Growth-survival trade-offs and the restoration of non-forested open ecosystems

The growth-survival trade-off has been extensively documented for phanerophyte species, whereas there is little evidence for non-phanerophyte species. However, information on the growth-survival trade-offs in non-phanerophyte species could be of great use in non-forested open ecosystem restoration by providing insights for plant production and transplantation, thus impacting the planning of cost-effective restoration actions. In this study, we explored the relationship between growth and survival of individual plants of non-phanerophyte species used in a coastal dune restoration project, and we investigated whether plant functional traits explained patterns of trade-off between growth and survival. We monitored 355 individual plants of 13 perennial non-phanerophyte species belonging to foredune and transition dune communities every 30 days after planting and calculated relative growth and survival rates. In addition, we regressed the relationship between growth and survival on values of leaf and floral traits. We found that, besides being a widely recognised axis of life history variation in phanerophyte species, the growth-survival trade-off can also be observed in perennial non-phanerophyte species. Species of different coastal dune communities (i.e., foredune vs. transition dune communities) differed with respect to the growth-survival trade-off, with plant species of foredune communities exhibiting higher growth but lower survival rates than plant species of transition dune communities. Leaf dry matter content and mean number of floral displays explained species position on the growth-survival trade-off axis; species with relatively high growth and low survival rates exhibited an acquisitive strategy, with low values of leaf dry matter content, but also a low sexual reproductive effort, as revealed by low number of floral displays. In contrast, plant species with relatively low growth and high survival rates exhibited a conservative strategy but also high sexual reproductive effort, suggesting that trade-offs occur in resource allocation among vegetative and reproductive plant structures. The trade-off we found between growth and survival in perennial non-phanerophyte species provides useful insights for planning cost-effective ecosystem restoration actions of non-forested open ecosystems, especially when the actions are nature-based and involve planting individual plants. The results of this study suggest that individual plant production for coastal dune restoration should disproportionately target plant species of foredune communities because they have low survival rates associated with low sexual reproductive effort. Planning plant production based on ecological knowledge of plant species’ growth and survival after planting in the field could help achieve restoration goals while meeting project cost-effectiveness requirements

Mediterranean developed coasts: what future for the foredune restoration?

The feasibility and efficacy of soft engineering foredune restoration approaches still lack insight from research and monitoring activities, especially in areas where dunes are under persisting human disturbance. We evaluated the efficacy of Mediterranean foredune restoration in dune areas freely accessible to tourists. Foredunes were reconstructed using only sand already available at nearby places and consolidated through the plantation of seedlings of native ecosystem engineer species and foredune focal species. We monitored transplanted and spontaneous seedlings for one year to assess their mortality and growth in relation to the distance from the closest beach access, either formal or informal, as proxy of human disturbance.We also tested whether species differing in their ecology (i.e., affinity to a given habitat) and growth form showed different response to human disturbance. The relationship between seedling mortality and growth and the distance from the closest beach access was tested through Generalized Linear Mixed Models. We found a clear spatial pattern of seedling survival and growth, which decreased as the proximity to the closest beach access increased. Only invasive alien plants and erect leafy species showed to better perform at lower distances from beach accesses. In dune areas with a strong tourist vocation, foredune restoration should be coupled with the implementation of integrated management plans aiming at optimising the relationship between protection and use. Management plans should not only rely on passive conservation measures; rather they should include educational activities to stimulate a pro-environmental behaviour, increase the acceptance of behaviour rules and no entry zones, and actively engage stakeholders in long-term conservation

Increasing the germination percentage of a declining native orchid (Himantoglossum adriaticum) by pollen transfer and outbreeding between populations

The declining native orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann is a European endemic of priority interest (92/43/ EEC, Annex II). Northern Italian populations of H. adriaticum are small and isolated, with depressed seed set. Given the important implications for plant population conservation, we tested the hypothesis that artificial pollen transfer (hand-pollination) and outbreeding between populations increases fruit set and seed germination percentage. The background fruit set and in vitro germination rates were determined for ten reference populations. An artificial cross-pollination experiment included (a) pollen transfer from one large population to two small and isolated populations; (b) pollen transfer between two small but not isolated populations; (c) within-population pollen transfer (control). All seeds were sown on a modified Malmgren's medium and cultured in a controlled environment. Germination percentage was compared using a Kruskal-Wallis anova. The background fruit set (mean = 18%) and germination (<5%) rates were consistently low across populations. Fruit set after hand-pollination was consistently 100%. Pollen transfer from the largest population to smaller populations resulted in an increase in total germination ranging from 0.9% to 2.9%. The largest increase in germination occurred between small-sized and less isolated populations (from 1.7% to 5.1%). The results of pollen transfer between the small populations are particularly encouraging, as the mean increase in germination was almost four times that of the control. Outbreeding can be considered a valuable tool to increase genetic flow and germination in natural populations, limit the accumulation of detrimental effects on fitness driven by repeated breeding with closely-related individuals, thereby increasing the possibility of conservation of rare or endangered species

The germination niche of coastal dune species as related to their occurrence along a sea–inland gradient

Aims: The early phases in the life cycle of a plant are the bottleneck for successful species establishment thereby affecting population dynamics and distribution. In coastal environments, the spatial pattern of plant communities (i.e. vegetation zonation) follows the ecological gradient of abiotic stress changing with the distance from the sea. This pattern has been mainly explained based on the adaptation and tolerance to the abiotic stress of adult plants. However, the adult niche may considerably differ from the germination niche of a plant species. The aim of this work was to investigate to what extent abiotic factors (specifically salinity, temperature, nitrogen and their interactions) constrain seed germination along the sea–inland gradient. Location: Latium coast (Central Italy). Methods: Germination tests were performed on seeds of focal species of three different plant communities which establish at increasing distances from the coastline: Cakile maritima subsp. maritima, Elymus farctus, Crucianella maritima. We tested increasing concentrations of NaCl (one of the main abiotic factors which decrease across the sea–inland gradient), and their interactions with temperature and KNO3, to consider other factors which drive germination processes. Results: The tolerance to salinity significantly decreased in relation to the position of species along the coastal zonation. Crucianella maritima was shown to be the least tolerant species, having a decrease in germination >80% across all conditions. KNO3 significantly (although slightly) increased the germination percentage in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima and Elymus farctus. When combined with NaCl, KNO3 alleviated the negative effects of salinity only in Cakile maritima subsp. maritima. Conclusions: The germination responses to the interaction among the tested factors suggest that the germination niche may explain vegetation zonation filtering species at their early stages. Quantifying environmental niches in different phases of the life cycle of plants may provide important insights into community assembly processes

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF HOLSTEIN COW’S FACE TO RESOURCE OF FAN IN FREE-STALL

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do recurso de ventilação sobre a fisiologia de vacas Holandesas alojadas em free-stall, durante o verão do sudeste brasileiro. Foram utilizadas 20 vacas Holandesas submetidas a dois tratamentos: controle e ventilação. Os parâmetros ambientais registrados foram temperatura e umidade relativa do ar e temperatura de globo negro. As variáveis fisiológicas avaliadas foram temperatura retal e frequência respiratória. Para obtenção das estatísticas descritivas utilizou-se a metodologia de quadrados mínimos. Apesar das diferenças estatísticas obtidas para as variáveis fisiológicas, as mesmas não foram biologicamente efetivas e indicaram que os animais se encontravam em conforto térmico

Influence of pre-slaughter management on cortisol level in lambs

This study aimed to verify the influence of the transport in open or closed compartments, followed by two resting periods (1 and 3 hours) for the slaughter process on the levels of cortisol as a indicative of stress level in lambs. The slaughterhouse was located 85 km away from the place of confinement and the transportation of the lambs was carried out in a cage truck type, each cage had a divider in the middle making the front without external visual access to the environment, and the back portion of the cages with visual access to the road. At the slaughterhouse, blood samples were taken from 86 lambs after the transport and before slaughter (1 or 3 hours of resting) for plasma cortisol analysis. Variables were evaluated through the PROC GLM procedure from the Statistical Analysis System ©, version 9.1.3 software.The method of transport influenced in the cortisol concentration (P<0.01), the animals transported in the closed compartment had a lower level. After the resting period in the slaughterhouse, there was a decline in the plasmatic cortisol concentration, with the animals subjected to three hours of rest presenting the lower average cortisol value (P<0.05). It can be inferred that the lambs that remained three hours in standby before slaughter had more time to recover from the stress of the transportation than those that waited just one hour. Visual access to the external environment during the transport of the lambs is a stressful factor changing the level of plasmatic cortisol, and the resting period before slaughter was effective in lowering stress, reducing the plasmatic cortisol in the lambs

Pollination and dispersal trait spectra recover faster than the growth form spectrum during spontaneous succession in sandy old‐fields

Question: Spontaneous succession is the most natural and cost‐effective solution for grassland restoration. However, little is known about the time required for the recovery of grassland functionality, i.e., for the recovery of reproductive and vegetative processes typical of pristine grasslands. Since these processes operate at different scales, we addressed the question: do reproductive and vegetative processes require different recovery times during spontaneous succession? Location: Kiskunság sand region (Central Hungary). Methods: As combinations of plant traits can be used to highlight general patterns in ecological processes, we compared reproductive (pollination‐ and dispersal‐related) and vegetative (growth form) traits between recovered grasslands of different age (&lt;10 years old; 10–20 years old; 20–40 years old) and pristine grasslands. Results: During spontaneous succession, the reproductive trait spectra became similar to those of pristine grasslands earlier than the vegetative ones. In arable land abandoned for 10 years, pollination‐ and dispersal‐related trait spectra did not show significant difference to those of pristine grasslands; anemophily and anemochory were the prevailing strategies. Contrarily, significant differences in the growth form spectrum could be observed even after 40 years of abandonment; in recovered grasslands erect leafy species prevailed, while the fraction of dwarf shrubs and tussock‐forming species was significantly lower than in pristine grasslands. Conclusions: The recovery of the ecological processes of pristine grasslands might require different amounts of time, depending on the spatial scale at which they operate. The reproductive trait spectra recovered earlier than the vegetative one, since reproductive attributes first determine plant species sorting at the regional level towards their respective habitats. The recovery of the vegetative trait spectrum needs more time as vegetative‐based interactions operate on a smaller spatial scale. Thus, vegetative traits might be more effective in the long‐term assessment of restoration success than the reproductive ones

Identificação e eficiência de Bacillus spp. inibidor do crescimento de Macrophomina phaseolina.

O presente trabalho visou quantificar a eficiência do gênero Bacillus no controle de Macrophomina phaseolina