Vegetation dynamics on sediment deposits upstream of bioengineering works in mountainous marly gullies in a Mediterranean climate (Southern Alps, France)

Rey, Freddy; Isselin-Nondedeu, Françis; Bédécarrats, A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5593-5_29

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Among the four clusters which were clearly identified in this study, cluster 1 is composed of native shrubs and grasses supposed to be the most suitable to prevent erosion. Given that these species are dominant in marly gullies (Vallauri ; Rey et al ; Burylo et al ), and that some of them ( Ononis fruticosa, Hippophae rhamnoïdes , and Achnatherum calamagrostis ) were used during restoration operations based on secular knowledge (Vallauri et al ), this result is thus consistent. Tree species are absent from cluster 1, confirming the major influence of low vegetation, which offers a good ground cover, on erosion processes (Rey , ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Species Traits as Practical Tools for Ecological Restoration of Marly Eroded Lands

Burylo¹,

Dutoit

Rey³

2014

Restoration Ecology

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International audiencePlant functional traits are increasingly used in restoration ecology because they have the potential to guide restoration practices at a broad scale. This article presents a trait-based multi-criteria framework to evaluate and predict the performance of 17 plant seedlings to improve ecological restoration of marly eroded areas in the French Southern Alps. The suitability of these species to limit soil erosion was assessed by studying both their response to erosive forces and their effect on erosion dynamics. We assumed that species efficiency could be explained and predicted from plant traits and we looked for trait-performance relationships. Our results showed that root slenderness ratio, the percentage of fine roots and root system topology, were the three root morphology traits best describing anchorage strength. Root system characterized by a long and thin tap root and many fine lateral ramifications would be the best to resist concentrated runoff. Species response to burial mainly depended on growth form and morphological flexibility. The abilities of species in reinforcing the soil and reducing erosion rates were negatively correlated to root diameter and positively to the percentage of fine roots. Moreover, root system density and root tensile strength also influenced root reinforcement. Finally, the ability to trap sediment was positively correlated to leaf area and canopy density. Species were then scored and classified in four clusters according to their global performance. This method allows identifying species that possess both response and effect traits related to the goal of preventing erosion during ecological restoration

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Species Traits as Practical Tools for Ecological Restoration of Marly Eroded Lands

Burylo¹,

Dutoit

Rey³

2014

Restoration Ecology

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“…Seeds deposited under shrubs are not likely to be lost by surface wash, even under extreme rainfall conditions (Aerts et al, 2006), and hoof prints strongly reduce the traveled distance of postdispersed seeds (Isselin-Nondedeu et al, 2006); both seedling and species numbers are twice as high in the microtopographies shaped by plants and cattle as in the adjacent bare soil (Isselin-Nondedeu and Bédécarrats, 2007). Furthermore, bioengineering works, such as vegetation barriers and structures installed perpendicular to the slope, can trap and retain seeds effectively (Urbanska, 1997;Rey et al, 2005). Our previous observations in the Zhifanggou watershed showed that the densities of the soil seed bank under the tussock and in the silted sites are significantly higher than the seed density in the gap between vegetation.…”

Section: Shrub Species With High Seed Loss and Sparse Distributionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Can seed removal through soil erosion explain the scarcity of vegetation in the Chinese Loess Plateau?

et al. 2011

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“…Understanding the fate of seeds in overland flow is also a critical issue for the successful restoration of severely eroded slopes (such as road embankments, roadcuts, mine spoils, burnt areas). The advances in the knowledge of significant seed characteristics able to prevent seed removal by runoff and of the trapping efficiency of plants, litters and depressions in the soil surface and their consequences on successful plant recruitment are of potential great benefit to practitioners and policy makers involved in road slope restoration (Rey et al, 2005). The use of recently developed models combining overland flow dynamics with seed fate and erosion can also be of great benefit in designing restoration projects of plant communities on eroded hillslopes (Thompson et al, 2014).…”

Section: Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of seeds in the soil: a review of the influence of overland flow on seed removal and its consequences for the vegetation of arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems

Bochet¹

2014

Preprint

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Abstract. Since seeds are the principle means by which plants move across the landscapes, the final fate of seeds plays a fundamental role in the assemblage, functioning and dynamics of plant communities. Once seeds land on the soil surface after being dispersed from the parent plant, they can be moved horizontally by surface runoff. In arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems, where seeds are scattered into a very heterogeneous environment and intense rainfalls occur, the transport of seeds by runoff to new sites may be an opportunity for seeds to reach more favourable sites for seed germination and seedling survival. Although seed transport by runoff may be of vital importance for the recruitment of plants in these ecosystems, it has received little attention in the scientific literature, especially among soil scientists. The main goals are (1) to offer an updated conceptual model of seed fate with a special attention to seed destiny in and on the soil, (2) to review studies on seed fate in overland flow and the ecological implications seed transport by runoff has for the origin, spatial patterning and maintenance of patches and for plant community composition in arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems, and finally (3) to point out directions for future research. Our review shows that seed fate in overland flow may result either in the export of seeds from the system (seed loss) or in the spatial redistribution of seeds within the system through short-distance seed movements (seed displacement). Seed transport by runoff depends on rainfall, slope and soil characteristics. Seed susceptibility to be removed varies highly between species and is mainly related to seed traits, as seed size, seed shape, presence of appendages, and seed ability to secrete mucilage. Although initially considered as a risk of seed loss, seed removal by runoff has recently been described as an ecological driver that shapes plant composition from the first phases of the plant life, by favouring species with seeds able to resist erosion and by selecting for plant traits that prevent seed loss. Moreover, the interaction of seed transport by overland flow with the high seed trapping capacity of vegetated patches results in a "patch-to-patch" transport of seeds that plays a relevant role in vegetation establishment and patterning in arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems. Overall, this review shows how the knowledge about seed fate in overland flow can be used to explain a number of important characteristics of whole plant communities. It also underlines important gaps of knowledge that should be filled in. Future lines of research are proposed in order to broaden our understanding of the origin, maintenance and dynamics of patchiness in arid and semiarid ecosystems and to improve restoration success of intensively eroded ecosystems.

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Vegetation dynamics on sediment deposits upstream of bioengineering works in mountainous marly gullies in a Mediterranean climate (Southern Alps, France)

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

Species Traits as Practical Tools for Ecological Restoration of Marly Eroded Lands

Species Traits as Practical Tools for Ecological Restoration of Marly Eroded Lands

Can seed removal through soil erosion explain the scarcity of vegetation in the Chinese Loess Plateau?

The fate of seeds in the soil: a review of the influence of overland flow on seed removal and its consequences for the vegetation of arid and semiarid patchy ecosystems

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