Patterns of variation in plant diversity vary over different spatial levels in seasonal coastal wetlands

Aim: To quantify the responses of alpha and beta diversity to multivariate gradients, incorporating variation in environmental and management variability in coastal dune slacks. Location: United Kingdom dune slacks. Methods: Plant community composition, plant nutrient status and soil characteristics were measured for 164 quadrats in 41 dune slacks across 12 coastal sand dune systems. Data were collated on climate and atmospheric deposition. Hydrological regimes at daily resolution were modelled and calibrated using daily-to-monthly site measurements, from which we calculated quadrat-level hydrological metrics. Alpha diversity (richness, Shannon diversity and Pielou's evenness) metrics and beta diversity (turnover and nestedness) for species and genera were calculated across three spatial levels from sand dune system (highest) to dune slack to quadrat (lowest). Results: Diversity patterns depended on the spatial and taxonomic level considered. At smaller spatial levels (between dune slacks and between quadrats), alpha and beta diversity varied along gradients driven by soil characteristics, water table depth and atmospheric deposition. At larger spatial levels (between sand dune systems), patterns of beta diversity were a consequence of plant nutrient status. There was little variability in alpha diversity along this same gradient, with only small changes in Pielou's species evenness. Patterns at a coarser taxonomic level (genus) mirrored those at the species level. Main conclusion: We show that patterns of variation in plant diversity are dependent on the spatial level considered, but taxonomic level made little difference in understanding these patterns. Therefore, if we do not consider patterns across different spatial levels, important environmental and management drivers could be missed. The high biodiversity value and degree of threat to these European protected habitats makes such understanding invaluable for their conservation

The feasibility of delivering the ADVANCE digital intervention to reduce intimate partner abuse by men receiving substance use treatment:protocol for a non-randomised multi-centre feasibility study and embedded process evaluation

BACKGROUND: Compared to men in the general population, men in substance use treatment are more likely to perpetrate intimate partner abuse (IPA). The ADVANCE group intervention for men in substance use treatment is tailored to address substance use and IPA in an integrated way. In a feasibility trial pre-COVID, men who received the ADVANCE intervention via face-to-face group delivery showed reductions in IPA perpetration. Due to COVID-19, ADVANCE was adapted for remote digital delivery. METHODS/DESIGN: This mixed-methods non-randomised feasibility study, with a nested process evaluation, will explore the feasibility and acceptability of delivering the ADVANCE digital intervention to men in substance use treatment who have perpetrated IPA towards a female partner in the past year. Sixty men will be recruited from seven substance use treatment services in Great Britain. The ADVANCE digital intervention comprises a preparatory one-to-one session with a facilitator to set goals, develop a personal safety plan, and increase motivation and a preparatory online group to prepare men for taking part in the intervention. The core intervention comprises six fortnightly online group sessions and 12 weekly self-directed website sessions to recap and practise skills learned in the online group sessions. Each website session is followed by a one-to-one video/phone coaching session with a facilitator. Men will also receive their usual substance use treatment. Men’s female (ex) partners will be invited to provide outcome data and offered support from integrated safety services (ISS). Outcome measures for men and women will be sought post intervention (approximately 4 months post male baseline interview). Feasibility parameters to be estimated include eligibility, suitability, consent, recruitment, attendance, retention and follow-up rates. In-depth interviews or focus groups will explore the intervention’s acceptability to participants, facilitators and ISS workers. A secondary focus of the study will estimate pre-post-differences in outcome measures covering substance use, IPA, mental health, self-management, health and social care service use, criminal justice contacts and quality of life. DISCUSSION: Findings will inform the design of a multicentre randomised controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the ADVANCE digital intervention for reducing IPA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The feasibility study was prospectively registered: ISRCTN66619273

Adapting the ADVANCE group program for digitally-supported delivery to reduce intimate partner violence by men in substance use treatment: a feasibility study

IntroductionCOVID-19 restrictions created barriers to “business as usual” in healthcare but also opened the door to innovation driven by necessity. This manuscript (1) describes how ADVANCE, an in-person group perpetrator program to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against female (ex)partners by men in substance use treatment, was adapted for digitally-supported delivery (ADVANCE-D), and (2) explores the feasibility and acceptability of delivering ADVANCE-D to men receiving substance use treatment.MethodsFirstly, the person-based approach and mHealth development framework were used to iteratively adapt ADVANCE for digitally-supported delivery including conceptualization, formative research, and pre-testing. Then, a non-randomized feasibility study was conducted to assess male participants’ eligibility, recruitment, and attendance rates and uptake of support offered to their (ex)partners. Exploratory analyses on reductions in IPV perpetration (assessed using the Abusive Behavior Inventory; ABI) and victimization (using the revised ABI; ABI-R) at the end of the program were performed. Longitudinal qualitative interviews with participants, their (ex)partners, and staff provided an understanding of the program’s implementation, acceptability, and outcomes.ResultsThe adapted ADVANCE-D program includes one goal-setting session, seven online groups, 12 self-directed website sessions, and 12 coaching calls. ADVANCE-D includes enhanced risk management and support for (ex)partners. Forty-five participants who had perpetrated IPV in the past 12 months were recruited, forty of whom were offered ADVANCE-D, attending 11.4 (SD 9.1) sessions on average. Twenty-one (ex)partners were recruited, 13 of whom accepted specialist support. Reductions in some IPV perpetration and victimization outcome measures were reported by the 25 participants and 11 (ex)partners interviewed pre and post-program, respectively. Twenty-two participants, 11 (ex)partners, 12 facilitators, and 7 integrated support service workers were interviewed at least once about their experiences of participation. Overall, the program content was well-received. Some participants and facilitators believed digital sessions offered increased accessibility.ConclusionThe digitally-supported delivery of ADVANCE-D was feasible and acceptable. Remote delivery has applicability post-pandemic, providing greater flexibility and access. Given the small sample size and study design, we do not know if reductions in IPV were due to ADVANCE-D, time, participant factors, or chance. More research is needed before conclusions can be made about the efficacy of ADVANCE-D

<scp>ReSurveyEurope</scp>: A database of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe

AbstractAimsWe introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, including potential research questions.ResultsReSurveyEurope includes resurveyed vegetation plots from all habitats. Version 1.0 of ReSurveyEurope contains 283,135 observations (i.e., individual surveys of each plot) from 79,190 plots sampled in 449 independent resurvey projects. Of these, 62,139 (78%) are permanent plots, that is, marked in situ, or located with GPS, which allow for high spatial accuracy in resurvey. The remaining 17,051 (22%) plots are from studies in which plots from the initial survey could not be exactly relocated. Four data sets, which together account for 28,470 (36%) plots, provide only presence/absence information on plant species, while the remaining 50,720 (64%) plots contain abundance information (e.g., percentage cover or cover–abundance classes such as variants of the Braun‐Blanquet scale). The oldest plots were sampled in 1911 in the Swiss Alps, while most plots were sampled between 1950 and 2020.ConclusionsReSurveyEurope is a new resource to address a wide range of research questions on fine‐scale changes in European vegetation. The initiative is devoted to an inclusive and transparent governance and data usage approach, based on slightly adapted rules of the well‐established European Vegetation Archive (EVA). ReSurveyEurope data are ready for use, and proposals for analyses of the data set can be submitted at any time to the coordinators. Still, further data contributions are highly welcome.</jats:sec

Ecohydrology of dune wetlands

Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, which will have significant impact on human health and well-being. Dune slacks are low-lying seasonal wetland habitats within coastal sand dunes. They are rich in biodiversity and expected to be sensitive to environmental changes due to complex interactions between hydrology and plant community compositions. However, there has been a lack of research in UK dune slacks exploring these interactions. Therefore, this thesis examines the relationship between plant communities and the underlying hydrological and environmental controls across UK dune slacks.In Chapter 2 (methods chapter), I summarise the data collection, processing and groundwater modelling undertaken across 41 dune slacks in 12 coastal sand dunes systems, which underpin Chapter 3 and 5. I also summarise the data collection, processing and groundwater modelling undertaken across six dune slacks in one coastal sand dune system in north west England, which underpin Chapter 4. The outputs from this research are important for management, as they provide invaluable information on the plant communities present and the long-term hydrological regime of key UK sand dune systems.In Chapter 3, I investigated plant community responses to environmental and hydrological drivers across spatial scales (coastal sand dune site, dune slack and plot) and taxonomic resolutions (species and genus) in UK dune slacks. Findings from this investigation show that ‘local’ environmental factors such as water table depth are important in shaping plant communities. Additionally, the response of genus data was similar to species data, therefore in the search for biodiversity short cuts genus data may be used.In Chapter 4, I investigated species-specific responses and plant community responses to fine-scale hydrological variability in a coastal sand dune system in north west England (Ainsdale Sand Dunes). I found that hydrology is an important driver in dune slack communities between dune slacks. However, not all plant communities within a dune slack are structured by fine-scale hydrological variation, demonstrating the complexity of plant composition patterns. In addition to successional processes, topographic variation within slacks appears to impact plant community composition and diversity. Therefore, to maximise habitat space for many species, topographically varied dune slacks need to be created.In Chapter 5, I explored how environmental drivers affect the relationship between a commonly used ecological indicator (Ellenberg moisture - F) and water table depth across UK dune slacks. Findings from this investigation demonstrate that Ellenberg F is a powerful biological indicator of soil hydrology in an ecological context, but other factors can alter this relationship. From a practical perspective these findings help us to understand which abiotic and biotic factors modify the relationship between Ellenberg F and hydrological regime, which aids interpretation of Ellenberg F-values at a sand dune site level.The results presented here improve our understanding of the underlying hydrological and environmental control of UK dune slack plant communities. Additionally, this research provides a basis for future ecological and hydrological dune slack studies within the UK.</div

Environmental modifiers of the relationship between water table depth and Ellenberg’s indicator of soil moisture

Ellenberg indicator values for plant species are widely used metrics in ecology, providing a proxy measure of environmental conditions, without direct measurements. They integrate environmental conditions over time since species will only persist where conditions are favourable. Ellenberg moisture (F) values summarise the hydrological environment experienced by plants. However, the relationship between indicator values and hydrological metrics appears to be influenced by a range of other abiotic and biotic factors, limiting our ability to fully interpret Ellenberg F. Focussing on Ellenberg F, we evaluated how the unweighted mean plant community F value to hydrology, specifically water table depth, is influenced by other environmental factors, ground cover type and alpha diversity in UK seasonal coastal wetlands (dune slacks). As expected, water table depth had the strongest influence on unweighted mean Ellenberg F. We show that unweighted mean Ellenberg F was more sensitive to changes in water table levels for plant communities that were more nutrient limited, when the organic matter layer was thicker and there was less bare ground cover. Unweighted mean Ellenberg F was consistently lower for a given water table depth, when there was lower atmospheric nitrogen deposition, lower loss of ignition (a measure of organic matter content) and more diverse plant communities. These findings help us to better interpret what Ellenberg F indicator values tell us about hydrological conditions, by understanding the factors which alter that relationship

Prey capture by the non-native carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea across sites in Britain and Ireland

The carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea is native to North America, but has been introduced into Europe, where it is now widespread. Understanding of how this species functions in its non-native range is limited. We measured pitcher morphology and prey capture by S. purpurea in its non-native range in Britain and Ireland. Pitchers were removed from different plants at each of six bogs covering the species range in Britain and Ireland (n = 10 pitchers per site). For each pitcher we counted and identified every prey item and took measurements of morphology. We also compiled prey capture data for existing studies in Europe and North America. Prey capture characteristics varied between sites in Britain and Ireland. The amount of prey captured varied 20-fold between sites and was partially explained by differences in pitcher size; larger pitchers caught more prey. The primary prey was Formicidae, Diptera and Coleoptera. At the rank of order, prey composition varied between bogs, some contained mainly Formicidae, some mainly Diptera and some a mix. Prey capture was less evenly distributed at some bogs compared to others, suggesting more specialization. There was no overall difference in prey capture (composition or evenness) at the rank of order between plants in Europe compared to those in North America. At the rank of species, prey capture varied between populations even within the same order. This study demonstrates a large amount of variability between sites in prey capture characteristics. This may reflect different site characteristics and/or plant strategies, which will likely impact plant function, and may impact the inquiline community. In terms of prey capture at the rank of order, S. purpurea functions identically in its non-native range. This supports its use as a model system in a natural experiment for understanding food webs