The Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD): a new resource for vegetation science
TL;DR: The Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) as discussed by the authors is an Internet resource aimed at registering metadata on existing vegetation plots databases to be accessible to the scientific public.
Abstract: Question: How many vegetation plot observations (releves) are
available in electronic databases, how are they geographically
distributed, what are their properties and how might they be
discovered and located for research and application? Location:
Global. Methods: We compiled the Global Index of
Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD; http://www.givd.info), an
Internet resource aimed at registering metadata on existing
vegetation databases. For inclusion, databases need to (i)
contain temporally and spatially explicit species co-occurrence
data and (ii) be accessible to the scientific public. This
paper summarizes structure and data quality of databases
registered in GIVD as of 30 December 2010. Results: On the
given date, 132 databases containing more than 2.4 million
non-overlapping plots had been registered in GIVD. The majority
of these data were in European databases (83 databases, 1.6
million plots), whereas other continents were represented by
substantially less (North America 15, Asia 13, Africa nine,
South America seven, Australasia two, multi-continental three).
The oldest plot observation was 1864, but most plots were
recorded after 1970. Most plots reported vegetation on areas of
1 to 1000 m2; some also stored time-series and nested-plot
data. Apart from geographic reference (required for inclusion),
most frequent information was on altitude (71%), slope aspect
and inclination (58%) and land use (38%), but rarely soil
properties (<7%). Conclusions: The vegetation plot data in GIVD
constitute a major resource for biodiversity research, both
through the large number of species occurrence records and
storage of species co-occurrence information at a small scale,
combined with structural and plot-based environmental data. We
identify shortcomings in available data that need to be
addressed through sampling under-represented geographic
regions, providing better incentives for data collection and
sharing, developing user-friendly database exchange standards,
as well as tools to analyse and remove confounding effects of
sampling biases. The increased availability of data sets
conferred by registration in GIVD offers significant
opportunities for large-scale studies in community ecology,
macroecology and global change research.
Citations
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TL;DR: It is shown that biotic interactions have clearly left their mark on species distributions and realised assemblages of species across all spatial extents, and is called for for accelerated collection of spatially and temporally explicit species data.
Abstract: Predicting which species will occur together in the future, and where, remains one of the greatest challenges in ecology, and requires a sound understanding of how the abiotic and biotic environments interact with dispersal processes and history across scales. Biotic interactions and their dynamics influence species' relationships to climate, and this also has important implications for predicting future distributions of species. It is already well accepted that biotic interactions shape species' spatial distributions at local spatial extents, but the role of these interactions beyond local extents (e.g. 10 km2 to global extents) are usually dismissed as unimportant. In this review we consolidate evidence for how biotic interactions shape species distributions beyond local extents and review methods for integrating biotic interactions into species distribution modelling tools. Drawing upon evidence from contemporary and palaeoecological studies of individual species ranges, functional groups, and species richness patterns, we show that biotic interactions have clearly left their mark on species distributions and realised assemblages of species across all spatial extents. We demonstrate this with examples from within and across trophic groups. A range of species distribution modelling tools is available to quantify species environmental relationships and predict species occurrence, such as: (i) integrating pairwise dependencies, (ii) using integrative predictors, and (iii) hybridising species distribution models (SDMs) with dynamic models. These methods have typically only been applied to interacting pairs of species at a single time, require a priori ecological knowledge about which species interact, and due to data paucity must assume that biotic interactions are constant in space and time. To better inform the future development of these models across spatial scales, we call for accelerated collection of spatially and temporally explicit species data. Ideally, these data should be sampled to reflect variation in the underlying environment across large spatial extents, and at fine spatial resolution. Simplified ecosystems where there are relatively few interacting species and sometimes a wealth of existing ecosystem monitoring data (e.g. arctic, alpine or island habitats) offer settings where the development of modelling tools that account for biotic interactions may be less difficult than elsewhere.
1,297 citations
University of Western Australia1, Stellenbosch University2, University of Kiel3, University of Geneva4, Free University of Berlin5, University of Nova Gorica6, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts7, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts8, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic9, University of Vienna10, University of Bayreuth11, Complutense University of Madrid12, Masaryk University13, Sapienza University of Rome14, University of Zielona Góra15, University of Münster16, University of Göttingen17, Russian Academy of Sciences18, Slovak Academy of Sciences19, Wageningen University and Research Centre20, Radboud University Nijmegen21, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine22, University of Lisbon23, University of Vechta24, University of California, Davis25, University of Patras26
TL;DR: This paper features the first comprehensive and critical account of European syntaxa and synthesizes more than 100 yr of classification effort by European phytosociologists.
Abstract: Aims: Vegetation classification consistent with the
Braun-Blanquet approach is widely used in Europe for applied
vegetation science, conservation planning and land management.
During the long history of syntaxonomy, many concepts and names
of vegetation units have been proposed, but there has been no
single classification system integrating these units. Here we
(1) present a comprehensive, hierarchical, syntaxonomic system
of alliances, orders and classes of Braun-Blanquet syntaxonomy
for vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen, and algal communities
of Europe; (2) briefly characterize in ecological and
geographic terms accepted syntaxonomic concepts; (3) link
available synonyms to these accepted concepts; and (4) provide
a list of diagnostic species for all classes. LocationEuropean
mainland, Greenland, Arctic archipelagos (including Iceland,
Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya), Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores,
Caucasus, Cyprus. Methods: We evaluated approximately 10000
bibliographic sources to create a comprehensive list of
previously proposed syntaxonomic units. These units were
evaluated by experts for their floristic and ecological
distinctness, clarity of geographic distribution and compliance
with the nomenclature code. Accepted units were compiled into
three systems of classes, orders and alliances
(EuroVegChecklist, EVC) for communities dominated by vascular
plants (EVC1), bryophytes and lichens (EVC2) and algae (EVC3).
Results: EVC1 includes 109 classes, 300 orders and 1108
alliances; EVC2 includes 27 classes, 53 orders and 137
alliances, and EVC3 includes 13 classes, 24 orders and 53
alliances. In total 13448 taxa were assigned as indicator
species to classes of EVC1, 2087 to classes of EVC2 and 368 to
classes of EVC3. Accepted syntaxonomic concepts are summarized
in a series of appendices, and detailed information on each is
accessible through the software tool EuroVegBrowser.
Conclusions: This paper features the first comprehensive and
critical account of European syntaxa and synthesizes more than
100 yr of classification effort by European phytosociologists.
It aims to document and stabilize the concepts and nomenclature
of syntaxa for practical uses, such as calibration of habitat
classification used by the European Union, standardization of
terminology for environmental assessment, management and
conservation of nature areas, landscape planning and education.
The presented classification systems provide a baseline for
future development and revision of European syntaxonomy.
817 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A complete list of all alien taxa ever recorded in the flora of the Czech Republic is presented as an update of the original checklist published in 2002 as mentioned in this paper, which consists of 1454 taxa listed with information on their taxonomic position, life history, geographic origin, mode of origin, distinguishing anecophyte and hybrid, invasive status (casual; naturalized but not invasive; invasive), residence time status (archaeophyte vs neophyte), mode of introduction into the country (accidental, deliberate), and date of the first record.
Abstract: A complete list of all alien taxa ever recorded in the flora of
the Czech Republic is presented as an update of the original
checklist published in 2002. New data accumulated in the last
decade are incorporated and the listing and status of some taxa
are reassessed based on improved knowledge. Alien flora of the
Czech Republic consists of 1454 taxa listed with information on
their taxonomic position, life history, geographic origin (or
mode of origin, distinguishing anecophyte and hybrid), invasive
status (casual; naturalized but not invasive; invasive),
residence time status (archaeophyte vs neophyte), mode of
introduction into the country (accidental, deliberate), and
date of the first record. Additional information on species
performance that was not part of the previous catalogue, i.e.
on the width of species’ habitat niches, their dominance in
invaded communities, and impact, is provided. The Czech alien
flora consists of 350 (24.1%) archaeophytes and 1104 (75.9%)
neophytes. The increase in the total number of taxa compared to
the previous catalogue (1378) is due to addition of 151 taxa
and removal of 75 (39 archaeophytes and 36 neophytes),
important part of the latter being the reclassification of 41
taxa as native, mostly based on archaeobotanical evidence. The
additions represent taxa newly recorded since 2002 and reported
in the national literature; taxa resulting from investigation
of sources omitted while preparing the previous catalogue;
redetermination of previously reported taxa; reassessment of
some taxa traditionally considered native for which the
evidence suggests the opposite; and inclusion of intraspecific
taxa previously not recognized in the flora. There are 44 taxa
on the list that are reported in the present study for the
first time as aliens introduced to the Czech Republic or
escaped from cultivation.
755 citations
TL;DR: Very high richness at any spatial grain is found only in two particular habitat/community types, and these high richness values form a very strong, consistent pattern, not greatly affected by the method of sampling, and this pattern extrapolates amazingly well.
Abstract: Questions
The co-existence of high numbers of species has always fascinated ecologists, but what and where are the communities with the world records for plant species richness? The species–area relationship is among the best-known patterns in community ecology, but does it give a consistent global pattern for the most saturated communities, the global maxima?
Location
The world.
Methods
We assembled the maximum values recorded for vascular plant species richness for contiguous areas from 1 mm2 up to 1 ha. We applied the power function to relate maximal richness to area and to make extrapolations to the whole Earth.
Results
Only two community types contain global plant species maxima. The maxima at smaller spatial grain were from oligo- to meso-trophic, managed, semi-natural, temperate grasslands (e.g. 89 species on 1 m2), those at larger grains were from tropical rain forests (e.g. 942 species on 1 ha). The maximum richness values closely followed a power function with z = 0.250: close to Preston's ‘canonical’ value of 0.262. There was no discernable difference between maxima using rooted presence (i.e. including only plants rooted in the plot) vs shoot presence (i.e. including any plant with physical cover over the plot). However, shoot presence values must logically be greater, with the curves flattening out at very small grain, and there is evidence of this from point quadrats. Extrapolating the curve to the terrestrial surface of the Earth gave a prediction of 219 204 vascular plant species, surprisingly close to a recent estimate of 275 000 actual species.
Conclusions
Very high richness at any spatial grain is found only in two particular habitat/community types. Nevertheless, these high richness values form a very strong, consistent pattern, not greatly affected by the method of sampling, and this pattern extrapolates amazingly well. The records challenge ecologists to consider mechanisms of species co-existence, answers to the ‘Paradox of the Plankton’.
621 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce a special issue on biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands and provide a synthesis of the current knowledge on this topic and provide some promising conservation and management approaches and call for a strong and comprehensive Convention on Grassland Conservation.
411 citations
References
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01 Jan 1998
3,650 citations
1,835 citations
TL;DR: This study shows that climate warming has resulted in a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade, which is larger for species restricted to mountain habitats and for grassy species, which are characterized by faster population turnover.
Abstract: Spatial fingerprints of climate change on biotic communities are usually associated with changes in the distribution of species at their latitudinal or altitudinal extremes. By comparing the altitudinal distribution of 171 forest plant species between 1905 and 1985 and 1986 and 2005 along the entire elevation range (0 to 2600 meters above sea level) in west Europe, we show that climate warming has resulted in a significant upward shift in species optimum elevation averaging 29 meters per decade. The shift is larger for species restricted to mountain habitats and for grassy species, which are characterized by faster population turnover. Our study shows that climate change affects the spatial core of the distributional range of plant species, in addition to their distributional margins, as previously reported.
1,796 citations
TL;DR: Records from multiple long-term monitoring plots across Amazonia are used to assess forest responses to the intense 2005 drought, a possible analog of future events that may accelerate climate change through carbon losses and changed surface energy balances.
Abstract: Amazon forests are a key but poorly understood component of the global carbon cycle. If, as anticipated, they dry this century, they might accelerate climate change through carbon losses and changed surface energy balances. We used records from multiple long-term monitoring plots across Amazonia to assess forest responses to the intense 2005 drought, a possible analog of future events. Affected forest lost biomass, reversing a large long-term carbon sink, with the greatest impacts observed where the dry season was unusually intense. Relative to pre-2005 conditions, forest subjected to a 100-millimeter increase in water deficit lost 5.3 megagrams of aboveground biomass of carbon per hectare. The drought had a total biomass carbon impact of 1.2 to 1.6 petagrams (1.2 × 1015 to 1.6 × 1015 grams). Amazon forests therefore appear vulnerable to increasing moisture stress, with the potential for large carbon losses to exert feedback on climate change.
1,545 citations