Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Complex vegetation responses to soil disturbances in mountain grassland

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We studied vegetation responses to disturbances originated by ants and voles in subalpine grasslands in the Eastern Pyrenees. We compared the effects of these small-scale disturbances with those of a large-scale disturbance caused by ploughing. We wanted to know if these soil disturbances promoted species richness through the existence of a specific guild of plants colonizing these areas, and if this guild was the same for all soil disturbances, independently of their extent. In general, grassland vegetation seemed to recover relatively quickly from soil-displacement disturbances, and the effects could be scaled up in time and space in terms of species richness and composition. Vole mound composition was similar to that in the surrounding grassland, suggesting that mounds were rapidly colonized by the neighbouring vegetation. Vegetation composition differed between the grassland and the ant mounds. Grasses and erect dicots coped well with repeated disturbance, while rosette-forming species and sedges were very sensitive to it. Landscape processes could be important to understanding recolonization. Species from xeric grasslands were found in mesic grasslands when disturbed by ploughing and on the tops of active ant mounds. Furrows in mesic grasslands recovered well, but decades after disturbance showed long persistence of some xeric species and increased species richness compared to terraces, while xeric grasslands showed decreased richness. This suggests that, because of those disturbances, within-habitat diversity was increased, although landscape diversity was not. However, specific disturbances showed idiosyncratic effects, which could enhance the species richness globally. In ant-affected areas, the grassland itself showed the highest plant species richness, partially associated to the presence of some species with elaiosomes not, or only rarely, found in adjacent grasslands without ant mounds. Therefore, soil disturbances occurring at different spatial scales contributed to complexity in vegetation patterns in addition to abiotic factors and grazing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnew ADQ, Collins SL, van der Maarel E (1993) Mechanisms and processes in vegetation dynamics – introduction. J Veg Sci 4:146–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Arenas JM, Serra I, Sebastià MT (2004) Ecologia i aprofitament dels ecosistemes pratícoles de la vall d’Alinyà. In: Germain J (ed) Els sistemes naturals de la vall d’Alinyà. Treballs de la Institució Catalana d’Història Natural 14, Barcelona, pp 537–553

    Google Scholar 

  • Austrheim G, Olsson GA (1999) How does continuity in grassland management after ploughing affect plant community patterns? Plant Ecol 145:59–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beatty SW (1988) Mass movement effects on grassland vegetation and soils on Santa Cruz Island, California. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 78:491–504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolòs O, Vigo J, Masalles RM, Ninot JM (1993) Flora manual dels Països Catalans. Pòrtic, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonte D, Dekoninck W, Provoost S, Cosyns E, Hoffmann M (2003) Microgeographical distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in coastal dune grassland and their relation to the soil structure and mesophytic plant species. Anim Biol 53:367–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canals RM, Sebastià MT (2000) Soil nutrient fluxes and vegetation changes on molehills. J Veg Sci 11:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canals RM, Sebastià MT (2002) Heathland dynamics in biotically disturbed areas: on the role of some features enhancing heath success. Acta Oecol 23:303–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canals RM, Sebastià MT (2004) Papel de las perturbaciones de pequeños mamíferos en pastos de montaña. Pastos 34:47–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Canals RM, Herman DJ, Firestone MK (2003) How disturbance by fossorial mammals alters N cycling in a California annual grassland. Ecology 84:875–881

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins SL Glenn SM (1990) A hierarchical analysis of species’ abundance patterns in grassland vegetation. Am Nat 135:633–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culver DC Beattie AJ (1983) Effects of ant mounds on soil chemistry and vegetation patterns in a Colorado montane meadow. Ecology 64:485–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dauber J, Schroeter D, Wolters V (2001) Species specific effects of ants on microbial activity and N-availability in the soil of an old-field. Eur J Soil Biol 37:259–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dauber J, Rommeler A, Wolters V (2006) The ant Lasius flavus alters the viable seed bank in pastures. Eur J Soil Biol 42:157–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bello F, Lepš J, Sebastià MT (2005) Predictive value of plant traits to grazing along a climatic gradient in the Mediterranean. J Appl Ecol 42:824–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bello F, Lepš J, Sebastià MT (2006) Variations in species and functional plant diversity along climatic and grazing gradients. Ecography 29:801–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bello F, Lepš J, Sebastià MT (2007) Grazing effect on species and functional diversity along a climatic gradient. J Veg Sci 18:25–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean WRJ, Milton SJ, Klotz S (1997) The role of ant nest-mounds in maintaining small-scale patchiness in dry grasslands in Central Germany. Biodivers Conserv 6:1293–1307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dostál P (2005) Effect of three mound-building ant species on the formation of soil seed bank in mountain grassland. Flora 200:148–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Dostál P, Březnová M, Kozlíčková V, Herben T, Kovář P (2005) Ant-induced soil modification and its effect on plant below-ground biomass. Pedobiologia 49:127–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Espadaler X, Gómez C (1996) Seed production, predation and dispersal in the Mediterranean myrmecochore Euphorbia characias (Euphorbiaceae). Ecography 19:7–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folgarait PJ, Perelman S, Gorosito N, Pizzio R, Fernandez J (2002) Effects of Camponotus punctulatus ants on plant community composition and soil properties across land-use histories. Plant Ecol 163:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrido JL, Rey PJ, Herrera CM (2005) Pre- and post-germination determinants of spatial variation in recruitment in the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus L. (Ranunculaceae). J Ecol 93:60–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson DJ, Freeman CC, Hulbert LC (1990) Effects of small mammal and invertebrate herbivory on plant species richness and abundance in tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 84:169–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Gigon A, Leutert A (1996) The dynamic keyhole-key model of coexistence to explain diversity of plants in limestone and other grasslands. J Veg Sci 7:29–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-García D, Borghi CE, Giannoni SM (1995) Vegetation differences caused by pine vole mound building in subalpine plant communities in the Spanish Pyrenees. Vegetatio 117:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-García D, Azorín J, Giannoni SM, Borghi CE (2004) How does Merendera montana (L.) Lange (Liliaceae) benefit from being consumed by mole-voles? Plant Ecol 172:173–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez C, Espadaler X, Bas JM (2005) Ant behaviour and seed morphology: a missing link of myrmecochory. Oecologia 146:244–246

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb PJ, Kelly D, Mitchley J (1982) The control of relative abundance in communities of herbaceous plants. In: Newman EI (ed) The plant community as a working mechanism. Blackwell Scientific Publication, Oxford, pp 79–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Herben T, Krahulec F, Hadincová V, Skálová H (1993) Small-scale variability as a mechanism for large-scale stability in mountain grasslands. J Veg Sci 4:163–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs RJ, Mooney HA (1985) Community and population dynamics of serpentine grassland annuals in relation to gopher disturbances. Oecologia 67:342–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubbell SP (2001) The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe HF, Zorn-Arnold B, Sullivan A, Brown JS (2006) Massive and distinctive effects of meadow voles on grassland vegetation. Ecology 87:3007–3013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jentsch A, Beierkuhnlein C, White PS (2002a) Scale, the dynamic stability of forest ecosystems, and the persistence of biodiversity. Silva Fennica 36:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Jentsch A, Friedrich S, Beyschlag W, Nezadal W (2002b) Significance of ant and rabbit disturbances for seedling establishment in dry acidic grasslands dominated by Corynephorus canescens. Phytocoenologia 32:553–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King TJ (1977) The plant ecology of ant-hills in calcareous grasslands II. Succession on the mounds. J Ecol 65:257–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kovář P, Kovářová M, Dostál P, Herben T (2001) Vegetation of ant-hills in a mountain grassland: effects of mound history and of dominant ant species. Plant Ecol 156:215–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepš J, Smilauer P (2003) Multivariate analysis of ecological data using CANOCO. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • McConnaughay KDM, Bazzaz FA (1991) Is physical space a soil resource? Ecology 72:94–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milton SJ, Dean WR, Klotz S (1997) Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in Central Germany. J Veg Sci 8:45–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montalvo J, Casado MA, Levassor C, Pineda FD (1993) Species-diversity patterns in Mediterranean grasslands. J Veg Sci 4:213–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olff H, Ritchie ME (1998) Effects of herbivores on grassland plant diversity. Trends Ecol Evol 13:261–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Otsus M, Zobel M (2002) Small-scale turnover in a calcareous grassland, its pattern and components. J Veg Sci 13:199–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rebollo S, Perez-Camacho L, Valencia J, Gómez-Sal A (2003) Vole mound effects and disturbance rate in a Mediterranean plant community under different grazing and irrigation regimes. Plant Ecol 169:227–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reiné R, Chocarro C, Fillat F (2006) Spatial patterns in seed bank and vegetation of semi-natural mountain meadows. Plant Ecol 186:151–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers WE, Hartnett DC (2001) Temporal vegetation dynamics and recolonization mechanisms on different-sized soil disturbances in tallgrass prairie. Am J Bot 88:1634–1642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romme WH, Everham EH, Frelich LE, Moritz MA, Sparks RE (1998) Are large, infrequent disturbances qualitatively different from small, frequent disturbances? Ecosystems 1:524–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez AM, Azcárate FM, Peco B (2006) Effects of harvester ants on seed availability and dispersal of Lavandula stoechas subsp pedunculata in a Mediterranean grassland-scrubland mosaic. Plant Ecol 185:49–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sebastià MT (2004) Role of topography and soils in grassland structuring at the landscapes and community scales. Basic Appl Ecol 5:331–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sebastià M-T, de Bello F, Puig L, Taull M (2008) Grazing as a factor structuring grasslands in the Pyrenees. Appl Veg Sci 11:215–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith FR, Yeaton RI (1998) Disturbance by the mound-building termite, Trinevitermes trinervoides, and vegetation patch dynamics in a semi-arid, southern African grassland. Plant Ecol 137:41–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thórhallsdóttir TE (1990) The dynamics of a grassland community: a simultaneous investigation of spatial and temporal heterogeneity at various scales. J Ecol 78:884–908

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1982) Resource competition and community structure. Monographs in Population Biology. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 310 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner MG, Dale VH (1998) Comparing large, infrequent disturbances: What have we learned? Ecosystems 1:493–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner MG, Baker WL, Peterson CJ, Peet RK (1998) Factors influencing succession: lessons from large, infrequent natural disturbances. Ecosystems 1:511–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tutin TG, Heywood VH, Burger NA, Moore DM, Valentino DH, Walters SM, Webb DA (eds) (1964–1980) Flora Europaea, vol 1–5. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Van der Maarel E (1993) Some remarks on disturbance and its relation to diversity and stability. J Veg Sci 4:733–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Maarel E, Sykes MT (1993) Small-scale plant species turnover in a limestone grassland: the carousel model and some comments on the niche concept. J Veg Sci 4:179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White PS (1979) Pattern, process, and natural disturbance in vegetation. Bot Rev 45:229–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Sebastià Pons and Mentxu Arandia for field work assistance, and the staff at the Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research, particularly H. Riedl and P. Chen, for helpful advice. Xavier Espadaler provided many useful comments on ant ecology and determined the ant species. The Parc Natural Cadí-Moixerò facilitated the development of this study, and the Fundació Pública Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs (Diputació de Lleida) provided funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia, Pujada del Seminari s/n, 25280, Solsona, Spain

    Maria-Teresa Sebastià

  2. Agronomical Engineering School, University of Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain

    Maria-Teresa Sebastià & Laura Puig

Authors
  1. Maria-Teresa Sebastià
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laura Puig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria-Teresa Sebastià.

Additional information

Nomenclature of the species follows Tutin et al. (1964–1980) and Bolòs et al. (1993).

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

(DOC 60 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sebastià, MT., Puig, L. Complex vegetation responses to soil disturbances in mountain grassland. Plant Ecol 199, 77–88 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-008-9413-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-008-9413-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation