Frequency of plant species in remnants of calcareous grassland and their dispersal and persistence characteristics

doi:10.1078/1439-1791-00162

Basic and Applied Ecology

Volume 4, Issue 4, 2003, Pages 307-316

https://doi.org/10.1078/1439-1791-00162 Get rights and content

Abstract

Why should some species be so much more common than others? Here, we propose that traits affecting dispersal and persistence can be used to predict the frequency of occurrence of a species in grassland remnants in the Swiss Jura Mountains. We established the frequency of occurrence of 112 plant species in 96 remnants of calcareous grassland in NW Switzerland. We determined the following eight traits for each species: (1) dispersal category (unassisted, ant-, adhesion- or wind-dispersed), (2) terminal velocity of diaspores, (3) plant height, (4) mass per seed, (5) seed shape (variance of length, width and height), (6) onset of flowering, (7) duration of flowering, and (8) life form (clonal perennials, perennials without pronounced vegetative reproduction, short-lived species). Then we tested whether there is a correlation among these traits with the frequency of occurrence of a species in grassland remnants using stepwise multiple regression with the original data as well as with phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) calculated with a phylogeny based on recent molecular analysis. Species with an early onset of flowering (p < 0.01, R² = 0.09), a clonal life form (p < 0.01, R² = 0.08), a long duration of flowering (p < 0.02, R² = 0.04) and with heavy seeds (p < 0.05, R² = 0.03) occurred more frequently than others. In total the model explained 26% of the variance in species' frequency. Results were confirmed by the analysis with PICs except for the one concerning life form. Our results suggest that traits enhancing persistence are more important for the frequency of occurrence of a species in calcareous grassland than traits affecting dispersal. This might imply that in grassland remnants colonisations by far-distance dispersal are insignificant because of a lack of diaspore exchange among populations.

Warum sind bestimmte Arten so viel häufiger als andere? Wir gehen davon aus, dass Merkmale, welche Ausbreitung und Persistenz einer Pflanzenart beeinflussen, zur Vorhersage ihrer Häufigkeit in Restflächen der einstmals häufigeren Kalkmagerrasen im Schweizer Jura benutzt werden können. Wir bestimmten die Häufigkeit von 112 Pflanzenarten in 96 Kalkmagerrasen in der Nordwestschweiz. Folgende Merkmale wurden für jede Art festgestellt: (1) Ausbreitungstyp (keine Hilfsstrukturen, Ameisen-, Wind- od. Tierausbreitung), (2) Fallgeschwindigkeit der Diasporen, (3) Wuchshöhe der Pflanzen, (4) Gewicht eines Samens, (5) Samenform (Varianz von Länge, Breite und Höhe), (6) Blühbeginn, (7) Blühdauer, (8) Lebensform (klonal, langlebig aber nicht ausgeprägt klo-nal, kurzlebig). Mittels multipler, schrittweiser Regression wurde getestet, ob zwischen diesen Merkmalen und der Häufigkeit einer Art in Magerwiesen ein Zusammenhang besteht. Dazu wurden sowohl die Originaldaten, als auch phylogenetisch unabhängige Kontraste (PICs), beruhend auf einer Phylogenie mit neuesten molekularen Daten, benutzt. Arten mit einem frühen Blühbeginn (p < 0.01, R² = 0.09), ausgesprochen klonalem Wachstum (p < 0.01, R² = 0.08), einer langen Blühdauer (p < 0.02, R² = 0.04) und schweren Samen (p < 0.05, R² = 0.03) waren häufiger als andere. Insgesamt wurden 26% der Variation in der Häufigkeit der Arten durch das Modell erklärt. Die Resultate wurden, außer der die Wuchsform betreffenden, durch die Analyse mit PICs bestätigt. Unsere Resultate legen nahe, dass Merkmale, die die Persistenz begünstigen, für die Häufigkeit einer Art wichtiger sind als Eigenschaften, die ihre Ausbreitung begünstigen. Für die Restflächen ehemals ausgedehnter Halbtrockenrasen bedeutet dies, dass die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass sich eine lokal verschwundene Art durch Fernausbreitung wiederansiedeln kann, klein ist, weil der Diasporenaustausch zwischen den Restflächen zu gering ist.

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Frequency of plant species in remnants of calcareous grassland and their dispersal and persistence characteristics

Abstract

Biological Conservation

Flora

Trends in Ecology and Evolution

A new apparatus to measure the rate of fall of seeds

Functional Ecology

Seed weight in relation to environmental conditions in California

Ecology

Seed banks and seed dispersal: important topics in restoration ecology

Acta Botanica Neerlandica

Variation in species richness of plants and diverse groups of invertebrates in three calcareous grasslands of the Swiss Jura mountains

Revue Suisse de Zoologie

Ausbreitungsbiologie der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas

Pflanzensoziologie: Grundzüge der Vegetationskunde

Turnover rates in insular biogeography: Effect of immigration on extinction

Ecology

Wind-borne seed and fruit movement

New Phytologist

The trade-off between dispersability and longevity – an important aspect of plant species diversity

Applied Vegetation Sciences

Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen

Regional distributions of Thymus serpyllum: management history and dispersal limitation

Ecography

Regional dynamics of plants: a review of evidence from remnant source-sink and metapopulations

Oikos

Colonisation dynamics and relative abundance of three plant species (Antennaria dioica, Hieracium pilosella and Hypochoeris maculata) in dry semi-natural grasslands

Ecography

Local extinctions of plants in remnants of extensively used calcareous grasslands 1950–1985

Conservation Biology

Experimental studies on the dispersal of plants and animals on sheep in calcareous grasslands

Journal of Applied Ecology

Rarity

Rare common differences: an overview

Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas

Long-distance wind dispersal of tree seeds

Canadian Journal of Botany

Comparative plant ecology: a functional approach to common British species

Population biology of plants

The comparatve method in evolutionary biology

Why ecologists need to be phylogenetically challenged

Journal of Ecology

The role of dispersal mechanisms regenerative strategies and seed banks in the vegetation dynamics of the British landscape

Ecological correlates of seed size in the British flora

Functional Ecology

Diaspore production and the influence of the size of diaspore traps on the quantitative result of seasonal diaspore rain in two calcareous grassland sites

Berichte des Institutes für Landschafts- und Pflanzenökologie der Universität Hohenheim

A comparative study of seed number, seed size, seedling size and recruitment in grassland plants

Oikos

Diaspore weight, dispersal, growth form and perenniality of Central Australian plants

Journal of Ecology

Plant rarity and the type of clonal growth

Zeitschrift für Ökologie und Naturschutz