Conservation of remnant populations of Colchicum autumnale – The relative importance of local habitat quality and habitat fragmentation

Adriaens, Dries; Jacquemyn, Hans; Honnay, Olivier; Hermy, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2008.08.003

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…An important role of ''patch quality'' as determinant of occupancy patterns has been shown for plants (Adriaens et al 2009), butterflies (Thomas et al 2001;Fleishman et al 2002), moths (Summerville and Crist 2004), other insects (Wettstein and Schmid 1999;Heisswolf et al 2009), amphibians (Marsh and Trenham 2001) birds (Verboom et al 1991;Lloyd 2008), small mammals (Holland and Bennett 2007), primates (Arroyo-Rodriguez and Mandujano 2006), and carnivores (Virgos 2001;Mortelliti and Boitani 2008). Several authors have made a plea for the incorporation of habitat quality in metapopulation models (Thomas et al 2001;Armstrong 2005), and the importance of habitat quality has been recognized by theoretical studies that have investigated the usefulness of including patch quality in metapopulation models (Moilanen and Hanski 1998;DeWoody et al 2005) and in connectivity metrics (Visconti and Elkin 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of habitat quality in fragmented landscapes: a conceptual overview and prospectus for future research

2010

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There is increasing empirical evidence that the quality of habitat patches (determined by either habitat degradation or natural heterogeneity in the quality of habitat) plays an important role in determining species distribution patterns and in regulating spatial dynamics in fragmented landscapes. However, to date, most of the debate has focused on whether or not to include habitat variables in fragmentation studies, and we still lack general conclusions as well as standard and robust research approaches. In this paper we show how a weak conceptualization of "patch quality" and the inappropriate choice of target surrogate variables (e.g., density is often used as an indicator of patch quality) have mainly produced case-specific results, rather than general conclusions. We then identify weaknesses in the inclusion of habitat quality measurements within fragmentation studies. In particular, we focus on: (1) the lack of appropriate experimental design, outlining how few studies have actually included a gradient of habitat quality in their sample; (2) the lack of fundamental information provided (e.g., lack of standard outputs), which in turn hampers the possibility of carrying out meta-analyses. We finally synthesize available knowledge from empirical studies and highlight the different conceptual frameworks needed for patch occupancy versus patch use studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of habitat quality in fragmented landscapes: a conceptual overview and prospectus for future research

2010

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“…Decreasing diversity and performance within fragmented populations is, therefore, indicative of the combined impact of altered population distribution and a decline in habitat quality. Whereas the former is typically investigated from a population genetic perspective, the latter can be evaluated by measuring changes in vegetative and reproductive capacity, population structure or long-term demography (Adriaens et al, 2009). These two aspects of habitat fragmentation are not, however, independent in their effects, since inbreeding can reduce flowering and seed production (Lienert et al, 2002;Paschke et al, 2002;Lienert, 2004;Robledo-Arnuncio et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2010) in addition to the impacts of reduced habitat quality outlined above.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced tree health and seedling production in fragmented Fagus sylvatica forest patches in the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

Barbeta

Peñuelas

Ogaya

et al. 2011

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…; Adriaens et al. ), and could have an effect on the redistribution of matter and energy. The influence of fragment size and changes in community structure and resource availability on ecosystem functioning has been poorly studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…These effects are sometimes modulated by disturbances that remove large amounts of biomass that alter the nutrient cycle, such as grazing and fire (Oesterheld et al 1999). In fragmented landscapes ANPP may be controlled by patch size and isolation, because these factors affects processes of colonization and extinction of species as a result of changes in habitat quality (Hanski 1991;Thomas et al 2001;Adriaens et al 2009), and could have an effect on the redistribution of matter and energy. The influence of fragment size and changes in community structure and resource availability on ecosystem functioning has been poorly studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragment size, vegetation structure and physical environment control grassland functioning: a test based on artificial neural networks

Herrera

Texeira

Paruelo

2012

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions How do fragment‐level characteristics affect remnant grassland functioning in a highly transformed landscape? Are artificial neural networks (ANNs) a better statistical tool to model variations in grassland functioning compared to linear regression models (LRMs)? Location Tandilia Range, Southern Pampa, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Methods We characterized the dynamics of the vegetation functioning in 60 remnant grasslands using enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data provided by MODIS/Terra images from July 2000 to June 2005. First, we performed a principal components analysis (PCA) on the fragment mean monthly values of EVI in order to obtain synthetic measures (i.e. the PCA axes) of grassland functioning. Grassland fragments were also characterized by size, vegetation structure (abundance of the tall‐tussock grass Paspalum quadrifarium) and physical environment (soil type – abundance of litholitic soils – elevation, aspect and slope). The relationship between grassland functioning and these explanatory variables was explored using linear regression models (LRMs) and artificial neural networks (ANNs). Results The first and second PCA axes were related to the annual integral of EVI (EVI‐I) and EVI seasonality (EVI‐S), respectively; these explained jointly ca. 80% of total variability in mean EVI values. ANNs captured better than regression models the relationships among the proposed controls and the spatial variability of grassland functioning in Southern Pampa. Results showed that EVI‐I variability was related to all independent variables except aspect. While fragment size, litholitic soils and slope were negatively related to EVI‐I, the abundance of P. quadrifarium had a positive effect on the spectral index. Grasslands with high seasonality were large and had high slope and aspect, low abundance of P. quadrifarium and increased abundance of litholitic soils. Conclusions Our results showed that grassland functioning in Southern Pampa, as estimated by EVI, depends on fragment size, vegetation structure and physical factors (soil type, aspect and slope). Paspalum quadrifarium may have an important functional role in this grassland system.

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Conservation of remnant populations of Colchicum autumnale – The relative importance of local habitat quality and habitat fragmentation

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

The role of habitat quality in fragmented landscapes: a conceptual overview and prospectus for future research

The role of habitat quality in fragmented landscapes: a conceptual overview and prospectus for future research

Reduced tree health and seedling production in fragmented Fagus sylvatica forest patches in the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

Fragment size, vegetation structure and physical environment control grassland functioning: a test based on artificial neural networks

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