Assessing the effects of land-use change on plant traits, communities and ecosystem functioning in grasslands: A standardized methodology and lessons from an application to 11 European sites
2007
Garnier, Éric | Lavorel, Sandra | Ansquer, Pauline | Castro, Helena | Cruz, Pablo | Doležal, Jiří | Eriksson, Ove | Fortunel, Claire | Freitas, Helena | Golodets, Carly | Grigulis, Karl | Jouany, Claire | Kazakou, Elena | Kigel, Jaime | Kleyer, Michael | Lehsten, Veiko | Lepš, Jan | Meier, Tonia | Pakeman, Robin | Papadimitriou, Maria | Papanastasis, Vasilios | Quested, Helen | Quétier, Fabien | Robson, Matthew | Roumet, Catherine | Rusch, Graciela | Skarpe, Christina | Sternberg, Marcelo | Theau, Jean-Pierre | Thébault, Aurélie | Vile, Denis | Zarovali, Maria, P. | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA) ; Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Agrosystèmes Cultivés et Herbagers (ARCHE) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT) ; Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) ; Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT) | Universidade de Coimbra = University of Coimbra [Portugal] (UC) | University of South Bohemia [České Budějovice, Czechia] | Stockholm University | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) | Carl Von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg = Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (OFFIS) | Macaulay Institute | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) | Department of Plant Sciences ; Tel Aviv University (TAU) | Département de biologie [Sherbrooke] (UdeS) ; Faculté des sciences [Sherbrooke] (UdeS) ; Université de Sherbrooke = University of Sherbrooke (UdeS)-Université de Sherbrooke = University of Sherbrooke (UdeS) | This work formed the core of Workpackage 2 of the EU project VISTA (Vulnerability of Ecosystem Services to Land Use Change in Traditional Agricultural Landscapes) (contract no. EVK2-2001-000356).
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Background and Aims A standardized methodology to assess the impacts of land-use changes on vegetation and ecosystem functioning is presented. It assumes that species traits are central to these impacts, and is designed to be applicable in different historical, climatic contexts and local settings. Preliminary results are presented to show its applicability. Methods Eleven sites, representative of various types of land-use changes occurring in marginal agro-ecosystems across Europe and Israel, were selected. Climatic data were obtained at the site level; soil data, disturbance and nutrition indices were described at the plot level within sites. Sixteen traits describing plant stature, leaf characteristics and reproductive phase were recorded on the most abundant species of each treatment. These data were combined with species abundance to calculate trait values weighed by the abundance of species in the communities. The ecosystem properties selected were components of above-ground net primary productivity and decomposition of litter. Key Results The wide variety of land-use systems that characterize marginal landscapes across Europe was reflected by the different disturbance indices, and were also reflected in soil and/or nutrient availability gradients. The trait toolkit allowed us to describe adequately the functional response of vegetation to land-use changes, but we suggest that some traits (vegetative plant height, stem dry matter content) should be omitted in studies involving mainly herbaceous species. Using the example of the relationship between leaf dry matter content and above-ground dead material, we demonstrate how the data collected may be used to analyse direct effects of climate and land use on ecosystem properties vs. indirect effects via changes in plant traits. Conclusions This work shows the applicability of a set of protocols that can be widely applied to assess the impacts of global change drivers on species, communities and ecosystems.
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