Open dry acidic habitats protected under the Natura 2000 Network (Council Directive 92/43/EEC) occur in Italian Continental lowlands with an either poor or bad conservation status. The LIFE Drylands ...project was designed with the aim of restoring these habitats in the western Po Plain. In the context of this project, we translocated plants typical of habitat 4030 “European dry heaths” and of the acidophilous subtype of habitat 6210 “Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) (* important orchid sites)” in two sites hosting them. We assessed the outcome of the translocations by monitoring survival, flowering, and fruiting rates of the translocated plants during either the first or the second year following the translocation. We compared plants’ performances by a one-way analysis of variance and then cross-referenced them with literature data. Based on our results, we suggest that a mix of hemicryptophytes, such as Armeria arenaria, Betonica officinalis, Dianthus carthusianorum and Festuca filiformis, and geophytes, like Anthericum liliago and Limniris sibirca, with a density of about 34 plants/m2 could be used for other translocations in dry heathlands and dry grasslands in the European Continental biogeographical region, while the addition of therophytes needs further evaluation.
•A remote sensing based approach predicts habitat quality of protected dry grassland.•Models benefit from multiple Landsat-based phenology metrics, particularly in case of management.•Phenology ...metrics performed best for management intensity and nutrient content.•Model relationships of phenology metrics differ between management types.•Models provide in-depth information on conservation risks for managers and science.
Dry grasslands are species rich and ecologically valuable habitats that have experienced a massive decline in Switzerland during the last century due to agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Appropriate management is a key factor in maintaining habitat quality of the remaining most valuable sites and should thus be an essential part of monitoring studies. However, information on management is often missing and fine-scale patterns are difficult to assess, especially over large areas and for past decades.
The aim of this study was to predict habitat quality of protected dry grasslands in Switzerland. Using a nation-wide in-situ vegetation data set with plot-based species lists, we derived six habitat quality indicators (management tolerance, light availability, nutrient content, moisture content and species richness). We then tested how well satellite-based phenology metrics, in combination with environmental and climate data, can predict these dry grassland habitat quality indicators. We expected that the seasonal pattern of vegetation activity, based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), would represent local productivity and management patterns, two crucial indicators of dry grassland habitat quality. Linear regression analysis was conducted to assess the relative importance and ecological relationship of different NDVI metrics and other environmental and climate predictors for habitat quality. Variance partitioning was applied to assess model contributions of the three variable groups which represent different data sources for productivity and management.
Accuracies for the habitat quality prediction models ranged between 34% and 57% and significant correlations with multiple NDVI metrics were found. Including NDVI phenology improved all models by 7–12%. Single contributions of NDVI phenology were highest for management tolerance and nutrient content. However, we found high variation of contributions between management types. NDVI metrics were highly informative for the habitat qualities of abandoned sites, but grazing and mowing reduced or even cancelled their predictive power. Moreover, our results demonstrate the limitation of single-date NDVI values in predicting habitat quality of dry grasslands, in particular pastures and meadows. For monitoring applications of dry grasslands, we propose using a combination of NDVI metrics, as our results showed that they greatly improve prediction results of essential habitat qualities. The Landsat legacy dataset facilitates the assessment of habitat changes during past decades and can be complemented in the future with higher resolution data, such as Sentinel-2, to increase the temporal and spatial resolution so analyses are more appropriate for the typically limited size of dry grassland habitat sites in Switzerland.
Alterations in traditional land use practices have led to severe declines in the area of semi-natural grasslands, thereby seriously threatening plant and animal species dependent on these habitats. ...Small anthropogenic managed habitats, like roadsides can act as refuges and might play an important role in conserving these species. Colonization of roadside verges by endangered lizard orchids (Himantoglossum spp.) has long been known, but few studies have systematically explored the suitability of roadside habitats for these orchids and the impact of roads on them. In this paper we present results of targeted surveys of three lizard orchid taxa on roadsides from eight European countries. During these surveys we searched for lizard orchids inhabiting roadside verges and recorded their distance from road, aspects of the roadside environment, as well as vegetative and reproductive characteristics of individual plants. We found large numbers of lizard orchids on roadside verges. Distance from roads was not uniformly distributed: orchids occurred more closely to roads than expected by chance. This suggests that regular management of roadsides (e.g. mowing) might enhance colonization and survival of lizard orchids. On the other hand, we also found that close proximity to roads negatively affects reproductive success, suggesting that the immediate vicinity of roads might act as an ecological trap (i.e. favorable in terms of colonization and survival but unfavorable in terms of reproduction). Nonetheless, the fact that significant and viable populations are maintained at roadsides suggests that traditionally managed roadside verges may allow long-term persistence of lizard orchid populations and may serve as refuges in a landscape context.
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•We surveyed endangered lizard orchids on roadside verges in 8 European countries.•We found large number of individuals, implying importance of roadsides as habitats.•Individuals occurred significantly closer to the roads than expected by chance.•Distance from road did not affect stem height and number of flowers.•In close proximity to roads, reproductive success was reduced.
The replacement of natural habitats by urbanization and agricultural land reclamation is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Among European habitat types, natural grasslands are ...particularly prone to anthropogenic pressures, being also recognized as conservation priorities within the Habitats Directive. Nonetheless, little is known on the relationship between grasslands, their conservation quality, and most animals' taxa that may rely upon them. Here we focus on the role of Mediterranean dry grasslands protected by the EU legislation in sustaining bat populations, setting our study in the biodiversity hotspot of Mediterranean Italy. By conducting acoustic surveillance at 48 sites within a protected area devoted to conserve natural and semi-natural grasslands, we found that all the bat species found in the area are regular exploiters of such open environments. Grassland conservation quality, in terms of extent of high-diversity protected habitats, was the key factor shaping the use of grasslands by bats of all the considered guilds, together with several terrain and landscape features, which showed more guild-specific effects. Moreover, our results indicate that bat assemblages are functionally shifted along an ecological gradient from highly modified to well-conserved grassland sites, indicating a prevalence of opportunistic taxa in the former, and higher abundance of species of conservation concern in the latter. Overall, we demonstrate that the effects of EU-listed habitats may extend also onto bats in the case of Mediterranean dry grasslands, highlighting the importance of preserving such habitats as a tool for conserving highly mobile species.
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•We investigated ecological drivers of bat activity in a Mediterranean grassland ecosystem.•We focused on the effects of landscape composition and of protected habitats on bats.•Landscape composition and terrain factors shaped activity of bats from all guilds.•Bat assemblages significantly shifted from natural to anthropogenic grasslands.•EU-listed high-diversity grasslands sustain bats by boosting activity levels.
Intraspecific trait variation (ITV), based on available genetic diversity, is one of the major means plant populations can respond to environmental variability. The study of functional trait ...variation and diversity has become popular in ecological research, for example, as a proxy for plant performance influencing fitness. Up to now, it is unclear which aspects of intraspecific functional trait variation (iFDCV) can be attributed to the environment or genetics under natural conditions. Here, we examined 260 individuals from 13 locations of the rare (semi‐)dry calcareous grassland species Trifolium montanum L. in terms of iFDCV, within‐habitat heterogeneity, and genetic diversity. The iFDCV was assessed by measuring functional traits (releasing height, biomass, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, Fv/Fm, performance index, stomatal pore surface, and stomatal pore area index). Abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity was derived from altitude, slope exposure, slope, leaf area index, soil depth, and further soil factors. Based on microsatellites, we calculated expected heterozygosity (He) because it best‐explained, among other indices, iFDCV. We performed multiple linear regression models quantifying relationships among iFDCV, abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity and genetic diversity, and also between separate functional traits and abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity or genetic diversity. We found that abiotic within‐habitat heterogeneity influenced iFDCV twice as strong compared to genetic diversity. Both aspects together explained 77% of variation in iFDCV (Radj2 = .77, F2, 10 = 21.66, p < .001). The majority of functional traits (releasing height, biomass, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, Fv/Fm, and performance index) were related to abiotic habitat conditions indicating responses to environmental heterogeneity. In contrast, only morphology‐related functional traits (releasing height, biomass, and leaf area) were related to genetics. Our results suggest that both within‐habitat heterogeneity and genetic diversity affect iFDCV and are thus crucial to consider when aiming to understand or predict changes of plant species performance under changing environmental conditions.
Up to now, it is unclear which aspect of intraspecific functional trait variation (ITV) can be attributed to the environment or to genetics under natural and present environmental conditions. Here, we used data from an extensive field study (260 individuals from 13 locations) on the (semi-)dry calcareous grassland species Trifolium montanum (mountain clover). We demonstrated that abiotic within-habitat heterogeneity had twice as much impact as genetic diversity on ITV explaining together 77% of variation.
Questions
Has plant species richness in semi‐natural grasslands changed over recent decades? Do the temporal trends of habitat specialists differ from those of habitat generalists? Has there been a ...homogenization of the grassland vegetation?
Location
Different regions in Germany and the UK.
Methods
We conducted a formal meta‐analysis of re‐survey vegetation studies of semi‐natural grasslands. In total, 23 data sets were compiled, spanning up to 75 years between the surveys, including 13 data sets from wet grasslands, six from dry grasslands and four from other grassland types. Edaphic conditions were assessed using mean Ellenberg indicator values for soil moisture, nitrogen and pH. Changes in species richness and environmental variables were evaluated using response ratios.
Results
In most wet grasslands, total species richness declined over time, while habitat specialists almost completely vanished. The number of species losses increased with increasing time between the surveys and were associated with a strong decrease in soil moisture and higher soil nutrient contents. Wet grasslands in nature reserves showed no such changes or even opposite trends. In dry grasslands and other grassland types, total species richness did not consistently change, but the number or proportions of habitat specialists declined. There were also considerable changes in species composition, especially in wet grasslands that often have been converted into intensively managed, highly productive meadows or pastures. We did not find a general homogenization of the vegetation in any of the grassland types.
Conclusions
The results document the widespread deterioration of semi‐natural grasslands, especially of those types that can easily be transformed to high production grasslands. The main causes for the loss of grassland specialists are changed management in combination with increased fertilization and nitrogen deposition. Dry grasslands are most resistant to change, but also show a long‐term trend towards an increase in more mesotrophic species.
Semi‐natural grasslands are famous for their high plant species diversity. In a meta‐analysis of 23 data sets from Germany and the UK we show that the total species richness in wet grasslands has declined over time, while in dry grasslands the number of species did not consistently change. However, there was a general decrease in the proportion of habitat specialists.
Despite the fact that dry grassland vegetation on ultramafics has been the
object of continuous research in previous centuries, there remains a
knowledge gap in regard to the initial stages of ...vegetation on ultramafic
substrates. The Stipa-dominated dry grasslands of Serbia and Kosovo
representing various initial phases in the overgrowth of ultramafic rocks
were the object of the present study. A total of 213 relev?s were made in
different steppe-like Stipa species-dominated grasslands on ultramafics of
Serbia including Kosovo, and were then analysed in the context of Balkan dry
grassland vegetation of the Festuco-Brometea class. For cluster analyses,
new relev?s were analysed in order to characterize them floristically and
sintaxonomically. For describing associations, we used the concept of
?relative fidelity?? allowing us to find the optimum occurrence of a species
within a group of floristically similar communities. The threshold of the
phi value was selected at 0.1 for new associations. Four new associations
were distinguished: Stachyo scardicae-Stipetum tirsae ass. nov., Euphorbio
glabriflorae-Stipetum pulcherrimae ass. nov., Alysso serbici-Stipetum
pulcherrimae ass. nov. and Thymo striati-Stipetum mayerii ass. nov. Relev?s
dominated by Stipa novakii were asigned to previously described Stipetum
novaki Kabas et D. Lakusic 2013. The first three new associations were
assigned to Potentillion visianii, while the latter was assigned to the
Centaureo kosaninii-Bromion fibrosi alliance of the Halacsyetalia sentneri
order.
Gorjanci, Haloze, Kum and Pohorje are four Slovenian areas in which the Natura 2000 network seeks to preserve important European habitat types of grasslands along with their species. This article ...presents a survey of attitudes towards nature conservation and Natura 2000 sites among farmers who in the period 2015–2020 actively participated in a LIFE project aimed at the management and conservation of dry grasslands. Compared to other residents of Slovenia, the farmers participating in the project are more aware of Natura 2000 sites and have a more positive attitude towards them. As a result of the project, a significant share of farmers changed their views on the importance of preserving species-rich grasslands (58%) and on agricultural practices carried out in them (43%).
Revisiting the classical Gradmann’s ‘steppe theory’ for central Europe, we examine whether the early Holocene steppe habitats survived the critical period of maximum Holocene afforestation: the ...mid-Holocene bottleneck. Despite the undisputable fact that afforestation was a dominant ecological factor in this period, our parallel analyses of pollen and molluscs from sedimentary sequences discovered in the dry lowland area of northern Bohemia, Czech Republic (Zahájí and Suchý potok sites, lower Ohře area) provide strong evidence for uninterrupted local occurrence of steppe grasslands throughout the Holocene. At the onset of the Neolithic agriculture, this area was covered by forest-steppe. Analogously to the present forest-steppe landscapes of eastern Europe and south-western Siberia, dry areas of northern Bohemia were dominated by open-canopy pine–birch forests that enabled continuous survival of many light-demanding plant species from the late Glacial and early Holocene to the Neolithic. Later on, anthropogenic deforestation and livestock grazing created a semi-natural steppe. Our data suggest that this secondary steppe can be viewed as a direct continuation of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene natural steppe rather than a purely cultural steppe developed only after deforestation of a continuously forested mid-Holocene landscape by humans. At the same time, we provide evidence supporting Gradmann’s ‘steppe theory’, assuming that in central Europe, Neolithic farming started in those areas that were not completely forested but contained remnants of natural steppes. This finding has important implications for the interpretation of present biodiversity patterns in central Europe.
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