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Clonal ability, height and growth form explain species’ response to habitat deterioration in Fennoscandian wooded meadows

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Abstract

Fennoscandian calcareous wooded meadows have high conservation value due to very high diversity which has been maintained by consistent mowing, but undergo species loss when this management is abandoned. We compared species richness and composition of regularly mown and abandoned wooded meadows in Estonia and established species groups with respect to their response to abandonment. These meadows were very species rich with a maximum of 43 species per 0.25 m2. Species whose populations are maintained by mowing constituted >60 % of the floristic diversity of the mown wooded meadows. Abandonment suppressed species with a preference for dry infertile open habitats. Response to abandonment was related to clonality, height and growth form. The greatest negative response was associated with low graminoids, short-lived and non-clonal species, rosette and semi-rosette growth form. Weak competitors with low height and light seeds exhibited a slow decline; perennial life span and clonality enable a delay in local extinction of these species. Response groups had similar persistence at a national level, revealing that earlier assessment of species dynamics at larger spatial scales could underestimate the number of threatened species. Application of restoration measures could avoid local extinctions of many mowing-supported species, whereas some of the mowing-dependent species likely need reintroduction.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ulvi Karu for help in fieldwork, Kaja Lotman for help in arrangement of the study, the editor and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments, Robert Szava-Kovats for language revision. The study was funded from the Estonian Science Foundation Grants no 7567, 8745 and a post-doctoral grant for Merit Otsus, by institutional research funding IUT21-1 of the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. We thank TAA Herbarium in Estonian University of Life Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Merit Otsus, Kaili Kattai & Marek Sammul

  2. Environmental Inspectorate, Roheline 64, 80035, Pärnu, Estonia

    Dora Kukk

Authors
  1. Merit Otsus
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  2. Dora Kukk
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  3. Kaili Kattai
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  4. Marek Sammul
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Correspondence to Merit Otsus.

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Communicated by Jodi Price.

Appendix

Appendix

Mowing-dependent species

Agrostis stolonifera, Allium oleraceum, Campanula trachelium, Carex capillaris, Carex pulicaris, Cerastium fontanum, Crepis praemorsa, Festuca ovina, Fragaria vesca, Helianthemum nummularium, Heracleum sibiricum, Hieracium spp, Hypericum maculatum, Lathyrus vernus, Pilosella spp, Plantago media, Poa pratensis, Polygala amarella, Polygonatum odoratum, Prunella vulgaris, Rhinanthus minor, Rumex acetosa, Trifolium montanum, Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens, Viola mirabilis.

Mowing-supported species

Achillea millefolium, Agrimonia eupatoria, Agrostis capillaris, Alchemilla vulgaris, Anemone nemorosa, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Anthriscus sylvestris, Anthyllis vulneraria, Aquilegia vulgaris, Asperula tinctoria, Briza media, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Campanula glomerata, Campanula rotundifolia, Carex caryophyllea, Carex digitata, Carex flacca, Carex ornithopoda, Carex pallescens, Carex panicea, Clinopodium vulgare, Convallaria majalis, Dactylis glomerata, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Danthonia decumbens, Epipactis atrorubens, Festuca pratensis, Filipendula ulmaria, Filipendula vulgaris, Galium album, Geranium sanguineum, Gymnadenia conopsea, Helictotrichon pubescens, Hepatica nobilis, Hieracium umbellatum, Knautia arvensis, Lathyrus pratensis, Leontodon hispidus, Linum catharcticum, Luzula campestris, Luzula pilosa, Medicago lupulina, Molinia caerulea, Origanum vulgare, Paris quadrifolia, Pilosella officinarum, Plantago lanceolata, Platanthera chlorantha, Poa angustifolia, Potentilla erecta, Potentilla reptans, Primula veris, Pyrola rotundifolia, Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus auricomus, Ranunculus cassubicus, Ranunculus polyanthemos, Sesleria coerulea, Silene nutans, Solidago virgaurea, Succisa pratensis, Trollius europaeus, Valeriana officinalis, Vicia sepium, Viola canina, Viola collina, Viola riviniana, Viola rupestris.

Neutral species

Aegopodium podagraria, Brachypodium pinnatum, Calamagrostis epigeios, Campanula persicifolia, Carex pilulifera, Carex tomentosa, Centaurea jacea, Cirsium acaule, Deschampsia caespitosa, Equisetum arvense, Festuca arundinacea, Festuca rubra, Galium boreale, Galium verum, Geum rivale, Helictotrichon pratense, Inula salicina, Leucanthemum vulgare, Listera ovata, Lotus corniculatus, Luzula multiflora, Lychnis flos-cuculi, Maianthemum bifolium, Melampyrum nemorosum, Melampyrum pratense, Melampyrum sylvaticum, Mercurialis perennis, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Oxalis acetosella, Pimpinella saxifraga, Platanthera bifolia, Primula farinosa, Rubus saxatilis, Scorzonera humilis, Selinum carvifolia, Stellaria graminea, Taraxacum officinale, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Veronica chamaedrys, Veronica officinalis, Vicia cracca.

Mowing-suppressed species

Achillea ptarmica, Angelica sylvestris, Athyrium filix-femina, Bromus inermis, Calamagrostis stricta, Caltha palustris, Carex disticha, Carex nigra, Carex riparia, Carex vaginata, Carum carvi, Cirsium palustre, Crepis paludosa, Elymus repens, Epipactis palustris, Euphrasia spp, Galium mollugo, Geranium palustre, Geranium sylvaticum, Hypericum perforatum, Hypochaeris maculata, Leontodon autumnalis, Lysimachia nummularia, Lysimachia vulgaris, Melica nutans, Mentha arvensis, Orchis mascula, Phleum pratense, Plantago major, Poa compressa, Poa palustris, Potentilla anserina, Potentilla palustris, Ranunculus fallax, Ranunculus ficaria, Ranunculus repens, Rubus caesius, Scrophularia nodosa, Vicia sylvatica, Viola epipsila.

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Otsus, M., Kukk, D., Kattai, K. et al. Clonal ability, height and growth form explain species’ response to habitat deterioration in Fennoscandian wooded meadows. Plant Ecol 215, 953–962 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0347-6

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