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Santana-Cordero AM, Szabó P, Bürgi M, Armstrong CG. The practice of historical ecology: What, when, where, how and what for. AMBIO 2024; 53:664-677. [PMID: 38441861 PMCID: PMC10992833 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-024-01981-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
In recent decades, there has been a growing number of studies exploring the historical dimensions of the interconnectedness of human societies and the environment. A core approach in this field is historical ecology. We analyzed 544 historical-ecological papers to assess patterns and trends in the field. We found a high degree of interdisciplinarity with a focus on local case studies, of periods of fewer than 500 years, analyzing archival sources through quantitative approaches. The proportion of papers containing management recommendations has increased over time. To make historical ecology globally relevant, more effort should be made to utilize studies across languages, borders and worldviews. We call for high standards regarding the use of social scientific methodologies. Lastly, we argue that fostering longer-term studies and assessing the real-life impact of policy recommendations emerging from historical ecology can help the discipline better contribute solutions to the challenges facing humanity in an uncertain future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarón Moisés Santana-Cordero
- Departamento de Geografía, Universidad de Salamanca, Calle Cervantes s/n, 37001, Salamanca, Spain.
- Grupo Geografía, Medio Ambiente y Tecnologías de la Información Geográfica, Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, IOCAG, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, ULPGC, Parque Científico Tecnológico, Taliarte, 35214, Telde, Spain.
| | - Péter Szabó
- Department of Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Lidická 25/27, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Joštova 10, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Matthias Bürgi
- Research Unit Land Change Science, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Chelsey Geralda Armstrong
- Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
- Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
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2
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Wilson RN, Kopp CW, Hille Ris Lambers J, Angert AL. Fire sparks upslope range shifts of North Cascades plant species. Ecology 2024; 105:e4242. [PMID: 38272470 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
As ongoing climate change drives suitable habitats to higher elevations, species ranges are predicted to follow. However, observed range shifts have been surprisingly variable, with most species differing in rates of upward shift and others failing to shift at all. Disturbances such as fires could play an important role in accelerating range shifts by facilitating recruitment in newly suitable habitats (leading edges) and removing adults from areas no longer suited for regeneration (trailing edges). To date, empirical evidence that fires interact with climate change to mediate elevational range shifts is scarce. Resurveying historical plots in areas that experienced climate change and fire disturbance between surveys provides an exciting opportunity to fill this gap. To investigate whether species have tended to shift upslope and if shifts depend on fires, we resurveyed historical vegetation plots in North Cascades National Park, Washington, USA, an area that has experienced warming, drying, and multiple fires since the original surveys in 1983. We quantified range shifts by synthesizing across two lines of evidence: (1) displacement at range edges and the median elevation of species occurrences, and (2) support for the inclusion of interactions among time, fire and elevation in models of species presence with elevation. Among species that experienced fire since the original survey, a plurality expanded into new habitats at their upper edge. In contrast, a plurality of species not experiencing fire showed no evidence of shifts, with the remainder exhibiting responses that were variable in magnitude and direction. Our results suggest that fires can facilitate recruitment at leading edges, while species in areas free of disturbance are more likely to experience stasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel N Wilson
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Christopher W Kopp
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Janneke Hille Ris Lambers
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Amy L Angert
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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3
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Dillon EM, Dunne EM, Womack TM, Kouvari M, Larina E, Claytor JR, Ivkić A, Juhn M, Carmona PSM, Robson SV, Saha A, Villafaña JA, Zill ME. Challenges and directions in analytical paleobiology. PALEOBIOLOGY 2023; 49:377-393. [PMID: 37809321 PMCID: PMC7615171 DOI: 10.1017/pab.2023.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Over the last 50 years, access to new data and analytical tools has expanded the study of analytical paleobiology, contributing to innovative analyses of biodiversity dynamics over Earth's history. Despite-or even spurred by-this growing availability of resources, analytical paleobiology faces deep-rooted obstacles that stem from the need for more equitable access to data and best practices to guide analyses of the fossil record. Recent progress has been accelerated by a collective push toward more collaborative, interdisciplinary, and open science, especially by early-career researchers. Here, we survey four challenges facing analytical paleobiology from an early-career perspective: (1) accounting for biases when interpreting the fossil record; (2) integrating fossil and modern biodiversity data; (3) building data science skills; and (4) increasing data accessibility and equity. We discuss recent efforts to address each challenge, highlight persisting barriers, and identify tools that have advanced analytical work. Given the inherent linkages between these challenges, we encourage discourse across disciplines to find common solutions. We also affirm the need for systemic changes that reevaluate how we conduct and share paleobiological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin M. Dillon
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, U.S.A.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Emma M. Dunne
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Tom M. Womack
- School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Miranta Kouvari
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - Ekaterina Larina
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, U.S.A
| | - Jordan Ray Claytor
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, U.S.A; Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, Washington 98195, U.S.A
| | - Angelina Ivkić
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2,1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mark Juhn
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, U.S.A
| | - Pablo S. Milla Carmona
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina; Instituto de Estudios Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” (IDEAN, UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Selina Viktor Robson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Anwesha Saha
- Institute of Palaeobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland; Laboratory of Paleogenetics and Conservation Genetics, Centre of New Technologies (CeNT), University of Warsaw, S. Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jaime A. Villafaña
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O ‘Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile
| | - Michelle E. Zill
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, U.S.A
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Primack RB, Miller-Rushing AJ, Miller TK. Was Henry David Thoreau a Good Naturalist? An Approach for Assessing Data from Historical Natural History Records. Bioscience 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
abstract
Ecologists are increasingly combining historical observations made by naturalists with modern observations to detect the ecological effects of climate change. This use of historical observations raises the following question: How do we know that historical data are appropriate to use to answer current ecological questions? In the present article, we address this question for environmental philosopher Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden. Should we trust his observations? We qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate Thoreau's observations using a three-step framework: We assess the rigor, accuracy, and utility of his observations to investigate changes in plants and animals over time. We conclude that Thoreau was an accurate observer of nature and a reliable scientist. More importantly, we describe how this simple three-step approach could be used to assess the accuracy of other scientists and naturalists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard B Primack
- Department of Biology, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Abraham J Miller-Rushing
- US National Park Service, science coordinator for Acadia National Park , Bar Harbor, Maine, United States
| | - Tara K Miller
- Department of Biology, Boston University , Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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5
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Becker-Scarpitta A, Auberson-Lavoie D, Aussenac R, Vellend M. Different temporal trends in vascular plant and bryophyte communities along elevational gradients over four decades. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9102. [PMID: 36016818 PMCID: PMC9395318 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite many studies showing biodiversity responses to warming, the generality of such responses across taxonomic groups remains unclear. Very few studies have tested for evidence of bryophyte community responses to warming, even though bryophytes are major contributors to diversity and functioning in many ecosystems. Here, we report an empirical study comparing long‐term change in bryophyte and vascular plant communities in two sites with contrasting long‐term warming trends, using “legacy” botanical records as a baseline for comparison with contemporary resurveys. We hypothesized that ecological changes would be greater in sites with a stronger warming trend and that vascular plant communities, with narrower climatic niches, would be more sensitive than bryophyte communities to climate warming. For each taxonomic group in each site, we quantified the magnitude of changes in species' distributions along the elevation gradient, species richness, and community composition. We found contrasted temporal changes in bryophyte vs. vascular plant communities, which only partially supported the warming hypothesis. In the area with a stronger warming trend, we found a significant increase in local diversity and dissimilarity (β‐diversity) for vascular plants, but not for bryophytes. Presence–absence data did not provide sufficient power to detect elevational shifts in species distributions. The patterns observed for bryophytes are in accordance with recent literature showing that local diversity can remain unchanged despite strong changes in composition. Regardless of whether one taxon is systematically more or less sensitive to environmental change than another, our results suggest that vascular plants cannot be used as a surrogate for bryophytes in terms of predicting the nature and magnitude of responses to warming. Thus, to assess overall biodiversity responses to global change, abundance data from different taxonomic groups and different community properties need to be synthesized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Becker-Scarpitta
- Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Québec Canada.,Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Agricultural Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland.,Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic
| | - Diane Auberson-Lavoie
- Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Québec Canada
| | | | - Mark Vellend
- Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Québec Canada
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6
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Jules ES, DeSiervo MH, Reilly MJ, Bost DS, Butz RJ. The effects of a half century of warming and fire exclusion on montane forests of the Klamath Mountains, California,
USA. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erik S. Jules
- Department of Biological Sciences Humboldt State University Arcata California USA
| | | | - Matthew J. Reilly
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Corvallis Oregon USA
| | - Drew S. Bost
- Department of Biological Sciences Humboldt State University Arcata California USA
| | - Ramona J. Butz
- USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 1330, Bayshore Way Eureka CA USA
- Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources Humboldt State University Arcata California USA
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7
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Responses in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Fractionation after Prescribed Burning in the Montseny Biosphere Reserve (NE Iberian Peninsula). SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14074232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Prescribed fire is one of the most widely-used management tools to recover encroached rangelands. Fire has been reported to cause changes in the soil physical and chemical properties. However, the legacy effects of former plant species on soil responses to fire remains unknown. The legacy effect of the former extant plant species on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fractionation distribution after prescribed burning in topsoil (0–5 cm and 5–10 cm) was investigated in Mediterranean shrublands in Montseny. We sampled soils under five vegetation patch types: Cytisus scoparius L., Calluna vulgaris L., Erica arborea L., Pteridium aquilinum L., and Cladonia biocrusts, pre- and post-burning. Multivariate analysis on soil C and N fractions showed that soils under the legume Cytisus and the biocrust were the most differentiated. Vegetation patch types tended to respond differently to burning, soils under Cytisus, Cladonia and Calluna showing the strongest response. Total C and N, and C and N in sand decreased after burning in the 0–5 cm soil layer. Conversely, C in silt, as well as N in clay and silt, increased with soil depth after burning. This study will be helpful for understanding ecological legacy effects and their possible consequences when planning prescribed burning.
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8
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Lawson KN, Letendre H, Drew JA. Historical Maps provide insight into a century and a half of habitat change in Fijian coasts. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:15573-15584. [PMID: 34826306 PMCID: PMC8601896 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Meaningful conservation goals require setting baselines derived from long-term ecological records and information that is rare in many regions of the world. Historical data allow us to shift baselines back in time in order to strengthen conservation outcomes in the future.To explore how different histories of land use and development influenced coastal ecosystems in two Fijian cities (Suva and Savusavu), we compared a series of historical navigational charts. These charts recorded change in coral reef area and coastal mangrove forests, as well as expansions of hardened shorelines. We used geographic information systems (GIS) to georeference and make quantitative comparisons starting in 1,840 in Suva and 1876 in Savusavu.Our findings show that, despite increasing urbanization in the capital Suva, available coral reef habitat has not significantly changed in over 150 years, but development has hastened a nearly 50% loss of mangroves. Meanwhile, in the smaller city of Savusavu, coral habitats suffered significant loss in area and an increase in patchiness. As in Suva, shoreline hardening increased in Savusavu, but this change was not accompanied by a loss of mangroves.Nautical charts provided hitherto unavailable information on the long-term loss and alteration of coastal habitats in Fiji. Historical ecology allows scientists to combat shifting baseline syndrome and set measured standards for conservation objectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine N. Lawson
- Department of Environmental and Forest BiologyState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNYUSA
| | - Haleigh Letendre
- Department of Environmental and Forest BiologyState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNYUSA
| | - Joshua A. Drew
- Department of Environmental and Forest BiologyState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuseNYUSA
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9
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Ktitorov P, Ivanov S, Kornilova E, Kulikova O, Ris H, Sokolovskis K, Solovyeva D. Shrub-dwelling species are joining the Arctic passerine bird community in the Chaun Delta (Western Chukotka, Russia). Polar Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-021-02915-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Auffret AG. Historical floras reflect broad shifts in flowering phenology in response to a warming climate. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alistair G. Auffret
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Box 7044 Uppsala 75007 Sweden
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11
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Vellend M, Béhé M, Carteron A, Crofts AL, Danneyrolles V, Gamhewa HT, Ni M, Rinas CL, Watts DA. Plant Responses to Climate Change and an Elevational Gradient in Mont Mégantic National Park, Québec, Canada. Northeast Nat (Steuben) 2021. [DOI: 10.1656/045.028.s1102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark Vellend
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Mélanie Béhé
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Alexis Carteron
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Centre sur la Biodiversité, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Anna L. Crofts
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Victor Danneyrolles
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Hasanki T. Gamhewa
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Ming Ni
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Christina L. Rinas
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - David A. Watts
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
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12
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Albani Rocchetti G, Armstrong CG, Abeli T, Orsenigo S, Jasper C, Joly S, Bruneau A, Zytaruk M, Vamosi JC. Reversing extinction trends: new uses of (old) herbarium specimens to accelerate conservation action on threatened species. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:433-450. [PMID: 33280123 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/22/2020] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Although often not collected specifically for the purposes of conservation, herbarium specimens offer sufficient information to reconstruct parameters that are needed to designate a species as 'at-risk' of extinction. While such designations should prompt quick and efficient legal action towards species recovery, such action often lags far behind and is mired in bureaucratic procedure. The increase in online digitization of natural history collections has now led to a surge in the number new studies on the uses of machine learning. These repositories of species occurrences are now equipped with advances that allow for the identification of rare species. The increase in attention devoted to estimating the scope and severity of the threats that lead to the decline of such species will increase our ability to mitigate these threats and reverse the declines, overcoming a current barrier to the recovery of many threatened plant species. Thus far, collected specimens have been used to fill gaps in systematics, range extent, and past genetic diversity. We find that they also offer material with which it is possible to foster species recovery, ecosystem restoration, and de-extinction, and these elements should be used in conjunction with machine learning and citizen science initiatives to mobilize as large a force as possible to counter current extinction trends.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Abeli
- Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, Roma, 00154, Italy
| | - Simone Orsenigo
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
| | - Caroline Jasper
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Simon Joly
- Montreal Botanical Garden, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada
- Département de Sciences Biologiques and Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Anne Bruneau
- Département de Sciences Biologiques and Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada
| | - Maria Zytaruk
- Department of English, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Jana C Vamosi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
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13
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Shi H, Homer C, Rigge M, Postma K, Xian G. Analyzing vegetation change in a sagebrush ecosystem using long‐term field observations and Landsat imagery in Wyoming. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hua Shi
- AFDS 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls South Dakota57198USA
| | - Collin Homer
- Earth Resources Observation and Science Center U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls South Dakota57198USA
| | - Matthew Rigge
- AFDS 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls South Dakota57198USA
| | - Kory Postma
- KBRwyle 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls South Dakota57198USA
| | - George Xian
- Earth Resources Observation and Science Center U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 47914 252nd Street Sioux Falls South Dakota57198USA
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14
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Mitchell MGE, Chan KMA, Newlands NK, Ramankutty N. Spatial Correlations Don't Predict Changes in Agricultural Ecosystem Services: A Canada-Wide Case Study. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.539892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Improving the management of multiple ecosystem services (e.g., food provision, water and air quality regulation, carbon storage, and erosion control) in agricultural landscapes is a critical challenge to improve food system sustainability. However, we currently lack spatially-resolved national-level assessments of the relationships among services in agricultural landscapes over time. This limits our ability to make decisions and predict how environmental changes or agricultural management actions will impact multiple services. How do multiple ecosystem services vary across both space and time, at regional-to-national scales? To address this question, we quantified eight indicators of four ecosystem services across 290 Canadian agricultural landscapes in 1996, 2001, and 2006. We observed consistent correlations between pairs of services across the 290 ecodistricts in each of the 3 years of our study. In particular, ecodistricts with high livestock production had low provision of most regulating services, while ecodistricts with high air quality (ammonia retention) also had high soil and water quality regulation services. However, these ‘snapshot’ correlations poorly predicted how pairs of services changed through time. Ecosystem service change from 1996–2001 to 2001–2006 (as measured by pairwise correlations) showed markedly different patterns than snapshot correlations. In particular, where livestock production increased between years, so did most regulating services. Ecosystem service bundles also showed similar divergent patterns. The distribution of ecosystem service “snapshot” bundles—sets of ecodistricts with similar levels of provision across multiple ecosystem services in a single year—was generally stable between 1996 and 2006; only 15% of ecodistricts changed bundle types in this time period. However, ecosystem service “change” bundles—sets of ecodistricts with similar changes in ecosystem service provision through time—were much more dynamic. Nearly 60% of ecodistricts exhibited a different set of ecosystem service changes from 2001 to 2006 compared to 1996 to 2001. Our results add to the growing evidence that relationships between services across space do not necessarily predict service change through time. Improved understanding of the spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of ecosystem services, and better understanding of underlying processes, is crucial to improve agricultural landscape management for multifunctionality and sustainability.
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15
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Wijedasa LS, Jain A, Ziegler AD, Evans TA, Fung T. Estimating carbon biomass in forests using incomplete data. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lahiru S. Wijedasa
- Integrated Tropical Peat Research Program NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) T‐Labs National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
- ConservationLinks Singapore City Singapore
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
| | - Anuj Jain
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
- BirdLife International Singapore City Singapore
| | - Alan D. Ziegler
- Faculty of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Maejo University Chiang Mai Thailand
| | - Theodore A. Evans
- School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia Perth WA Australia
| | - Tak Fung
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore City Singapore
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16
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Assessment of Changes in a Viewshed in the Western Carpathians Landscape as a Result of Reforestation. LAND 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/land9110430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A viewshed analysis is of great importance in mountainous areas characterized by high landscape values. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of reforestation occurring on former pasturelands on changes in the viewshed, and to quantify changes in the surface of glades. We combine a horizontal and a vertical approach to landscape analysis. The changes in non-forest areas and the viewshed from viewpoints located in glades were calculated using historical cartographic materials and a more recent Digital Elevation Model and Digital Surface Model. An analysis was conducted using a Visibility tool in ArcGIS. The non-forest areas decreased in the period 1848–2015. The viewshed in the majority of viewpoints also decreased in the period 1848–2015. In the majority of cases, the maximal viewsheds were calculated in 1879/1885 and 1933 (43.8% of the analyzed cases), whereas the minimal ones were calculated in 2015 (almost 57.5% of analyzed cases). Changes in the viewshed range from 0.2 to 23.5 km2 with half the cases analyzed being no more than 1.4 km2. The results indicate that forest succession on abandoned glades does not always cause a decline in the viewshed. Deforestation in neighboring areas may be another factor that has an influence on the decline.
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Shin N, Shibata H, Osawa T, Yamakita T, Nakamura M, Kenta T. Toward more data publication of long‐term ecological observations. Ecol Res 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nagai Shin
- Earth Surface System Research Center Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC), Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) Yokohama Japan
- Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Research, RIGC, JAMSTEC Yokohama Japan
| | - Hideaki Shibata
- Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere Hokkaido University Sapporo Japan
| | - Takeshi Osawa
- Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences Tokyo Metropolitan University Tokyo Japan
| | - Takehisa Yamakita
- Analyses of Changes in East Japan Marine Ecosystems Research and Development Group (JAM‐TEAMS) Marine Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment Research Center (BioEnv), RIGC, JAMSTEC Yokosuka Japan
| | - Masahiro Nakamura
- Wakayama Experimental Forest Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University Wakayama Japan
| | - Tanaka Kenta
- Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Science Center University of Tsukuba Ueda Japan
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18
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Beller EE, McClenachan L, Zavaleta ES, Larsen LG. Past forward: Recommendations from historical ecology for ecosystem management. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
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19
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Arnell M, Cousins SAO, Eriksson O. Does historical land use affect the regional distribution of fleshy-fruited woody plants? PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225791. [PMID: 31805106 PMCID: PMC6894828 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Species richness and composition of current vegetation may reflect historical land use. We develop and examine the hypothesis that regional distribution and richness of fleshy-fruited woody plants, a group sharing life-form and dispersal system, reflect historical land use in open or semi-open habitats. Historical land use was based on maps from around the year 1900 for two regions in Sweden, and field data was gathered from surveys made in these regions. Species richness was positively related to historical land use indicated as open habitat in 1900. In one of the regions, five out of nine examined species were positively related to historical land use (with historical effect R2 ranging between 0.03 and 0.22). In the other region, we found a weaker positive relationship with historical land use in two out of nine examined species (R2 0.01 and 0.02). We conclude that current occurrence and richness of fleshy-fruited woody species is partly a legacy of historical land use, and that regions may vary in this respect. Based on a comparison between the two regions examined here, we discuss some potential causes behind this variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilda Arnell
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Sara A. O. Cousins
- Biogeography and Geomatics, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ove Eriksson
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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20
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Hackett RA, Belitz MW, Gilbert EE, Monfils AK. A data management workflow of biodiversity data from the field to data users. APPLICATIONS IN PLANT SCIENCES 2019; 7:e11310. [PMID: 31890356 PMCID: PMC6923704 DOI: 10.1002/aps3.11310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Heterogeneity of biodiversity data from the collections, research, and management communities presents challenges for data findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability. Workflows designed with data collection, standards, dissemination, and reuse in mind will generate better information across geopolitical, administrative, and institutional boundaries. Here, we present our data workflow as a case study of how we collected, shared, and used data from multiple sources. METHODS In 2012, we initiated the collection of biodiversity data relating to Michigan prairie fens, including data on plant communities and the federally endangered Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek). RESULTS Over 23,000 occurrence records were compiled in a database following Darwin Core standards. The records were linked with media and biological, chemical, and geometric measurements. We published the data as Global Biodiversity Information Facility data sets and in Symbiota SEINet portals. DISCUSSION We highlight data collection techniques that optimized transcription time, including the use of predetermined and controlled vocabulary, Darwin Core terms, and data dictionaries. The validity and longevity of our data were supported by voucher specimens, metadata with measurement records, and published manuscripts detailing methods and data sets. Key to our data dissemination was cooperation among partners and the utilization of dynamic tools. To increase data interoperability, we need flexible and customizable data collection templates, coding, and enhanced communication among communities using biodiversity data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Hackett
- Department of BiologyInstitute for Great Lakes ResearchCentral Michigan UniversityBioscience Building 2100, 1455 Calumet CourtMount PleasantMichigan48859USA
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionP.O. Box 13036LansingMichigan48901‐3036USA
| | - Michael W. Belitz
- Department of BiologyInstitute for Great Lakes ResearchCentral Michigan UniversityBioscience Building 2100, 1455 Calumet CourtMount PleasantMichigan48859USA
- Florida Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFlorida32611USA
| | | | - Anna K. Monfils
- Department of BiologyInstitute for Great Lakes ResearchCentral Michigan UniversityBioscience Building 2100, 1455 Calumet CourtMount PleasantMichigan48859USA
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21
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Auffret AG, Thomas CD. Synergistic and antagonistic effects of land use and non-native species on community responses to climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:4303-4314. [PMID: 31400190 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Climate change, land-use change and introductions of non-native species are key determinants of biodiversity change worldwide. However, the extent to which anthropogenic drivers of environmental change interact to affect biological communities is largely unknown, especially over longer time periods. Here, we show that plant community composition in 996 Swedish landscapes has consistently shifted to reflect the warmer and wetter climate that the region has experienced during the second half of the 20th century. Using community climatic indices, which reflect the average climatic associations of the species within each landscape at each time period, we found that species compositions in 74% of landscapes now have a higher representation of warm-associated species than they did previously, while 84% of landscapes now host more species associated with higher levels of precipitation. In addition to a warmer and wetter climate, there have also been large shifts in land use across the region, while the fraction of non-native species has increased in the majority of landscapes. Climatic warming at the landscape level appeared to favour the colonization of warm-associated species, while also potentially driving losses in cool-associated species. However, the resulting increases in community thermal means were apparently buffered by landscape simplification (reduction in habitat heterogeneity within landscapes) in the form of increased forest cover. Increases in non-native species, which generally originate from warmer climates than Sweden, were a strong driver of community-level warming. In terms of precipitation, both landscape simplification and increases in non-natives appeared to favour species associated with drier climatic conditions, to some extent counteracting the climate-driven shift towards wetter communities. Anthropogenic drivers can act both synergistically and antagonistically to determine trajectories of change in biological communities over time. Therefore, it is important to consider multiple drivers of global change when trying to understand, manage and predict biodiversity in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alistair G Auffret
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Chris D Thomas
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
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22
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MacKenzie CM, Johnston J, Miller-Rushing AJ, Sheehan W, Pinette R, Primack R. Advancing Leaf-Out and Flowering Phenology is Not Matched by Migratory Bird Arrivals Recorded in Hunting Guide's Journal in Aroostook County, Maine. Northeast Nat (Steuben) 2019. [DOI: 10.1656/045.026.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jason Johnston
- Department of Biology, University of Maine at Presque Isle, 181 Main Street, Presque Isle, ME 04769
| | | | | | - Robert Pinette
- Professor Emeritus, University of Maine at Presque Isle, 18 Melden Drive, Brunswick, ME 04011
| | - Richard Primack
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215
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Abstract
Alexander von Humboldt's Tableau Physique (1807) has been one of the most influential diagrams in the history of environmental sciences. In particular, detailed observations of the altitudinal distribution of plant species in the equatorial Andes, depicted on a cross-section of Mt. Chimborazo, allowed Humboldt to establish the concept of vegetation belt, thereby laying the foundations of biogeography. Surprisingly, Humboldt's original data have never been critically revisited, probably due to the difficulty of gathering and interpreting dispersed archives. By unearthing and analyzing overlooked historical documents, we show that the top section of the Tableau Physique, above the tree line, is an intuitive construct based on unverified and therefore partly false field data that Humboldt constantly tried to revise in subsequent publications. This finding has implications for the documentation of climate change effects in the tropical Andes. We found that Humboldt's primary plant data above tree line were mostly collected on Mt. Antisana, not Chimborazo, which allows a comparison with current records. Our resurvey at Mt. Antisana revealed a 215- to 266-m altitudinal shift over 215 y. This estimate is about twice lower than previous estimates for the region but is consistent with the 10- to 12-m/decade upslope range shift observed worldwide. Our results show the cautious approach needed to interpret historical data and to use them as a resource for documenting environmental changes. They also profoundly renew our understanding of Humboldt's scientific thinking, methods, and modern relevance.
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24
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Becker-Scarpitta A, Vissault S, Vellend M. Four decades of plant community change along a continental gradient of warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1629-1641. [PMID: 30636090 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Revised: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Many studies of individual sites have revealed biotic changes consistent with climate warming (e.g., upward elevational distribution shifts), but our understanding of the tremendous variation among studies in the magnitude of such biotic changes is minimal. In this study, we resurveyed forest vegetation plots 40 years after the initial surveys in three protected areas along a west-to-east gradient of increasingly steep recent warming trends in eastern Canada (Québec). Consistent with the hypothesis that climate warming has been an important driver of vegetation change, we found an increasing magnitude of changes in species richness and composition from west to east among the three parks. For the two mountainous parks, we found no significant changes in elevational species' distributions in the easternmost park (raw mean = +11.4 m at Forillon Park) where warming has been minimal, and significant upward distribution shifts in the centrally located park (+38.9 m at Mont-Mégantic), where the recent warming trend has been marked. Community Temperature Indices (CTI), reflecting the average affinities of locally co-occurring species to temperature conditions across their geographic ranges ("Species Temperature Indices"), did not change over time as predicted. However, close examination of the underpinnings of CTI values suggested a high sensitivity to uncertainty in individual species' temperature indices, and so a potentially limited responsiveness to warming. Overall, by testing a priori predictions concerning variation among parks in the direction and magnitude of vegetation changes, we have provided stronger evidence for a link between climate warming and biotic responses than otherwise possible and provided a potential explanation for large variation among studies in warming-related biotic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steve Vissault
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - Mark Vellend
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
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25
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Danneyrolles V, Dupuis S, Fortin G, Leroyer M, de Römer A, Terrail R, Vellend M, Boucher Y, Laflamme J, Bergeron Y, Arseneault D. Stronger influence of anthropogenic disturbance than climate change on century-scale compositional changes in northern forests. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1265. [PMID: 30894543 PMCID: PMC6426862 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09265-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting future ecosystem dynamics depends critically on an improved understanding of how disturbances and climate change have driven long-term ecological changes in the past. Here we assembled a dataset of >100,000 tree species lists from the 19th century across a broad region (>130,000km2) in temperate eastern Canada, as well as recent forest inventories, to test the effects of changes in anthropogenic disturbance, temperature and moisture on forest dynamics. We evaluate changes in forest composition using four indices quantifying the affinities of co-occurring tree species with temperature, drought, light and disturbance. Land-use driven shifts favouring more disturbance-adapted tree species are far stronger than any effects ascribable to climate change, although the responses of species to disturbance are correlated with their expected responses to climate change. As such, anthropogenic and natural disturbances are expected to have large direct effects on forests and also indirect effects via altered responses to future climate change. Separating anthropogenic and climatic impacts on forest compositions can be challenging due to a lack of data. Here the authors look at forest compositional changes in eastern Canada since the 19th century and find land use has most strongly shaped communities towards disturbance-adapted species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Danneyrolles
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada. .,Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en Aménagement Forestier Durable, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, J9X 5E4, Canada. .,Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada.
| | - Sébastien Dupuis
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Gabriel Fortin
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Marie Leroyer
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - André de Römer
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Raphaële Terrail
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Mark Vellend
- Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada.,Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Yan Boucher
- Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada.,Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec, QC, G1P 3W8, Canada
| | - Jason Laflamme
- Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada.,Direction des inventaires forestiers, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec, QC, G1H 6R1, Canada
| | - Yves Bergeron
- Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en Aménagement Forestier Durable, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, J9X 5E4, Canada.,Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada
| | - Dominique Arseneault
- Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada.,Centre d'étude de la forêt (CEF), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada
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Lang PLM, Willems FM, Scheepens JF, Burbano HA, Bossdorf O. Using herbaria to study global environmental change. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 221:110-122. [PMID: 30160314 PMCID: PMC6585664 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
During the last centuries, humans have transformed global ecosystems. With their temporal dimension, herbaria provide the otherwise scarce long-term data crucial for tracking ecological and evolutionary changes over this period of intense global change. The sheer size of herbaria, together with their increasing digitization and the possibility of sequencing DNA from the preserved plant material, makes them invaluable resources for understanding ecological and evolutionary species' responses to global environmental change. Following the chronology of global change, we highlight how herbaria can inform about long-term effects on plants of at least four of the main drivers of global change: pollution, habitat change, climate change and invasive species. We summarize how herbarium specimens so far have been used in global change research, discuss future opportunities and challenges posed by the nature of these data, and advocate for an intensified use of these 'windows into the past' for global change research and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia L. M. Lang
- Research Group for Ancient Genomics and EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Developmental Biology72076TübingenGermany
| | - Franziska M. Willems
- Plant Evolutionary EcologyInstitute of Evolution and EcologyUniversity of Tübingen72076TübingenGermany
| | - J. F. Scheepens
- Plant Evolutionary EcologyInstitute of Evolution and EcologyUniversity of Tübingen72076TübingenGermany
| | - Hernán A. Burbano
- Research Group for Ancient Genomics and EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Developmental Biology72076TübingenGermany
| | - Oliver Bossdorf
- Plant Evolutionary EcologyInstitute of Evolution and EcologyUniversity of Tübingen72076TübingenGermany
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27
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Groom Q, Dillen M, Hardy H, Phillips S, Willemse L, Wu Z. Improved standardization of transcribed digital specimen data. Database (Oxford) 2019; 2019:baz129. [PMID: 31819990 PMCID: PMC6901386 DOI: 10.1093/database/baz129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
There are more than 1.2 billion biological specimens in the world's museums and herbaria. These objects are particularly important forms of biological sample and observation. They underpin biological taxonomy but the data they contain have many other uses in the biological and environmental sciences. Nevertheless, from their conception they are almost entirely documented on paper, either as labels attached to the specimens or in catalogues linked with catalogue numbers. In order to make the best use of these data and to improve the findability of these specimens, these data must be transcribed digitally and made to conform to standards, so that these data are also interoperable and reusable. Through various digitization projects, the authors have experimented with transcription by volunteers, expert technicians, scientists, commercial transcription services and automated systems. We have also been consumers of specimen data for taxonomical, biogeographical and ecological research. In this paper, we draw from our experiences to make specific recommendations to improve transcription data. The paper is split into two sections. We first address issues related to database implementation with relevance to data transcription, namely versioning, annotation, unknown and incomplete data and issues related to language. We then focus on particular data types that are relevant to biological collection specimens, namely nomenclature, dates, geography, collector numbers and uniquely identifying people. We make recommendations to standards organizations, software developers, data scientists and transcribers to improve these data with the specific aim of improving interoperability between collection datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Groom
- Department of Collections, Meise Botanic Garden, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium
| | - Mathias Dillen
- Department of Collections, Meise Botanic Garden, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium
| | - Helen Hardy
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD London, UK
| | - Sarah Phillips
- Department of Collections, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond TW9 3AB London, UK
| | - Luc Willemse
- Department of Entomological Collections, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Zhengzhe Wu
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 44, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
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Bálint M, Pfenninger M, Grossart HP, Taberlet P, Vellend M, Leibold MA, Englund G, Bowler D. Environmental DNA Time Series in Ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:945-957. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Revised: 07/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Meineke EK, Davies TJ. Museum specimens provide novel insights into changing plant-herbivore interactions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 374:20170393. [PMID: 30455211 PMCID: PMC6282078 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence shows that species interactions may mediate how individual species respond to climate change. However, long-term anthropogenic effects on species interactions are poorly characterized owing to a lack of data. Insect herbivory is a major ecological process that represents the interaction between insect herbivores and their host plants, but historical data on insect damage to plants is particularly sparse. Here, we suggest that museum collections of insects and plants can fill key gaps in our knowledge on changing trophic interactions, including proximate mechanisms and the net outcomes of multiple global change drivers across diverse insect herbivore-plant associations. We outline theory on how global change may affect herbivores and their host plants and highlight the unique data that could be extracted from museum specimens to explore their shifting interactions. We aim to provide a framework for using museum specimens to explore how some of the most diverse co-evolved relationships are responding to climate and land use change.This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K Meineke
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - T Jonathan Davies
- Departments of Botany, Forest, and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
- African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
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30
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Meineke EK, Davies TJ, Daru BH, Davis CC. Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 374:rstb.2017.0386. [PMID: 30455204 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Global change has become a central focus of modern biology. Yet, our knowledge of how anthropogenic drivers affect biodiversity and natural resources is limited by a lack of biological data spanning the Anthropocene. We propose that the hundreds of millions of plant, fungal and animal specimens deposited in natural history museums have the potential to transform the field of global change biology. We suggest that museum specimens are underused, particularly in ecological studies, given their capacity to reveal patterns that are not observable from other data sources. Increasingly, museum specimens are becoming mobilized online, providing unparalleled access to physiological, ecological and evolutionary data spanning decades and sometimes centuries. Here, we describe the diversity of collections data archived in museums and provide an overview of the diverse uses and applications of these data as discussed in the accompanying collection of papers within this theme issue. As these unparalleled resources are under threat owing to budget cuts and other institutional pressures, we aim to shed light on the unique discoveries that are possible in museums and, thus, the singular value of natural history collections in a period of rapid change.This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K Meineke
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - T Jonathan Davies
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z4.,African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa
| | - Barnabas H Daru
- Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
| | - Charles C Davis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Park DS, Breckheimer I, Williams AC, Law E, Ellison AM, Davis CC. Herbarium specimens reveal substantial and unexpected variation in phenological sensitivity across the eastern United States. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 374:20170394. [PMID: 30455212 PMCID: PMC6282088 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenology is a key biological trait that can determine an organism's survival and provides one of the clearest indicators of the effects of recent climatic change. Long time-series observations of plant phenology collected at continental scales could clarify latitudinal and regional patterns of plant responses and illuminate drivers of that variation, but few such datasets exist. Here, we use the web tool CrowdCurio to crowdsource phenological data from over 7000 herbarium specimens representing 30 diverse flowering plant species distributed across the eastern United States. Our results, spanning 120 years and generated from over 2000 crowdsourcers, illustrate numerous aspects of continental-scale plant reproductive phenology. First, they support prior studies that found plant reproductive phenology significantly advances in response to warming, especially for early-flowering species. Second, they reveal that fruiting in populations from warmer, lower latitudes is significantly more phenologically sensitive to temperature than that for populations from colder, higher-latitude regions. Last, we found that variation in phenological sensitivities to climate within species between regions was of similar magnitude to variation between species. Overall, our results suggest that phenological responses to anthropogenic climate change will be heterogeneous within communities and across regions, with large amounts of regional variability driven by local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and differences in species assemblages. As millions of imaged herbarium specimens become available online, they will play an increasingly critical role in revealing large-scale patterns within assemblages and across continents that ultimately can improve forecasts of the impacts of climatic change on the structure and function of ecosystems.This article is part of the theme issue 'Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Park
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Ian Breckheimer
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alex C Williams
- David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
| | - Edith Law
- David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
| | - Aaron M Ellison
- Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA 01366, USA
| | - Charles C Davis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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32
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Morrison SA, Sillett TS, Funk WC, Ghalambor CK, Rick TC. California Island Rediscovery: Building an Archive to Improve Conservation Today and Equip the Historical Ecologist of Tomorrow. WEST N AM NATURALIST 2018. [DOI: 10.3398/064.078.0423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott A. Morrison
- The Nature Conservancy, 201 Mission St., 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
| | - T. Scott Sillett
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, MRC 5503, Washington, DC 20013
| | - W. Chris Funk
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Cameron K. Ghalambor
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Torben C. Rick
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013
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33
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Beck JJ, Larget B, Waller DM. Phantom species: adjusting estimates of colonization and extinction for pseudo-turnover. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jared J. Beck
- Dept. of Botany, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 430 Lincoln Drive; Madison WI 53706 USA
| | - Bret Larget
- Depts of Botany and Statistics, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison; Madison WI USA
| | - Donald M. Waller
- Dept. of Botany, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 430 Lincoln Drive; Madison WI 53706 USA
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34
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Maurer JA, Shepard JH, Crabo LG, Hammond PC, Zack RS, Peterson MA. Phenological responses of 215 moth species to interannual climate variation in the Pacific Northwest from 1895 through 2013. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202850. [PMID: 30208046 PMCID: PMC6135373 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has caused shifts in the phenology and distributions of many species but comparing responses across species is challenged by inconsistencies in the methodology and taxonomic and temporal scope of individual studies. Natural history collections offer a rich source of data for examining phenological shifts for a large number of species. We paired specimen records from Pacific Northwest insect collections to climate data to analyze the responses of 215 moth species to interannual climate variation over a period of 119 years (1895–2013) during which average annual temperatures have increased in the region. We quantified the effects of late winter/early spring temperatures, averaged annually across the region, on dates of occurrence of adults, taking into account the effects of elevation, latitude, and longitude. We assessed whether species-specific phenological responses varied with adult flight season and larval diet breadth. Collection dates were significantly earlier in warmer years for 36.3% of moth species, and later for 3.7%. Species exhibited an average phenological advance of 1.9 days/°C, but species-specific shifts ranged from an advance of 10.3 days/°C to a delay of 10.6 days/°C. More spring-flying species shifted their phenology than summer- or fall-flying species. These responses did not vary among groups defined by larval diet breadth. The highly variable phenological responses to climate change in Pacific Northwest moths agree with other studies on Lepidoptera and suggest that it will remain difficult to accurately forecast which species and ecological interactions are most likely to be affected by climate change. Our results also underscore the value of natural history collections as windows into long-term ecological trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A. Maurer
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, United States of America
| | - Jon H. Shepard
- Oregon State Arthropod Collection, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Lars G. Crabo
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Paul C. Hammond
- Oregon State Arthropod Collection, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Richard S. Zack
- Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Merrill A. Peterson
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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35
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De Frenne P, Van Langenhove L, Van Driessche A, Bertrand C, Verheyen K, Vangansbeke P. Using archived television video footage to quantify phenology responses to climate change. Methods Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab Ghent University Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
- Department of Plant Production Ghent University Melle Belgium
| | | | - Alain Van Driessche
- Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organization (VRT) Brussels Belgium
| | | | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab Ghent University Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
| | - Pieter Vangansbeke
- Forest & Nature Lab Ghent University Melle‐Gontrode Belgium
- Department of Biosciences and Food Sciences Ghent University College Melle Belgium
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36
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Meineke EK, Davis CC, Davies TJ. The unrealized potential of herbaria for global change biology. ECOL MONOGR 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily K. Meineke
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University Herbaria; 22 Divinity Avenue Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Biology; McGill University; 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue Montreal Quebec H3A 1B1 Canada
| | - Charles C. Davis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University Herbaria; 22 Divinity Avenue Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
| | - T. Jonathan Davies
- Department of Biology; McGill University; 1205 Dr. Penfield Avenue Montreal Quebec H3A 1B1 Canada
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37
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Investigating Niche Construction in Dynamic Human-Animal Landscapes: Bridging Ecological and Evolutionary Timescales. INT J PRIMATOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0033-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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38
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Janssen P, Fuhr M, Bouget C. Small variations in climate and soil conditions may have greater influence on multitaxon species occurrences than past and present human activities in temperate mountain forests. DIVERS DISTRIB 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Janssen
- National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA); UR EMGR; Université Grenoble-Alpes; Saint-Martin-d'Hères France
| | - Marc Fuhr
- National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA); UR EMGR; Université Grenoble-Alpes; Saint-Martin-d'Hères France
| | - Christophe Bouget
- National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture (IRSTEA), UR EFNO; Nogent-sur-Vernisson France
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39
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Drier climate shifts leaf morphology in Amazonian trees. Oecologia 2017; 185:525-531. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3964-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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40
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Willis CG, Law E, Williams AC, Franzone BF, Bernardos R, Bruno L, Hopkins C, Schorn C, Weber E, Park DS, Davis CC. CrowdCurio: an online crowdsourcing platform to facilitate climate change studies using herbarium specimens. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2017; 215:479-488. [PMID: 28394023 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Phenology is a key aspect of plant success. Recent research has demonstrated that herbarium specimens can provide important information on plant phenology. Massive digitization efforts have the potential to greatly expand herbarium-based phenological research, but also pose a serious challenge regarding efficient data collection. Here, we introduce CrowdCurio, a crowdsourcing tool for the collection of phenological data from herbarium specimens. We test its utility by having workers collect phenological data (number of flower buds, open flowers and fruits) from specimens of two common New England (USA) species: Chelidonium majus and Vaccinium angustifolium. We assess the reliability of using nonexpert workers (i.e. Amazon Mechanical Turk) against expert workers. We also use these data to estimate the phenological sensitivity to temperature for both species across multiple phenophases. We found no difference in the data quality of nonexperts and experts. Nonexperts, however, were a more efficient way of collecting more data at lower cost. We also found that phenological sensitivity varied across both species and phenophases. Our study demonstrates the utility of CrowdCurio as a crowdsourcing tool for the collection of phenological data from herbarium specimens. Furthermore, our results highlight the insight gained from collecting large amounts of phenological data to estimate multiple phenophases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles G Willis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Edith Law
- David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Alex C Williams
- David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Brian F Franzone
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Rebecca Bernardos
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Lian Bruno
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Claire Hopkins
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Christian Schorn
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Ella Weber
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Daniel S Park
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
| | - Charles C Davis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 20138, USA
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41
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Morrison SA, Sillett TS, Funk WC, Ghalambor CK, Rick TC. Equipping the 22nd-Century Historical Ecologist. Trends Ecol Evol 2017. [PMID: 28645487 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Historical ecology provides information needed to understand contemporary conditions and make science-based resource management decisions. Gaps in historical records, however, can limit inquiries and inference. Unfortunately, the patchiness of data that poses challenges for today's historical ecologist may be similarly problematic for those in the future seeking to understand what are currently present-day conditions and trends, in part because of societal underinvestment in systematic collection and curation. We therefore highlight the generational imperative that contemporary scientists and managers individually have - especially in this era of tremendous global change - to ensure sufficient documentation of the past and current conditions of the places and resources to which they have access.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Morrison
- The Nature Conservancy, 201 Mission St., 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA.
| | - T Scott Sillett
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, MRC 5503, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Cameron K Ghalambor
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Torben C Rick
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 112, Washington, DC 20013, USA
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42
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Copes-Gerbitz K, Arabas K, Larson E, Gildehaus S. A Multi-Proxy Environmental Narrative of Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana) Habitat in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. NORTHWEST SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.3955/046.091.0207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz
- Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz1, 2 and Karen Arabas, Environmental and Earth Sciences Department, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301
- Current address: Forest and Conservation Sciences Department, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Karen Arabas
- Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz1, 2 and Karen Arabas, Environmental and Earth Sciences Department, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301
| | - Evan Larson
- Evan Larson, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 1 University Plaza, Platteville, Wisconsin 53818
| | - Stevie Gildehaus
- Stevie Gildehaus, Environmental and Earth Sciences Department, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301
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43
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Beller E, McClenachan L, Trant A, Sanderson EW, Rhemtulla J, Guerrini A, Grossinger R, Higgs E. Toward principles of historical ecology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2017; 104:645-648. [PMID: 28515077 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1700070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Erin Beller
- Resilient Landscapes Program, San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, California 94804 USA
- Department of Geography, University of California Berkeley, 565 McCone Hall, Berkeley, California 94720 USA
| | - Loren McClenachan
- Environmental Studies, Colby College, 5351 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, Maine 04901 USA
| | - Andrew Trant
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G
| | - Eric W Sanderson
- Wildlife Conservation Society Global Conservation Programs, 2300 Southern Blvd, Bronx, New York 10460 USA
| | - Jeanine Rhemtulla
- Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 3609-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Anita Guerrini
- School of History, Philosophy, and Religion, Oregon State University, 322 Milam Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331 USA
| | - Robin Grossinger
- Resilient Landscapes Program, San Francisco Estuary Institute, 4911 Central Avenue, Richmond, California 94804 USA
| | - Eric Higgs
- School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Room 205, House 4, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8P 5C2
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44
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Auffret AG, Aggemyr E, Plue J, Cousins SAO. Spatial scale and specialization affect how biogeography and functional traits predict long‐term patterns of community turnover. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alistair G. Auffret
- Biogeography and Geomatics Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University 10961 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Elsa Aggemyr
- Biogeography and Geomatics Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University 10961 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Jan Plue
- Biogeography and Geomatics Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University 10961 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Sara A. O. Cousins
- Biogeography and Geomatics Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University 10961 Stockholm Sweden
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45
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Tomscha SA, Sutherland IJ, Renard D, Gergel SE, Rhemtulla JM, Bennett EM, Daniels LD, Eddy IMS, Clark EE. A Guide to Historical Data Sets for Reconstructing Ecosystem Service Change over Time. Bioscience 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biw086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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46
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Perring MP, De Frenne P, Baeten L, Maes SL, Depauw L, Blondeel H, Carón MM, Verheyen K. Global environmental change effects on ecosystems: the importance of land-use legacies. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2016; 22:1361-71. [PMID: 26546049 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2015] [Revised: 10/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
One of the major challenges in ecology is to predict how multiple global environmental changes will affect future ecosystem patterns (e.g. plant community composition) and processes (e.g. nutrient cycling). Here, we highlight arguments for the necessary inclusion of land-use legacies in this endeavour. Alterations in resources and conditions engendered by previous land use, together with influences on plant community processes such as dispersal, selection, drift and speciation, have steered communities and ecosystem functions onto trajectories of change. These trajectories may be modulated by contemporary environmental changes such as climate warming and nitrogen deposition. We performed a literature review which suggests that these potential interactions have rarely been investigated. This crucial oversight is potentially due to an assumption that knowledge of the contemporary state allows accurate projection into the future. Lessons from other complex dynamic systems, and the recent recognition of the importance of previous conditions in explaining contemporary and future ecosystem properties, demand the testing of this assumption. Vegetation resurvey databases across gradients of land use and environmental change, complemented by rigorous experiments, offer a means to test for interactions between land-use legacies and multiple environmental changes. Implementing these tests in the context of a trait-based framework will allow biologists to synthesize compositional and functional ecosystem responses. This will further our understanding of the importance of land-use legacies in determining future ecosystem properties, and soundly inform conservation and restoration management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P Perring
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
- Ecosystem Restoration and Intervention Ecology Research Group, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
- Department of Plant Production, Ghent University, Proefhoevestraat 22, BE-9090, Melle, Belgium
| | - Lander Baeten
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Sybryn L Maes
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Leen Depauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Haben Blondeel
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - María M Carón
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas (LABIBO), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta-CONICET, Av. Bolivia 5150, 4400, Salta, Argentina
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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47
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Safont E, Vegas-vilarrúbia T, Rull V, Holst BK, Huber O, Nozawa S, Vivas Y, Font X, Silva A. Plant communities and environmental factors in the Guayana Highlands: monitoring for conservation under future climate change. SYST BIODIVERS 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2015.1134700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisabet Safont
- Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Teresa Vegas-vilarrúbia
- Department of Ecology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute of Paleontology Miquel Crusafont (ICP), C/ de les columnes s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Valentí Rull
- Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC), C/ Lluís Solé Sabarís s/n, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bruce K. Holst
- Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236, USA
| | - Otto Huber
- Experimental Institute Botanical Garden Dr. Tobías Lasser, Av. Salvador Allende, 1053 Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Shingo Nozawa
- Experimental Institute Botanical Garden Dr. Tobías Lasser, Av. Salvador Allende, 1053 Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Yuribia Vivas
- Experimental Institute Botanical Garden Dr. Tobías Lasser, Av. Salvador Allende, 1053 Caracas, Venezuela
| | - Xavier Font
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Argelia Silva
- Experimental Institute Botanical Garden Dr. Tobías Lasser, Av. Salvador Allende, 1053 Caracas, Venezuela
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48
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Novoa A, Talley TS, Talley DM, Crooks JA, Reyns NB. Spatial and Temporal Examination of Bivalve Communities in Several Estuaries of Southern California and Northern Baja California, MX. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148220. [PMID: 26840744 PMCID: PMC4740503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Accepted: 01/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A combination of historical bivalve surveys spanning 30–50 years and contemporary sampling were used to document the changes in bivalve community structure over time at four southern California and one northern Baja California estuaries. While there are limitations to the interpretation of historic data, we observed generally similar trends of reduced total bivalve species richness, losses of relatively large and/or deeper-dwelling natives, and gains of relatively small, surface dwelling introduced species across the southern California estuaries, despite fairly distinct bivalve communities. A nearly 50-year absence of bivalves from two wetlands surveyed in a Baja California estuary continued. A combination of site history and current characteristics (e.g., location, depth) likely contributes to maintenance of distinct communities, and both episodic and gradual environmental changes likely contribute to within-estuary temporal shifts (or absences). We highlight future research needed to determine mechanisms underlying patterns so that we can better predict responses of bivalve communities to future scenarios, including climate change and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anai Novoa
- Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Theresa S. Talley
- Department of California Sea Grant Extension Program, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Drew M. Talley
- Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey A. Crooks
- Department of Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Imperial Beach, California, United States of America
| | - Nathalie B. Reyns
- Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America
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49
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Alstad AO, Damschen EI, Givnish TJ, Harrington JA, Leach MK, Rogers DA, Waller DM. The pace of plant community change is accelerating in remnant prairies. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1500975. [PMID: 26989775 PMCID: PMC4788480 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Patterns of biodiversity are changing rapidly. "Legacy studies" use historical data to document changes between past and present communities, revealing long-term trends that can often be linked to particular drivers of ecological change. However, a single pair of historical samples cannot ascertain whether rates of change are consistent or whether the impact and identity of drivers have shifted. Using data from a second resurvey of 47 Wisconsin prairie remnants, we show that the pace of community change has increased with shifts in the strength of particular drivers. Annual rates of local colonization and extinction accelerated by 129 and 214%, respectively, between 1950 and 1987 and between 1987 and 2012. Two anthropogenic drivers-patch area and fire history-increased in importance between these periods. As the strength and number of anthropogenic forces increase, rates of biodiversity change are likely to accelerate in other ecosystems as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy O. Alstad
- Department of Zoology, 444 Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Ellen I. Damschen
- Department of Zoology, 451 Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Thomas J. Givnish
- Department of Botany, 315 Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - John A. Harrington
- Department of Landscape Architecture, 25c Agricultural Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Mark K. Leach
- Integral Sustainability Consulting, N4731 510th Street, Menomonie, WI 54751, USA
| | - David A. Rogers
- Biological Science, 323 Greenquist Hall, University of Wisconsin–Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53144, USA
| | - Donald M. Waller
- Department of Botany, 232b Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Bergès L, Avon C, Arnaudet L, Archaux F, Chauchard S, Dupouey JL. Past landscape explains forest periphery-to-core gradient of understorey plant communities in a reforestation context. DIVERS DISTRIB 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Bergès
- UR RECOVER; Irstea; 13182 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 5 France
| | - Catherine Avon
- UR RECOVER; Irstea; 13182 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 5 France
| | - Lucie Arnaudet
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; INRA; 54280 Champenoux France
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; Faculté des sciences et technologies; Université de Lorraine; 54506 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy France
| | | | - Sandrine Chauchard
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; INRA; 54280 Champenoux France
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; Faculté des sciences et technologies; Université de Lorraine; 54506 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy France
| | - Jean-Luc Dupouey
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; INRA; 54280 Champenoux France
- UMR Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology; Faculté des sciences et technologies; Université de Lorraine; 54506 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy France
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