The long history of rich fens supports persistence of plant and snail habitat specialists

Peterka, Tomáš; Tichý, Lubomír; Horsáková, Veronika; Hájková, Petra; Coufal, Radovan; Petr, Libor; Dítě, Daniel; Hradílek, Zbyněk; Hrivnák, Richard; Jiroušek, Martin; Plášek, Vítězslav; Plesková, Zuzana; Singh, Patrícia; Šmerdová, Eva; Štechová, Táňa; Mikulášková, Eva; Horsák, Michal; Hájek, Michal

doi:10.1007/s10531-021-02318-0

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…The disappearance of rare plant species due to habitat loss has been well documented (Pykälä 2019). Infrequent fen species Helodium blandowii , Meesia longiseta , and H. vernicosus , that were more widely distributed in the past (Hall 1978, Helmens 2014, Peterka et al 2021), are only a few examples of bryophytes that are suffering from ongoing climate change and human activities (Rehell and Virtanen 2016). To maintain infrequent species populations, all aspects of their ecology, including competition, should be studied.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is an infrequent moss species a weaker competitor? Experiment with three fen species

Samson

Kaasik

Ingerpuu

et al. 2023

Nordic Journal of Botany

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Overexploitation of mires leads to habitat degradation for many species, and the greatest impact is on species with specific demands or restricted distribution. Three fen species – with overlapping ecological demands, but different distribution frequency – were included in the study, to elucidate whether a less common species could be a weaker competitor under certain ecological conditions compared to other moss species inhabiting the same habitat. We grew the species under conditions that imitated changes in fen communities caused by human activities: water level drop, temperature rise, and shade increase. The species were grown as monocultures and as mixtures in distilled water, to exclude the influence of minerals and nutrients. Although all the species reacted to the different environmental conditions in a similar way, they grew better in monocultures. The shoot elongation of Hamatocaulis vernicosus, a less frequent species, even exceeded that of the two more common species included in the study: Calliergonella cuspidata and Scorpidium cossonii. Pairwise comparisons of shoot elongation showed the success of H. vernicosus. Our results proved that H. vernicosus is not a weaker competitor than other fen mosses in nutrient‐poor conditions, and can defeat the others in cool and flooded conditions. Restoration and conservation of such fen habitats is important to protect the populations of this species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is an infrequent moss species a weaker competitor? Experiment with three fen species

Samson

Kaasik

Ingerpuu

et al. 2023

Nordic Journal of Botany

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“…Vascular plants show narrower distribution ranges than bryophytes, with dispersal constraints caused by larger propagules and a strong filter at the seedling stage (Hájek et al, 2011). In the warmest regions of southern Europe, postglacial dispersal limitation led to the presence of relict populations of vascular plants from habitats such as poor fens and calcareous fens (Horsáková et al, 2018; Peterka et al, 2022), and these populations have shown especial vulnerability to climate warming (Jiménez‐Alfaro et al, 2016). Spatial distance was also a major driver of composition in extremely rich fens and tall‐sedge rich fens, in which the effect of macroclimate was negligible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat‐based biodiversity responses to macroclimate and edaphic factors in European fen ecosystems

Jiménez‐Alfaro,

Aunina,

Carbognani

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Understanding large‐scale drivers of biodiversity in palustrine wetlands is challenging due to the combined effects of macroclimate and local edaphic conditions. In boreal and temperate fen ecosystems, the influence of macroclimate on biodiversity is modulated by hydrological settings across habitats, making it difficult to assess their vulnerability to climate change. Here, we investigate the influence of macroclimate and edaphic factors on three Essential Biodiversity Variables across eight ecologically defined habitats that align with ecosystem classifications and red lists. We used 27,555 vegetation plot samples from European fens to assess the influence of macroclimate and groundwater pH predictors on the geographic distribution of each habitat type. Additionally, we modeled the relative influence of macroclimate, water pH, and water table depth on community species richness and composition, focusing on 309 plant specialists. Our models reveal strong effects of mean annual temperature, diurnal thermal range, and summer temperature on biodiversity variables, with contrasting differences among habitats. While macroclimatic factors primarily shape geographic distributions and species richness, edaphic factors emerge as the primary drivers of composition for vascular plants and bryophytes. Annual precipitation exhibits non‐linear effects on fen biodiversity, with varying impact across habitats with different hydrological characteristics, suggesting a minimum requirement of 600 mm of annual precipitation for the occurrence of fen ecosystems. Our results anticipate potential impacts of climate warming on European fens, with predictable changes among habitat types and geographic regions. Moreover, we provide evidence that the drivers of biodiversity in boreal and temperate fens are closely tied to the ecological characteristics of each habitat type and the dispersal abilities of bryophytes and vascular plants. Given that the influence of macroclimate and edaphic factors on fen ecosystems is habitat specific, climate change research and conservation actions should consider ecological differentiation within functional IUCN ecosystems at continental and regional scales.

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Medium-term changes of vegetation composition on fens of the rural landscape, tested using fixed permanent plots

2022

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The long history of rich fens supports persistence of plant and snail habitat specialists

Cited by 6 publications

References 87 publications

Is an infrequent moss species a weaker competitor? Experiment with three fen species

Is an infrequent moss species a weaker competitor? Experiment with three fen species

Habitat‐based biodiversity responses to macroclimate and edaphic factors in European fen ecosystems

Medium-term changes of vegetation composition on fens of the rural landscape, tested using fixed permanent plots

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