Multiple facets of diversity effects on plant productivity: species richness, functional diversity, species identity and intraspecific competition

International audienc

Ecological Specialization and Rarity of Arable Weeds: Insights from a Comprehensive Survey in France

The definition of “arable weeds” remains contentious. Although much attention has been devoted to specialized, segetal weeds, many taxa found in arable fields also commonly occur in other habitats. The extent to which adjacent habitats are favorable to the weed flora and act as potential sources of colonizers in arable fields remains unclear. In addition, weeds form assemblages with large spatiotemporal variability, so that many taxa in weed flora are rarely observed in plot-based surveys. We thus addressed the following questions: How often do weeds occur in other habitats than arable fields? How does including field edges extend the taxonomic and ecological diversity of weeds? How does the weed flora vary across surveys at different spatial and temporal scales? We built a comprehensive dataset of weed taxa in France by compiling weed flora, lists of specialized segetal weeds, and plot-based surveys in agricultural fields, with different spatial and temporal coverages. We informed life forms, biogeographical origins and conservation status of these weeds. We also defined a broader dataset of plants occupying open habitats in France and assessed habitat specialization of weeds and of other plant species absent from arable fields. Our results show that many arable weeds are frequently recorded in both arable fields and non-cultivated open habitats and are, on average, more generalist than species absent from arable fields. Surveys encompassing field edges included species also occurring in mesic grasslands and nitrophilous fringes, suggesting spill-over from surrounding habitats. A total of 71.5% of the French weed flora was not captured in plot-based surveys at regional and national scales, and many rare and declining taxa were of Mediterranean origin. This result underlines the importance of implementing conservation measures for specialist plant species that are particularly reliant on arable fields as a habitat, while also pointing out biotic homogenization of agricultural landscapes as a factor in the declining plant diversity of farmed landscapes. Our dataset provides a reference species pool for France, with associated ecological and biogeographical information

The ecological causes of functional distinctiveness in communities

Recent work has shown that evaluating functional trait distinctiveness, the average trait distance of a species to other species in a community offers promising insights into biodiversity dynamics and ecosystem functioning. However, the ecological mechanisms underlying the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species are poorly understood. Here, we address the issue by considering a heterogeneous fitness landscape whereby functional dimensions encompass peaks representing trait combinations yielding positive population growth rates in a community. We identify four ecological cases contributing to the emergence and persistence of functionally distinct species. First, environmental heterogeneity or alternative phenotypic designs can drive positive population growth of functionally distinct species. Second, sink populations with negative population growth can deviate from local fitness peaks and be functionally distinct. Third, species found at the margin of the fitness landscape can persist but be functionally distinct. Fourth, biotic interactions (positive or negative) can dynamically alter the fitness landscape. We offer examples of these four cases and guidelines to distinguish between them. In addition to these deterministic processes, we explore how stochastic dispersal limitation can yield functional distinctiveness. Our framework offers a novel perspective on the relationship between fitness landscape heterogeneity and the functional composition of ecological assemblages

Temporal dynamics of arable weeds communities assembly : interactions between farming practices and ecological processes across crop sequences

Comprendre comment les pratiques agricoles affectent l’assemblage des communautés de plantes adventices dans les parcelles de grandes cultures annuelles est un enjeu majeur en agro-écologie. Les plantes adventices sont supposées partager certaines caractéristiques écologiques qui leur permettent de se maintenir dans les parcelles cultivées malgré les contraintes environnementales exercées par les pratiques agricoles. De plus, l'assemblage des communautés adventices est supposé dépendre d'interactions entre des processus écologiques opérant pendant une année de culture (par exemple : filtre abiotique) et à l'échelle de la succession des années de cultures (par exemple : dispersion temporelle). Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont pour but de tester ces deux hypothèses.Premièrement, nous avons comparé les pools d’espèces adventices aux plantes non adventices retrouvés dans les milieux ouverts et non cultivés sur la base de traits fonctionnels pour identifier les caractéristiques écologiques propres aux adventices. Les résultats montrent que les plantes adventices représentent un sous-échantillon des plantes retrouvées plus largement dans les milieux ouverts principalement filtré par les perturbations type travail du sol. Deuxièmement, j'ai proposé des dynamiques de type méta-communautés temporelles pour prédire les patrons de diversité attendus en fonction de l'influence de la dispersion temporelle et des variations temporelles des conditions environnementales sur l'assemblage des communautés. J'ai ensuite testé ces prédictions et quantifié la contribution relative des processus écologiques contemporains et passés sur l’assemblage d’une communauté. Pour ce faire, j'ai utilisé le jeu de données Biovigilance flore qui est un suivi sur une décennie des communautés de plantes adventices observées dans 1400 parcelles cultivées. Mes résultats montrent que l’assemblage d’une communauté de plantes adventices dépend d'interactions entre la dispersion temporelle et les conditions environnementales contemporaines de ladite communauté. De plus, mes travaux suggèrent que les risques d’extinctions des espèces adventices augmentent pour des niveaux de variations temporelles des conditions environnementales forts. Analyser directement la composition des banques de graines adventices me permettrait de valider cette hypothèse. Finalement, mes résultats confirment que l’assemblage des communautés adventices est largement imprévisible. Je propose donc un scénario basé sur la théorie des dynamiques de patches et du priority effect pour expliquer ce phénomène.En conclusion, les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit nous permettent de mieux comprendre comment les pratiques agricoles interagissent avec des processus écologiques à différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles pour façonner les communautés de plantes adventices.Understanding how farming practices affect weed community assembly in arable fields is a core challenge of agro-ecology. Weeds are supposed to share particular ecological characteristics that allow them to colonize arable fields despite environmental constrains exert by farming practices. In addition, interactions between ecological processes operating during a cropping season (eg: abiotic filtering) and at the scale of crop succession (eg: temporal dispersal) are supposed to drive weed community assembly in arable fields. These two hypotheses have been tested in my phD work.First, we compared a pool of weed species to a pool of non-weed herbaceous plants based on several functional traits to identify which functional traits and which strategies best characterized weeds. Our result brought evidences that weeds are a subset of non-weed herbaceous plant principally filtered out in arable fields by disturbances such as tillage. Second, I proposed different expected diversity patterns according to the influence of temporal dispersal and temporal variation of environmental conditions within temporal meta-community dynamics. Then I tested these predictions and quantified the respective contribution of contemporary and past ecological processes on weed community assembly. To do so, I used long term weed monitoring Biovigilance Flore dataset. Results showed that weed community assembly relies on complex interactions between temporal dispersal and contemporary environmental conditions. In addition, weed extinction risk seemed to increase for strong temporal variation of environmental conditions. However weed seed bank analyses are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Finally, my results confirmed that weed community assembly is largely unpredictable. I propose that patch dynamics and priority effects may explain this phenomenon.To conclude, the work presented here shade new lights on how farming practices interact with ecological processes across temporal and spatial scales to drive weed community assembly in arable fields

Dynamiques temporelles de l'assemblage des communautés de plantes adventices : interactions entre pratiques agricoles et processus écologiques au cours des séquences culturales

Understanding how farming practices affect weed community assembly in arable fields is a core challenge of agro-ecology. Weeds are supposed to share particular ecological characteristics that allow them to colonize arable fields despite environmental constrains exert by farming practices. In addition, interactions between ecological processes operating during a cropping season (eg: abiotic filtering) and at the scale of crop succession (eg: temporal dispersal) are supposed to drive weed community assembly in arable fields. These two hypotheses have been tested in my phD work.First, we compared a pool of weed species to a pool of non-weed herbaceous plants based on several functional traits to identify which functional traits and which strategies best characterized weeds. Our result brought evidences that weeds are a subset of non-weed herbaceous plant principally filtered out in arable fields by disturbances such as tillage. Second, I proposed different expected diversity patterns according to the influence of temporal dispersal and temporal variation of environmental conditions within temporal meta-community dynamics. Then I tested these predictions and quantified the respective contribution of contemporary and past ecological processes on weed community assembly. To do so, I used long term weed monitoring Biovigilance Flore dataset. Results showed that weed community assembly relies on complex interactions between temporal dispersal and contemporary environmental conditions. In addition, weed extinction risk seemed to increase for strong temporal variation of environmental conditions. However weed seed bank analyses are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Finally, my results confirmed that weed community assembly is largely unpredictable. I propose that patch dynamics and priority effects may explain this phenomenon.To conclude, the work presented here shade new lights on how farming practices interact with ecological processes across temporal and spatial scales to drive weed community assembly in arable fields.Comprendre comment les pratiques agricoles affectent l’assemblage des communautés de plantes adventices dans les parcelles de grandes cultures annuelles est un enjeu majeur en agro-écologie. Les plantes adventices sont supposées partager certaines caractéristiques écologiques qui leur permettent de se maintenir dans les parcelles cultivées malgré les contraintes environnementales exercées par les pratiques agricoles. De plus, l'assemblage des communautés adventices est supposé dépendre d'interactions entre des processus écologiques opérant pendant une année de culture (par exemple : filtre abiotique) et à l'échelle de la succession des années de cultures (par exemple : dispersion temporelle). Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse ont pour but de tester ces deux hypothèses.Premièrement, nous avons comparé les pools d’espèces adventices aux plantes non adventices retrouvés dans les milieux ouverts et non cultivés sur la base de traits fonctionnels pour identifier les caractéristiques écologiques propres aux adventices. Les résultats montrent que les plantes adventices représentent un sous-échantillon des plantes retrouvées plus largement dans les milieux ouverts principalement filtré par les perturbations type travail du sol. Deuxièmement, j'ai proposé des dynamiques de type méta-communautés temporelles pour prédire les patrons de diversité attendus en fonction de l'influence de la dispersion temporelle et des variations temporelles des conditions environnementales sur l'assemblage des communautés. J'ai ensuite testé ces prédictions et quantifié la contribution relative des processus écologiques contemporains et passés sur l’assemblage d’une communauté. Pour ce faire, j'ai utilisé le jeu de données Biovigilance flore qui est un suivi sur une décennie des communautés de plantes adventices observées dans 1400 parcelles cultivées. Mes résultats montrent que l’assemblage d’une communauté de plantes adventices dépend d'interactions entre la dispersion temporelle et les conditions environnementales contemporaines de ladite communauté. De plus, mes travaux suggèrent que les risques d’extinctions des espèces adventices augmentent pour des niveaux de variations temporelles des conditions environnementales forts. Analyser directement la composition des banques de graines adventices me permettrait de valider cette hypothèse. Finalement, mes résultats confirment que l’assemblage des communautés adventices est largement imprévisible. Je propose donc un scénario basé sur la théorie des dynamiques de patches et du priority effect pour expliquer ce phénomène.En conclusion, les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit nous permettent de mieux comprendre comment les pratiques agricoles interagissent avec des processus écologiques à différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles pour façonner les communautés de plantes adventices

Temporal Beta-Diversity in weed communities

This data file provides two beta-diversity indices, namely Jaccard and Bray-Curtis, computed from successive weed communities growing in 493 arable fields distributed over the whole French national territory. Temporal environmental distances, environmental heterogeneity and temporal distance are also furnished. Weeds were surveyed in two kind of plots, without herbicide application (control, "c") and with herbicide application (sprayed, "s"). Each year, weeds were surveyed twice, at the begining (n1) and at the middle (n2) of the cropping season

Weeds diversity, weed abundance and crop sequences diversity

This file describes weed richness and abundance as well as crop sequence diversity and management intensity for around 200 arable fields monitored in French between 2002 and 2010. We computed the diversity and abundance of weeds for both pluri-annual (i.e. five consecutive cropping seasons) and annual (i.e. winter cereal cropping season) species pools. Annual species pools were monitored at the beginning of a cropping season (T1) or at the middle (T2), both in presence or absence of herbicide sprayed

Comment la succession des pratiques agricoles affecte la structure et la composition des communautés adventices ?

National audienc

A functional diversity approach of crop sequences reveals that weed diversity and abundance show different responses to environmental variability

International audienceCombining several crop species and associated agricultural practices in a crop sequencehas the potential to control weed abundance while promoting weed diversityin arable fields. However, how the variability in environmental conditions thatarise from crop sequences affects weed diversity and abundance remains poorlyunderstood, with most studies to‐date simply opposing weed communities inmonoculture and in crop rotation. Here, we describe crop sequences along gradientsof disturbance and resource variability using a crop functional trait and associatedagricultural practices. We tested the hypothesis that in disturbancesreduces weed abundance, whereas variability in resources promotes weeddiversity.2. We used functional Hill's numbers to compute crop sequence functional diversitybased on sowing date, herbicide spectrum and crop height—these are the respectiveproxies of disturbance timings, disturbance types and light availability. Usinga large‐scale weed monitoring database, we assessed crop sequence diversity for1,045 crop sequences of five consecutive cropping seasons. We computed weedrichness and abundance at pluri‐annual (pool of weeds observed across five croppingseasons) and annual (pool of weeds observed during a winter cereal croppingseason preceded by five cropping seasons) scales. We also accounted for herbicideand tillage intensities to test whether management intensity affects the responseof weed diversity and abundance to crop sequence diversity.3. At the pluri‐annual scale, weed richness increased with the diversity of crop heightand sowing date, whereas weed abundance decreased with sowing date diversity.Annual weed richness decreased with sowing date diversity, whereas annual weedabundance poorly relied on crop sequence diversity.4. Synthesis and applications. This study establishes a scientific basis for designingcrop sequences according to specific weed management goals. We show thatfarmers may enhance arable weed diversity on a pluri‐annual scale by sequentiallysowing crop species that differ in their competitive ability and sowing date. Theymay also achieve a better control of weed abundance by increasing the diversityof crop sowing dates across the crop sequence

Data from: Patch dynamics and temporal dispersal partly shape annual plant communities in ephemeral habitat patches

Most organisms in ephemeral habitat patches have resting stages which form a local species pool in response to temporal variations in the patch’s availability and suitability. Temporal dispersal from the local species pool may, therefore, be an important process shaping the community assembly, particularly soon after patch creation, and possibly interacting with environmental filtering. As the temporal variation of the environmental conditions has a major effect on the composition of the local species pool, we investigated how well contemporary conditions (both patch availability and patch suitability) and temporal dispersal (approximated by environmental temporal variation and temporal distance) explain the changes in community composition in a given locality through successive ephemeral habitat cycles. We used arable weeds in annual crops as models. We calculated temporal weed community dissimilarity indices between weed communities surveyed in cropping seasons at intervals of two to eight years within a given field. The weeds were surveyed twice each cropping season to account for any changes in the relative contributions of temporal dispersal and contemporary conditions during the season. Patch availability explained most of the temporal weed dissimilarity, suggesting that patch dynamics have the greatest effect on weed community assembly. Temporal distance and temporal variation of the environmental conditions had more effect at the start of the cropping season than later, while patch suitability had more effect in the middle of the season. These results suggest that temporal dispersal drives the weed community assembly when ephemeral habitat patches are created. These assemblies are further shaped by environmental filtering. This is consistent with a temporal source-sink dynamic mechanism where the seed bank acts as the main weed source. However, a large part of temporal weed dissimilarity remains unexplained, suggesting that other ecological processes such as spatial dispersal and founder effect may also shape the weed community