Fire affects the functional diversity of epilithic lichen communities

Giordani, Paolo; Rizzi, Guido; Caselli, Andréa; Modenesi, Paolo; Malaspina, Paola; Mariotti, Mauro

doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2015.11.003

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Along our disturbance gradient, our measures of epiphytic lichen species richness, community composition, and functional traits richness, performed well when detecting the negative effect of land use intensity. However, functional traits have an advantage over community structure and species richness, of providing evidence of potential alterations in the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships [21,22,24]. In this context, photobiont type and growth form of epiphytic lichens are easily measured and could be suitable indicators for detecting land-use intensity along riparian margins in Andean ecosystems.…”

Section: Application In Biomonitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For these reasons, several biological traits of lichens as such as photobiont type, growth, reproduction, and development can be affected by environmental changes [19][20][21][22]. In this manner, these functional traits can be used as a complementary approach to better understand ecosystems because they allow us to assess the biodiversity and their relationship with ecosystem functioning [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lichen Responses to Disturbance: Clues for Biomonitoring Land-use Effects on Riparian Andean Ecosystems

et al. 2019

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The transformation of natural ecosystems due to anthropogenic land use is considered one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Lichens, due to their poikilohydric nature, are very sensitive to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Therefore, lichen communities have been widely used as bioindicators of climatic and environmental changes. In this study, we evaluated how the species richness and community composition of epiphytic lichens respond to land-use intensity in riparian ecosystems of the Andes in southern Ecuador. Additionally, we evaluate how the richness of six functional traits (photobiont type, growth form, and reproductive strategy) changed across the different land-use intensity. We selected 10 trees in twelve sites for a total de 120 trees, equally divided into four riparian land-use intensities (forest, forest-pasture, pasture and urban). We recorded a total of 140 lichen species. Species richness was highest in the forest sites and decreased towards more anthropogenic land uses. Lichen community composition responded to land-use intensity, and was explained by microclimate variables (e.g., precipitation, percentage forested area) and distance to the forest. Richness of functional traits of lichens also differed significantly among the four land-use intensity and decreased from forests to urban land-use. Taxonomic diversity and functional traits can be effectively applied as bioindicators to assess and monitor the effects of land-use changes in the riparian ecosystems of tropical montane regions.

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Section: Application In Biomonitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lichen Responses to Disturbance: Clues for Biomonitoring Land-use Effects on Riparian Andean Ecosystems

et al. 2019

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“…Functional attributes were assigned to each trait (i.e. values or modalities taken by the trait and varying along environmental gradients and/or through time; Giordani et al 2016). A multidimensional functional space was identified for both the world and regional datasets (lichens found on ultramafics and lichens found on both ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates, respectively) placing each taxon according to its functional niche and calculating functional distances between species in each dataset.…”

Section: Functional Traits and Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, the study of functional traits of species (sensu Violle et al 2007) and their direct links to environmental factors has been shown to allow comparisons among different ecosystems and across regions (Giordani et al 2012). In the case of lichens, the study of morpho-physio-phenological traits influencing growth, reproduction and survival have clarified relationships between lichen traits and environmental factors, including disturbance, solar radiation, water drainage, fire, land management, and climate gradients (Giordani et al 2014;Nelson et al 2015;Giordani et al 2016). Similar analyses of functional traits of lichens with respect to substrate and other macro-and micro-environmental factors have not been performed with respect to lichen communities in ultramafic areas alone or in comparison with those on non-ultramafic substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and functional traits of lichens in ultramafic areas: a literature‐based worldwide analysis integrated by field data at the regional scale

Favero‐Longo

Matteucci

Giordani

et al. 2018

Ecological Research

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While higher plant communities found on ultramafics are known to display peculiar characteristics, the distinguishability of any peculiarity in lichen communities is still a matter of contention. Other biotic or abiotic factors, rather than substrate chemistry, may contribute to differences in species composition reported for lichens on adjacent ultramafic and non‐ultramafic areas. This work examines the lichen biota of ultramafics, at global and regional scales, with reference to species‐specific functional traits. An updated world list of lichens on ultramafic substrates was analyzed to verify potential relationships between diversity and functional traits of lichens in different Köppen–Geiger climate zones. Moreover, a survey of diversity and functional traits in saxicolous communities on ultramafic and non‐ultramafic substrates was conducted in Valle d'Aosta (North‐West Italy) to verify whether a relationship can be detected between substrate and functional traits that cannot be explained by other environmental factors related to altitude. Analyses (unweighted pair group mean average clustering, canonical correspondence analysis, similarity‐difference‐replacement simplex approach) of global lichen diversity on ultramafic substrates (2314 reports of 881 taxa from 43 areas) displayed a zonal species distribution in different climate zones rather than an azonal distribution driven by the shared substrate. Accordingly, variations in the frequency of functional attributes reflected reported adaptations to the climate conditions of the different geographic areas. At the regional scale, higher similarity and lower species replacement were detected at each altitude, independent from the substrate, suggesting that altitude‐related climate factors prevail over putative substrate–factors in driving community assemblages. In conclusion, data do not reveal peculiarities in lichen diversity or the frequency of functional traits in ultramafic areas.

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“…We used a standard set of lichen traits that have been utilized frequently in previous studies of the community and functional ecology of lichens (Giordani et al, 2012, Nelson et al, 2015, and Giordani et al 2016. Growth form, dominant reproductive mode, photosynthetic symbiont, and substrate were recorded for each of the 193 species.…”

Section: Sampling and Dataset Assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the impacts of sea-level rise on coastal biodiversity: A case study on lichens in the mid-Atlantic Coast of eastern North America

Allen

Lendemer

2016

Biological Conservation

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Preliminary, large-scale assessments of global sea-level rise (SLR) have predicted significant impacts to coastal and island biodiversity. Region-specific estimates of SLR impacts that incorporate accurate species distributions and local rates of SLR are now required for effective conservation planning. Here we use a dataset of >13,000 occurrence records for lichens, obligate symbiotic fungi, in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of eastern North America to model distributions of 193 species. The resulting models were used to quantify the amount of each species' distribution that is occupied by unsuitable land use types, along with the potential area that will be lost to SLR. We show that species have likely already lost an average of 32% of their distributional area to development and agriculture, and are predicted to lose an average of 12.4 and 33.7% of their distributional area with one foot (~0.3 m) and six feet (~1.8 m) of SLR, respectively. Functional and taxonomic groups were compared to identify specific effects of SLR. We show that species reproducing with symbiotic propagules have significantly larger distributions than species that reproduce sexually with fungal spores alone, and that the sexually reproducing species are predicted to lose greater distributional area to SLR. Cladonia species occupy significantly less area in the MACP than Parmotrema species and are predicted to lose more of their distributions to SLR. We further examined patterns of total species diversity and found that the area with the highest diversity is the Dare Peninsula in North Carolina, which is also predicted to lose the most land area to SLR. The workflow established here is flexible and applicable to estimating SLR impacts worldwide and can provide essential insights for local conservation planning.

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Fire affects the functional diversity of epilithic lichen communities

Cited by 18 publications

References 59 publications

Lichen Responses to Disturbance: Clues for Biomonitoring Land-use Effects on Riparian Andean Ecosystems

Lichen Responses to Disturbance: Clues for Biomonitoring Land-use Effects on Riparian Andean Ecosystems

Diversity and functional traits of lichens in ultramafic areas: a literature‐based worldwide analysis integrated by field data at the regional scale

Quantifying the impacts of sea-level rise on coastal biodiversity: A case study on lichens in the mid-Atlantic Coast of eastern North America

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