Extreme habitat loss in a Mediterranean habitat:<i>Maytenus senegalensis</i>subsp.<i>europaea</i>

Mendoza-Fernández, Antonio J.; Martínez-Hernández, Fabián; Pérez-García, Francisco J.; Garrido-Becerra, Juan Antonio; Benito, Blas M.; Salmerón-Sánchez, Esteban; Guirado, Jose; Merlo, Encarna; Poveda, Juan Francisco Mota

doi:10.1080/11263504.2014.995146

Cited by 34 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The Mediterranean region of Europe, particularly the province of Almería in south-eastern Spain, has one of the largest concentrations of protected crop production in the world with around 30,000 ha of greenhouse vegetable production. This intensive horticulture creates a landscape characterized by crops under high pressure of pests and diseases (Glass & González, 2012), with non-crop areas dominated by non-native weedy species and little remaining native vegetation (Mendoza et al , 2015). The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), namely tobacco whitefly, and the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), commonly known as western flower thrips are the most abundance insect pest species in this horticultural system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Native perennial vegetation has demonstrated value in horticultural systems by showing less risk for hosting vegetable pests than non-native weedy plants, and by harbouring predators and parasitoids of pests (Rencken, 2006; Stephens et al , 2006; Fiedler & Landis, 2007 a , b ; Schellhorn et al , 2010; Bianchi et al , 2013). The native flora of Almería is typical of Mediterranean semi-arid environments and is rich in shrubs adapted to the harsh and variable climate (Mendoza et al , 2015). Similarly, terrestrial arthropod fauna in semi-arid areas of SE Spain are highly diverse (Piñero et al , 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selecting native perennial plants for ecological intensification in Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture

Rodrı́guez

González

Paredes

et al. 2017

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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Natural control by predators and parasitoids provides an important and often unnoticed ecosystem service to agricultural landscapes by reducing pest populations in crops. The current model of horticultural intensification in south-eastern Spain produces high yields but has also resulted in a landscape almost completely covered by plastic. Promoting natural areas among greenhouses could enhance biodiversity, by being beneficial insects, and reduce pest pressure outdoors. The first step is to ascertain how pests and their natural enemies (NEs) use Mediterranean vegetation for selecting the best plants for pest suppression outdoors. The abundance of the two major horticultural pests, the tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, together with their NEs, were assayed in 22 flowering perennial plants, which were newly planted in an experimental field surrounded by greenhouses. Eight plant species were identified as the most critical species for sustaining pest populations outdoors. A set of five plant species supported a medium level of pests, and another set of ten plant species supported the lowest level of both pests. Tobacco whitefly occurred in a few plants species, whereas western flower thrips occurred on almost all the plant species studied, and was favoured by the presence of flowers in perennial plants. The results suggest that plant diversity may provide relatively few acceptable host plants for tobacco whitefly than for western flower thrips. NEs were generally collected in plants that also supported abundance of pests, indicating that host/prey availability, more than food resources from flowers, was a stronger predictor of NE abundance in perennial plants. Field trials using the plants with the lowest host acceptance by pests are needed in order to ascertain whether pest abundance outdoors is reduced.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selecting native perennial plants for ecological intensification in Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture

Rodrı́guez

González

Paredes

et al. 2017

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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“…Many other plant species (shrubs, climbers, forbs, grasses) grow within its canopy forming patches with bare soil in between 31 . It is distributed throughout North Africa and Southeast Spain, where it is found in coastal areas 32 . Lycium intricatum (Solanaceae) is a thorny shrub with drought-deciduous, succulent leaves and shallow roots 33 that can be found in coastal systems either associated to facilitator species such as Maytenus 31 or Ziziphus lotus or isolated 2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant-plant competition outcomes are modulated by plant effects on the soil bacterial community

Hortal

Lozano

Bastida

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Competition is a key process that determines plant community structure and dynamics, often mediated by nutrients and water availability. However, the role of soil microorganisms on plant competition, and the links between above- and belowground processes, are not well understood. Here we show that the effects of interspecific plant competition on plant performance are mediated by feedbacks between plants and soil bacterial communities. Each plant species selects a singular community of soil microorganisms in its rhizosphere with a specific species composition, abundance and activity. When two plant species interact, the resulting soil bacterial community matches that of the most competitive plant species, suggesting strong competitive interactions between soil bacterial communities as well. We propose a novel mechanism by which changes in belowground bacterial communities promoted by the most competitive plant species influence plant performance and competition outcome. These findings emphasise the strong links between plant and soil communities, paving the way to a better understanding of plant community dynamics and the effects of soil bacterial communities on ecosystem functioning and services.

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“…The main European population of the shrub species is located in a flat coastal area surrounded by greenhouses in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, Spain. This population has been affected by several threats for many decades, including sand mining [30,31], reducing the amount of sand available to develop the Z. lotus fertility islands; urban pressure [32], which has reduced the potential distribution of Z. lotus; and the expansion of intensive agriculture [33,34], responsible for the decline in the level of the aquifer's water table, which may have caused the seawater intrusion [35,36]. Since 1944, several studies have evaluated this community of Z. lotus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-Temporal Object-Based Image Analysis to Detect Long-Lived Shrub Cover Changes in Drylands

et al. 2019

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Climate change and human actions condition the spatial distribution and structure of vegetation, especially in drylands. In this context, object-based image analysis (OBIA) has been used to monitor changes in vegetation, but only a few studies have related them to anthropic pressure. In this study, we assessed changes in cover, number, and shape of Ziziphus lotus shrub individuals in a coastal groundwater-dependent ecosystem in SE Spain over a period of 60 years and related them to human actions in the area. In particular, we evaluated how sand mining, groundwater extraction, and the protection of the area affect shrubs. To do this, we developed an object-based methodology that allowed us to create accurate maps (overall accuracy up to 98%) of the vegetation patches and compare the cover changes in the individuals identified in them. These changes in shrub size and shape were related to soil loss, seawater intrusion, and legal protection of the area measured by average minimum distance (AMD) and average random distance (ARD) analysis. It was found that both sand mining and seawater intrusion had a negative effect on individuals; on the contrary, the protection of the area had a positive effect on the size of the individuals’ coverage. Our findings support the use of OBIA as a successful methodology for monitoring scattered vegetation patches in drylands, key to any monitoring program aimed at vegetation preservation.

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Extreme habitat loss in a Mediterranean habitat:Maytenus senegalensissubsp.europaea

Cited by 34 publications

References 40 publications

Selecting native perennial plants for ecological intensification in Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture

Selecting native perennial plants for ecological intensification in Mediterranean greenhouse horticulture

Plant-plant competition outcomes are modulated by plant effects on the soil bacterial community

A Multi-Temporal Object-Based Image Analysis to Detect Long-Lived Shrub Cover Changes in Drylands

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