Niche differentiation, competition or habitat filtering? Mechanisms explaining co-occurrence of plant species on wet meadows of high conservation value. Czortek, P., Orczewska, A., & Dyderski, M. K. Journal of Vegetation Science, Wiley-Blackwell, 2021. Cited by: 15
Niche differentiation, competition or habitat filtering? Mechanisms explaining co-occurrence of plant species on wet meadows of high conservation value [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Questions: Due to the diverse abiotic conditions and the extensive, early-autumn, manual mowing practiced once per few years, Molinia semi-natural wet meadows are known for their high plant species diversity. However, recent socio-economic transformations and land-use changes (i.e. cessation of use) have been contributing to significant biodiversity loss in Molinia meadows. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of species co-occurrence patterns operating on well-developed Molinia meadows may be a precondition for the restoration or regeneration success of this type of vegetation. We aimed to identify community-level co-existence patterns of the whole set of plant species typical of Molinia meadows, and to assess the role of co-occurring vegetation in shaping the performance of individual species. Location: Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation “Łąki Dąbrowskie” (S Poland). Methods: Using generalised multiple regression techniques on a set of vegetation traits and components of functional diversity, we assessed the role of different ecological mechanisms in shaping co-occurrence patterns of the entire group of species typical of Molinia meadows, as well as individual species belonging to this group. Results: When the entire group of Molinia meadow species was taken into account, niche differentiation emerged as the main mechanism influencing the co-occurrence of plant species. When considering individual species, we revealed that their co-existence patterns were mostly species-specific, pointing out the predominant role of either niche differentiation, competition, habitat filtering, or a combination of these three drivers in shaping assembly processes. Conclusions: Our results showed that the variability of niches realised by target species typical of Molinia meadows was high. Therefore, conservation of well-developed Molinia meadows should focus on both the community, and on a single species level, aiming to maintain a complex of specific microhabitat conditions. Considering small-size patches of these meadows scattered in a transformed, agricultural landscape, conservation of individual target species should be of the highest priority. © 2021 International Association for Vegetation Science
@ARTICLE{Czortek2021,
	author = {Czortek, Patryk and Orczewska, Anna and Dyderski, Marcin K.},
	title = {Niche differentiation, competition or habitat filtering? Mechanisms explaining co-occurrence of plant species on wet meadows of high conservation value},
	year = {2021},
	journal = {Journal of Vegetation Science},
	volume = {32},
	number = {1},
	doi = {10.1111/jvs.12983},
	url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85101784976&doi=10.1111%2fjvs.12983&partnerID=40&md5=dc8bb33fbae2bea93703883c4756c2a5},
	affiliations = {Faculty of Biology, Białowieża Geobotanical Station, University of Warsaw, Białowieża, Poland; Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland; Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, Poland},
	abstract = {Questions: Due to the diverse abiotic conditions and the extensive, early-autumn, manual mowing practiced once per few years, Molinia semi-natural wet meadows are known for their high plant species diversity. However, recent socio-economic transformations and land-use changes (i.e. cessation of use) have been contributing to significant biodiversity loss in Molinia meadows. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of species co-occurrence patterns operating on well-developed Molinia meadows may be a precondition for the restoration or regeneration success of this type of vegetation. We aimed to identify community-level co-existence patterns of the whole set of plant species typical of Molinia meadows, and to assess the role of co-occurring vegetation in shaping the performance of individual species. Location: Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation “Łąki Dąbrowskie” (S Poland). Methods: Using generalised multiple regression techniques on a set of vegetation traits and components of functional diversity, we assessed the role of different ecological mechanisms in shaping co-occurrence patterns of the entire group of species typical of Molinia meadows, as well as individual species belonging to this group. Results: When the entire group of Molinia meadow species was taken into account, niche differentiation emerged as the main mechanism influencing the co-occurrence of plant species. When considering individual species, we revealed that their co-existence patterns were mostly species-specific, pointing out the predominant role of either niche differentiation, competition, habitat filtering, or a combination of these three drivers in shaping assembly processes. Conclusions: Our results showed that the variability of niches realised by target species typical of Molinia meadows was high. Therefore, conservation of well-developed Molinia meadows should focus on both the community, and on a single species level, aiming to maintain a complex of specific microhabitat conditions. Considering small-size patches of these meadows scattered in a transformed, agricultural landscape, conservation of individual target species should be of the highest priority. © 2021 International Association for Vegetation Science},
	author_keywords = {community assembling; functional diversity; species co-existence; target species; vegetation traits},
	keywords = {Poland [Central Europe]; Molinia; biodiversity; coexistence; competition (ecology); habitat structure; meadow; mowing; multiple regression; niche partitioning; regeneration; restoration ecology; vegetation structure},
	correspondence_address = {P. Czortek; Faculty of Biology, Białowieża Geobotanical Station, University of Warsaw, Białowieża, Poland; email: patrykczortek@biol.uw.edu.pl},
	publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
	issn = {11009233},
	coden = {JVESE},
	language = {English},
	abbrev_source_title = {J. Veg. Sci.},
	type = {Article},
	publication_stage = {Final},
	source = {Scopus},
	note = {Cited by: 15}
}

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