Estimating multiple benefits from vegetation in mediterranean ecosystems

Abstract

Ecosystems of the Mediterranean region are characterized by a heterogeneous and dynamic landscape mosaic of vegetation formations that provide diverse benefits: agro pastoral products, ecosystem services, and other utilities. Valuation of these benefits in different states of the ecosystem is an important step towards conservation, decision making, and land management. Yet, studies of this kind are scarce, especially cases dealing with more than one benefit. Multiple benefits evaluation is not straightforward; it involves many difficulties and questions which have no agreed solutions, e.g. estimation, common currency, and optimal solution. In this study we present a methodology for the estimation of three benefits in different components of Mediterranean woody vegetation in Israel. Densities of geophyte wildflowers, honey flowers, and fleshy fruits as food for birds were measured within five vegetation components defined by dominant plant functional types, in four sites with different disturbance histories. Each benefit was measured in its own units. The results showed significant differences between vegetation states in values of each benefit. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the contributions of different cover components for these three benefits. Furthermore, this indicates that it is possible to estimate the level of benefits at larger scales as a first approximation, by considering only the composition of the vegetation cover. The values for the three benefits were standardized to illustrate the question of multiple benefits valuation. This method does not lead to an optimization, but can nevertheless provide a useful tool toward conservation and rational management by land managers and policy makers.

Effects of plant community composition and flowering phenology on honeybee foraging in Mediterranean sylvo‐pastoral systems

“…The role of plant communities for honeybee foraging detected in our system did not fit well with other observations in diverse Mediterranean ecosystems, assessed through a different approach (Koniak et al. ). This latter approach was based on the assignment of a ‘potential nectar value’ and a ‘potential pollen value’ to vegetation units identified on the basis of the dominant functional types instead of their floristic composition: herbs, dwarf shrubs, low shrubs, tall shrubs and low trees.…”

“…Mosaics of plant communities resulting from human intervention provide different types of ecosystem services (EES; Koniak et al. ; Yapp et al. ).…”

“…Koniak et al. ). In addition to propolis, honeydew and resins, nectar and pollen are the main raw substances offered by flowers to bees, so that entomophilous plants can be readily divided into nectariferous, polleniferous and polleniferous/nectariferous categories (Villanueva‐Gutierrez ).…”

Geophytes–herbivore interactions: reproduction and population dynamics of Anemone coronaria L.

“…Anemone coronaria L. (Feibrun-Dothan and Danin 1991) is a geophyte with massive and attractive flowering during winter and early spring; it is common in open Mediterranean landscapes that are often used for livestock grazing (Koniak et al 2009). A. coronaria in Israel is colour polymorphic, red flowers are most common (Shmida and Dafni 1989;Dafni et al 1990), but white, pink, blue and violet flowers also occur in the same or different populations.…”

Diversity patterns of monocotiledonous geophytes in Mexico

“…Geophytes are often conspicuous components of vegetation after burning (Doussi & Thanos 2002, Verboom et al 2002, Tyler & Borchert 2003, Koniak et al 2009). This life form is more common in monocots, in families like Iridaceae, Orchidaceae, Hyacinthaceae, Amaryllidaceae and Anthericaceae and only occurs in very few dicot taxa (Meerow 2013).…”