Components of plant diversity as ecological indicators reflecting the effects of conservation management and degradation in different climatic conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Heydari ◽  
Fatemeh Aazami ◽  
Reza Omidipour ◽  
Manuel Esteban Lucas Borja ◽  
Marzban Faramarzi
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Climatic Conditions

scholarly journals Response of pollen diversity to the climate-driven altitudinal shift of vegetation in the Colombian Andes

2006 ◽  
Vol 362 (1478) ◽  
pp. 253-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyu Weng ◽  
Henry Hooghiemstra ◽  
Joost F Duivenvoorden
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Fossil Pollen ◽  
Tropical Andes ◽  
Lower Altitude ◽  
The Past ◽  
Colombian Andes ◽  
Altitudinal Shift ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
The Relationship

Change in diversity of fossil pollen through time is used as a surrogate for biodiversity history. However, there have been few studies to explore the sensitivity of the measured pollen diversity to vegetation changes and the relationship between pollen diversity and plant diversity. This paper presents results of a study to assess the relationship between pollen diversity and relative abundance of pollen from different altitudinal vegetation belts (subandean forest, Andean forest, subparamo and grassparamo) in three records from the tropical Andes in Colombia. The results indicated that plant diversity in the vegetation declined with altitude and pollen diversity is positively correlated to the abundance of pollen from lower altitude vegetation belts and negatively correlated to that from the grassparamo. These results, therefore, suggest that pollen diversity coarsely reflects the diversity of the surrounding vegetation. Using this interpretation, we were able to predict changes in plant diversity over the past 430 000 years in the Colombian Andes. Results indicated that under warmer climatic conditions, more species-diverse vegetation of low elevation moved upslope to contribute more pollen diversity to the study sites, and under colder conditions, species-poor grassparamo moved downslope and observed pollen diversity was lower. This study concludes that fossil pollen diversity may provide an important proxy to reconstruct the temporal changes in plant diversity.

scholarly journals Climate mediates the biodiversity–ecosystem stability relationship globally

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (33) ◽  
pp. 8400-8405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo García-Palacios ◽  
Nicolas Gross ◽  
Juan Gaitán ◽  
Fernando T. Maestre
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Leaf Traits ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Ecosystem Stability ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Insurance Hypothesis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dryland Ecosystems

The insurance hypothesis, stating that biodiversity can increase ecosystem stability, has received wide research and political attention. Recent experiments suggest that climate change can impact how plant diversity influences ecosystem stability, but most evidence of the biodiversity–stability relationship obtained to date comes from local studies performed under a limited set of climatic conditions. Here, we investigate how climate mediates the relationships between plant (taxonomical and functional) diversity and ecosystem stability across the globe. To do so, we coupled 14 years of temporal remote sensing measurements of plant biomass with field surveys of diversity in 123 dryland ecosystems from all continents except Antarctica. Across a wide range of climatic and soil conditions, plant species pools, and locations, we were able to explain 73% of variation in ecosystem stability, measured as the ratio of the temporal mean biomass to the SD. The positive role of plant diversity on ecosystem stability was as important as that of climatic and soil factors. However, we also found a strong climate dependency of the biodiversity–ecosystem stability relationship across our global aridity gradient. Our findings suggest that the diversity of leaf traits may drive ecosystem stability at low aridity levels, whereas species richness may have a greater stabilizing role under the most arid conditions evaluated. Our study highlights that to minimize variations in the temporal delivery of ecosystem services related to plant biomass, functional and taxonomic plant diversity should be particularly promoted under low and high aridity conditions, respectively.

An updated checklist of the vascular flora of Sierra Nevada (SE Spain)

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 261 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN LORITE
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Se Spain ◽  
Vascular Flora ◽  
Threat Status ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

To have an updated checklist available for a given area is crucial for many purposes (educational, conservation, management, etc.). In this paper, a complete and updated checklist of the vascular flora of Sierra Nevada mountain range (SE Spain), a recognized hotspot for plant diversity in the Mediterranean basin, is presented. It includes 2,353 taxa, 359 more than in the previous checklist (an increase of 15.25%). Also, data are shown on composition (in terms of families, number of hybrids, native/alien species, endemics, etc.) and threat status according to the IUCN. The result is a complete and updated checklist flora of this recognised biodiversity Mediterranean hotspot.

scholarly journals Restoration ecologists might not get what they want: Global change shifts trade-offs among ecosystem functions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Fiedler ◽  
José A.F. Monteiro ◽  
Kristin B. Hulvey ◽  
Rachel J. Standish ◽  
Michael P. Perring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plant Traits ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Trade Offs

ABSTRACTEcological restoration increasingly aims at improving ecosystem multifunctionality and making landscapes resilient to future threats, especially in biodiversity hotspots such as Mediterranean-type ecosystems. Successful realisation of such a strategy requires a fundamental mechanistic understanding of the link between ecosystem plant composition, plant traits and related ecosystem functions and services, as well as how climate change affects these relationships. An integrated approach of empirical research and simulation modelling with focus on plant traits can allow this understanding.Based on empirical data from a large-scale restoration project in a Mediterranean-type climate in Western Australia, we developed and validated the spatially explicit simulation model ModEST, which calculates coupled dynamics of nutrients, water and individual plants characterised by traits. We then simulated all possible combinations of eight plant species with different levels of diversity to assess the role of plant diversity and traits on multifunctionality, the provision of six ecosystem functions (covering three ecosystem services), as well as trade-offs and synergies among the functions under current and future climatic conditions.Our results show that multifunctionality cannot fully be achieved because of trade-offs among functions that are attributable to sets of traits that affect functions differently. Our measure of multifunctionality was increased by higher levels of planted species richness under current, but not future climatic conditions. In contrast, single functions were differently impacted by increased plant diversity. In addition, we found that trade-offs and synergies among functions shifted with climate change.Synthesis and application. Our results imply that restoration ecologists will face a clear challenge to achieve their targets with respect to multifunctionality not only under current conditions, but also in the long-term. However, once ModEST is parameterized and validated for a specific restoration site, managers can assess which target goals can be achieved given the set of available plant species and site-specific conditions. It can also highlight which species combinations can best achieve long-term improved multifunctionality due to their trait diversity.

scholarly journals Exploring the Relationships between Key Ecological Indicators to Improve Natural Conservation Planning at Different Scales

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Zhiyun Ouyang
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Vegetation Productivity ◽  
Key Indicators

Biodiversity, regulating ecosystem services (RES), and vegetation productivity are key indicators to instruct natural conservation planning. Decision makers often hope that ecosystems can be protected by focusing on certain key indicators, which requires an understanding of the relationships between the indicators. Using individual case studies, many have argued that these indicators commonly have significant relationships. However, these relationships at different spatial scales are unclear. Therefore, in this study, biodiversity and ecosystem services are modelled by the ecological niche model, the universal soil loss equation, and the equation of water balance in two study areas at different scales. The influence of vegetation productivity on the spatial pattern of other ecological indicators in the two areas is examined by a spatial lag model. The contributions of the driving factors on biodiversity distribution at both scales are identified by a boosted regression tree (BRT) model. The results showed that at the fine scale, the spatial correlations were strongest for species richness, especially mammalian species richness, and water retention. However, biodiversity had no significant relationship with vegetation productivity. In contrast, at a coarser scale, the correlation was stronger between plant diversity and regulating ecosystem services. In addition, plant diversity was significantly correlated with vegetation productivity. These differences between scales were controlled by various explanatory variables. At the fine scale, biophysical and climatic factors had the strongest effects on biodiversity distribution, while Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and ecoregion also had relatively high influences on biodiversity at the coarse scale. This demonstrates the critical importance of spatial scale in selecting conservation indicators. We suggest that rare mammalian species richness or flagship mammal species are suitable as conservation surrogates in fine-scale conservation planning. However, at a coarser scale, selecting vegetation patches with more rare plant species and high productivity for each ecoregion is a workable alternative method for conservation planning.

scholarly journals Diversity of butterflies in an arboretum of Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Check List ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 2073
Author(s):  
Urjit M. Bhatt ◽  
P. S. Nagar
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
General Health ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Butterfly Diversity ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Insight Into

Potent pollinators and ecological indicators, butterflies are important for estimating the general health of an ecosystem. Owing to the rich plant diversity (927 species), an arboretum in Vadodara, state of Gujarat, India was selected for surveying butterfly diversity. Our survey was conducted in all seasons for an entire year from October 2012 to October 2013 and revealed 61 species. Recorded were six species of Papilionidae, three species of Hesperiidae, 20 species of Nymphalidae, 13 species of Pieridae, and 19 species of Lycaenidae. Junonia dominated with five species, followed by Eurema (three species), Graphium (three species), and Chilades (three species). Our study gives a comprehensive insight into the species diversity and richness of butterflies in Vadodara and highlights the need to conserve rare and threatened butterfly species there.

Climate Change Issues and Challenges in the Western Himalaya:Its Impact on the Plant-diversity, Livelihood and Mitigation Strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
Kuldeep Singh Dogra ◽  
◽  
Sushmita Uniyal ◽  
Kumar Ambrish ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

Indian Western Himalaya has a rich plant diversity/ bio-resources due to the large variations in the altitude (300 to 6000 ms) and climatic conditions from tropical, temperate to alpine. The paper sheds light on the issues and challenges of climate change in the Western Himalaya; its impact on the plant diversity (wild plants, crops, fruits); loss of plant diversity and livelihood of the local communities; impact on the phenology of plant species; possible mitigation strategies to combat the impact of climate change. The Western Himalayan region has a rich diversity of plant diversity or bio resources. These bio resources (wild plants, crops, fruits) have been used by the local communities in the form of traditional medicines and foods from pre-historic periods or since the settlement of human communities in this region. These communities used these bio-resources as a source of income by their cultivation and selling in the markets. They are also involved in the traditional agriculture and horticulture practices and for that dependent on the climatic conditions (rate of precipitation, temperature, humidity) throughout the year. Hence stable environment conditions a pre requisite for better production and productivity. But in the last 100 years an increased in the temperature on earth brought large variation in the climate of Himalayan region too. The extreme climatic conditions will make Himalayan ecosystem more fragile, less productive and more prone towards disasters or natural calamities. Long term planning is required to understand the impact of climate change in the Western Himalaya along with some new strategies to mitigate its impact.

Variation of plant diversity components in different scales in relation to grazing and climatic conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Erfanzadeh ◽  
Reza Omidipour ◽  
Marzban Faramarzi
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Climatic Conditions

scholarly journals Responses of plant diversity to precipitation change are strongest at local spatial scales and in drylands

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotte Korell ◽  
Harald Auge ◽  
Jonathan M. Chase ◽  
W. Stanley Harpole ◽  
Tiffany M. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Precipitation Change ◽  
Precipitation Manipulation ◽  
Spatial Grain ◽  
Explicit Consideration ◽  
Projected Changes

AbstractMitigating and adapting to climate change requires an understanding of the magnitude and nature by which climate change will influence the diversity of plants across the world’s ecosystems. Experiments can causally link precipitation change to plant diversity change, however, these experiments vary in their methods and in the diversity metrics reported, making synthesis elusive. Here, we explicitly account for a number of potentially confounding variables, including spatial grain, treatment magnitude and direction and background climatic conditions, to synthesize data across 72 precipitation manipulation experiments. We find that the effects of treatments with higher magnitude of precipitation manipulation on plant diversity are strongest at the smallest spatial scale, and in drier environments. Our synthesis emphasizes that quantifying differential responses of ecosystems requires explicit consideration of spatial grain and the magnitude of experimental manipulation. Given that diversity provides essential ecosystem services, especially in dry and semi-dry areas, our finding that these dry ecosystems are particular sensitive to projected changes in precipitation has important implications for their conservation and management.

scholarly journals Diversity of butterflies in an arboretum of Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Check List ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urjit M. Bhatt ◽  
P.S. Nagar
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
General Health ◽  
Ecological Indicators ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Butterfly Diversity ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Insight Into

Potent pollinators and ecological indicators, butterflies are important for estimating the general health of an ecosystem. Owing to the rich plant diversity (927 species), an arboretum in Vadodara, state of Gujarat, India was selected for surveying butterfly diversity. Our survey was conducted in all seasons for an entire year from October 2012 to October 2013 and revealed 61 species. Recorded were six species of Papilionidae, three species of Hesperiidae, 20 species of Nymphalidae, 13 species of Pieridae, and 19 species of Lycaenidae. Junonia dominated with five species, followed by Eurema (three species), Graphium (three species), and Chilades (three species). Our study gives a comprehensive insight into the species diversity and richness of butterflies in Vadodara and highlights the need to conserve rare and threatened butterfly species there.

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