scholarly journals High matrix vegetation decreases mean seed dispersal distance but increases long wind dispersal probability connecting local plant populations in agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sissi Donna Lozada Gobilard ◽  
Florian Jeltsch ◽  
Jinlei Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Population Connectivity ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Seed Dispersal Distance

Abstract Background Seed dispersal plays an important role in population dynamics in agricultural ecosystems, but the effects of surrounding vegetation height on seed dispersal and population connectivity on the landscape scale have rarely been studied. Understanding the effects of surrounding vegetation height on seed dispersal will provide important information for land use management in agricultural landscapes to prevent the spread of undesired weeds or enhance functional connectivity. Methods We used two model species, Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia, growing in small natural ponds known as kettle holes, in an agricultural landscape to evaluate the effects of surrounding vegetation height on wind dispersal and population connectivity between kettle holes. Seed dispersal distance and the probability of long-distance dispersal (LDD) were simulated with the mechanistic WALD model under three scenarios of “low”, “dynamic” and “high” surrounding vegetation height. Connectivity between the origin and target kettle holes was quantified with a connectivity index adapted from Hanski and Thomas (1994). Results Our results show that mean seed dispersal distance decreases with the height of surrounding matrix vegetation, but the probability of long-distance dispersal (LDD) increases with vegetation height. This indicates an important vegetation-based trade-off between mean dispersal distance and LDD, which has an impact on connectivity. Conclusions Matrix vegetation height has a negative effect on mean seed dispersal distance but a positive effect on the probability of LDD. This positive effect and its impact on connectivity provide novel insights into landscape level (meta-)population and community dynamics — a change in matrix vegetation height by land use or climatic changes could strongly affect the spread and connectivity of wind-dispersed plants. The opposite effect of vegetation height on mean seed dispersal distance and the probability of LDD should therefore be considered in management and analyses of future land use and climate change effects.

scholarly journals Animal movement drives variation in seed dispersal distance in a plant–animal network

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1894) ◽  
pp. 20182007 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Rehm ◽  
E. Fricke ◽  
J. Bender ◽  
J. Savidge ◽  
H. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Animal Movement ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Dispersal Distances ◽  
Seed Dispersal Distance ◽  
Passage Times

Frugivores play differing roles in shaping dispersal patterns yet seed dispersal distance is rarely quantified across entire communities. We model seed dispersal distance using gut passage times and bird movement for the majority (39 interactions) of known bird–tree interactions on the island of Saipan to highlight differences in seed dispersal distances provided by the five avian frugivores. One bird species was found to be a seed predator rather than a disperser. The remaining four avian species dispersed seeds but differences in seed dispersal distance were largely driven by interspecific variation in bird movement rather than intraspecific variation in gut passage times. The median dispersal distance was at least 56 m for all species-specific combinations, indicating all species play a role in reducing high seed mortality under the parent tree. However, one species—the Micronesian Starling—performed 94% of dispersal events greater than 500 m, suggesting this species could be a key driver of long-distance dispersal services (e.g. linking populations, colonizing new areas). Assessing variation in dispersal patterns across this network highlights key sources of variation in seed dispersal distances and suggests which empirical approaches are sufficient for modelling how seed dispersal mutualisms affect populations and communities.

Long-distance wind dispersal of tree seeds

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 1036-1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Greene ◽  
E. A. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Conservation Biology ◽  
Plant Conservation ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Wind Dispersal ◽  
Source Strength ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Model Predictions ◽  
Tree Seeds ◽  
The Relationship

Long-distance seed dispersal figures prominently in most plant conservation biology arguments, yet we possess little more than anecdotes concerning the relationship among deposition (seeds/m2), source strength (seeds/m2), and distance. In this paper we derive two simple models for long-distance deposition. The models are tested at the scale of 100–1600 m from the source and found to be within 5-fold of the observed deposition. There is no discernable decline in deposition for the range 300–1600 m. While we hesitate to extend model predictions to greater distances, both the models and the empirical results allow us to assert that rare wind-dispersed species in woodlots (dispersal distance around 1 km) are effectively isolated from one another at the temporal scale of 1000 years. Key words: plant conservation biology, wind dispersal of seeds, metapopulations.

scholarly journals The Importance of Riparian Forest Cover to the Ecological Status of Agricultural Streams in a Nationwide Assessment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikko Tolkkinen ◽  
Saku Vaarala ◽  
Jukka Aroviita
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Independent Effect ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Positive Effect

AbstractForested riparian corridors are a key management solution for halting the global trend of declining ecological status of freshwater ecosystems. There is an increasing body of evidence related to the efficacy of these corridors at the local scale, but knowledge is inadequate concerning the effectiveness of riparian forests in terms of protecting streams from harmful impacts across larger scales. In this study, nationwide assessment results comprising more than 900 river water bodies in Finland were used to examine the importance of adjacent land use to river ecological status estimates. Random forest models and partial dependence functions were used to quantify the independent effect of adjacent land use on river ecological status after accounting for the effects of other factors. The proportion of adjacent forested land along a river had the strongest independent positive effect on ecological status for small to medium size rivers that were in agricultural landscapes. Ecological quality increased by almost one status class when the adjacent forest cover increased from 10 to 60%. In contrast, for large rivers, adjacent forested land did not show an independent positive effect on ecological status. This study has major implications for managing river basins to achieve the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) goal of obtaining good ecological status of rivers. The results from the nationwide assessment demonstrate that forested riparian zones can have an independent positive effect on the ecological status of rivers, indicating the importance of riparian forests in mitigating the impacts of catchment-level stressors. Therefore, forested buffer zones should be more strongly considered as part of river basin management.

scholarly journals Hawkmoth Pollination Facilitates Long-distance Pollen Dispersal and Reduces Isolation Across a Gradient of Land-use Change

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krissa A. Skogen ◽  
Rick P. Overson ◽  
Evan T. Hilpman ◽  
Jeremie B. Fant
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Pollen Dispersal ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Genetic Diversity And Structure

Land-use change is among the top drivers of global biodiversity loss, which impacts the arrangement and distribution of suitable habitat for species. Population-level effects include increased isolation, decreased population size, and changes to mutualistic and antagonistic interactions. However, the extent to which species are impacted is determined by life history characteristics including dispersal. In plants, mating dynamics can be changed in ways that can negatively impact population persistence if dispersal of pollen and/or seed is disrupted. Long-distance dispersal has the potential to buffer species from the negative impacts of land-use change. Biotic vectors of long-distance dispersal have been less frequently studied, though specific taxa are known to travel great distances. Here, we describe population genetic diversity and structure in a sphingophilous species that is experiencing habitat fragmentation through land-use change, Oenothera harringtonii W. L. Wagner, Stockh. & W. M. Klein (Onagraceae). We use 12 nuclear and four plastid microsatellite markers and show that pollen dispersal by hawkmoths drives high gene flow and low population differentiation despite a range-wide gradient of land-use change and habitat fragmentation. By separating the contributions of pollen and seed dispersal to gene flow, we show that most of the genetic parameters are driven by hawkmoth-facilitated long-distance pollen dispersal, but populations with small, effective population sizes experience higher levels of relatedness and inbreeding. We discuss considerations for conservation efforts for this and other species that are pollinated by long-distance dispersers.

scholarly journals Height of Successional Vegetation Indicates Moment of Agricultural Land Abandonment

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Kolecka
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Successional Vegetation

One of the major land use and land cover changes in Europe is agricultural land abandonment (ALA) that particularly affects marginal mountain areas. Accurate mapping of ALA patterns and timing is important for understanding its determinants and the environmental and socio-economic consequences. In highly fragmented agricultural landscapes with small-scale farming, subtle land use changes following ALA can be detected with high resolution remotely sensed data, and successional vegetation height is a possible indicator of ALA timing. The main aim of this study was to determine the relationship between successional vegetation height and the timing of agricultural land abandonment in the Budzów community in the Polish Carpathians. Areas of vegetation succession were vectorized on 1977, 1997, and 2009 orthophotomaps, enabling the distinguishing of vegetation encroaching on abandoned fields before and after 1997. Vegetation height in 2012–2014 was determined from digital surface and terrain models that were derived from airborne laser scanning data. The median heights of successional vegetation that started development before and after 1997 were different (6.9 m and 3.2 m, respectively). No significant correlations between successional vegetation height and elevation, slope, aspect, and proximity to forest were found. Thus, the timing of agricultural land abandonment is the most important factor influencing vegetation height, whereas environmental characteristics on this scale of investigation may be neglected.

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