Plant community response to regional sources of dominant grasses in grasslands restored across a longitudinal gradient

Wilson, Laurel R.; Gibson, David J.; Baer, Sara G.; Johnson, Loretta C.

doi:10.1002/ecs2.1329

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Furthermore, broad-scale restorations typically use commercial seed making our experiment relevant for restorations. Additionally, plants of volunteer species from regional propagule sources also established on their own in the garden sites, making the composition of the community at each garden site a mix of volunteer and planted species (Goad 2012 ; Wilson 2013 ). Each plot was separated by a 4–6 m buffer strip.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific variation of a dominant grass and local adaptation in reciprocal garden communities along aUSGreat Plains' precipitation gradient: implications for grassland restoration with climate change

Johnson

Olsen

Tetreault

et al. 2015

Evolutionary Applications

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Identifying suitable genetic stock for restoration often employs a ‘best guess’ approach. Without adaptive variation studies, restoration may be misguided. We test the extent to which climate in central US grasslands exerts selection pressure on a foundation grass big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), widely used in restorations, and resulting in local adaptation. We seeded three regional ecotypes of A. gerardii in reciprocal transplant garden communities across 1150 km precipitation gradient. We measured ecological responses over several timescales (instantaneous gas exchange, medium-term chlorophyll absorbance, and long-term responses of establishment and cover) in response to climate and biotic factors and tested if ecotypes could expand range. The ecotype from the driest region exhibited greatest cover under low rainfall, suggesting local adaptation under abiotic stress. Unexpectedly, no evidence for cover differences between ecotypes exists at mesic sites where establishment and cover of all ecotypes were low, perhaps due to strong biotic pressures. Expression of adaptive differences is strongly environment specific. Given observed adaptive variation, the most conservative restoration strategy would be to plant the local ecotype, especially in drier locations. With superior performance of the most xeric ecotype under dry conditions and predicted drought, this ecotype may migrate eastward, naturally or with assistance in restorations.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific variation of a dominant grass and local adaptation in reciprocal garden communities along aUSGreat Plains' precipitation gradient: implications for grassland restoration with climate change

Johnson

Olsen

Tetreault

et al. 2015

Evolutionary Applications

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“…There are differences between local ecotypes and cultivars in their competitive ability and physiological characteristics (Gustafson, Gibson & Nickrent ; Lambert, Baer & Gibson ; Wilson et al . ). Moreover, such intraspecific variation in dominant species can alter the genetic composition of subordinate species (Gustafson et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The outcome of intraspecific genetic variation between local (ecotypes) and non-local (cultivar) propagule sources can have ecological consequences on community structure (Bailey et al 2009;Johnson, Vellend & Stinchcombe 2009;Schr€ oder & Prasse 2013). There are differences between local ecotypes and cultivars in their competitive ability and physiological characteristics (Gustafson, Gibson & Nickrent 2004a;Lambert, Baer & Gibson 2011;Wilson et al 2016). Moreover, such intraspecific variation in dominant species can alter the genetic composition of subordinate species ) and affect limiting similarity (Larson et al 2011(Larson et al , 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogenetic diversity reveals hidden patterns related to population source and species pools during restoration

Khalil

Gibson

Baer

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary A phylogenetic perspective of community assembly can reveal new insights into how variation within dominant species interacts with the local species pool to influence the structure of restored plant communities. Many studies have examined the effect of dominant species in structuring plant communities, but few have investigated their effect on phylogenetic diversity (PD). We established grassland in a post‐agricultural field using two population sources (cultivars and local ecotypes) of three dominant grasses (Sorghastrum nutans, Andropogon gerardii and Schizachyrium scoparium) with three unique pools of subordinate species that varied in PD but not taxonomic or life‐form diversity. We tested the effect of the population source treatment on two metrics of community PD (net relatedness index [NRI] and nearest taxon index [NTI]) during the first 4 years of restoration. The NRI measures the overall pairwise phylogenetic distance between all pairs of taxa in a community. By contrast, NTI measures the pairwise distance between closely related taxa in a community. Population sources had a transitory effect on community phylogenetic structure over time. Local ecotypes decreased the abundance of closely related eudicots, monocots (low +NRI and +NTI values) and volunteer species (−NTI) more than cultivars. However, population sources did not affect ecologically conservative species (i.e. species with intermediate‐to‐poor ecological tolerance and a high degree of fidelity to prairie habitats). Thus, cultivars might have a positive effect on community phylogenetic diversity more than local ecotypes by decreasing the abundance of a phylogenetically diverse community of less closely related volunteer species. Differences in PD of seed mixes were maintained in the community of high‐fidelity species, but did not affect PD of the unsown (volunteer) species in the assembling community. Synthesis and applications. This is the first experiment to show consequences of using different seed sources on phylogenetic diversity (PD) in grassland restoration. Phylogenetics can reveal the effects of population sources on the abundance of volunteer species not evident through traditional analyses of species diversity. The PD of seed mixes or establishing communities, or other assessments of phylogenetic relationships, by restoration practitioners is recommended as a metric to allow consequences of the evolutionary patterns among species to be included in conservation planning. Increased accessibility of phylogenetic tools will allow the application of PD in restoration monitoring.

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“…, Wilson et al. ) and an increasing interest in quantifying phylogenetic diversity (PD) to understand the importance of eco‐evolutionary legacies in restorations (Larkin et al. , Barber et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are a limited number of studies on the effect of plant population sources on community composition (Gibson et al 2013, Willand et al 2015, Wilson et al 2016 and an increasing interest in quantifying phylogenetic diversity (PD) to understand the importance of eco-evolutionary legacies in restorations , Barber et al 2017). The potential biotic filtering effect of the population source of dominant species in a restoration may be contingent upon a second biotic filter that is the accompanying suite of coexisting subordinate species (P€ artel et al 1996) and their functional traits (Funk et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional diversity is more sensitive to biotic filters than phylogenetic diversity during community assembly

et al. 2018

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. 2018. Functional diversity is more sensitive to biotic filters than phylogenetic diversity during community assembly. Ecosphere 9(3):e02164. 10. 1002/ecs2.2164 Abstract. Ecologically important functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness may provide mechanistic insight into biotic filters influencing community assembly. To assess this, we examined the relationship between functional diversity (FD, functional trait relatedness) and phylogenetic diversity (PD, evolutionary relatedness) during grassland restoration. Temporal changes in FD and PD were used to examine the effect of two biotic filters during community assembly: intraspecific variation in dominant species (different population sources) and interspecific variation among subordinate species (phylogenetically distinct species pools). The experimental grassland restoration contained whole plots sown with either cultivars or local ecotypes of three dominant grasses (Sorghastrum nutans, Andropogon gerardii, and Schizachyrium scoparium). Each whole plot contained subplots sown with three phylogenetically distinct pools of subordinate species. Cover of all species was measured in permanent sampling areas for ten years, and 10 functional traits were measured for 88 species, allowing calculation of PD and FD, respectively. Overall, the communities establishing with local ecotypes of the dominant grasses were functionally more dissimilar than when established with cultivars, particularly among the Asteraceae, suggesting competitive exclusion of functionally dissimilar species by cultivars. This result was opposite to our prediction that cultivars through limiting similarity would exclude more similar species more so than would local ecotypes. The effect of the dominant grass population source was contingent upon interactions with species pools. A supplemental propagule addition of functionally dissimilar species four years since initial sowing increased FD, but this effect varied among species pools. A lack of relationship between FD and PD in this system indicated that measuring PD alone without inclusion of functional traits may miss additional factors affecting species coexistence. In addition, the variation in FD between population sources and among species pools indicated that the measured traits were more sensitive to these factors than to their phylogenetic relationships. This analysis of long-term data from a field experiment showed new consequences of using different seed sources and species pools (as biotic filters), and supplemental seeding on PD and FD of restored grassland. Quantifying relevant functional traits in a phylogenetic framework could help identify plant population sources that enhance coexistence of desirable species.

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Plant community response to regional sources of dominant grasses in grasslands restored across a longitudinal gradient

Cited by 15 publications

References 52 publications

Intraspecific variation of a dominant grass and local adaptation in reciprocal garden communities along aUSGreat Plains' precipitation gradient: implications for grassland restoration with climate change

Intraspecific variation of a dominant grass and local adaptation in reciprocal garden communities along aUSGreat Plains' precipitation gradient: implications for grassland restoration with climate change

Phylogenetic diversity reveals hidden patterns related to population source and species pools during restoration

Functional diversity is more sensitive to biotic filters than phylogenetic diversity during community assembly

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