Benchmarking plant diversity of Paleartic grasslands and other open habitats

CEABN/CIBIO - Vasco Silva (co-autor)Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/datab ases/Grass landD ivers ityEx plorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecologyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SIVIM Floodplain Forests - Database of riverine forests and scrubs from the Iberian Peninsula

'SIVIM Floodplain Forests' (GIVD ID: EU-00-024) is a thematic database focused on vegetation plots of riverine forests and scrubs from the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees (Spain, Portugal and southern France). It was registered in the GIVD in February 2016. The data are available both from EVA and sPlot in semi-restricted regime. The database includes both digitized relevés from the literature and unpublished data. Many digitized relevés were derived from SIVIM (GIVD ID EU-00-004) and BIOVEG (GIVD ID EU-00-011), with which SIVIM Floodplain Forests thus partly overlaps. Currently it contains 4,736 vegetation plots of floodplain forests, alder carrs, willow scrubs, and tamarisk and oleander thickets, 99% of them classified at association level. Plot size is available for 94.6% of the relevés. Plant taxonomy is standardized to Flora Iberica. The database has been used for studies on vegetation classification at Iberian and European level, as well as studies on plant invasion, fine-grain plant diversity and macroecological analyses, most of them via EVA

On the trails of Josias Braun-Blanquet : changes in the grasslands of the inneralpine dry valleys during the last 70 years. First results from the 11th EDGG Field Workshop in Austria

The 11th EDGG Field Workshop was held from 6 to 13 July 2018 in Austria. Its aim was to revisit dry grasslands in the inneralpine dry valleys of Austria that were investigated in the late 1950s by Braun-Blanquet and to collect high-quality biodiversity data from these. Sampling was carried out in the Styrian Mur Valley, the Virgen Valley in East Tyrol, the Upper Inn Valley in the Austrian Eastern Alps, and Griffen in Carinthia. In total, we sampled 15 EDGG biodiversity plots and 37 additional 10 m2 plots. Butterfly data were record-ed in four biodiversity plots and two additional plots. We found maximum richness values of 49, 68 and 95 vascular plant species on 1, 10 and 100 m², while the corresponding values for the complete terrestrial vegetation were 56, 73 and 106 species. Maximum butterfly richness was 19, but it was in general quite low, and generalists dominated. Some of the areas originally studied by Braun-Blanquet were no longer dry grasslands and only a few sites remained largely unchanged. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed profound changes between the old (1950s and 1980s) and our current plots. Without grazing or other human land management activities, only very small cores of rocky dry grassland could survive in the comparatively humid Austrian inneralpine valleys. Finally, the sampled data raise questions about the syntaxonomic position of some of the grasslands, which needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive study, which is planned as the next step

Vegetation classification goes open access

With this inaugural editorial, we introduce Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS), the new gold open access (OA) journal of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS). VCS is devoted to vegetation classification at any spatial and organisational scale and irrespective of the methodological approach. It welcomes equally case studies and broad-scale syntheses as well as conceptual and methodological papers. Two Permanent Collections deal with ecoinformatics (including the standardised Database Reports published in collaboration with GIVD, the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases) and phytosociological nomenclature (edited in collaboration with the respective IAVS Working Group). We discuss the advantages of OA as well as challenges and drawbacks caused by the way it is currently implemented, namely “pay for flaws” and publication impediments for scientists without access to funding. Being a society-owned journal, editorial decisions in VCS are free from economic considerations, while at the same time IAVS offers significant reductions to article processing charges (APCs) for authors with financial constraints. However, it is recognised that sustainable OA publishing will require that payment systems are changed from author-paid APCs to contracts between the science funding agencies and publishers or learned societies, to cover the production costs of journals that meet both quality and impact criteria

Standardised EDGG methodology for sampling grassland diversity : second amendment

The EDGG methodology of sampling multi-scale biodiversity in grasslands and other open habitats is widely applied and has proven to be a highly informative and effective way of recording high-quality data allowing for a multitude of different analyses. Based on our experiences with sampling, storing and analysing such data, here we propose three additions to the protocol: (1) We recommend to record also 1000-m² plots in addition to the hitherto seven standard grain sizes of 0.0001–100 m², as 1000 m² is a standard grain size in many international studies. (2) Recording species cover also for grain sizes larger than 10 m² (where hitherto only presence-absence was recorded) can be done efficiently by noting these values only for the additional species in the larger plot and for those that show a strong deviation from the average of the two 10-m² plots. (3) Finally, sampling biomass is valuable for analyses of the productivity/disturbance and of nutrient limitations. Both aspects can be covered by harvesting aboveground biomass in two random subplots of 20 cm x 20 cm (0.08 m² in total) and fractioning the material into necromass, living bryophytes and lichens, living herbs and living woody species. While Addition 2 hardly requires any additional time and thus should be implemented always, Additions 1 and 3 come with significant addition-al effort, which normally pays off, but suggests that in case of time limitations they might be restricted to a representative subset of plots in a study

New data of the spider fauna (Araneae) of Navarre, Spain : results from the 7th EDGG field workshop

Multi-taxon investigations are of a great importance in biodiversity research. We sampled spiders during the 7th EDGG Field Workshop aimed to study dry grassland diversity in Navarre, Spain. A total of 99 spider species of 15 families was recorded from 14 localities. Of these, 47 species were new to Navarre. To date, the list of spiders of Navarre accounts for 322 species. During this first dry grassland-specific study of spiders in Spain, 78 species were recorded for the first time in this type of habitats in Navarra, and for 69 species, it is a newly recorded habitat in the Iberian Peninsula. The grasslands growing in the submediterranean humid and supramediterranean upper dry territories, belonging to Festuco-Brometea and Festuco-Ononidetea phytosociological classes, were the richest in terms of inhabiting spiders (26 and 23 species, respectively) while the communities of mesomediterranean semi-arid area (Lygeo-Stipetea and Salicornietea fruticosae classes) were the poorest (four species each)

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies.Peer reviewe

The challenge of abandonment for the sustainable management of Palaearctc natural and semi-natural grasslands

Disturbance by biomass removal is a crucial mechanism maintaining the diversity of Palaearctic grasslands, which are unique biodiversity hotspots. Te century-long traditional land use of mowing, grazing and burning, has been fundamentally changed in many parts of the Palaearctic. Due to socio-economic changes, large areas of former pastures and meadows have been abandoned, leading to a succession towards secondary scrublands or forest and the encroachment of competitor grass species, all leading to a decrease in biodiversity. Here we report the causes and consequences of the cessation of traditional grassland management regimes, provide strategies for reducing the impact of abandonment and consider these from the perspective of sustainability. We consider the possibilities for initiating sustainable management regimes in the contemporary socio-economic environment, and discuss the prospectsand limitation of alternative management regimes in the conservation of grassland biodiversity. Tese themes are also the core topics of this Special Feature, edited by the EDGG. We hope that this Special Feature will encourage steps towards more sustainable strategies for the conservation of Palaearctic grasslands and the integration of the sustainability perspective into their conservation

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies

SIVIM – das Online-Datenbank-System zur Vegetation der iberischen Halbinsel und der Makaronesischen Inseln

SIVIM (Sistema de Información de la Vegetación Ibérica y Macaronésica) is an information system designed for capturing, hosting, editing, analyzing and outputting georeferenced plot data of Iberian and Macaronesian vegetation. It currently hosts 86,000 relevés, mainly from the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands, and will grow to 100,000 relevés in the near future. SIVIM has been conceived to offer direct and free on-line access to relevés, tables, as well as to floristic, syntaxonomical and bibliographical records. The system also offers on-line software for edition and analysis of vegetation data. The main characteristics of SIVIM are presented, and its particular technical solutions to typical data banking problems as well as its future objectives are briefly commented.SIVIM ist ein Informationssystem, mit welchem georeferenzierte Daten zur iberischen und makaronesischen Vegetation erfasst, gehostet, editiert, analysiert und ausgegeben werden können. Momentan umfasst das System 86.000 Aufnahmen. In naher Zukunft soll die Anzahl der Aufnahmen auf 100.000 steigen, hauptsächlich durch Daten aus dem Norden der Iberischen Halbinsel und von den Balearen. SIVIM wurde initiiert, um einen direkten, freien Online-Zugang zu Vegetationsaufnahmen, Vegetationstabellen, sowie zu floristischen, syntaxonomischen und bibliographischen Daten anzubieten. Außerdem bietet es Online-Software, um Vegetationsdaten zu editieren und zu analysieren. Dieser Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht über die wesentlichen Eigenschaften von SIVIM und erläutert die implementierten technischen Lösungen typischer Datenbankprobleme sowie die zukünftigen Ziele