scholarly journals Context matters: the landscape matrix determines the population genetic structure of temperate forest herbs across Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Naaf ◽  
Jannis Till Feigs ◽  
Siyu Huang ◽  
Jörg Brunet ◽  
Sara A. O. Cousins ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Plant populations in agricultural landscapes are mostly fragmented and their functional connectivity often depends on seed and pollen dispersal by animals. However, little is known about how the interactions of seed and pollen dispersers with the agricultural matrix translate into gene flow among plant populations. Objectives We aimed to identify effects of the landscape structure on the genetic diversity within, and the genetic differentiation among, spatially isolated populations of three temperate forest herbs. We asked, whether different arable crops have different effects, and whether the orientation of linear landscape elements relative to the gene dispersal direction matters. Methods We analysed the species’ population genetic structures in seven agricultural landscapes across temperate Europe using microsatellite markers. These were modelled as a function of landscape composition and configuration, which we quantified in buffer zones around, and in rectangular landscape strips between, plant populations. Results Landscape effects were diverse and often contrasting between species, reflecting their association with different pollen- or seed dispersal vectors. Differentiating crop types rather than lumping them together yielded higher proportions of explained variation. Some linear landscape elements had both a channelling and hampering effect on gene flow, depending on their orientation. Conclusions Landscape structure is a more important determinant of the species’ population genetic structure than habitat loss and fragmentation per se. Landscape planning with the aim to enhance the functional connectivity among spatially isolated plant populations should consider that even species of the same ecological guild might show distinct responses to the landscape structure.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Naaf ◽  
Jannis Till Feigs ◽  
Siyu Huang ◽  
Jörg Brunet ◽  
Sara A. O. Cousins ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Evidence for effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the viability of temperate forest herb populations in agricultural landscapes is so far based on population genetic studies of single species in single landscapes. However, forest herbs differ in their life histories, and landscapes have different environments, structures and histories, making generalizations difficult. Objectives We compare the response of three slow-colonizing forest herbs to habitat loss and fragmentation and set this in relation to differences in life-history traits, in particular their mating system and associated pollinators. Methods We analysed the herbs’ landscape-scale population genetic structure based on microsatellite markers from replicate forest fragments across seven European agricultural landscapes. Results All species responded to reductions in population size with a decrease in allelic richness and an increase in genetic differentiation among populations. Genetic differentiation also increased with enhanced spatial isolation. In addition, each species showed unique responses. Heterozygosity in the self-compatible Oxalis acetosella was reduced in smaller populations. The genetic diversity of Anemone nemorosa, whose main pollinators are less mobile, decreased with increasing spatial isolation, but not that of the bumblebee-pollinated Polygonatum multiflorum. Conclusions Our study indicates that habitat loss and fragmentation compromise the long-term viability of slow-colonizing forest herbs despite their ability to persist for many decades by clonal propagation. The distinct responses of the three species studied within the same landscapes confirm the need of multi-species approaches. The mobility of associated pollinators should be considered an important determinant of forest herbs’ sensitivity to habitat loss and fragmentation.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1278-1299
Author(s):  
Sébastien Da Silva ◽  
Florence Le Ber ◽  
Claire Lavigne

Characterizing the spatial distribution of hedgerows over landscapes is important for understanding the effects of this distribution on the dynamics of plant and animal populations. Because hedgerows are planted or managed, the authors hypothesized that their distribution depends on the presence of other linear landscape elements, namely, roads and channels. Using proximity analyses, the authors thus assessed how the spatial distribution of hedgerows was impacted by the position of these linear landscape elements and the spatial extent of this impact for two contrasting agricultural landscapes. The results indicate that hedgerows were generally associated at short distances with other elements (100-150 m). Hedgerows had different association patterns depending on their orientation in one of the two landscapes. In that same landscape, within-landscape heterogeneity was related to different association patterns. These results indicate that models of the spatial distribution of hedgerows would gain from being based on the location of roads and channels in the studied landscape.


Author(s):  
Sébastien Da Silva ◽  
Florence Le Ber ◽  
Claire Lavigne

Characterizing the spatial distribution of hedgerows over landscapes is important for understanding the effects of this distribution on the dynamics of plant and animal populations. Because hedgerows are planted or managed, the authors hypothesized that their distribution depends on the presence of other linear landscape elements, namely, roads and channels. Using proximity analyses, the authors thus assessed how the spatial distribution of hedgerows was impacted by the position of these linear landscape elements and the spatial extent of this impact for two contrasting agricultural landscapes. The results indicate that hedgerows were generally associated at short distances with other elements (100-150 m). Hedgerows had different association patterns depending on their orientation in one of the two landscapes. In that same landscape, within-landscape heterogeneity was related to different association patterns. These results indicate that models of the spatial distribution of hedgerows would gain from being based on the location of roads and channels in the studied landscape.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Klaus ◽  
Julia Bass ◽  
Lisa Marholt ◽  
Birte Müller ◽  
Björn Klatt ◽  
...  

Abstract Agricultural intensification and the subsequent fragmentation of semi-natural habitats severely restrict pollinator and pollen movement threatening both pollinator and plant species. Linear landscape elements such as hedgerows are planted for agricultural and conservation purposes to increase the resource availability and habitat connectivity supporting populations of beneficial organisms such as pollinators. However, hedgerows may have unexpected effects on plant and pollinator persistence by not just channeling pollinators and pollen along, but also restricting movement across the strip of habitat. Here, we tested how hedgerows influence pollinator movement and pollen flow. We used fluorescent dye particles as pollen analogues to track pollinator movement between potted cornflowers Centaurea cyanus along and across a hedgerow separating two meadows. The deposition of fluorescent dye was significantly higher along the hedgerow than across the hedgerow and into the meadow, despite comparable pollinator abundances. The differences in pollen transfer suggest that hedgerows can affect pollinator and pollen dispersal by channeling their movement and acting as a permeable barrier. We conclude that hedgerows in agricultural landscapes can increase the connectivity between otherwise isolated plant and pollinator populations (corridor function), but can have additional, and so far unknown barrier effects on pollination services. Functioning as a barrier, linear landscape elements can impede pollinator movement and dispersal, even for highly mobile species such as bees. These results should be considered in future management plans aiming to enhance the persistence of threatened pollinator and plant populations by restoring functional connectivity and to ensure sufficient crop pollination in the agricultural landscape.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
pp. 2195-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Brunet ◽  
Per‐Ola Hedwall ◽  
Jessica Lindgren ◽  
Sara A. O. Cousins

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5424
Author(s):  
Martina Venturi ◽  
Francesco Piras ◽  
Federica Corrieri ◽  
Beatrice Fiore ◽  
Antonio Santoro ◽  
...  

The landscape is considered a strategic asset by the Tuscan regional government, also for its economic role, meaning that a specific Landscape Plan has been developed, dividing the region into 20 Landscape Units and representing the main planning instrument at the regional level. Following the aims of the Landscape Plan and the guidelines of the European Landscape Convention, it is necessary to develop an adequate assessment of the landscape, evaluating the main typologies and their characteristics. The aim of this research is to carry out an assessment of the landscape diversity in Tuscany based on 20 study areas, analyzing land uses and landscape mosaic structures through the application of landscape metrics: number of land uses, mean patch size (MPS), Hill’s diversity number, edge density (ED), patch density (PD), land use diversity (LUD). The results highlight a correlation between the landscape typologies (forest, agricultural, mixed, periurban) and the complexity of the landscape structure, especially in relation to MPS and PD, while the combination of PD and LUD calculated on the basis of a hexagonal grid allows obtaining landscape complexity maps. Despite the phenomena of reforestation and urban sprawl of recent decades, Tuscany still preserves different landscape typologies characterized by a good level of complexity. This is particularly evident in mixed landscapes, while agricultural landscapes have a larger variability because of different historical land organization forms. The methodology applied in this study provided a large amount of data about land uses and the landscape mosaic structure and complexity and proved to be effective in assessing the landscape structure and in creating a database that can represent a baseline for future monitoring.


1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 671 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Starr ◽  
S. M. Carthew

Fragmentation of the landscape by human activity has created small, isolated plant populations. Hakea carinata F. Muell. ex Meissner, a sclerophyllous shrub, is common in isolated fragments of vegetation in South Australia. This study investigated whether habitat fragmentation has caused restrictions to gene flow between populations. Gene diversity (HT = 0.317) is average for similar species but little is held within populations (HS = 0.168) and 46.9% of gene diversity is accounted for between populations. Estimates of gene flow are NM = 0.270 (based on FST) and NM = 0.129 (based on private alleles). Populations are substantially selfing (t = 0.111). Small isolated populations appears to be a long-term evolutionary condition in this species rather than a consequence of habitat fragmentation; however, population extinctions are occurring. Conservation will require the reservation of many populations to represent the genetic variation present in the species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. e0009139
Author(s):  
Maria Angenica F. Regilme ◽  
Thaddeus M. Carvajal ◽  
Ann–Christin Honnen ◽  
Divina M. Amalin ◽  
Kozo Watanabe

Dengue is endemic in tropical and subtropical countries and is transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti. Mosquito movement can be affected by human-made structures such as roads that can act as a barrier. Roads can influence the population genetic structure of Ae. aegypti. We investigated the genetic structure and gene flow of Ae. aegypti as influenced by a primary road, España Boulevard (EB) with 2000-meter-long stretch and 24-meters-wide in a very fine spatial scale. We hypothesized that Ae. aegypti populations separated by EB will be different due to the limited gene flow as caused by the barrier effect of the road. A total of 359 adults and 17 larvae Ae. aegypti were collected from June to September 2017 in 13 sites across EB. North (N1-N8) and South (S1-S5) comprised of 211 and 165 individuals, respectively. All mosquitoes were genotyped at 11 microsatellite loci. AMOVA FST indicated significant genetic differentiation across the road. The constructed UPGMA dendrogram found 3 genetic groups revealing the clear separation between North and South sites across the road. On the other hand, Bayesian cluster analysis showed four genetic clusters (K = 4) wherein each individual samples have no distinct genetic cluster thus genetic admixture. Our results suggest that human-made landscape features such as primary roads are potential barriers to mosquito movement thereby limiting its gene flow across the road. This information is valuable in designing an effective mosquito control program in a very fine spatial scale.


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