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A phylogenetically-informed trait-based analysis of range change in the vascular plant flora of Britain

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Abstract

Species distributions are changing, and knowing whether certain character traits predispose species to decline or increase during times of environmental change can shed light on the main drivers of distribution change. Here we conduct a trait-based analysis of range change in the flora of Britain since the 1930s using some of the best plant distribution and trait data available in Europe. We use phylogenetically-informed models based on a recently published, dated, species level plant phylogeny. Traits associated with habitat specialism and competitive ability were related to range change, with more competitive habitat generalists faring better than habitat specialists. We attribute this result to the greater ability of generalists to adapt to environmental perturbation, but also to the negative impacts of agricultural intensification on the flora of Britain, in particular the loss of open, dry habitats. We discovered spatial variation in the main drivers of plant range change and find support for previous evidence that agricultural intensification has been a major driver of distribution change in the flora of Britain over the past 70 years, particularly in southern England.

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Acknowledgments

We show great appreciation to all the volunteer recorders that collected the plant data, without which this study would not be possible. We are indebted to the Botanical Society of the British Isles and their network of Vice County Recorders who helped co-ordinated recording for the two atlas datasets used here. We thank Tom Oliver, Michael Pocock, Colin Harrower, Louise Barwell, Will Pearse, Steve Freeman and Nick Isaac for their useful comments regarding data analysis. We would also like to thank Mick Crawley for help regarding plant trait data collation. We thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This work was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK

    Gary D. Powney, Christopher D. Preston & David B. Roy

  2. Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK

    Gary D. Powney

  3. Berkeley Initiative in Global Change Biology, University of California Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Giovanni Rapacciuolo

  4. Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Andy Purvis

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  1. Gary D. Powney
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Correspondence to Gary D. Powney.

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Powney, G.D., Rapacciuolo, G., Preston, C.D. et al. A phylogenetically-informed trait-based analysis of range change in the vascular plant flora of Britain. Biodivers Conserv 23, 171–185 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-013-0590-5

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