Search results for "Grasslands"

Biodiversity surveys of grassland and coastal habitats in 2021 as a documentation of pre-war status in southern Ukraine

2023

This paper presents two sampling-event datasets with occurrences of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens collected in May-June 2021 in southern Ukraine. We aimed to collect high-quality biodiversity data in an understudied region and contribute it to international databases and networks. The study was carried out during the 15th Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) Field Workshop in southern Ukraine and the Dark Diversity Network (DarkDivNet) sampling in the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park. By chance, these datasets were collected shortly before the major escalation of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Surveyed areas in Kherson and Mykolaiv Regions, including established monitoring plo…

Phytosociologic method and Grazing Value of mediterranean rangelands: analysis of Ampelodesmos mauritanicus grasslands in Nebrodi Mountains (NE Sicil…

2007

Contemporary spatial and environmental factors determine vascular plant species richness on highly fragmented meadows in Central Finland

2018

Context Habitat loss is a major threat to biodiversity. It can create temporal lags in decline of species in relation to destruction of habitat coverage. Plant species specialized in semi-natural grasslands, especially meadows, often express such extinction debt. Objectives We studied habitat loss and fragmentation of meadows and examined whether the changes in meadow coverage had caused an extinction debt on vascular plants. We also studied whether historical or present landscape patterns or contemporary environmental factors were more important determinants of species occurrence. Methods We surveyed the plant species assemblages of 12 grazed and 12 mown meadows in Central Finland and dete…

The Prairie Diagnosis: a tool to assess and characterize the grassland base of long-term temporary and permanent grasslands

2022

Permanent and temporary grasslands represent nearly 44 % of the French UAA. This vast area is rich in a very wide range of flora, from hillside meadows with subterranean clover to flooded meadows and marshes with Baldingere, not forgetting sown meadows which, over the years, can host numerous spontaneous species. The method of prairie diagnosis is based on a botanical approach to the prairie with the objective of qualifying the forage aptitudes of the cover. The diagnosis of a meadow is only of interest and relevance if it is integrated into a forage system consistent with the strategies of a farmer. It is based on the premise that the flora of a meadow is the result of the interaction of "…

Plant-herbivorous beetle networks : molecular characterization of trophic ecology within a threatened steppic environment

2015

DNA barcoding facilitates many evolutionary and ecological studies, including the examination of the dietary diversity of herbivores. In this study, we present a survey of ecological associations between herbivorous beetles and host plants from seriously threatened European steppic grasslands. We determined host plants for the majority (65%) of steppic leaf beetles (55 species) and weevils (59) known from central Europe using two barcodes (trnL and rbcL) and two sequencing strategies (Sanger for mono/oligophagous species and Illumina for polyphagous taxa). To better understand the ecological associations between steppic beetles and their host plants, we tested the hypothesis that leaf beetl…

Mapping productivity and essential biophysical parameters of cultivated tropical grasslands from sentinel-2 imagery.

2020

Nitrogen (N) is the main nutrient element that maintains productivity in forages

Conservation of traditional rural biotopes in Finland : a social-ecological approach

2018

This research focuses on conservation of traditional rural biotopes, which are biodiverse meadows and wood-pastures that are dependent on management through grazing or mowing. These low-intensity management actions have become rare as a result of agricultural modernisation. I have utilised a social-ecological approach in order to seek for the most critical factors hindering conservation of traditional rural biotopes in Finland. I also explore practical solutions that have the potential to improve their conservation status. The coverage of traditional rural biotopes has faced severe habitat loss during the last 150 years. This has led to endangerment of several habitat types and species that…

Is it possible to understand a book missing a quarter of the letters? Unveiling the belowground species richness of grasslands

2022

Abstract Knowledge of species richness patterns in plant communities is biased toward its hidden belowground part and is derived only from the part visible aboveground. Studies on the relationship of the above- to belowground parts of plant communities suffer from the lack of a consistent and uniform approach to assess their taxonomic composition, particularly in species-rich ecosystems. This study described the proportion between above- and belowground parts of vegetation in three grassland types along with the environmental factors that affect them, using eDNA metabarcoding and an observer survey. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was used to analyze the total plant richness…

Semi-natural habitats in boreal Europe: a rise of a social-ecological research agenda

2021

The European continent contains substantial areas of semi-natural habitats, mostly grasslands, which are among the most endangered habitats in Europe. Their continued existence depends on some form of human activity, for either production or conservation purposes, or both. We examined the share of semi-natural grasslands within the general grassland areas in boreal Europe. We reviewed research literature across the region to compile evidence on semi-natural grasslands and other semi-natural habitats, such as wooded pastures, in respect to a range of topics such as ecology, land-use change, socioeconomics, and production. We also explored drivers of the research agenda and outlined future re…