Search results for "Spatial scale"
showing 10 items of 14 documents
Communication: anion-specific response of mesoscopic organization in ionic liquids upon pressurization
2018
One of the outstanding features of ionic liquids is their inherently hierarchical structural organization at mesoscopic spatial scales. Recently experimental and computational studies showed the fading of this feature when pressurising. Here we use simulations to show that this effect is not general: appropriate anion choice leads to an obstinate resistance against pressurization. Published by AIP Publishing.
Indicators of agricultural intensity and intensification: a review of the literature
2015
Since the 1960s, research has dealt with agricultural intensification (AI) as a solution to ensure global food security. Recently, sustainable intensification (SI) has increasingly been used to describe those agricultural and farming systems that ensure adequate ecosystem service provision. Studies differ in terms of the application scales and methodologies, thus we aim to summarize the main findings from the literature on how AI and SI are assessed, from the farm to global levels. Our literature review is based on 7865 papers selected from the Web of Science database and analysed using CorText software. A further selection of 105 relevant papers was used for an in-depth full-text analysis …
Fine‐grain beta diversity of Palaearctic grassland vegetation
2021
QUESTIONS: Which environmental factors influence fine-grain beta diversity of vegetation and do they vary among taxonomic groups? LOCATION: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. METHODS: We extracted 4,654 nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes between 0.0001 m² and 1,024 m² from the GrassPlot database, covering a wide range of different grassland and other open habitat types. We derived extensive environmental and structural information for these series. For each series and four taxonomic groups (vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, all), we calculated the slope parameter (z-value) of the power law species–area relationship (SAR), as a beta diversity measure. We tested whe…
Designing ‘trait-based null model’ approaches to investigate community assembly mechanisms
2014
SPEEAECOLDURGEAPSIéquipe CAPA; During the last decade, many studies have addressed the signature of community assembly processes by assessing the deviation of a functional diversity pattern from that expected in null communities, using a randomization algorithm. The basic principle has been to compare the functional structure of a ‘local community’ with a set of randomly generated communities from a ‘regional species pool’. Specifically, it allows assessing the extent to which species constituting a community are functionally more or less similar than expected under the assumption of a random assembly, thus revealing the influence of assembly processes such as competition or environmental a…
Changes in Onset of Vegetation Growth on Svalbard, 2000–2020
2022
The global temperature is increasing, and this is affecting the vegetation phenology in many parts of the world. The most prominent changes occur at northern latitudes such as our study area, which is Svalbard, located between 76°30′N and 80°50′N. A cloud-free time series of MODIS-NDVI data was processed. The dataset was interpolated to daily data during the 2000–2020 period with a 231.65 m pixel resolution. The onset of vegetation growth was mapped with a NDVI threshold method which corresponds well with a recent Sentinel-2 NDVI-based mapping of the onset of vegetation growth, which was in turn validated by a network of in-situ phenological data from time lapse cameras. The results show th…
Assessing sampling coverage of species distribution in biodiversity databases
2019
Abstract Aim Biodiversity databases are valuable resources for understanding plant species distributions and dynamics, but they may insufficiently represent the actual geographic distribution and climatic niches of species. Here we propose and test a method to assess sampling coverage of species distribution in biodiversity databases in geographic and climatic space. Location Europe. Methods Using a test selection of 808,794 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA), we assessed the sampling coverage of 564 European vascular plant species across both their geographic ranges and realized climatic niches. Range maps from the Chorological Database Halle (CDH) were used as bac…
Reducing the data-deficiency of threatened European habitats: Spatial variation of sabellariid worm reefs and associated fauna in the Sicily Channel,…
2017
Biogenic reefs, such as those produced by tube-dwelling polychaetes of the genus Sabellaria, are valuable marine habitats which are a focus of protection according to European legislation. The achievement of this goal is potentially hindered by the lack of essential empirical data, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. This study addresses some of the current knowledge gaps by quantifying and comparing multi-scale patterns of abundance and distribution of two habitat-forming species (Sabellaria alveolata and S. spinulosa) and their associated fauna along 190 km of coast on the Italian side of the Sicily Channel. While the abundance of the two sabellariids and the total number of associated t…
Predictive models in assessment of macroinvertebrates in boreal rivers
2009
Jukka Aroviita tutki väitöskirjassaan jokien ja purojen biologisen tilan mittaamismenetelmiä. Aroviita osoitti, että ihmistoiminnan aiheuttamat biologiset muutokset voivat jäädä havaitsematta, jos eliöyhteisöjen luonnollista taustavaihtelua ei oteta kunnolla huomioon.- Tällöin vesistöjen saatetaan arvioida olevan paremmassa kunnossa kuin ne todellisuudessa ovatkaan. Muutosten tunnistamistarkkuuden tulisi olla mahdollisimman hyvä, sillä tila-arvioilla on myös juridisesti määräytyviä yhteiskunnallisia ja taloudellisia seuraamuksia, Aroviita toteaa. Vielä 1990-luvulla järvien ja jokien tilaa arvioitiin suurelta osin ihmisen näkökulmasta ja veden kemian perusteella. Nykylainsäädäntö edellyttää …
Biodiversity is not (and never has been) a bed of roses!
2011
9 pages; International audience; Over the last decades, the critical study of fossil diversity has led to significant advances in the knowledge of global macroevolutionary patterns of biodiversity. The deep-time history of life on Earth results from background originations and extinctions defining a steady-state, nonstationary equilibrium occasionally perturbed by biotic crises and "explosive" diversifications. More recently, a macroecological approach to the large-scale distribution of extant biodiversity offered new, stimulating perspectives on old theoretical questions and current practical problems in conservation biology. However, time and space are practically distinct, but functional…
The role of spatial environmental factors as determinants of large branchiopod distribution in Tunisian temporary ponds
2016
The influence of spatial and environmental factors in explaining the structure of large branchiopod assemblages at different spatial scales is still poorly explored. We hypothesized that the extent of actual spatial connectivity, and thus the spatial distribution of a metacommunity, may depend on the environmental conditions as represented by climatic gradients and the structural characteristics of the landscape. To test this hypothesis, the distributional patterns of 14 large branchiopod species in a set of 177 temporary water bodies repeatedly sampled across Tunisia and on its main islands were analysed. Physical, chemical, morphological and climatic characteristics of the studied water b…