A comprehensive approach to analyzing community dynamics using rank abundance curves

Avolio, Meghan L.; Carroll, Ian T.; Collins, Scott L.; Houseman, Gregory R.; Hallett, Lauren M.; Isbell, Forest; Koerner, Sally E.; Komatsu, Kimberly J.; Smith, Melinda D.; Wilcox, Kevin R.

doi:10.1002/ecs2.2881

Cited by 105 publications

(101 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…We compared plant species richness in each 30 m × 30 m plot across deer exclosure treatments (fenced, not fenced) using a t ‐test, with burn regimes (annual, four‐year) as replicates to determine if plant species richness was inversely related to deer and fire presence. For each subplot, we calculated plant species richness and Evar, an evenness metric based on variance in plant species abundance that is independent of species richness (Smith and Wilson, 1996; Avolio et al, 2019). We assessed differences in richness and evenness at the subplot level using linear mixed‐effects regression models, with deer exclosure treatments (fenced, not fenced), burn regime (annual, four‐year), and their interaction as fixed effects, and plot nested within burn regime as a random effect.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of white‐tailed deer exclusion on the plant community composition of an upland tallgrass prairie ecosystem

Bloodworth

Ritchie

Komatsu

2020

J Vegetation Science

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Questions: Grasslands support ecosystem services, promote diversity, and assist in carbon sequestration. However, grasslands worldwide are diminishing in area, and understanding the drivers shaping the remaining grasslands is critical for their maintenance. The North American tallgrass prairie covers approximately 13% of its historical range and is shaped by fire and herbivory. Fire frequency negatively correlates with plant species richness, while bison (Bos bison)-the historical grazers-offset this effect. However, bison populations have declined, and large browsers are increasing in density. Few studies though have examined the role of large browsers-particularly white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)-and their interaction with fire frequency in tallgrass prairies. Here, we addressed two questions: (a) What are the impacts of deer on plant diversity, species identities, and relative abundances; and (b) is there an interactive effect between the pressures exerted by deer and the well-documented effects of fire in driving plant community responses? Location: This study took place at the Konza Prairie Biological Station in northeastern Kansas, USA. Methods: Using a 22-year deer exclosure experiment, we examined differences in plant species richness, evenness, and plant community composition between plots that were either accessible or inaccessible to deer, in areas burned annually or once every four years. Results: We did not find significant effects of deer or interactive effects between deer and burning frequency on any metric of the plant community measured, including plant species richness, evenness, and plant community composition. Conclusions: Contrary to the impact that deer have in other ecosystems (e.g. forests), our results indicate that deer do not affect the plant community of herbaceous-dominated tallgrass prairies. These results indicate that while the loss of bison-grazers has shifted tallgrass prairie plant communities to C 4 grass-dominated systems, the shift to browsing-dominated herbivore pressure from deer has a minimal effect on the plant community. 900 | Journal of Vegetation Science BLOODWORTH eT aL.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of white‐tailed deer exclusion on the plant community composition of an upland tallgrass prairie ecosystem

Bloodworth

Ritchie

Komatsu

2020

J Vegetation Science

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“…Front yards were, on average, 108 m 2 smaller than back yards. We used the community_strucure() function in the codyn package (Hallett et al, 2019) to calculate species richness and evenness using Evar, a measure of evenness (Smith and Wilson, 1996;Avolio et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time Is Not Money: Income Is More Important Than Lifestage for Explaining Patterns of Residential Yard Plant Community Structure and Diversity in Baltimore

et al. 2020

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Plant biodiversity is affected by limiting resources such as water, nutrients, and sunlight. In urban settings, such as residential yards, however, limiting resources may also include the social factors of time and money spent on yard care. To examine the role that these precious human resources play in determining plant community structure and diversity, we surveyed homeowners and their yards in 12 neighborhoods across Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland, visiting a total of 96 residential properties. We chose neighborhoods based on residents' median income (a proxy for money) and lifestage (a proxy for time) as determined by ESRI's Tapestry dataset [older (>65 and most likely retired with more free time) versus younger (<65 and most likely working with less free time)]. At each residential yard, we studied four major plant types: lawn species, flowering herbaceous plants (excluding grasses), trees, and invasive species. For the flowering plants, we documented the number, size, and color of flowers, and calculated total floral area. We found that residential yards harbored high plant diversity with 89 tree species, 82 lawn species, and 80 flowering plant genera. Lawn richness was not related to the neighborhood-level lifestage of the residents or their income,; rather, all lawns were equally weedy. Consistently, we found that yards in higher income neighborhoods and larger yards had greater abundance of plants and greater diversity of flowering herbaceous plants, trees, and invasive species, whereas lifestage was rarely associated with plant diversity. Additionally, we found front yards had greater floral area than back yards, while back yards had greater tree abundance and tree diversity than front yards. Finally, we found that residents who spent more time doing yard work had more flowering plants, flower colors, and floral genera. Overall, yards in highincome neighborhood, and large yards had the greatest plant biodiversity, indicating that money is the more precious human resource for creating and maintaining biodiverse residential yards.

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“…We applied RAC_change() function (Avolio et al, 2019) in codyn package to calculate species gain and loss within each plot from 2017 to 2018. Species gains and losses were then compared across precipitation and clipping treatments using ANCOVA.…”

Section: Species Gains Losses and Turnovermentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought mildly reduces plant dominance in a temperate prairie ecosystem across years

Castillioni

Wilcox

Jiang

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Shifts in dominance and species reordering can occur in response to global change. However, it is not clear how altered precipitation and disturbance regimes interact to affect species composition and dominance. We explored community‐level diversity and compositional similarity responses, both across and within years, to a manipulated precipitation gradient and annual clipping in a mixed‐grass prairie in Oklahoma, USA. We imposed seven precipitation treatments (five water exclusion levels [−20%, −40%, −60%, −80%, and −100%], water addition [+50%], and control [0% change in precipitation]) year‐round from 2016 to 2018 using fixed interception shelters. These treatments were crossed with annual clipping to mimic hay harvest. We found that community‐level responses were influenced by precipitation across time. For instance, plant evenness was enhanced by extreme drought treatments, while plant richness was marginally promoted under increased precipitation. Clipping promoted species gain resulting in greater richness within each experimental year. Across years, clipping effects further reduced the precipitation effects on community‐level responses (richness and evenness) at both extreme drought and added precipitation treatments. Synthesis: Our results highlight the importance of studying interactive drivers of change both within versus across time. For instance, clipping attenuated community‐level responses to a gradient in precipitation, suggesting that management could buffer community‐level responses to drought. However, precipitation effects were mild and likely to accentuate over time to produce further community change.

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A comprehensive approach to analyzing community dynamics using rank abundance curves

Cited by 105 publications

References 45 publications

Effects of white‐tailed deer exclusion on the plant community composition of an upland tallgrass prairie ecosystem

Effects of white‐tailed deer exclusion on the plant community composition of an upland tallgrass prairie ecosystem

Time Is Not Money: Income Is More Important Than Lifestage for Explaining Patterns of Residential Yard Plant Community Structure and Diversity in Baltimore

Drought mildly reduces plant dominance in a temperate prairie ecosystem across years

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