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Huang C, Xu Y, Zang R. Low functional redundancy revealed high vulnerability of the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests to environmental change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 935:173307. [PMID: 38777067 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Anthropogenic-induced environmental changes threaten forest ecosystems by reducing their biodiversity and adaptive capacity. Understanding the sensitivity of ecosystem function to loss of diversity is vital in designing conservation strategies and maintaining the resilience of forest ecosystems in a changing world. Here, based on unique combinations of ten functional traits (termed as functional entities; FEs), we quantified the metrics of functional redundancy (FR) and functional vulnerability (FV) in 250 forest plots across five locations in subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests. We then examined the potential impacts of species loss on functional diversity in subtropical forest communities along environmental gradients (climate and soil). Results showed that the subtropical forests displayed a low level of functional redundancy (FR < 2). Over 75 % of the FEs in these subtropical forest communities were composed of only one species, with rare species emerging as pivotal contributors to these vulnerable FEs. The number of FEs and functional redundancy both increased with the rise in species richness, but functional vulnerability decreased with increasing species richness. Climatic factors, especially mean diurnal range, played crucial roles in determining the functions that the forest ecosystem delivers. Under variable temperature conditions, species in each plot were packed into a few FEs, leading to higher functional redundancy and lower functional vulnerability. These results highlighted that rare species contribute significantly to ecosystem functions and the highly diverse subtropical forest communities could show more insurance effects against species loss under stressful environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caishuang Huang
- School of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
| | - Yue Xu
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
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Water-energy relationships shape the phylogenetic diversity of terricolous lichen communities in Mediterranean mountains: Implications for conservation in a climate change scenario. FUNGAL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2022.101189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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3
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Di Nuzzo L, Benesperi R, Nascimbene J, Papini A, Malaspina P, Incerti G, Giordani P. Little time left. Microrefuges may fail in mitigating the effects of climate change on epiphytic lichens. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 825:153943. [PMID: 35189219 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is already causing considerable reductions in biodiversity in all terrestrial ecosystems. These consequences are expected to be exacerbated in biomes that are particularly exposed to change, such as those in the Mediterranean, and in certain groups of more sensitive organisms, such as epiphytic lichens. These poikylohydric organisms find suitable light and water conditions on trunks under the tree canopy. Despite their small size, epiphytic communities contribute significantly to the functionality of forest ecosystems. In this work, we surveyed epiphytic lichen communities in a Mediterranean area (Sardinia, Italy) and hypothesized that 1) the effect of microclimate on lichens at tree scale is mediated by the functional traits of these organisms and that 2) micro-refuge trees with certain morphological characteristics can mitigate the negative effects of future climate change. Results confirm the first hypothesis, while the second is only partially supported, suggesting that the capability of specific trees to host specific conditions may not be sufficient to maintain the diversity and ecosystem functionality of lichen communities in the Mediterranean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Di Nuzzo
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | - Renato Benesperi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy.
| | - Juri Nascimbene
- BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessio Papini
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy
| | | | - Guido Incerti
- Department of Agri-Food, Animal and Environmental Sciences, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
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Koch NM, Stanton D, Müller SC, Duarte L, Spielmann AA, Lücking R. Nuanced qualitative trait approaches reveal environmental filtering and phylogenetic constraints on lichen communities. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Natália M. Koch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Saint Paul Minnesota USA
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Daniel Stanton
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Saint Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Sandra C. Müller
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Leandro Duarte
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre Brazil
| | - Adriano A. Spielmann
- Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul Campo Grande Brazil
| | - Robert Lücking
- Botanischer Garten Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany
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A functional analysis reveals extremely low redundancy in global mangrove invertebrate fauna. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2016913118. [PMID: 34312251 PMCID: PMC8364210 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2016913118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Global mangrove deforestation and degradation drive the loss of the associated invertebrate fauna vital to ecosystem services. The functional diversity and resilience of this fauna has not been assessed. We show that even small mangrove patches host functionally diverse faunal assemblages and can act as biodiversity reservoirs. However, globally, functional redundancy of mangrove invertebrates (i.e., the average number of species performing a similar functional role in an assemblage) is extremely low, except in Southeast Asia. Thus, even a modest local loss of invertebrate diversity will have significant negative consequences for mangrove functionality and resilience. Current approaches to assess threats to mangroves heavily rely on loss in areal extent, but our results suggest that loss of function may be more vulnerable. Deforestation results in habitat fragmentation, decreasing diversity, and functional degradation. For mangroves, no data are available on the impact of deforestation on the diversity and functionality of the specialized invertebrate fauna, critical for their functioning. We compiled a global dataset of mangrove invertebrate fauna comprising 364 species from 16 locations, classified into 64 functional entities (FEs). For each location, we calculated taxonomic distinctness (Δ+), functional richness (FRi), functional redundancy (FRe), and functional vulnerability (FVu) to assess functional integrity. Δ+ and FRi were significantly related to air temperature but not to geomorphic characteristics, mirroring the global biodiversity anomaly of mangrove trees. Neither of those two indices was linked to forest area, but both sharply decreased in human-impacted mangroves. About 60% of the locations showed an average FRe < 2, indicating that most of the FEs comprised one species only. Notable exceptions were the Eastern Indian Ocean and west Pacific Ocean locations, but also in this region, 57% of the FEs had no redundancy, placing mangroves among the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet. Our study shows that despite low redundancy, even small mangrove patches host truly multifunctional faunal assemblages, ultimately underpinning their services. However, our analyses also suggest that even a modest local loss of invertebrate diversity could have significant negative consequences for many mangroves and cascading effects for adjacent ecosystems. This pattern of faunal-mediated ecosystem functionality is crucial for assessing the vulnerability of mangrove forests to anthropogenic impact and provides an approach to planning their effective conservation and restoration.
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Ellis CJ, Asplund J, Benesperi R, Branquinho C, Di Nuzzo L, Hurtado P, Martínez I, Matos P, Nascimbene J, Pinho P, Prieto M, Rocha B, Rodríguez-Arribas C, Thüs H, Giordani P. Functional Traits in Lichen Ecology: A Review of Challenge and Opportunity. Microorganisms 2021; 9:766. [PMID: 33917569 PMCID: PMC8067525 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9040766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Community ecology has experienced a major transition, from a focus on patterns in taxonomic composition, to revealing the processes underlying community assembly through the analysis of species functional traits. The power of the functional trait approach is its generality, predictive capacity such as with respect to environmental change, and, through linkage of response and effect traits, the synthesis of community assembly with ecosystem function and services. Lichens are a potentially rich source of information about how traits govern community structure and function, thereby creating opportunity to better integrate lichens into 'mainstream' ecological studies, while lichen ecology and conservation can also benefit from using the trait approach as an investigative tool. This paper brings together a range of author perspectives to review the use of traits in lichenology, particularly with respect to European ecosystems from the Mediterranean to the Arctic-Alpine. It emphasizes the types of traits that lichenologists have used in their studies, both response and effect, the bundling of traits towards the evolution of life-history strategies, and the critical importance of scale (both spatial and temporal) in functional trait ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johan Asplund
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 5003 NO-1432 Ås, Norway;
| | - Renato Benesperi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via la Pira, 450121 Florence, Italy; (R.B.); (L.D.N.)
| | - Cristina Branquinho
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, Piso 5, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.B.); (P.P.); (B.R.)
| | - Luca Di Nuzzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via la Pira, 450121 Florence, Italy; (R.B.); (L.D.N.)
| | - Pilar Hurtado
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain; (P.H.); (I.M.); marí (M.P.); (C.R.-A.)
- Departamento de Biología (Botánica), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Martínez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain; (P.H.); (I.M.); marí (M.P.); (C.R.-A.)
| | - Paula Matos
- MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Juri Nascimbene
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, I-40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Pedro Pinho
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, Piso 5, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.B.); (P.P.); (B.R.)
| | - María Prieto
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain; (P.H.); (I.M.); marí (M.P.); (C.R.-A.)
| | - Bernardo Rocha
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, Piso 5, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (C.B.); (P.P.); (B.R.)
| | - Clara Rodríguez-Arribas
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain; (P.H.); (I.M.); marí (M.P.); (C.R.-A.)
| | - Holger Thüs
- Botany Department, State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany;
| | - Paolo Giordani
- DIFAR, University of Genova, Viale Cembrano, 4, I-16148 Genova, Italy;
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Di Nuzzo L, Vallese C, Benesperi R, Giordani P, Chiarucci A, Di Cecco V, Di Martino L, Di Musciano M, Gheza G, Lelli C, Spitale D, Nascimbene J. Contrasting multitaxon responses to climate change in Mediterranean mountains. Sci Rep 2021; 11:4438. [PMID: 33627718 PMCID: PMC7904820 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83866-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We explored the influence of climatic factors on diversity patterns of multiple taxa (lichens, bryophytes, and vascular plants) along a steep elevational gradient to predict communities' dynamics under future climate change scenarios in Mediterranean regions. We analysed (1) species richness patterns in terms of heat-adapted, intermediate, and cold-adapted species; (2) pairwise beta-diversity patterns, also accounting for its two different components, species replacement and richness difference; (3) the influence of climatic variables on species functional traits. Species richness is influenced by different factors between three taxonomic groups, while beta diversity differs mainly between plants and cryptogams. Functional traits are influenced by different factors in each taxonomic group. On the basis of our observations, poikilohydric cryptogams could be more impacted by climate change than vascular plants. However, contrasting species-climate and traits-climate relationships were also found between lichens and bryophytes suggesting that each group may be sensitive to different components of climate change. Our study supports the usefulness of a multi-taxon approach coupled with a species traits analysis to better unravel the response of terrestrial communities to climate change. This would be especially relevant for lichens and bryophytes, whose response to climate change is still poorly explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Di Nuzzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via la Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Vallese
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Renato Benesperi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, Via la Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - Paolo Giordani
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, Università di Genova, viale Cembrano, 4, 16148, Genoa, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Chiarucci
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Valter Di Cecco
- Parco Nazionale della Majella, Via Badia, 28, 67039, Sulmona, Italy
| | | | - Michele Di Musciano
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi 1, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Gabriele Gheza
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Chiara Lelli
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniel Spitale
- Museo di Scienze Naturali Dell'Alto Adige, Via Bottai, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Juri Nascimbene
- Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126, Bologna, Italy
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Boch S, Saiz H, Allan E, Schall P, Prati D, Schulze ED, Hessenmöller D, Sparrius LB, Fischer M. Direct and Indirect Effects of Management Intensity and Environmental Factors on the Functional Diversity of Lichens in Central European Forests. Microorganisms 2021; 9:463. [PMID: 33672221 PMCID: PMC7926786 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9020463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Using 642 forest plots from three regions in Germany, we analyzed the direct and indirect effects of forest management intensity and of environmental variables on lichen functional diversity (FDis). Environmental stand variables were affected by management intensity and acted as an environmental filter: summing direct and indirect effects resulted in a negative total effect of conifer cover on FDis, and a positive total effect of deadwood cover and standing tree biomass. Management intensity had a direct positive effect on FDis, which was compensated by an indirect negative effect via reduced standing tree biomass and lichen species richness, resulting in a negative total effect on FDis and the FDis of adaptation-related traits (FDisAd). This indicates environmental filtering of management and stronger niche partitioning at a lower intensity. In contrast, management intensity had a positive total effect on the FDis of reproduction-, dispersal- and establishment-related traits (FDisRe), mainly because of the direct negative effect of species richness, indicating functional over-redundancy, i.e., most species cluster into a few over-represented functional entities. Our findings have important implications for forest management: high lichen functional diversity can be conserved by promoting old, site-typical deciduous forests with a high richness of woody species and large deadwood quantity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Boch
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Hugo Saiz
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; (H.S.); (E.A.); (D.P.); (M.F.)
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; (H.S.); (E.A.); (D.P.); (M.F.)
| | - Peter Schall
- Department of Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany;
| | - Daniel Prati
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; (H.S.); (E.A.); (D.P.); (M.F.)
| | - Ernst-Detlef Schulze
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; (E.-D.S.); (D.H.)
| | - Dominik Hessenmöller
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany; (E.-D.S.); (D.H.)
- Forstamt Schmalkalden, Thueringen Forst, Schlossberg 11, 98574 Schmalkalden, Germany
| | | | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland; (H.S.); (E.A.); (D.P.); (M.F.)
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Modelling range dynamics of terricolous lichens of the genus Peltigera in the Alps under a climate change scenario. FUNGAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2020.101014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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