Vascular plant compositional gradients within and between Iowa fens

Nekola, Jeffery C.

doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02320.x

Cited by 40 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The main gradient of mire vegetation composition in both regions was associated with water pH, as in many other studies on mires (Bragazza & Gerdol 2002;Sj€ ors & Gunnarsson 2002;Nekola 2004;Tahvanainen 2004;Navr atilov a et al 2006;Lamentowicz et al 2010;Lemly & Cooper 2011). Nevertheless, such a result is observed less often in alpine mires as compared to lower altitude mires because of the shorter acidity-alkalinity gradient and strong effects of altitude and geomorphology (H ajkov a et al 2006).…”

Section: Gradients In Floristic Composition and Their Ecological Detesupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Many studies support the hypothesis that the local species composition of mire vegetation is mainly affected by the acidity-alkalinity gradient (e.g. Bragazza & Gerdol 2002;Sj€ ors & Gunnarsson 2002;Nekola 2004;Tahvanainen 2004;Lamentowicz et al 2010). Most of these studies focused on mire vegetation below the timber line.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…While in the West Carpathians they covaried strongly with pH and conductivity, in the Alps they formed an independent gradient, which probably coincides with water regime. Precipitation influences the water level even in minerotrophic fens (Dickinson et al 2002;Nekola 2004). A high water level can suppress Sphagnum species and blocks the succession towards Sphagnum mires in calcium-rich fens (Granath et al 2010;Jabło nska et al 2011).…”

Section: Gradients In Floristic Composition and Their Ecological Detementioning

confidence: 99%

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Vegetation–environment relationships in alpine mires of the West Carpathians and the Alps

Sekulová

Hájek

Syrovátka

2013

J Vegetation Science

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Questions How do two distant mountain ranges differ in their vegetation–environment relationships, overall species composition and its variability and species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes in alpine fens and bogs? Is the floristic difference consistent along the acidity–alkalinity gradient? Location West Carpathians (Poland, Slovakia) and Swiss Alps. Methods Vascular plant and bryophyte species compositions and environmental characteristics were sampled along the large acidity–alkalinity gradient within the alpine belts. PERMANOVA was used for testing floristic differences between the regions, DCA for the patterns description, CCA for testing the vegetation–environment relationships and linear models for testing the local species richness determinants. Compositional β‐diversity (rate of compositional turnover) and regional species pool were compared using PERMDISP and sample‐based rarefaction curves. Results Most floristic variation was explained by water pH in both regions. Macroclimate was the second most important gradient in the Alps, correlating with the second DCA axis delimiting the moderately poor brown‐moss fens from the Sphagnum bogs. The species composition differed significantly between the regions in all three pH classes, expect for bryophytes in the middle pH class. Bryophytes exhibited higher similarities between the regions, except in acidic mires. Vascular plant composition differed most in the middle pH class. The local species richness was predominantly determined by pH, except for bryophytes in the Alps. As compared to bryophytes, vascular plant local species richness was affected by more factors and showed a clear linear response to pH. Within the particular pH classes, there were few differences in local species richness, compositional β‐diversity and regional species pool between the two mountain ranges. Conclusions The pattern in inter‐regional floristic dissimilarities differs between bryophytes and vascular plants, probably because of better dispersal ability of bryophytes, and different causes of these dissimilarities: lower mass effect at extreme ends of the acidity–alkalinity gradient in the case of vascular plants and higher compositional β‐diversity of acidic mires in the case of bryophytes. Contrary to previously explored alpine springs of the same regions, local species richness and composition were determined rather by pH than mineral richness, and all patterns were more consistent between the regions and the taxonomic groups.

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Section: Gradients In Floristic Composition and Their Ecological Detesupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Gradients In Floristic Composition and Their Ecological Detementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Vegetation–environment relationships in alpine mires of the West Carpathians and the Alps

Sekulová

Hájek

Syrovátka

2013

J Vegetation Science

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“…Richness at BCR is not particularly high, however, compared with modern herbaceous wetland vegetation. Fens in Iowa average 12 species per 0.25-m 2 quadrat, and 80 species per fen (Nekola 2004). Midwestern U.S. fens as small as 80 ha can have .500 species (Amon et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape

Wing

Strömberg

Hickey

et al. 2012

Ecological Monographs

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Abstract. We describe an in situ fossil flora of Late Cretaceous age (;73 Ma [megaannum or million years]) from Big Cedar Ridge in central Wyoming, USA, which we sampled using a modified line-intercept method to quantify the relative abundances of 122 taxa at 100 sites across 4 km of exposed sedimentary deposits. We also measured three physical variables at each site: paleotopographic level, grain size, and total organic content. Paleoenvironmental conditions and paleofloral composition at Big Cedar Ridge covary strongly and are highly heterogeneous on small spatial scales. The reconstructed vegetation has some similarities with extant topogenous fens, but also important differences. Non-monocot angiosperms were abundant only on wet, mineral substrates that had been disturbed shortly before preservation, consistent with the weedy life histories that are inferred for their Early Cretaceous ancestors. Many non-monocot angiosperms grew in small, dispersed populations, consistent with the hypothesis that they were biotically pollinated. Overall, non-monocot angiosperm abundance was low compared with many modern wetlands. A single species of coryphoid palm was the dominant on moist, stable, moderately organic-rich sites, a pattern seen in some subtropical to tropical wetlands in the present day. Fern thickets at Big Cedar Ridge occupied highly organic, possibly low-nutrient substrates, and were dominated by Dipteridaceae, Gleicheniaceae, Schizaeaceae, and Matoniaceae. The overall high diversity and abundance of pteridophytes is unusual in the context of modern vegetation, regardless of climate zone, and probably represents a late occurrence of pteridophyte-dominated vegetation that was common earlier in the Mesozoic. Plant distributions at Big Cedar Ridge combine aspects of pre-angiosperm and modern vegetation in a way that suggests both niche conservatism and niche evolution on geological time scales.

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“…Prairie fen is a globally rare wetland ecosystem that occurs in relatively high frequency in the Midwestern United States. Known to harbor extremely high species diversity in small and frequently isolated patches, prairie fens are considered biodiversity hotspots that are threatened by the same factors affecting species diversity globally (Spieles et al 1999;Amon et al 2002;Bedford & Godwin 2003;Nekola 2004), e.g. habitat loss, invasive species, and pollution (Wilcove et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Shift in Pollinator Communities Following Invasive Species Removal

Fiedler

Landis

Arduser

2011

Restoration Ecology

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Ecological restoration is increasingly used to reverse degradation of rare ecosystems and maintain biological diversity. Pollinator communities are critical to maintenance of plant diversity and, in light of recent pollinator loss, we tested whether removal of invasive glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus L.) from portions of a prairie fen wetland altered plant and pollinator communities. We compared herbaceous plant, bee, and butterfly abundance, diversity, and species composition in buckthorn invaded, buckthorn removal, and uninvaded reference plots. Following restoration, we found striking differences in plant and pollinator abundance and species composition between restored, unrestored, and reference plots. Within 2 years of F. alnus removal, plant species diversity and composition in restored plots were significantly different than invaded plots, but also remained significantly lower than reference plots. In contrast, in the first growing season following restoration, bee and butterfly abundance, diversity, and composition were similar in restored and reference plots and distinct from invaded plots. Our findings indicate that a diverse community of mobile generalist pollinators rapidly re-colonizes restored areas of prairie fen, while the plant community may take longer to fully recover. This work implies that, in areas with intact pollinator metapopulations, restoration efforts will likely prevent further loss of mobile generalist pollinators and maintain pollination services. On the other hand, targeted restoration efforts will likely be required to restore populations of rare plants and specialist pollinators for which local and regional species pools may be lacking.

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Vascular plant compositional gradients within and between Iowa fens

Cited by 40 publications

References 36 publications

Vegetation–environment relationships in alpine mires of the West Carpathians and the Alps

Vegetation–environment relationships in alpine mires of the West Carpathians and the Alps

Floral and environmental gradients on a Late Cretaceous landscape

Rapid Shift in Pollinator Communities Following Invasive Species Removal

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