Biodiversity–disease relationships in wild plant communities differentially affected by land use

Microbes are thought to maintain diversity in plant communities by specializing on particular species, but it is not known whether microbes that specialize within species (i.e., on genotypes) affect diversity or dynamics in plant communities. Here we show that soil microbes can specialize at the within-population level in a wild plant species, and that such specialization could promote species diversity and seed dispersal in plant communities. In a shadehouse experiment in Panama, we found that seedlings of the native tree species, Virola surinamensis (Myristicaceae), had reduced performance in the soil microbial community of their maternal tree compared with in the soil microbial community of a nonmaternal tree from the same population. Performance differences were unrelated to soil nutrients or to colonization by mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting that highly specialized pathogens were the mechanism reducing seedling performance in maternal soils. We then constructed a simulation model to explore the ecological and evolutionary consequences of genotype-specific pathogens in multispecies plant communities. Model results indicated that genotype-specific pathogens promote plant species coexistence—albeit less strongly than species-specific pathogens—and are most effective at maintaining species richness when genetic diversity is relatively low. Simulations also revealed that genotype-specific pathogens select for increased seed dispersal relative to species-specific pathogens, potentially helping to create seed dispersal landscapes that allow pathogens to more effectively promote diversity. Combined, our results reveal that soil microbes can specialize within wild plant populations, affecting seedling performance near conspecific adults and influencing plant community dynamics on ecological and evolutionary time scales.

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Vegetation changes in boreo–nemoral forest stands depending on soil factors and past land use during an 80 year period of no human impact

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2015-0343 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 376-386 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ilze Kokarēviča ◽

Guntis Brūmelis ◽

Raimonds Kasparinskis ◽

Arta Rolava ◽

Oļģerts Nikodemus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Species Composition ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Deciduous Forest ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Temperate Deciduous Forest ◽

Soil Factors ◽

Nature Protection ◽

Forest Zone

Information on the long-term changes in plant communities that occur without human interference is limited, due to insufficient studies where vegetation can be resurveyed. In 1912, a strict nature protection reserve, with non-intervention management, was established on Moricsala Island in Latvia, located in the boreo–nemoral forest zone. Prior to establishment of the nature reserve, part of the island area was used for agriculture. The island is now covered almost entirely by forest dominated by Quercus robur L. and Tilia cordata Mill. on sandy soils. Resurvey was conducted in 2011 in 17 plots in which tree layers and the understory vegetation had been described in 1930. The plots were classified into two groups based on tree species composition in 1930 to determine changes in species composition. Differences in understory and tree canopy composition between these groups persisted over the period between the studies, in relation to soil factors and past stand history. Considerable turnover of species occurred, with a decrease of species typical of open habitats and replacement by species typical of nemoral (temperate deciduous) forest plant communities. In the past, Q. robur had likely established in open habitats created by agricultural land use or past fire but is presently not regenerating in the understory.

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Agricultural land use disrupts biodiversity mediation of virus infections in wild plant populations

New Phytologist ◽

10.1111/nph.17156 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hanna Susi ◽

Anna‐Liisa Laine

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Virus Infections ◽

Plant Populations

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Importance of scale, land-use, and stream network properties for riparian plant communities along an urban gradient

Freshwater Biology ◽

10.1111/fwb.13244 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

pp. 587-600 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lenka Kuglerová ◽

Brian W. Kielstra ◽

R. Dan Moore ◽

John S. Richardson

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Urban Gradient ◽

Stream Network ◽

Network Properties ◽

Riparian Plant Communities ◽

Riparian Plant

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Influence of the Land Use Type on the Wild Plant Diversity

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9050602 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 602

Author(s):

Ina Aneva ◽

Petar Zhelev ◽

Simeon Lukanov ◽

Mariya Peneva ◽

Kiril Vassilev ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Tree Cover ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Species Number ◽

Land Use Type ◽

Grazing Land ◽

Land Use Types ◽

Bioclimatic Variables ◽

The Impact

Studies on the impact of agricultural practices on plant diversity provide important information for policy makers and the conservation of the environment. The aim of the present work was to evaluate wild plant diversity across the agroecosystems in two contrasting regions of Bulgaria; Pazardzhik-Plovdiv (representing agroecosystems in the lowlands) and Western Stara Planina (the Balkan Mountains, representing agroecosystems in the foothills of the mountains). This study conducted a two-year assessment of plant diversity in different types of agricultural and forest ecosystems, representing more than 30 land use types. Plant diversity, measured by species number, was affected by the land use type only in Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region. More pronounced was the effect of the groups of land use types on the diversity, measured by the mean species number per scoring plot. Climatic conditions, measured by 19 bioclimatic variables, were the most important factor affecting plant species diversity. Six bioclimatic variables had a significant effect on the plant diversity, and the effect was more pronounced when the analysis considered pooled data of the two regions. The highest plant diversity was found on grazing land with sparse tree cover, while the lowest one was in the land use types representing annual crops or fallow. The study also established a database on weed species, relevant to agriculture. A number of common weeds were found in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region, while the most frequent species in the Western Stara Planina region were indigenous ones. Overall, the natural flora of Western Stara Planina was more conserved; eleven orchid species with conservation significance were found in the pastures and meadows in that region. The present study is the first attempt in Bulgaria to characterize the plant diversity across diverse agroecosystems representing many different land use types and environmental conditions. The results can contribute to nature conservation, biodiversity, and the sustainable use of plant resources.

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