scholarly journals Connectivity assessment and prioritization of urban grasslands as a helpful tool for effective management of urban ecosystem services

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244452
Author(s):  
Hassanali Mollashahi ◽  
Magdalena Szymura ◽  
Tomasz H. Szymura
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
City Center ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
The City

Urban grasslands are usually managed as short-cut lawns and have limited biodiversity. Urban grasslands with low-intensity management are species rich and can perform numerous ecosystem services, but they are not accepted by citizens everywhere. Further, increasing and/or maintaining a relatively high level of plant species richness in an urban environment is limited by restricted plant dispersal. In this study, we examined the connectivity of urban grasslands and prioritized the grassland patches with regard to their role in connectivity in an urban landscape. We used high-resolution data from a land use system to map grassland patches in Wrocław city, Silesia, southwest Poland, Central Europe, and applied a graph theory approach to assess their connectivity and prioritization. We next constructed a model for several dispersal distance thresholds (2, 20, 44, 100, and 1000 m), reflecting plants with differing dispersal potential. Our results revealed low connectivity of urban grassland patches, especially for plants with low dispersal ability (2–20 m). The priority of patches was correlated with their area for all dispersal distance thresholds. Most of the large patches important to overall connectivity were located in urban peripheries, while in the city center, connectivity was more restricted and grassland area per capita was the lowest. The presence of a river created a corridor, allowing plants to migrate along watercourse, but it also created a barrier dividing the system. The results suggest that increasing the plant species richness in urban grasslands in the city center requires seed addition.

scholarly journals Plant species richness and composition of a habitat island within Lake Kastoria and comparison with those of a true island within the protected Pamvotis lake (NW Greece)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Papanikolaou ◽  
Maria Panitsa
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Habitat Island ◽  
The City

Lake Kastoria is one of the potentially “ancient” Balkan lakes that has a great environmental importance and ecological value, attracts high touristic interest and is under various anthropogenic pressures. It belongs to a Natura 2000 Special Protection Area and a Site of Community Interest. The city of Kastoria is located at the western part of the lake and just next to it, towards the centre of the lake, is a peninsula, a habitat island. In the framework of research concerning the flora of lake islands of Greece, one of the main objectives of the present study is to fill a gap concerning plant species richness of the habitat island within the protected Lake Kastoria, which is surrounded by the lake except for its north-western part where the border of the city of Kastoria is located. Floristic analysis of the habitat island of Lake Kastoria is in large measure accounted, concerning chorology with emphasis on Balkan endemics (8.7%), life forms, by hemicryptophytes (36.1%), therophytes (33.2%), phanerophytes (16.4%) and geophytes (10.9%) and, for habitats, by taxa preferring agricultural and ruderal ones (53.3%). Another objective is to compare its floristic composition to the one of the island within the protected urban Lake Pamvotis - one of the very few lake islands in Greece - focusing on the influence of urbanisation. The α- and β- diversity are measured in order to reveal floristic differences. Beta diversity partitioning in turnover and nestedness showed that the β-diversity is mostly expressed as compositional turnover. The role of the society in combination with long-term programmes for the study of plant species richness, functional diversity and patterns of species assemblages over time are necessary for the effective management and protection of protected areas, including lake insular areas.

scholarly journals The relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services and the effects of grazing cessation in semi-natural grasslands

Web Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sølvi Wehn ◽  
Knut Anders Hovstad ◽  
Line Johansen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Control Climate ◽  
Vascular Plant Species ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Natural Grassland

Abstract. Land use change can affect biodiversity, and this has an impact on ecosystem services (ESs), but the relationships between biodiversity and ESs are complex and poorly understood. Biodiversity is declining due to the abandonment of extensively grazed semi-natural grasslands. We therefore aim to explore relationships between biodiversity and ESs provided by extensively managed semi-natural grasslands. Focusing on vascular plant species richness, as well as the ESs fodder quantity, quality, and stability, allergy control, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, pollination, and aesthetic appreciation, we carried out botanical field surveys of 28 paired extensively grazed and abandoned semi-natural grassland plots, with four subplots of 4 m2 in each plot. The management of the semi-natural grasslands is and has been at low intensity. We calculated the influence of abandonment on the ES indicators, measured the correlation between the biodiversity measure of vascular plant species richness and ES indicators, and finally determined how the relationships between plant species richness and the ES indicators were affected by the cessation of the extensive management. ES indicators are often, but not always, positively correlated with species richness. Cessation of extensive grazing has both negative and positive effects on ES indicators but the relationships between species richness and ES indicators are often different in extensively managed and abandoned semi-natural grasslands. The relationships between species richness and ES indicators are less pronounced in the extensively managed semi-natural grassland than for the abandoned. One possible reason for this outcome is high functional redundancy in the extensively managed semi-natural grasslands.

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