[en] Destruction and fragmentation of (semi-) natural habitats are considered the main causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. Plant species may exhibit a slow response to fragmentation, resulting in the development of an extinction debt in fragmented plant communities. The detection of extinction debt is of primary importance in habitat conservation strategies. We applied two different approaches proposed in the literature to identify extinction debt in Southeast Belgium calcareous grasslands. The first method compared species richness between stable and fragmented habitat patches. The second explored correlations between current species richness and current and past landscape configurations using multiple regression analyses. We subsequently examined results generated by both methods. In addition, we proposed techniques to identify species that are more likely to support extinction debt and associated functional traits. We estimated a respective extinction debt of approximately 28% and 35% of the total and specialist species richness. Similar results were obtained from both methods. We identified 15 threatened specialist species under the current landscape configuration. It is likely the landscape configuration no longer supports the species habitat requirements. We demonstrated that non-clonal species are most threatened, as well as taxa that cannot persist in degraded habitats and form only sparsely distributed populations. We discussed our results in light of other studies in similar habitats, and the overall implications for habitat conservation.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Piqueray, Julien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Bisteau, Emmanuelle
Cristofoli, Sara
Palm, Rodolphe ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Sciences agronomiques > Statistique, Inform. et Mathém. appliquées à la bioingénierie
Poschlod, Peter
Mahy, Grégory ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Language :
English
Title :
Plant species extinction debt in a temperate biodiversity hotspot: community, species and functional traits approaches
Adriaens D., Honnay O., Hermy M. No evidence of a plant extinction debt in highly fragmented calcareous grasslands in Belgium. Biological Conservation 2006, 133:212-224.
Andrén H. Effects of habitat fragmentation on birds and mammals in landscapes with different proportions of suitable habitats: a review. Oikos 1994, 71:355-366.
Balmford A., Bennun L., ten Brink B., Cooper D., Côté I.M., Crane P., Dobson A., Dudley N., Dutton I., Green R.E., Gregory R.D., Harrison J., Kennedy E.T., Kremen C., Leader-Williams N., Lovejoy T.E., Mace G., May R., Mayaux P., Morling P., Phillips J., Redford K., Ricketts T.H., Rodríguez J.P., Sanjayan M., Schei P.J., van Jaarsveld A.S., Walther B.A. The convention on biological diversity's 2010 target. Science 2005, 307:212-213.
Berglund H., Jonsson B.G. Verifying an extinction debt among lichens and fungi in Northern Swedish boreal forests. Conservation Biology 2005, 19:338-348.
Bisteau E., Mahy G. Vegetation and seed bank in a calcareous grassland restored from a Pinus forest. Applied Vegetation Science 2005, 8:167-174.
Brys R., Jacquemyn H., Endels P., Hermy M., De Blust G. The relationship between reproductive success and demographic structure in remnant populations of Primula veris. Acta Oecologica 2003, 24:247-253.
Butaye J., Honnay O., Adriaens D., Delescaille L.M., Hermy M. Phytosociology and phytogeography of the calcareous grasslands on Devonian limestone in Southwest Belgium. Belgian Journal of Botany 2005, 138:24-38.
Cousins S.A.O. Extinction debt in fragmented grasslands: paid or not?. Journal of Vegetation Science 2009, 20:3-7.
Cousins S.A.O., Ohlson H., Eriksson O. Effects of historical and present fragmentation on plant species diversity in semi-natural grasslands in Swedish rural landscapes. Landscape Ecology 2007, 22:723-730.
Cousins, S.A.O., Vanhoenacker, D., 2010. Detection of extinction debt depends on scale and specialisation. Biological Conservation. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.11.009.
Cristofoli S., Monty A., Mahy G. Historical landscape structure affects plant species richness in wet healthlands with complex landscape dynamics. Landscape and Urban Planning 2010, 98:92-98.
Cristofoli S., Piqueray J., Dufrêne M., Bizoux J.P., Mahy G. Colonization credit in restored wet heathlands. Restoration Ecology 2010, 18:645-655.
Delescaille L.M. La gestion conservatoire des pelouses sèches par le pâturage ovin. Aspects théoriques et pratiques. Parcs & Réserves 1999, 54:2-9.
Delescaille L.M. Nature conservation and pastoralism in Wallonia. Pasture Landscapes and Nature Conservation 2002, 39-52. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. B. Redecker, P. Finck, W. Härdtle, U. Riecken, E. Schröder (Eds.).
Delescaille L.M. La gestion des pelouses sèches en Région wallonne. Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société, Environnement 2005, 9:119-124.
Draper N.R., Smith H. Applied Regression Analysis 1998, Wiley, New York.
Dupré C., Ehrlén J. Habitat configuration, species traits and plant distributions. Journal of Ecology 2002, 90:796-805.
Ellenberg H. Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica 1974, 9:3-122.
Ellis C.J., Coppins B.J. 19th century woodland structure controls stand-scale epiphyte diversity in present-day Scotland. Diversity and Distributions 2007, 13:84-91.
Fahrig L. Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2003, 34:487-515.
Fischer M., Stöcklin J. Local extinctions of plants in remnants of extensively used calcareous grasslands 1950-1985. Conservation Biology 1997, 11:727-737.
Fréville H., McConway K., Dodd M., Sivertown J. Prediction of extinction in plants: interaction of extrinsic threats and life history traits. Ecology 2007, 88:2662-2672.
Hanski I. A practical model of metapopulation dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology 1994, 63:151-162.
Hanski I. Metapopulation Ecology 1998, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Hanski I., Ovaskainen O. Extinction debt at extinction threshold. Conservation Biology 2002, 16:666-673.
Helm A., Hanski I., Pärtel M. Slow response of plant species richness to habitat loss and fragmentation. Ecology Letters 2006, 9:72-77.
Henle K., Davies K.F., Kleyer M., Margules C.R., Settele J. Predictors of species sensitivity to fragmentation. Biodiversity and Conservation 2004, 13:207-251.
Jackel, A.K., Dannemann, A., Tackenberg, O., Kleyer, M., Poschlod, P., 2006. Funktionelle Merkmale von Pflantzen und ihre Anwendungsmöglichkeiten im Arten-, Biotop- und Naturschutz. Naturschutz und Biologische Vielfalt 32.
Jackson S.T., Sax D.F. Balancing biodiversity in a changing environment: extinction debt, immigration credit and species turnover. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2009, 25:153-159.
Karlík P., Poschlod P. History or abiotic filter: which is more important in determining the species composition of calcareous grasslands. Preslia 2009, 81:321-340.
Kéry M., Matthies D. Reduced fecundity in small populations of the rare plant Gentianopsis ciliate (Gentianaceae). Plant Biology (Stuttgart) 2004, 6:683-688.
Kéry M., Matthies D., Spillmann H.H. Reduced fecundity and offspring performance in small populations of the declining grassland plants Primula veris and Gentiana lutea. Journal of Ecology 2000, 88:17-30.
Kolb A., Diekmann M. Effects of life-history traits on responses of plant species to forest fragmentation. Conservation Biology 2005, 19:929-938.
Krauss J., Bommarco R., Guardiola M., Heikkinen R.K., Helm A., Kuussaari M., Lindborg R., Öckinger E., Pärtel M., Pino J., Pöyry J., Raatikainen K.M., Sang A., Stefanescu C., Teder T., Zobel M., Steffan-Dewenter I. Habitat fragmentation causes immediate and time-delayed biodiversity loss at different trophic levels. Ecology Letters 2010, 13:597-605.
Kuussaari M., Bommarco R., Heikkinen R.K., Helm A., Krauss J., Lindborg R., Öckinger E., Pärtel M., Pino J., Rodà F., Stefanescu C., Teder T., Zobel M., Steffan-Dewenter I. Extinction debt: a challenge for biodiversity conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 2009, 24:564-571.
Lambinon J., Delvosalle L., Duvigneaud J. Nouvelle flore de Belgique, du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, du Nord de la France et des régions voisines 2004, Jardin botanique national de Belgique, Meise. fifth ed.
Leimu R., Mutikainen P., Koricheva J., Fischer M. How general are positive relationships between plant population size, fitness and genetic variation?. Journal of Ecology 2006, 94:942-952.
Levins R. Extinction. Some Mathematical Problems in Biology 1970, 77-107. American Mathematical Society, Providence. M. Desternhaber (Ed.).
Lindborg R. Evaluating the distribution of plant life-history traits in relation to current and historical landscape configurations. Journal of Ecology 2007, 95:555-564.
Lindborg R., Eriksson O. Historical landscape connectivity affects present plant species diversity. Ecology 2004, 85:1840-1845.
Mildén M., Cousins S.A.O., Eriksson O. The distribution of four grassland plant species in relation to landscape history in a Swedish rural area. Annales Botanici Fennici 2007, 44:416-426.
Moilanen A., Nieminen M. Simple connectivity measures in spatial ecology. Ecology 2002, 83:1131-1145.
Palm, R., 2002. Macros Minitab pour la régression linéaire. (accessed 15.12.08). http://www.fsagx.ac.be/si/reglin/accueil.htm.
Pärtel M., Kalamees R., Zobel M., Rosén E. Restoration of species-rich limestone grassland communities from overgrown land: the importance of propagule availability. Ecological Engineering 1998, 10:275-286.
Piessens K., Hermy M. Does the heathland flora in north-western Belgium show an extinction debt?. Biological Conservation 2006, 132:382-394.
Piqueray J., Bisteau E., Bottin G., Mahy G. Plant communities and species richness of the calcareous grasslands in southeast Belgium. Belgian Journal of Botany 2007, 140:157-173.
Piqueray J., Bottin G., Delescaille L.M., Bisteau E., Colinet G., Mahy G. Rapid restoration of a species-rich ecosystem assessed from soil and vegetation indicators: the case of calcareous grasslands restored from forest stands. Ecological Indicators 2011, 11:724-733.
Piqueray J., Mahy G. Revue bibliographique sur la restauration des pelouses calcicoles en Europe: contraintes rencontrées et solutions proposées. Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société, Environnement 2010, 14:471-484.
Poschlod P., Karlík P., Baumann A., Wiedmann B. The history of dry calcareous grasslands near Kallmünz (Bavaria) reconstructed by the application of palaeoecological, historical and recent-ecological methods. Human Nature: Studies in Historical Ecology, Environmental History 2008, 130-143. Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy, Pruhonice. P. Szabó, R. Hédl (Eds.).
Poschlod P., Kiefer S., Tränkle U., Fischer S., Bonn S. Plant species richness in calcareous grasslands as affected by dispersability in space and time. Applied Vegetation Science 1998, 1:75-90.
Poschlod P., Kleyer M., Jackel A.K., Dannemann A., Tackenberg O. BIOPOP - a database of plant traits and internet application for nature conservation. Folia Geobotanica 2003, 38:263-271.
Poschlod P., Kleyer M., Tackenberg O. Databases on life history traits as a tool for risk assessment in plant species. Zeitschrift für Ökologie und Naturschutz 2000, 9:3-18.
Poschlod P., WallisDeVries M.F. The historical and socioeconomic perspective of calcareous grasslands: lessons from the distant and recent past. Biological Conservation 2002, 104:361-376.
Prendergast J.R., Quinn R.M., Lawton J.H., Eversham B.C., Gibbons D.W. Rare species, the coincidence of diversity hotspots and conservation strategies. Nature 1993, 365:335-337.
Römermann C., Tackenberg O., Jackel A.K., Poschlod P. Eutrophication and fragmentation are related to species' rate of decline but not to species rarity: results from a functional approach. Biodiversity and Conservation 2008, 17:591-604.
Royer J.M. Synthèse eurosibérienne, phytosociologique et phytogéographique de la classe des Festuco-Brometea 1991, J.Cramer, Berlin-Stuttgart.
Saintenoy-Simon, J., Barbier, Y., Delescaille, L.M., Dufrêne, M., Gathoye, J.L., Verté, P., 2006. Première liste des espèces rares, menacées et protégées de la Région Wallonne (Ptéridophytes et Spermatophytes). (accessed 29.09.08). http://mrw.wallonie.be/dgrne/sibw/especes/ecologie/plantes/listerouge/.
Schleuning M., Niggemann M., Becker U., Matthies D. Negative effects of habitat degradation and fragmentation on the declining grassland plant Trifolium montanum. Basic and Applied Ecology 2009, 10:61-69.
Schoenfeld, D.A., 2007. Statistical considerations for clinical trials and scientific experiments. (accessed 02.02.09). http://hedwig.mgh.harvard.edu/sample_size/size.html.
Siegel S. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Science 1956, McGraw Hill, New York.
Soons M.B., Heil G.W. Reduced colonization capacity in fragmented populations of wind-dipersed grassland forbs. Journal of Ecology 2002, 90:1033-1043.
Stöcklin J., Fischer M. Plants with longer-lived seeds have lower local extinction rates in grasslands remnants 1950-1985. Oecologia 1999, 120:539-543.
Tilman D., May R.M., Lehman C.L., Nowak M.A. Habitat destruction and the extinction debt. Nature 1994, 371:65-66.
Tremlová K., Münzbergová Z. Importance of species traits for species distribution in fragmented landscapes. Ecology 2007, 88:965-977.
Vellend M., Verheyen K., Jacquemyn H., Kolb A., Van Calster H., Peterken G., Hermy M. Extinction debt of forest plants persist for more than a century following habitat fragmentation. Ecology 2006, 87:542-548.
WallisDeVries M.F., Poschlod P., Willems J.H. Challenges for the conservation of calcareous grasslands in northwestern Europe: integrating the requirements of flora and fauna. Biological Conservation 2002, 104:265-273.
Weiher E., van der Werf A., Thompson K., Roderick M., Garnier E., Eriksson O. Challenging Theophrastus: a common core list of plant traits for functional ecology. Journal of Vegetation Science 1999, 10:609-620.
Zobel M., Suurkask M., Rosén E., Pärtel M. The dynamics of species richness in an experimentally restored calcareous grassland. Journal of Vegetation Science 1996, 7:203-210.
