Search results for " land"

Potential Impact of Global Climate Change on Species Richness of Long-Distance Migrants

2003

Little evidence exists demonstrating that global climate change leads to systematic changes in the struc- ture of ecological communities. For avian communities, one would expect warmer winters to lead to declines in numbers of long-distance migrants if resident birds benefit from warmer winters and impose increasing competi- tive pressure on migrants. To study the potential influence of global climate change on long-distance migrants, we correlated the number of all species of land birds and the number and proportion of long-distance migrants, short- distance migrants, and residents in 595 grid cells across Europe. We used mean temperature of the coldest month, mean spring temperature, and …

Rapid recovery of invertebrate communities after ecological restoration of boreal mires

2015

Mire degradation due to drainage for forestry results in the loss of mire specialist species. To halt the loss in biodiversity, ecological restoration is needed and already implemented. However, a major challenge in ecological restoration is whether actions taken have the desired outcome. Key abiotic and biotic conditions for the successful restoration of invertebrate communities can be identified by testing the “Field of Dreams” hypothesis, which postulates that if a habitat is successfully restored, species will return. This study was conducted in nine boreal mires located in Eastern Finland, 1–3 years after restoration. Parts of each mire were drained for forestry during the 1960s and 19…

Flood risk assessment and mapping in peri-urban Mediterranean environments using hydrogeomorphology. Application to ephemeral streams in the Valencia…

2012

Abstract This paper proposes a methodology for mapping flood risk in ephemeral streams, based on assessing flood hazards and global exposure. The method has been applied to the peri-urban area of Valencia, extended over the floodplains of the Barranco del Carraixet and Rambla de Poyo catchments. Hazard was assessed using hydrogeomorphological methods. Global exposure was estimated as a combination between the economic value of land use and human exposure, following a previous study carried out by Camarasa, A.M., Lopez, M.J. and Soriano, J., 2011. Mapping temporally variable exposure to flooding in small Mediterranean basins using land-use indicators, Applied Geography 31 (19), 136–145. Synt…

Unintentional dispersal of aquatic invertebrates via footwear and motor vehicles in a Mediterranean wetland area

2010

1. Several human activities, such as actions for nature conservation, research and recreational activities, are closely associated with inland aquatic habitats that are usually considered as isolated island habitats. In this study, the possibility of unintentional dispersal of aquatic invertebrates among water bodies via footwear and motor vehicles was investigated. 2. Mud samples collected from boots and from the tyres and wheel cases of cars used for field work by biologists (Camargue, Southern France) were hatched under laboratory conditions and also checked for the presence of unhatched propagules. A large number of organisms hatched and invertebrate propagules from a wide range of taxa…

Ecological variation between marginal and central populations of Potamogeton polygonifolius, a rare and endangered species in Central Europe

2012

Abstract The present study is focused on Potamogeton polygonifolius – the species considered to be endangered in Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland. Field studies were carried out in Lower Silesia and Lusatia in southwestern Poland in order to verify the present state of the marginal populations of P. polygonifolius, to determine the habitat preferences of the species in the study area, to compare the ecological data between marginal and central populations and finally to recognise the factors constraining the easternmost limit of the P. polygonifolius. In total, 18 populations were examined, and 11 releves were collected. The releves gathered were compared with 95 releves …

Conservation of threatened habitat types under future climate change – Lessons from plant-distribution models and current extinction trends in southe…

2015

A higher risk of future range losses as a result of climate change is expected to be one of the main drivers of extinction trends in vascular plants occurring in habitat types of high conservation value. Nevertheless, the impact of the climate changes of the last 60 years on the current distribution and extinction patterns of plants is still largely unclear. We applied species distribution models to study the impact of environmental variables (climate, soil conditions, land cover, topography), on the current distribution of 18 vascular plant species characteristic of three threatened habitat types in southern Germany: (i) xero-thermophilous vegetation, (ii) mesophilous mountain grasslands (…

Crustal xenoliths from Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany: Implications for structure and composition of the continental crust

1991

Crustal xenoliths in three Cenozoic volcanic fields of West Germany, the Northern Hessian Depression (NHD), the Eifel and the Urach/Hegau, include medium to high-grade meta sedimentary and felsic to mafic meta-igneous rocks. Also present in all three suites are pyroxenites and hornblendites. For each volcanic field, a model crustal profile is proposed based on calculated or measured P-wave velocities of xenoliths and depth-Vp relationships (EGT Central Segment and Rhenish Massif traverses). The xenolith lithologies from the NHD and the Eifel show some similarities. The middle crust between the depths of about 10 and 25 km consists mainly of meta-sediments, felsic gneisses and granulites. Me…

Deglaciation history of Latvia

2004

This chapter discusses the deglaciation history of Latvia. The earliest deglaciation schemes of Latvia were based entirely on morphological features. The spatial distribution of glacial landforms, with crests transverse to glacier movement combined with radiocarbon dates and biostratigraphical evidence, have provided the principal data for the reconstruction of the deglaciation process from the mid-1960s until the present. A deglaciation history should be based on multiple criteria. Attention should be paid to the identification of ice-marginal formations, and complex studies are also needed, including the investigation of the spatial distribution and internal composition of subglacial land…

2021

Abstract. Lignin oxidation products (LOPs) are widely used as vegetation proxies in climate archives, such as sediment and peat cores. The total LOP concentration, Σ 8, provides information on the abundance of vegetation, while the ratios C / V and S / V of the different LOP groups also provide information on the type of vegetation. Recently, LOP analysis has been successfully applied to speleothem archives. However, there are many open questions concerning the transport and microbial degradation of LOPs on their way from the soil into the cave system. These processes could potentially alter the original source-dependent LOP signals, in particular the C / V and S / V ratios, and thus compli…

Nutrient impoverishment and limitation of productivity after 20 years of conservation management in wet grasslands of north-western Germany

2009

Abstract European wet grasslands are characterized by high diversity of plant and animal species but are threatened by intensive land use. Although preservation or restoration of species-rich wet grasslands requires low nutrient availability that could be achieved by long-term management, studies monitoring nutrient removal are lacking. Our objective was to assess the long-term effect of management (mowing twice a year without or with PK fertilization for 20 years) on (i) productivity and nutrient removal with the harvest, (ii) the type of nutrient limitation, and (iii) plant species richness in wet grasslands in north-western Germany considering the differences between organic and mineral …