Plant community patterns in Moroccan temporary ponds along latitudinal and anthropogenic disturbance gradients

Madihi, Mohammed El; Rhazi, Laïla; Broeck, Maarten Van den; Rhazi, Mouhssine; Waterkeyn, Aline; Saber, Er-Riyahi; Bouahim, Siham; Arahou, Moustapha; Zouahri, Abdelmajid; Guelmami, Anis; Müller, Serge; Brendonck, Luc; Grillas, Patrick

doi:10.1080/17550874.2017.1346716

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Hydroperiod was not found to be an important predictor of floristic richness. These results were surprising, since moderate water level fluctuations may increase floristic richness [68], and severe droughts may also reduce it [69]. The effects of water fluctuation in the investigated SSL are unclear, because: (1) most of the temporary SSL were very small, making it difficult to disentangle the influence of surface area from that of hydroperiod; and (2) water level fluctuations were not quantified.…”

Section: Drivers Of Macrophyte Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Principal Determinants of Aquatic Macrophyte Communities in Least-Impacted Small Shallow Lakes in France

Labat

Thiébaut

Piscart

2021

Water

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Small shallow lakes (SSL) support exceptionally high and original biodiversity, providing numerous ecosystem services. Their small size makes them especially sensitive to anthropic activities, which cause a shift to dysfunctional turbid states and induce loss of services and biodiversity. In this study we investigated the relationships between environmental factors and macrophyte communities. Macrophytes play a crucial role in maintaining functional clear states. Better understanding the factors determining the composition and richness of aquatic plant communities in least-impacted conditions may be useful to protect these shallow lakes. We inventoried macrophyte communities and collected chemical, climatic, and morphological data from 89 least-impacted SSL widely distributed in France. SSL were sampled across four climatic ecoregions, various geologies, and elevations. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed a clear separation of four macrophyte assemblages strongly associated with mineralization. Determinant factors identified by distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA) analysis were, in order of importance, geology, distance from source (DIS, a proxy for connectivity with river hydrosystems), surface area, climate, and hydroperiod (water permanency). Surprisingly, at a country-wide scale, climate and hydroperiod filter macrophyte composition weakly. Geology and DIS are the major determinants of community composition, whereas surface area determines floristic richness. DIS was identified as a determinant in freshwater lentic ecosystems for the first time.

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Section: Drivers Of Macrophyte Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Principal Determinants of Aquatic Macrophyte Communities in Least-Impacted Small Shallow Lakes in France

Labat

Thiébaut

Piscart

2021

Water

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“…This sediment was taken from two sets of three ponds on 4 December 2013 in each of an agricultural and a forested area. The ponds were selected based on the high species richness of their propagule bank (forest propagule richness = 46, 52, and 54 species and agricultural propagule richness = 50, 43, and 37 species; Bouahim et al, 2014;El Madihi et al, 2017;Rhazi et al, 2001). From each pond, 2 m² (1 m² of the peripheral zone and 1 m² of the centre) of the upper 3 cm of sediment containing the active seed (Rhazi et al, 2001) and egg bank (Brendonck & De Meester, 2003) were collected.…”

Section: Mesocosm Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock disturbances in Mediterranean temporary ponds: A mesocosm experiment with sheep manure and simulated trampling

et al. 2019

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The number and quality of temporary wetlands are declining worldwide and many of the remaining habitats are used as pastures and drinking sites for livestock. Livestock can impact wetlands through a combination of herbivory (defoliation), trampling (physical disturbance), and defecation (nutrient input), but how these influence community structure is still poorly understood. It is nonetheless generally accepted that wetland management can include some grazing, and that properly managed livestock can play a major role in wetland conservation. In Mediterranean temporary ponds, however, it is suggested that grazing might negatively affect macrophyte biodiversity within the pond basin. The impact of livestock on the characteristic freshwater fauna also remains understudied. Using an outdoor mesocosm experiment, we focused on two effects of sheep livestock (trampling and defecation) and their combination, on water quality and on faunal and floral communities from Moroccan temporary ponds. Communities from forested and agricultural sites (pond type) were also compared in a factorial design with treatments. We found that sheep‐simulated trampling and nutrient input decreased hatching invertebrate and plant richness, while lasting effects on water quality and actively colonising communities were limited. Temporary pond communities from forested and agricultural sites differed in species composition and interacted with treatments in their effects on hatching crustaceans and macrophyte species composition. Treatments had a larger effect on the species composition of forest ponds compared to agricultural ponds. These results highlight the complex effects livestock may have on aquatic communities. Water quality, taxonomic groups, and trophic levels responded negatively to trampling and waste treatments and these responses changed with pond type. With worldwide declines of seasonal wetland habitat, the effects of land use (i.e. livestock grazing) on these ecosystems and their biota are important to consider for integrated and sustainable management.

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“…Cyrilla racemiflora) were common indicator species of plots farther from the ditch, and an obligate upland species, Rhus copallinum, was an indicator for drier plots adjacent to the ditch. Other studies have found similar effects of altered hydrology on plant community diversity and composition in wetlands (Murphy et al 2009, El Madihi 2017. For example, in a study of wetlands in a Chinese agricultural region, ditch-impacted communities showed lower diversity and greater incursion of upland species (Lu et al 2009).…”

Section: Treatment Effects On Wetland Species Abundancementioning

confidence: 78%

Long‐term nutrient enrichment, mowing, and ditch drainage interact in the dynamics of a wetland plant community

2020

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Fertilization studies have elucidated basic principles of the role of nutrients in shaping plant communities and demonstrated the potential effects of anthropogenic nutrient deposition. Yet less is known about how these effects are mediated by interacting ecological factors, particularly in nutrient-poor wetland habitats. In a long-term experiment in a coastal plain wetland, we examined how fertilization and mowing affected the diversity and composition of a plant community as it reestablished after major disturbance. A drainage ditch in proximity to the experimental plots allowed us also to consider the influence of hydrology and its interactions with nutrient addition. Fertilization decreased species richness, with wetland specialist species showing especially great losses, and several lines of evidence suggest that the effect was mediated by competition for light. Altered hydrology via ditch drainage had effects that were similar to fertilization, with more rapidly draining plots showing lower diversity and decreased abundance of wetland species. Plant community diversity and dynamics were influenced by complex interactions between fertilization, disturbance, and hydrology. The negative effect of fertilization on species richness was initially mitigated by mowing, but in later years was more evident in mowed than in unmowed plots. In the absence of disturbance, nutrient addition increased the rate of transition to primarily woody communities. Similarly, drained plots experienced increased rates of succession compared to wetter plots. Our results suggest that these interactions need to be considered to understand the potential effects of anthropogenic nutrient addition and hydrologic alterations to wetland ecosystems.

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Plant community patterns in Moroccan temporary ponds along latitudinal and anthropogenic disturbance gradients

Cited by 13 publications

References 57 publications

Principal Determinants of Aquatic Macrophyte Communities in Least-Impacted Small Shallow Lakes in France

Principal Determinants of Aquatic Macrophyte Communities in Least-Impacted Small Shallow Lakes in France

Livestock disturbances in Mediterranean temporary ponds: A mesocosm experiment with sheep manure and simulated trampling

Long‐term nutrient enrichment, mowing, and ditch drainage interact in the dynamics of a wetland plant community

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