Search results for "ecological"
showing 10 items of 1263 documents
Resource use of wood-inhabiting fungi in different boreal forest types
2017
Generalist species are usually widespread and abundant, and thrive in heterogeneous environments. Specialists, in turn, are generally more restricted in their range, and benefit from more stable conditions. Therefore, increasing human-induced disturbance can have more negative effects on specialist than generalist species. We assessed the specialization of 77 wood-inhabiting fungal species across seven boreal forest types and different substratum qualities. A significantly higher number of specialist species was associated with herb-rich forests and afforested fields than with managed coniferous forests and wood pastures, the number of specialists associated with natural coniferous forests …
Assessing coastal habitats with Juniperus sp. pl. in the Iberian Peninsula and on the Balearic Islands
2021
Coastal habitats with Juniperus sp. pl. represent the mature stage in the ecological succession of dune ecosystems. Maritime junipers (Juniperus macrocarpa), prickly junipers (J. navicularis) and c...
Biogeography of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spore traits along an aridity gradient, and responses to experimental rainfall manipulation
2020
Abstract Spore size, colour and melanin content are hypothesised to be functional in relation to environmental stress. Here, we studied AM fungal spores in arid environments of Australia and in an experimental platform simulating altered rainfall. We used microscopy and image analysis to measure spore colour and size, and a quantitative colorimetric assay to estimate melanin content in spores. In arid sites, melanin content tended to increase with increasing aridity. We observed a large range of spore colours at all sites but found a higher proportion of both dark and light spores, and fewer intermediate colours, in drier sites. Spore abundance and size varied among sites, but neither were …
Lichen communities on Populus tremula are affected by the density of Picea abies
2021
Questions Aspen (Populus tremula) is declining in the old‐growth forests of boreal Fennoscandia. This threatens the numerous taxa that are dependent on old aspens, including many epiphytic lichens. Potential methods to aid epiphytic lichens on aspen are centered around treatments which affect the density of Norway spruce (Picea abies). In this study, we investigated how epiphytic lichen communities on aspen are affected by the variation of spruce density in the immediate vicinity of the focal aspen. Location Southern boreal forests in Finland. Methods We recorded the occurrence of lichens from 120 aspens in 12 semi‐natural forest sites. We used spruce basal area as the measure for spruce de…
Vegetation structure and greenness in Central Africa from Modis multi-temporal data.
2013
African forests within the Congo Basin are generally mapped at regional scale as broad-leaved evergreen forests, with a main distinction between terra-firme and swamp forests types. At the same time, commercial forest inventories, as well as national maps, have highlighted a strong spatial heterogeneity of forest types. A detailed vegetation map generated using consistent methods is needed to inform decision makers about spatial forest organisation and theirs relationships with environmental drivers in the context of global change. We propose a multi-temporal remotely sensed data approach to characterize vegetation types using vegetation index annual profiles. The classifications identified…
Effects of local forest continuity on the diversity of fungi on standing dead pines
2018
Human-induced fragmentation affects forest continuity, i.e. availability of a suitable habitat for the target species over a time period. The dependence of wood-inhabiting fungi on landscape level continuity has been well demonstrated, but the importance of local continuity has remained controversial. In this study, we explored the effects of local forest continuity (microhabitat and stand level) on the diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi on standing dead trunks of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). We studied species richness and community composition of decomposers and Micarea lichens on 70 trunks in 14 forests in central Finland that differed in their state of continuity. We used dendrochr…
Embracing diverse worldviews to share planet Earth
2019
Leading societies toward a more sustainable, equitably shared, and environmentally just future requires elevating and strengthening conversations on the nonmaterial and perhaps unquantifiable values of nonhuman nature to humanity. Debates among conservationists relating to the appropriateness of valuing ecosystems in terms of their human utility have eclipsed the more important and impactful task of expressing conservation concerns in terms that are meaningful to diverse stakeholders. We considered the wide global diversity of perspectives on the biosocial complex-the relationships and interactions between all living species on Earth-and argue that humanity's best chance for effective conse…
The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservation
2018
The data that supports the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.
Responses of above- and below-ground fungal symbionts to cessation of mowing in subalpine grassland
2017
Abstract The cessation of mowing in subalpine grasslands promotes the dominance of Festuca paniculata leading to the reduction in plant diversity. Moreover, it affects positively the abundance of Epichloe sp. inhabiting F. paniculata leaves and negatively the soil density of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We explored how the cessation of mowing influences root AMF communities in F. paniculata and the neighboring plants, and Epichloe sp alkaloids. Thirteen AMF operational taxonomical units were found. The neighboring plants affected positively the abundances of Aalpin and GLOM_7 whereas the interaction plant/management type influenced significantly Claroide_1 , GLOM_1 and GLOM_7 . The N…
Inferring species interactions from ecological survey data: A mechanistic approach to predict quantitative food webs of seed feeding by carabid beetl…
2021
Abstract Ecological networks are valuable for ecosystem analysis but their use is often limited by a lack of data because many types of ecological interaction, for example, predation, are short‐lived and difficult to observe or detect. While there are different methods for inferring the presence of interactions, they have rarely been used to predict the interaction strengths that are required to construct weighted, or quantitative, ecological networks.Here, we develop a trait‐based approach suitable for inferring weighted networks, that is, with varying interaction strengths. We developed the method for seed‐feeding carabid ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) although the principles can …