Moderately common plants show highest relative losses

Jansen, Florian; Bonn, Aletta; Bowler, Diana E.; Bruelheide, Helge; Eichenberg, David

doi:10.1111/conl.12674

Cited by 27 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Such common specialist species are of concern because common species are often overlooked in favor of the many threatened and endangered species in Hawai'i. Even globally, common species are often overlooked, even though systemic declines associated with common species are increasingly recognized in a variety of taxa and the loss of naturally occurring common species is bound to be devastating to ecosystem structure, function, and services [107,108]. Common species on the specialist end of the continuum should be targeted for additional climate change mitigation research (e.g., physiological sensitivity analysis) to support natural area managers in the struggle to preserve and conserve biological diversity in the face of climate change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classifying Hawaiian plant species along a habitat generalist-specialist continuum: Implications for species conservation under climate change

Ainsworth

Drake

2020

PLoS ONE

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Plant communities on tropical high islands, such as the Hawaiian Islands, are predicted to experience rapid climate change, resulting in novel climates. If increased temperature and/ or drought exceed plant species' current tolerances, species that are unable to adapt or shift ranges risk extinction. By definition, habitat generalists have a wide niche breadth and thrive in a variety of habitats, whereas habitat specialists have a narrow niche breadth, and typically thrive under more specific climatic characteristics (e.g., cold). The objectives of this study were to: (1) classify plant species in the Hawaiian Islands along a habitat generalistspecialist continuum;(2) independently test the validity of species rankings, using environmental and biogeographic ranges; and (3) identify species' life-history traits that predict species location along the continuum. We quantified specialization for 170 plant species using species co-occurrence data from over one thousand plots to rank species' realized habitat niche breadth using the Jaccard index. The distribution of species along this continuum differed by species biogeographic origin, with endemic plant species ranked on the specialist end and non-native plant species ranked on the generalist end. Habitat specialization rankings also differed for four of nine tested variables (while controlling for biogeographic origin): number of habitat moisture types, minimum elevation, number of Hawaiian Islands, and life form. Life form was the only trait tested that differed across the continuum, with woody species ranked as stronger generalists than herbaceous species; this pattern was particularly evident for non-native species. This indirect method of estimating species' potential climatic flexibility uses increasingly available large plant community data sets with output rankings which represent species' realized habitat niches. Identifying species and plant communities that are on the habitat specialist end of the continuum allows for their prioritization in conservation planning, as globally the loss of specialists is an indication of degradation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classifying Hawaiian plant species along a habitat generalist-specialist continuum: Implications for species conservation under climate change

Ainsworth

Drake

2020

PLoS ONE

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“…Some can become rare rapidly, for example the near‐total loss of once‐dominant American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ) from eastern North American forests in the early 20th century caused by the non‐native pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica (Paillet, 2002). Others show gradual, but significant declines, for example 19 abundant North American land bird species each experienced population reductions of >50 million birds over 48 years (Rosenberg et al., 2019), and common plants showed the greatest declines in occurrence over 20 years in Germany (Jansen, Bonn, Bowler, Bruelheide, & Eichenberg, 2020). Repeated national sampling of common species will provide early warning signals to prompt action (Schmeller et al., 2018; Wintle, Runge, & Bekessy, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing integrated measurements of Essential Biodiversity Variables at a national scale

Bellingham

Richardson

Gormley

et al. 2020

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. There is a global need for observation systems that deliver regular, timely data on state and trends in biodiversity, but few have been implemented, and fewer still at national scales. We describe the implementation of measurement of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) on an 8 km × 8 km grid throughout New Zealand, with multiple components of biodiversity (vegetation, birds, and some introduced mammals) measured simultaneously at each sample point. 2. Between 2011 and 2017, all public land was sampled nationally (ca. 1,350 points) and some private land (ca. 500 points). Synthetic appraisals of the state of New Zealand's biodiversity, not possible previously, can be derived from the first measurement of species distribution, population abundance, and taxonomic diversity EBVs. 3. Native bird counts (all species combined) were about 2.5 times greater per sample point in natural forests and shrublands than in non-woody ecosystems, and native bird counts exceeded those of non-native birds across all natural forests and shrublands. 4. Non-native plants, birds, and mammals are invasive throughout, but high-rainfall forested regions are least invaded, and historically deforested rain shadow regions are most invaded. 5. National reporting of terrestrial biodiversity across New Zealand's public land is established and becoming normalised, in the same manner as national and international reporting of human health and education statistics. The challenge is extending coverage across all private land. Repeated measurements of these EBVs, which began in 2017, will allow defensible estimates of biodiversity trends. K E Y W O R D S biological invasions, grid-based sampling, non-native birds, state and trend monitoring, systematic biodiversity assessment This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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“…Like in the present study, a study in north-east Germany reported that approx. 60% of the 355 studied species were declining and that moderately common species declined strongest (Jansen et al, 2020). Similarly, in north-west Germany Bruelheide et al (2020) reported significant declines for a large number of plant species, mainly herbs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2009), regional and trans-regional scales (e.g. Bruelheide et al, 2020; Jansen et al, 2020; Finderup Nielsen et al, 2019; Jandt et al, 2011; Staude et al, 2020) and at small-scales, e.g. on the plot-level (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread decline in plant diversity across six decades

Eichenberg

Bowler

Bonn

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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Based on plant occurrence data covering all parts of Germany, we investigated changes in the distribution of 2146 plant species between 1960 and 2017. We analyzed 29 million occurrence records over an area of ∼350.000 km2 on a 5 × 5 km grid using temporal and spatio-temporal models and accounting for sampling bias. Since the 1960s, more than 70% of investigated plant species showed significant declines in nation-wide occurrence. Archaeophytes (species introduced before 1492) most strongly declined but also native plant species experienced severe declines. In contrast, neophytes (species introduced after 1492) increased in their nation-wide occurrence but not homogeneously throughout the country. Our analysis suggests that the strongest declines in native species already happened in the 1960s-80s, a time frame in which usually few data exist. Increases in neophytic species were strongest in the 1990s and 2010s. Overall, the increase in neophytes did not compensate for the loss of other species, resulting in a decrease in mean grid-cell species-richness of -1.9% per decade. The decline in plant biodiversity is a widespread phenomenon occurring in different habitats and geographic regions. It is likely that this decline has major repercussions on ecosystem functioning and overall biodiversity, potentially with cascading effects across trophic levels. The approach used in this study is transferable to large-scale trend analyses using heterogeneous occurrence data.

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Moderately common plants show highest relative losses

Cited by 27 publications

References 23 publications

Classifying Hawaiian plant species along a habitat generalist-specialist continuum: Implications for species conservation under climate change

Classifying Hawaiian plant species along a habitat generalist-specialist continuum: Implications for species conservation under climate change

Implementing integrated measurements of Essential Biodiversity Variables at a national scale

Widespread decline in plant diversity across six decades

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