Functional diversity: a tool for answering challenging ecological questions

Mason, Norman W. H.; Bello, Francesco de

doi:10.1111/jvs.12097

Cited by 144 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Local plant varieties exhibit morphological and functional traits which determine their fitness , enabling adaptation to the harsh climate of drylands and to other disturbances. Moreover, species traits greatly influence ecosystem functions (Mason and de Bello, 2013). It is therefore advisable to promote genetically diverse local provenances in restoration projects, particularly in the context of harsh environmental conditions (Vander Mijnsbrugge et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Nunes

Oliveira

Mexia

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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Restoration efforts in the Mediterranean Basin have been changing from a silvicultural to an ecological restoration approach. Yet, to what extent the projects are guided by ecological restoration principles remains largely unknown. To analyse this issue, we built an on-line survey addressed to restoration practitioners. We analysed 36 restoration projects, mostly from drylands (86%). The projects used mainly soil from local sources. The need to comply with legislation was more important as a restoration motive for European Union (EU) than for non-EU countries, while public opinion and health had a greater importance in the latter. Non-EU countries relied more on non-native plant species than EU countries, thus deviating from ecological restoration guidelines. Nursery-grown plants used were mostly of local or regional provenance, whilst seeds were mostly of national provenance. Unexpected restoration results (e.g. inadequate biodiversity) were reported for 50% of the projects and restoration success was never evaluated in 22%. Long term evaluation (>6years) was only performed in 31% of cases, and based primarily on plant diversity and cover. The use of non-native species and species of exogenous provenances may: i) entail the loss of local genetic and functional trait diversity, critical to cope with drought, particularly under the predicted climate change scenarios, and ii) lead to unexpected competition with native species and/or negatively impact local biotic interactions. Absent or inappropriate monitoring may prevent the understanding of restoration trajectories, precluding adaptive management strategies, often crucial to create functional ecosystems able to provide ecosystem services. The overview of ecological restoration projects in the Mediterranean Basin revealed high variability among practices and highlighted the need for improved scientific assistance and information exchange, greater use of native species of local provenance, and more long-term monitoring and evaluation, including functional and ecosystem services' indicators, to improve and spread the practice of ecological restoration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Nunes

Oliveira

Mexia

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Question 5 highlights the need for better understanding of the character of ecological tipping points and limits to ES provision across a range of scales (Bommarco et al 2013;Lenton 2013;Mason and De Bello 2013). These transitions, known as thresholds or tipping points, can significantly affect the provision of ES ).…”

Section: Future Research Questions For Bessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying future research directions for biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainability: perspectives from early-career researchers

Hossain

Pogue

Trenchard

et al. 2017

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ec

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Citation for published item:rossinD wd rwr nd ogueD rh tF nd renhrdD viz nd n yudenhovenD elexnder F iF nd shourneD grlEvenne nd wuiruriD ivlyne F nd omzykD eleksndr wF nd qr¡ %EvlorenteD wrin nd rleD hel nd reviD iolet nd edmsD om nd vllliD veil nd he fellD i¢ n nd yeD wrin nd esendeD pernndo @PHIVA 9sdentifying future reserh diretions for iodiversityD eosystem servies nd sustinility X perspetives from erlyEreer reserhersF9D snterntionl journl of sustinle development world eologyFD PS @QAF ppF PRWEPTIF Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTWe aimed to identify priority research questions in the field of biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainability (BESS), based on a workshop held during the NRG BESS Conference for Early Career Researchers on BESS, and to compare these to existing horizon scanning exercises. This work highlights the need for improved data availability through collaboration and knowledge exchange, which, in turn, can support the integrated valuation and sustainable management of ecosystems in response to global change. In addition, clear connectivity among different research themes in this field further emphasizes the need to consider a wider range of topics simultaneously to ensure the sustainable management of ecosystems for human wellbeing. In contrast to other horizon scanning exercises, our focus was more interdisciplinary and more concerned with the limits of sustainability and dynamic relationships between social and ecological systems. The identified questions could provide a framework for researchers, policy makers, funding agencies and the private sector to advance knowledge in biodiversity and ES research and to develop and implement policies to enable sustainable future development. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Further, there is strong evidence of the importance of species functional traits to determine the organization of communities (Petchey & Gaston, 2006;Mason & De Bello, 2013). For instance, studies that analyzed different aspects related to algal biological traits showed that algal life form, adherence, and locomotion are key traits that determine algae response to light (Lange et al, 2011), nutrients (Passy, 2007;Piggott et al, 2012), sediment deposition (Piggott et al, 2012), disturbance (Passy, 2007;Schneck & Melo, 2012), substrate roughness (Schneck et al, 2011b), and dispersal patterns (Wetzel et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Patterns in species and functional dissimilarity: insights from periphytic algae in subtropical floodplain lakes

2015

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Understanding spatial and temporal changes in species composition has long demanded the attention of ecologists. However, only recently questions related to changes in species functional traits have been investigated. We explored patterns of species and functional dissimilarity of periphytic algae at six lakes sampled over a year across a subtropical floodplain. We evaluated the importance of turnover and nestedness components across space and time; the influence of environmental dissimilarity, spatial distance, and time on species and functional dissimilarity; and whether functional dissimilarity results from nonstochastic assembly processes. We used six functional traits to describe 155 species. Functional dissimilarity was estimated by functional dendrograms, and stochasticity was evaluated using null models. The turnover component was greater than nestedness for species and functional dissimilarity. Environmental dissimilarity, spatial distance, or time did not significantly explain species or functional dissimilarity. However, functional dissimilarity was significantly greater than expected given the observed species dissimilarity. The main finding of this study is that community assembly was deterministic with respect to traits. Further, each lake contributed similarly to the overall species and traits pool. These results highlight the importance of comparing species and functional dissimilarities to reach a better understanding of the organization of periphytic algal communities.

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Functional diversity: a tool for answering challenging ecological questions

Cited by 144 publications

References 21 publications

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Identifying future research directions for biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainability: perspectives from early-career researchers

Patterns in species and functional dissimilarity: insights from periphytic algae in subtropical floodplain lakes

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