Semi-natural habitats in the European boreal region : Caught in the socio-ecological extinction vortex?

We propose to consider semi-natural habitats-hotspots for biodiversity-being caught in a socio-ecological extinction vortex, similar to the phenomenon described for species threatened with extinction. These habitats are essentially socioecological systems, in which socioeconomic drivers are interlinked with ecological processes. We identify four highly interlinked and mutually reinforcing socio-economic processes, pertaining to the importance of semi-natural habitats for (i) agricultural production, (ii) policy, research and development; (iii) vocational education in the fields of agricultural sciences and (iv) public's experiences with semi-natural habitats. Evidence from six countries in the boreal region demonstrates that recent slowing down or even reversal of two processes are insufficient to stop the extinction vortex phenomenon. We suggest research directions to ascertain the phenomenon, monitor its development and develop proactive actions to weaken the vortex. It is highly plausible that interventions directed at most, if not all, of the key vortex processes are needed to reverse the overall deteriorating trends of a socio-ecological system.Peer reviewe

Semi-natural grasslands in boreal Europe: a rise of a socioecological research agenda

Peer reviewe

Semi-natural habitats in boreal Europe: a rise of a social-ecological research agenda.

The European continent contains substantial areas of semi-natural habitats, mostly grasslands, which are among the most endangered habitats in Europe. Their continued existence depends on some form of human activity, for either production or conservation purposes, or both. We examined the share of semi-natural grasslands within the general grassland areas in boreal Europe. We reviewed research literature across the region to compile evidence on semi-natural grasslands and other semi-natural habitats, such as wooded pastures, in respect to a range of topics such as ecology, land-use change, socioeconomics, and production. We also explored drivers of the research agenda and outlined future research needs. Challenges are faced when defining and quantifying semi-natural habitats even across a restricted region. Agricultural development and other policies clearly impact the research agenda in various countries. There are recent signs of a shift from classical ecological studies toward more multidisciplinary and integrated research. To sufficiently address the threats faced by semi-natural habitats, political and research frameworks in the European Union should pay more attention to the social-ecological complexity inherent in their management and should support the engagement of various actors into participatory governance processes. This is in line with a full-farm approach implicit in high nature value farming systems.Peer reviewe

EstSoil-EH: a high-resolution eco-hydrological modelling parameters dataset for Estonia

https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/83/2021

Beyond the species pool: Modification of species dispersal, establishment and assembly by habitat restoration

Species dispersal, establishment and assembly are crucial stages of the life history of plants, and clear understanding of the governing forces and rules that shape species composition in a particular community is vital for successful ecological restoration. In our paper we focus on five aspects of seed dispersal and plant establishment, which should be considered during habitat restoration actions. In the first two sections we discuss the success of spontaneous dispersal and establishment on restoration based either on spatial dispersal or local seed banks. In the third section we assess the possibilities of species introduction and assisted dispersal. In the fourth section we introduce some possibilities for the improvement of establishment success of spontaneously dispersed or introduced species. Finally, we highlight issues influencing long-term persistence and sustainability of restored habitats, related to the alteration of management type and intensity, climate change and spread of non-native species. With the present paper we introduce the special issue entitled ‘Seed dispersal and soils seed banks – Promising sources for ecological restoration’ containing 15 papers by 62 authors from ten countries arranged into the abovementioned five topics

Assessing coexisting plant extinction debt and colonization credit in a grassland-forest change gradient

Changes in species richness along the ecological succession gradient may be strongly determined by coexisting extinction debts of species from the original habitats and colonization credits of those from the replacing habitats. The magnitude of these processes and their causes remain largely unknown. We explored the extinction debt and colonization credit for grassland and forest specialist plants, respectively, and the local and landscape factors associated to the richness of these species groups in a 50-year process of forest encroachment into semi-natural Mediterranean grasslands. A set of sampling plots of persistent grasslands and forests and their transitional habitat (wooded grasslands) was selected within fixed-area sites distributed across the landscape. Our results confirm the extinction debt and suggest colonization credit (according to observed trends and model predictions) in wooded grasslands when compared to persistent forests, despite wooded grasslands and persistent forests having similar tree cover. Grassland connectivity and solar radiation had opposing effects on the richness of both grassland and forest specialists, and it is possible that the availability of seed sources from old forests may have accelerate the payment of colonization credit in the wooded grasslands. These results suggest that extinction debt and colonization credit have driven species turnover during the 50 years of forest encroachment, but at different rates, and that local and landscape factors have opposing effects on these two phenomena. They also highlight the importance of documenting biodiversity time lags following habitat change when they are still in progress in order to timely and adequately manage habitats of high conservation value such as the grasslands studied here

Little evidence of range size conservatism in freshwater plants across two continents

Aim: Range size conservatism suggests that closely-related species maintain geographic ranges of similar extent. However, consensus regarding this suggestion has not been reached. To shed more light on this phenomenon, we studied freshwater plant range size conservatism, range overlap and environmental niche conservatism using congeneric species comparison in two continents. In addition, we investigated whether a phylogenetic signal is found in the range sizes of aquatic plants. Location: Europe and North America. Taxon: Freshwater plants. Methods: Across spatial resolutions (50 km2, 100 km2 and 200 km2), we applied Spearman correlations among 347 and 730 pairs of congeneric species in Europe and North America, respectively, and 63 pairs shared between them. In addition, Spearman correlations were used to evaluate how the degree of spatial overlap influences range sizes and which environmental variables explain variation in range sizes. Brownian evolutionary model was used to assess the phylogenetic signal in species range sizes. Results: We found no evidence of range size conservatism across spatial resolutions for any species and species shared between the continents. In addition, range sizes of more closely related species did not overlap geographically more than those of distantly related ones and no support for environmental niche conservatism was evidenced. Main conclusions: We found that aquatic plants show no range size conservatism in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that it is challenging to define different range sizes of freshwater plants through species traits. Furthermore, we are unable to predict unknown distributions of extant aquatic plant species based on known distributional attributes of closely related species. However, our findings suggest that the interpretations of previous investigations on the range sizes of aquatic plants remain valid due to lack of range size conservatism. These practical implications encourage studying range size conservatism across realms and regions, especially for understudied organismal groups

Semi-natural habitats in boreal Europe: a rise of a social-ecological research agenda

The European continent contains substantial areas of semi-natural habitats, mostly grasslands, which are among the most endangered habitats in Europe. Their continued existence depends on some form of human activity, for either production or conservation purposes, or both. We examined the share of semi-natural grasslands within the general grassland areas in boreal Europe. We reviewed research literature across the region to compile evidence on semi-natural grasslands and other semi-natural habitats, such as wooded pastures, in respect to a range of topics such as ecology, land-use change, socioeconomics, and production. We also explored drivers of the research agenda and outlined future research needs. Challenges are faced when defining and quantifying semi-natural habitats even across a restricted region. Agricultural development and other policies clearly impact the research agenda in various countries. There are recent signs of a shift from classical ecological studies toward more multidisciplinary and integrated research. To sufficiently address the threats faced by semi-natural habitats, political and research frameworks in the European Union should pay more attention to the social-ecological complexity inherent in their management and should support the engagement of various actors into participatory governance processes. This is in line with a full-farm approach implicit in high nature value farming systems

Kliimamuutuste ABC: põhjused, mõjud, lahendused. Teaduspõhine õppematerjal kliimamuutustest

Kliimamuutused kujutavad endast ökosüsteemidele ja inimestele suurt ohtu. Teadus on selge: me peame tegutsema, et inimtekkelistest kliimamuutustest tingitud riske vähendada. Siin astub vahele aga kliimamuutustealase kirjaoskuse laialdane puudumine Eestis. Kliima kirjaoskus lihtsalt seletatuna, sisaldab endas mõistmist, kuidas kliima mõjutab mind ja kogu ühiskonda, aga ka seda, kuidas mina ja meie mõjutame kliimat. Selles sisaldub ka arusaam kuidas vähendada kliimamõju (ehk kliimamuutusi leevendada) ja suurendada vastupanuvõimet kliimamuutustele (ehk kliimamuutustega kohaneda). Eesti inimeste suur kliimaskeptilisus püstitab väga suured tõkked kliimamuutustega kohanemiseks ja nende leevendamiseks. Tegutsemiseks ei piisa üksnes teadmistest, vaid tarvis on ka teadmistele tuginevaid väärtusi, hoiakuid ning oskusi. Siit tulebki vajadus selge riikliku poliitika järele, kuidas inimesi kliimamuutuste vallas harida. Euroopa majanduspiirkonna rahastatavas projektis „KLIIMATEADLIK - Kliimateadlikkus koolist ühiskonda: laste, noorte ja õpetajate võimestamine kliimamuutuste mõjude vähendamiseks“ keskendume kliimahariduse edendamisele Eestis. Teeme seda nii formaalses kui ka mitteformaalses hariduses, et suurendada kliimamuutuste leevendamiseks ja nendega kohanemiseks vajalikke pädevusi. Meie eesmärk on luua Eestis kliimamuutuste haridusprogramm, mis hõlmab kõiki haridustasandeid. Selleks arendame haridusstrateegiaid, loome õppematerjale ja toetame õpetajaid. Esiteks selgitasime välja praeguse kliimahariduse olukorra. Vaatasime läbi riikliku õppekava ning ainekavad. Selgus, et kliimamuutusi käsitletakse iseseisva teemana ainult mõningates loodusainetes. Kuid siingi tutvustatakse kliimat ekslikult kui pelgalt üht osa kohalikest keskkonnatingimustest. Puudub globaalse kliimasüsteemi terviklik käsitlus, mistõttu on kliimamuutuste teemade teistesse ainetesse lõimimine keeruline. Järgmine samm oli õpetamise olukorra väljaselgitamine. Analüüsisime Eestis kasutatavaid õpikuid ja korraldasime õpetajate küsitluse. Selgus, et kahjuks ei sisalda kooliõpikud tänapäevast teaduslikku arusaama kliimamuutustest. Õppematerjalides puuduvad selgitused kliimamuutuste põhjuste ja mõjude kohta. Pealegi ei käsitleta üldse kliimamuutuste leevendamist ja kohanemist. Õpetajate küsitlus andis ühelt poolt väga positiivse vastukaja, sest valdav osa õpetajatest pidas kliimamuutusi oluliseks teemaks ning oli ka nõus end neil teemadel harima. Teiselt poolt kurdavad õpetajad, et puudu on tänapäevased eestikeelsed õppevahendid kliimamuutuste käsitlemiseks. Eriti just mitteloodusainete õpetajad nendivad, et neil puuduvad teadmised, kuidas kliimaprobleeme õppesse lõimida. Projekti KLIIMATEADLIK esimene õppevahend „Kliimamuutuste ABC“ püüab neid tühikuid täita. Siin on kokku võetud tänapäevased teaduspõhised arusaamad kliimamuutustest. Õppematerjal tugineb Valitsustevahelise kliimamuutuste paneeli (IPCC) ja teiste organisatsioonide kliimaraportitele, kus on sünteesitud eelretsenseeritud kliimateadust. Õppematerjal hõlmab kliimamuutuste põhjuseid ja mõjusid koos kliimamuutuste leevendamise ja kohanemisega. Õppevahendi lõid projektipartnerid ühistöös ning seda katsetati 2023. aasta märtsis neljal koolitusel Tartus, Pärnus, Narvas ja Tallinnas, samuti Moodle’i e-õppekeskkonnas. „Kliimamuutuste ABC“ on kättesaadav kõigile huvilistele projekti KLIIMATEADLIK õppevahendite lehel kliimatarkused.ut.ee. See on mõeldud kogu Eesti rahvale. Õppevahend sisaldab mõtlemapanevaid ülesandeid, videoid ning kokkuvõtlikku teksti, milles on rohkelt viiteid. Teksti saab ka soovi korral välja printida. Suur tänu kõigile, kes on selle õppevahendi valmimisel kaasa löönud. Rõõmsat õppimist! Kliimateadlik muudab ühiskonda, mitte kliimat. Piia Post ja Velle Toll. September 2023Trükis valmis projekti “Kliimateadlikkus koolist ühiskonda: laste, noorte ja õpetajate võimestamine kliimamuutuste mõjude vähendamiseks” raames.Projekti rahastatakse Euroopa Majanduspiirkonna Finantsmehhanismi 2014−2021 programmi „Kliimamuutuste leevendamine ja nendega kohanemine“ avatud taotlusvoorust „Kliimateadlikkuse suurendamine

Opposing community assembly patterns for dominant and nondominant plant species in herbaceous ecosystems globally

Biotic and abiotic factors interact with dominant plants—the locally most frequent or with the largest coverage—and nondominant plants differently, partially because dominant plants modify the environment where nondominant plants grow. For instance, if dominant plants compete strongly, they will deplete most resources, forcing nondominant plants into a narrower niche space. Conversely, if dominant plants are constrained by the environment, they might not exhaust available resources but instead may ameliorate environmental stressors that usually limit nondominants. Hence, the nature of interactions among nondominant species could be modified by dominant species. Furthermore, these differences could translate into a disparity in the phylogenetic relatedness among dominants compared to the relatedness among nondominants. By estimating phylogenetic dispersion in 78 grasslands across five continents, we found that dominant species were clustered (e.g., co-dominant grasses), suggesting dominant species are likely organized by environmental filtering, and that nondominant species were either randomly assembled or overdispersed. Traits showed similar trends for those sites (\u3c50%) with sufficient trait data. Furthermore, several lineages scattered in the phylogeny had more nondominant species than expected at random, suggesting that traits common in nondominants are phylogenetically conserved and have evolved multiple times. We also explored environmental drivers of the dominant/nondominant disparity. We found different assembly patterns for dominants and nondominants, consistent with asymmetries in assembly mechanisms. Among the different postulated mechanisms, our results suggest two complementary hypotheses seldom explored: (1) Nondominant species include lineages adapted to thrive in the environment generated by dominant species. (2) Even when dominant species reduce resources to nondominant ones, dominant species could have a stronger positive effect on some nondominants by ameliorating environmental stressors affecting them, than by depleting resources and increasing the environmental stress to those nondominants. These results show that the dominant/nondominant asymmetry has ecological and evolutionary consequences fundamental to understand plant communities