Effects of human activity on the distribution and abundance of an endangered Mediterranean high-mountain plant (Erysimum penyalarense)

Mediterranean mountains are extraordinarily diverse and hold a high proportion of endemic plants, but they are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and most species distribution models project drastic changes in community composition. Retrospective studies and long-term monitoring also highlight that Mediterranean highmountain plants are suffering severe range contractions. The aim of this work is to review the current knowledge of climate change impacts on the process of plant regeneration by seed in Mediterranean high-mountain plants, by combining available information from observational and experimental studies. We also discuss some processes that may provide resilience against changing environmental conditions and suggest some research priorities for the future. With some exceptions, there is still little evidence of the direct effects of climate change on pollination and reproductive success of Mediterranean high-mountain plants, and most works are observational and/or centred only in the post-dispersal stages (germination and establishment). The great majority of studies agree that the characteristic summer drought and the extreme heatwaves, which are projected to be more intense in the future, are the most limiting factors for the regeneration process. However, there is an urgent need for studies combining elevational gradient approaches with experimental manipulations of temperature and drought to confirm the magnitude and variability of species 0 responses. There is also limited knowledge about the ability of Mediterranean high-mountain plants to cope with climate change through phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation processes. This could be achieved by performing common garden and reciprocal translocation experiments with species differing in life history traits.

show abstract

“…; Amat et al . ). However, there may be other sources of risk such as the disruption of mutualistic interactions.…”

Section: Impacts Of Climate Change On Reproduction and Regeneration Omentioning

confidence: 97%

How does climate change affect regeneration of Mediterranean high‐mountain plants? An integration and synthesis of current knowledge

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We show that pyrophytic species such as Drosophyllum, which respond to indirect fire-related germination cues (e.g., increase in light levels; Correia and Freitas, 2002), may significantly benefit from local-scale disturbances providing such cues. The positive effects of non-fire, anthropogenic disturbances have been largely overlooked in studies examining the distribution of pyrophytes, although such effects are well known in other species (Farris et al, 2009;Amat et al, 2013). However, in a recent study in which the roles of extensive grazing and prescribed burning on heathland biodiversity were examined, Velle et al (2014) highlighted the positive effect of such disturbances on rates of endemism in heathland communities.…”

Section: ⁄⁄mentioning

confidence: 99%

Local-scale disturbances can benefit an endangered, fire-adapted plant species in Western Mediterranean heathlands in the absence of fire

Paniw

Salguero‐Gómez

Ojeda

2015

Biological Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Land use change and modifications of human practices are a major threat to rare species populations in the Mediterranean region (Amat, Vargas, & Gómez, 2013;Andrieu, Thompson, & Debussche, 2007;Domínguez Lozano, Moreno Saiz, & Sainz Ollero, 2003;Gauthier et al, 2017;Hardion et al, 2015;Minuto, Casazza, & Profumo, 2004;Pouget, Baumel, Diadema, & Médail, 2016;Salanon, Gandioli, Kulesza, & Pintaud, 1994). Initially, eight populations were "expected" to have some form of impact and indeed one population of each of S. capensis, O. mitissima and C. lineatus showed a significant decrease in both occupation and abundance, and the latter two populations disappeared before the end of the study.…”

Section: Population Disturbance and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing vulnerability of listed Mediterranean plants based on population monitoring

Gauthier¹,

Pons²,

Fisogni³

et al. 2019

Journal for Nature Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

show abstract

Effects of human activity on the distribution and abundance of an endangered Mediterranean high-mountain plant (Erysimum penyalarense)

Cited by 17 publications

References 38 publications

How does climate change affect regeneration of Mediterranean high‐mountain plants? An integration and synthesis of current knowledge

How does climate change affect regeneration of Mediterranean high‐mountain plants? An integration and synthesis of current knowledge

Local-scale disturbances can benefit an endangered, fire-adapted plant species in Western Mediterranean heathlands in the absence of fire

Assessing vulnerability of listed Mediterranean plants based on population monitoring

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About