Traits of riparian woody plants responding to hydrological and hydraulic conditions: a northern Swedish database

Bejarano, María Dolores; Maroto, Judit; Aguiar, Francisca C.

doi:10.1002/ecy.1533

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Two species ( Lonicera periclymenum and Lycopodium complanatum ) out of the initial 46 were rare and were omitted from further analysis. We used a simplified version of the mixed data‐type database of riparian species traits from northern Sweden (Bejarano, Maroto, Nilsson, & Aguiar, ) to characterize the morphology, phenology, reproduction and ecology of the selected riparian woody species (see Table .1 in Appendix for trait attributes dataset). To define guilds based on species traits, we first ran a principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) for each set of traits, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riparian plant guilds become simpler and most likely fewer following flow regulation

Bejarano

Nilsson

Aguiar

2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Abstract1. River regulation affects riparian systems world-wide and conservation and restoration efforts are essential to retain biodiversity, and the functioning and services of riverine ecosystems. Effects of regulation on plant species richness have been widely addressed, but the filtering effect of regulation on guilds has received less attention.2. We used a functional trait approach to identify adaptive plant strategies through regulation-tolerant traits and predict shifts of riparian vegetation communities in response to regulation. We analysed variation in functional diversity across gradients of hydrological alteration in northern Sweden in relation to modified timing and infrequent major floods, along with frequent short-term inundation.3. Functional richness was similar in all study sites, but species richness declined with increasing intensity of regulation, and the species lost were largely functionally redundant (i.e. co-existing species that have similar contribution to an ecosystem function). Guilds of species intolerant to waterlogging were particularly unsuccessful in most regulated sites as they were affected by hydropower dams which replace major fluvial disturbances with frequent short inundation events. We predict that this guild will disappear, with likely consequences for the entire riverine ecosystem. Synthesis and applications.We conclude that functional traits tolerant to waterlogging or submergence and lack of major fluvial disturbances were key to understanding our results. We suggest that the functional trait approach can be integrated with knowledge of other ecosystem components to provide an understanding of ecosystem function that can be used to guide fluvial ecosystem management. K E Y W O R D Sflow regulation, fluvial ecosystem management, functional diversity, guilds, plant traits, riparian vegetation, riverine ecosystems, rivers, Sweden

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Riparian plant guilds become simpler and most likely fewer following flow regulation

Bejarano

Nilsson

Aguiar

2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Functional groups include species sharing certain traits, resulting in common habitat requirements and responses to environmental changes. Despite the growing number of studies using functional groups, they remain somewhat controversial because they depend on which traits have been considered, especially when classification is limited by the information that is available in trait databases [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifts in Riparian Plant Life Forms Following Flow Regulation

Bejarano

Sarneel

et al. 2020

Forests

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Flow regulation affects bordering riparian plant communities worldwide, but how different plant life forms are affected by river regulation still needs further research. In northern Sweden, we selected 10 rivers ranging from free-flowing to low, moderately, and highly regulated ones. In 94 reaches across those rivers, we evaluated the relative abundance of woody and herbaceous (i.e., graminoids and forbs) life forms, their species richness, and their relative presence. We also explored which, and to what extent, hydrological variables drove species assembly within each life form. The relative abundance and species richness of each life form decreased across river categories with increasing levels of regulation. This was particularly apparent in herbaceous life forms, and the most drastic decreases were observed in all life forms in moderately or highly regulated reaches. Additionally, when river regulation increased, the relative presence of many species from all life forms decreased. Unlike woody species, only a few new herbaceous species appeared in regulated reaches. A canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) revealed that a wide range of hydrological variables explained the occurrence of woody species, while fewer variables explained variation in the graminoid and forb life forms. We conclude that flow regulation and its intensity result into clear shifts in the relative abundance of different life forms, as well as in changes of within-group species richness and composition. Consequently, the modification of certain flow attributes in flow regulation schemes, as well as the intensity of these modifications, may alter the ratio between herbaceous and woody species, ultimately impacting the functions and benefits derived from each life form.

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“…, Bejarano et al. ), hence, germination may become a bottleneck for recruitment under hydropeaking, ultimately affecting the maintenance of riparian populations (Walck et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The different morphological and physiological traits of these species mean that they differ in tolerance to hydro‐geomorphological conditions (Bejarano et al. ). In addition, Helianthus was chosen to reflect physical conditions for germination and seedling development.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%