TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

First overview on the 4th Annex I Habitats Report in Italy: methods, criticality, results and future prospects

Like all the other EU/28 countries, in 2019 Italy developed the 4th Italian Report ex-Art. 17 on the conservation status of the Habitats of Annex I to the 92/43/EEC Directive. Institutional referent of the process, on behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection (MATTM), was the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) with the scientific support of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI). A huge working group composed of thematic and territorial experts was formed with the task to collect, analyse, validate the data resulting from Annex I Habitat monitoring in Italy for the period 2013-2018, whose collection is in charge to the regional administrations. Data on 124 types of terrestrial and inland water Habitats present in Italy have been processed in order to assess their overall conservation status in the Biogeographic Regions of occurrence. The carried out activity led to the compilation of 278 assessment sheets. The work included a critical analysis of the data and a broad scientific confrontation aimed at finding methodologically robust solutions to fill the gaps. The work was structured so as to guarantee the traceability of the information and to allow the collection of "gray" literature and scientific articles, phytosociological surveys and unpublished material of the specialists, composing a substantial pool of data useful for starting a long-term process to support the next reporting cycles. Cartographic outcomes, associated databases and additional data used for the assessments will be available online on the ISPRA Portal as soon as the validation process by the European Commission will be completed. A freely accessible online archive of phytosociological surveys representative of the various Annex I Habitats in Italy is being set up within the national "VegItaly" database, managed by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science, by way of a dedicated archive named "HAB_IT". Such a long-term vision, oriented to the storage and enhancement of knowledge, represents an important innovative aspect and a significant progress towards the construction of an effective monitoring system for the conservation of Annex I Habitats in Italy

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

A bridge between tourism and nature conservation: boardwalks effects on coastal dune vegetation

Several regulatory and management tools are commonly used to prevent negative effects of human trampling on sand dune habitats, but few studies have attempted to evaluate the effects of boardwalks on dune vegetation. We aimed to evaluate changes of species richness and cover, floristic composition and ecological functional guilds among different dune habitats 2 years after the boardwalks had been established, highlighting those habitats mainly affected by these changes. In a Special Protection Area of Molise region (Italy), we sampled 53 square plots before the installation of five wooden boardwalks (control plots) and 57 plots after the boardwalks had been set up (testing plot), across the whole dune system ranging from the upper beach to the pine forest. We compared species richness through rarefaction curves, considering two plant functional groups: focal species (characteristic and diagnostic) and ruderal/exotic species. We finally compared florist composition and cover changes between time intervals, dune habitats and functional groups. In all habitats the total plant richness of testing plots was higher than in the control plots. In beach and mobile dunes habitat focal species drive the increase in both species’ richness and cover. Dune grasslands proved to be the most affected by the presence of ruderal and exotic species, while the more stable fixed dunes habitat was less affected by species changes. Only 2 years after the boardwalks having been set up, we have found a rapid recovery since human trampling was limited. The use of boardwalks could be an effective tool for reducing negative impact of bathing tourism on coastal dunes and requires little and inexpensive maintenance

Landscape fragmentation, land use legacy and propagule pressure promote plant invasion on coastal dune. A patch based approach.

Coastal dunes and sand areas are reported to be among the habitats most invaded by alien species in Europe.Landscape pattern could be a significant driver in invasion processes in parallel with land-use legacy. Fragmentation of natural habitats combined with the availability of propagules from the surrounding matrix may enhance the invisibility of ecological communities. Based on multitemporal land cover maps (1954–2008) and a floristic database, we analyzed how habitat fragmentation, propagule pressure and land-use legacy have affected alien plants’ presence and richness on natural dune patches along the Lazio Coast (Central Italy). Floristic data were derived from an existing geodatabase of random vegetation plots (64 m2). A set of landscape patch-based metrics, considered to be adequate proxies of the main processes affecting alien invasion and richness, was calculated. First, we fit a generalized linear model (GLM) with binomial errors to assess which landscape metrics are influencing patch invasion. Second, we extracted invaded patches and, with GLMs, we investigated how landscape metrics affect average alien species richness. Alien invasion and alien richness seem to be affected by different processes: although alien invasion of each patch is strongly associated with its landuse legacy, the richness of aliens is more affected by landscape fragmentation and by the propagule pressure to which patch is exposed. By integrating spatial and temporal landscape metrics with floristic data, we were able to disentangle the relations of landscape fragmentation, propagule pressure and land-use legacy with the presence and richness of alien plants. The methodological approach here adopted could be easily extended to other alien species and ecosystems, offering scientifically sound support to prevent the high economic costs derived from both the control and the eradication of aliens

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

Spatial Organisation of an Insect Ensemble in a Mediterranean Ecosystem: the Tenebrionid Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Inhabiting an Adriatic Coastal Sand Dune Area

We studied the spatial organisation of an ensemble (phylogenetically bounded group of species that use a similar set of resources within a community) of tenebrionid beetles in a Mediterranean coastal sand dune ecosystem in Southern Italy (Molise region). Within a transect from the seashore to the inner dune, we identified four biotopes defined by different vegetation types. We found a community dominated by few sand specialised and r-selected tenebrionid species. Overall tenebrionid abundance was lowest on the upper beach, highest on the embryonic shifting dunes and then from there declined further inland. The embryonic shifting dunes biotope showed the highest diversity and the lowest dominance. This pattern suggests that tenebrionid beetels are able to cope with the challenging salty and xerothermic conditions of the seaward margin. Although some species were too rare to assess their biotope preference, our data support that, at least some, were distributed with different abundance over the four dune biotopes. These differences are likely related to different preferences for different characteristics of substratum and detritus

Synergetic use of unmanned aerial vehicle and satellite images for detecting non-native tree species: An insight into Acacia saligna invasion in the Mediterranean coast

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are increasingly threatening biodiversity worldwide; thus, early detection and monitoring tools are needed. Here, we explored the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images in providing intermediate reference data which are able to link IAP field occurrence and satellite information. Specifically, we used very high spatial resolution (VHR) UAV maps of A. saligna as calibration data for satellite-based predictions of its spread in the Mediterranean coastal dunes. Based on two satellite platforms (PlanetScope and Sentinel-2), we developed and tested a dedicated procedure to predict A. saligna spread organized in four steps: 1) setting of calibration data for satellite-based predictions, by aggregating UAV-based VHR IAP maps to satellite spatial resolution (3 and 10 m); 2) selection of monthly multispectral (blue, green, red, and near infra-red bands) cloud-free images for both satellite platforms; 3) calculation of monthly spectral variables depicting leaf and plant characteristics, canopy biomass, soil features, surface water and hue, intensity, and saturation values; 4) prediction of A. saligna distribution and identification of the most important spectral variables discriminating IAP occurrence using a fandom forest (RF) model. RF models calibrated for both satellite platforms showed high predictive performances (R (2) > 0.6; RMSE < 0.008), with accurate spatially explicit predictions of the invaded areas. While Sentinel-2 performed slightly better, the PlanetScope-based model effectively delineated invaded area edges and small patches. The summer leaf chlorophyll content followed by soil spectral variables was regarded as the most important variables discriminating A. saligna patches from native vegetation. Such variables depicted the characteristic IAP phenology and typically altered leaf litter and soil organic matter of invaded patches. Overall, we presented new evidence of the importance of VHR UAV data to fill the gap between field observation of A. saligna and satellite data, offering new tools for detecting and monitoring non-native tree spread in a cost-effective and timely manner

Above- and belowground traits along a stress gradient: trade-off or not?

The role of plant traits in shaping community assembly along environmental gradients is a topic of ongoing research. It is well accepted that plant traits of aboveground organs tend to be conservative in stressful conditions. However, there is limited understanding of how belowground traits respond. Plants may have similar strategies above and belowground, but an intriguing possibility is that there is a tradeoff between above and belowground traits of communities to both ensure efficient resource-use and limit niche overlap along the gradient. To test this, we asked whether the response of above and belowground traits of communities is coordinated or not along a stress gradient in Mediterranean sand dune communities. We analyzed 80 vegetation plots in central Italy to test for coordinated vs independent patterns in above vs belowground plant traits using community weighted mean and standardized effect size of functional richness. Our results show that plant communities close to the sea, which experience higher stress, were characterized by higher convergence towards aboveground resource conservation and conservative water-use strategies but belowground resource acquisition, consistent with a strong effect of habitat filtering and an above-belowground tradeoff favoring adaptation to harsh and dry conditions. At the opposite end of the gradient with lower stress, plants exhibited higher trait diversity for both above and belowground traits, but overall a dominance of aboveground fast resource acquisition and generally acquisitive water-use strategies, combined with conservative belowground strategies. This suggests that fast growth rate aboveground was compensated by more conservative fine-root strategies, but processes such as competition limited niche overlap overall. Our findings provide new insights into the relationship between functional traits and environmental gradients in plant communities, shedding light on the tradeoffs between the above and belowground dimensions

Ecology meets archaeology: Past, present and future vegetation-derived ecosystems services from the Nuragic Sardinia (1700-580 BCE)

Incorporating archaeology within the ecosystem services (ES) framework can offer decision-makers lessons from the past and a broader sustainability perspective. Given the claimed archaeology-ES link, the island of Sardinia (Italy) offers an unparalleled opportunity where a unique archaeological heritage occurs in an area of high biodiversity value. More than 5000 nuraghi, megalithic edifices distinctive of the Nuragic civilization (1700-580 BCE), are still present on the island. By crossing the map of Vegetation Series (VS) with nuraghi occurrences, we aimed at acquiring a long-term perspective on the interactions between Nuragic people and the vegetation as ES provider, so as to enrich our understanding of the past and the present, and potentially inform future practice for the region of Sardinia. A VS is here intended as a hypothesis of a succession of plant communities that can potentially succeed each other over time in a particular land unit. The vegetation-derived ES represented a driving force in the land occupation strategies of the Nuragic people, who preferred, for their settlements, the mesophiluos cork oak VS and secondary the deciduous broad-leaved ones, which, with fresh climatic conditions on fertile substrates and gentle slopes on effusive magmatic rocks, can provide land for grazing and agriculture. Conversely, the Nuragic land occupation strategies shaped the VS, transforming the landscape into agro-silvo-pastoral systems. Our results suggest that the origin of the present agro-silvo-pastoral landscapes (i.e. Pascolo arborato/Dehesa) in Sardinia could be traced back to the Nuragic civilization. The interaction between humans and vegetation in Sardinia is ancient, reciprocal and dynamic. This interaction is crucial for the survival of the present agro-silvo-pastoral landscapes that represent important suppliers of provisioning, regulating and cultural ES. Among others, these landscapes are a good example of intimate and sustainable relationships between people and nature and provide a marked sense of place and identity for Sardinia inhabitants. This transdisciplinary approach linking plant ecology with archaeology offered archaeology a better understanding of the environmental settings and subsistence of the Nuragic civilization and provided plant ecology with a long-term perspective on human-vegetation interactions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog