterised by a high level of small-scale elevation heterogeneity, which corresponds to different levels of abiotic stress, i.e. salt content and water availability (Wanner et al, 2014). In former studies elevation differences within the tidal range were found to be a major predictor of vegetation zonation in coastal salt-affected associations http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2014.09.005 0367-2530/© 2014 Elsevier GmbH.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

Deák

Valkó²,

Alexander

et al. 2014

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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a b s t r a c tVertical position is an important driver of vegetation zonation at multiple scales, via determining abiotic environmental parameters, such as climate, soil properties and water balance. In inland alkali landscapes, elevation is a key factor for understanding patterns of salt accumulation and water table which is therefore considered a good indicator of alkali vegetation types. Remote sensing techniques offer viable solutions for linking elevation data to vegetation patterns by providing an elevation model of extended areas. Our goal was to test the relationships between fine-scale differences in vertical position and vegetation patterns in inland alkali landscapes by vegetation data collected in the field and elevation data generated using airborne laser scanning (ALS). We studied whether vertical position influences vegetation patterns at the level of main vegetation groups (based on alliances) or even at the level of associations. Our study sites were situated in a lowland alkali landscape in Hortobágy National Park (East-Hungary). We grouped the associations into four main vegetation groups: loess grasslands, alkali steppes, open alkali swards and alkali meadows. Even though we detected a very limited range (121 cm) in the vertical position of the main vegetation groups, they were well separated by their vertical positions. At the level of associations, a more detailed elevation-based distinction was also possible in many cases. The revealed elevation-vegetation correlations show that high-resolution mapping based on ALS remote sensing techniques is an ideal solution in complex lowland areas, such as alkali landscapes. Our findings suggest that in other types of lowland landscapes, characterised by elevation differences, the applied method might hold a great potential as a supporting tool for vegetation mapping.

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Scale matters: Impact of management regime on plant species richness and vegetation type diversity in Wadden Sea salt marshes

Cited by 50 publications

References 42 publications

Plant Diversity-Environment Relationships in Xeric Grasslands of North-Eastern Romania

Plant Diversity-Environment Relationships in Xeric Grasslands of North-Eastern Romania

Succession in salt marshes – large‐scale and long‐term patterns after abandonment of grazing and drainage

Fine-scale vertical position as an indicator of vegetation in alkali grasslands – Case study based on remotely sensed data

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