Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variability in Mediterranean annual grassland diversity driven by small-scale changes in fertility and radiation

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using the small-scale gradients in light and fertility imposed by the presence of trees on Mediterranean open oak woodlands, we studied differences in the ecology, floristic diversity and species composition of an annual grassland, and modeled plant relationships with soil properties and radiation using generalized linear models. The strong intra-annual variability in the annual grassland greatly affected overall floristic diversity estimates. Therefore, sampling at least twice during the annual growing period was important to avoid underestimating floristic composition. As has been found in previous studies, different groups of grasses were clearly shaped as a response to the ecological gradient created by the influence of the tree. However, when analyzing specific relationships, only a few individual species directly responded to the studied soil and light availability factors analyzed. Among them, those species considered ‘ruderal’ such as Carduus tenuiflorus, Echium plantagineum, Lolium rigidum, Rumex bucephalophorus, and Tolpis barbata showed a clear response to some nutrients and to light availability but displayed no relationship to N soil content. Our results suggest that individual species are responding to a combination of ecological factors. Therefore, some of the generally accepted assumptions regarding the ecology of specific taxa may not be as straightforward as traditionally considered.

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
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Austin MP, Williams OB, Belbin L (1985) Grassland dynamics under sheep grazing in an Australian Mediterranean type climate. Vegetatio 47:201–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky AJ (1994) Influences of trees on savanna productivity: tests of shade nutrients and tree-grass competition. Ecology 75:922–932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Maestre FT, Callaway RM, Lortie CL, Cavieres LA, Kunstler G, Liancourt P, Tielbörger K, Travis JMJ, Anthelme F, Armas C, Coll L, Corcket E, Delzon S, Forey E, Kikvidze Z, Olofsson J, Pugnaire F, Quiroz CL, Saccone P, Schiffers K, Seifan M, Touzard B, Michalet R (2008) Facilitation in plant communities: the past the present and the future. J Ecol 96:18–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Walker LR (1997) Competition and facilitation: a synthetic approach to interactions in plant communities. Ecology 78(7):1958–1965

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Miguel JM, Ramírez-Sanz L, Castro I, Costa-Tenorio M, Casado MA, Pineda FD (2005) Plant species richness and spatial organization at different small scales in western Mediterranean landscapes. Plant Ecol 176:185–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diggle PJ, Heagerty P, Liang K-Y, Zeger SL (2002) Analysis of longitudinal data. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Frazer GW, Canham CD, Lertzman KP (1999) Gap Light Analyzer (GLA): imaging software to extract canopy structure and gap light transmission indices from truecolour fisheye photographs users manual and program documentation. Simon Fraser University Burnaby BC and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallardo A (2003) Effect of tree canopy on the spatial distribution of soil nutrients in a Mediterranean Dehesa. Pedobiologia 47:117–125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gallardo A, Rodríguez-Saucedo JJ, Covelo F, Fernández Alés R (2000) Soil nitrogen heterogeneity in a Dehesa ecosystem. Plant Soil 222:71–82

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gea-Izquierdo G, Sasha G, Bartolome JW (2007) Assessing plant-nutrient relationships in highly invaded Californian grasslands using non-normal probability distributions. Appl Veg Sci 10:343–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gea-Izquierdo G, Montero G, Cañellas I (2009) Changes in limiting resources determine spatio-temporal variability in tree–grass interactions. Agrofor Syst 76:375–387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gea-Izquierdo G, Allen-Diaz B, San Miguel-Ayanz A, Cañellas I (2010) How do trees affect spatio-temporal heterogeneity of nutrient cycling in Mediterranean annual grassland? Ann For Sci 67:112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González Bernáldez F, Morey M, Velasco F (1969) Influences of Quercus ilex rotundifolia on the herb layer at the El Pardo forest (Madrid). Boletín de la Real Soc Española de Historia Nat (Biol) 67:265–284

    Google Scholar 

  • González Ponce R, Sentín Montoya I (2007) Effect of nitrogen fertilization schedule and herbicide on competition between barley and ryegrass. J Plant Nutr 30:783–794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross KL, Mittelbach GG, Reynolds HL (2005) Grassland invisibility and diversity: responses to nutrients seed input and disturbance. Ecology 86(2):476–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guisan A, Edwards TC Jr, Hastie T (2002) Generalized linear and generalized additive models in studies of species distributions: setting the scene. Ecol Model 157:89–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hacker SD, Gaines SD (1997) Some implications of direct positive interactions for community species diversity. Ecology 78:1990–2003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huenneke LF, Mooney HA (1989) Grassland structure and function: California annual grassland. Kluwer, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical ecology. Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamolos AP, Veresoglou DS, Barbayiannis N (1995) Plant species abundance and tissue concentrations of limiting nutrients in low-nutrient grasslands: a test of competition theory. J Ecol 83(3):485–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marañón T (1985) Diversidad florística y heterogeneidad ambiental en una dehesa de Sierra Morena. Anal de Edafol y Agrobiol XLIV(7-8):1183–1197

    Google Scholar 

  • Marañón T (1986) Plant species richness and canopy effect in the savanna-like “dehesa” of S.W. Spain. Ecol Mediterr XII(1–2):131–141

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Turanzas GA, Coffin DP, Burke IC (1997) Development of microtopography in a semi-arid grassland: effects of disturbance size and soil texture. Plant Soil 191:163–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullagh P, Nelder JA (1989) Generalized linear models. Chapman & Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Mefford MJ (1999) PC-ORD. Multivariate analysis of ecological data. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, OR

    Google Scholar 

  • Molenberghs G, Verbeke G (2005) Models for discrete longitudinal data, 1st edn. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, New York, NY

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narwal S, Sindel BM, Jessop RS (2008) Dormancy and longevity of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) as affected by soil type depth rainfall and duration of burial. Plant Soil 310:225–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olea L, San Miguel-Ayanz A (2006) The Spanish dehesa: a traditional Mediterranean silvopastoral system linking production and nature conservation. Grassl Sci Eur 11:3–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Peco B (1989) Modelling Mediterranean pasture dynamics. Vegetatio 83:269–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds HL, Hungate BA, Chapin FS III, D’Antonio C (1997) Soil heterogeneity and plant competition in an annual grassland. Ecology 78(7):2076–2090

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades CC (1997) Single-tree influences on soil properties in agroforestry: lessons from natural forest and savanna ecosystems. Agrofor Syst 35:71–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivas-Martínez S, Rivas-Saenz S (2010) Worldwide bioclimatic classification system 1996–2009. Phytosociological Research Center, Spain. http://www.globalbioclimatics.org. Accessed 10 April 2010

  • San Miguel-Ayanz A (2001) Pastos naturales españoles. Mundi-Prensa-Fundación Conde del Valle de Salazar, Madrid

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute Inc. (2002) SAS/STAT® 9.0 User’s Guide. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholes R, Archer SR (1997) Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 28:517–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Andel J, Vera F (1997) Reproductive allocation in Senecio sylvaticus and Chamaenerion angustifolium in relation to mineral nutrition. J Ecol 65:747–758

    Google Scholar 

  • Westhoff W, van der Maarel E (1978) The Braun-Blanquet approach. In: Whittaker RH (ed) Classification of plant communities. Junk, The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RJ, Willis KJ, Field R (2001) Scale and species richness: towards a general hierarchical theory of species diversity. J Biogeogr 28:453–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to the “Dehesón del Encinar” and Celia López-Carrasco for their help in setting up the plots, to Agustín Rubio Sánchez for his help with methodology and to the three anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Silvopascicultura, E.T.S.I Montes, UPM, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    J. Fernández-Moya & A. San Miguel-Ayanz

  2. Departamento Sistemas y Recursos Forestales, CIFOR-INIA.Crta, La Coruña km 7.5, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    I. Cañellas

  3. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    G. Gea-Izquierdo

Authors
  1. J. Fernández-Moya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. San Miguel-Ayanz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. I. Cañellas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. Gea-Izquierdo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Fernández-Moya.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 94 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fernández-Moya, J., San Miguel-Ayanz, A., Cañellas, I. et al. Variability in Mediterranean annual grassland diversity driven by small-scale changes in fertility and radiation. Plant Ecol 212, 865–877 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9869-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9869-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation