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Plant species diversity in remnant grasslands on arable soils in the cropping Pampa

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Abstract

In order to provide a baseline for management decisions, we evaluated vegetation heterogeneity among 38 remnant grasslands located on high agronomic potential soils along a five degree-east–west transect in the cropping Pampa. This extensive region has been cultivated for well over a century, small-scale traditional forms of agriculture were progressively replaced with large-scale industrial forms and its cropped area has more than doubled in the last 25 years, threatening the maintenance of biodiversity associated to productive soils. We characterized the diversity of this grassland patches, identified its main environmental drivers and searched for factors that favor their invasion by exotic plant species. Vegetation samples were analysed through Canonical Correspondence Analysis, proportional distribution of functional groups was compared and regression models were estimated to identify variables associated with exotic species importance. Water availability, determined by climate and soil characteristics, was the main driving factor of floristic heterogeneity in these grasslands. Exotic richness, mostly of Eurasian species, increases toward the east, related to proximity to the entrance port. The functional group of C4 native grasses seems to be responsible for biotic resistance to invasion. More than 80% of the species recorded during the first vegetation registers in 1930 are still present, while the number of exotics was seven-fold increased. Despite covering small areas as isolated stands, these are hot spots of native biodiversity and must be the object of increasing attention for conservation and restoration in order to protect the biodiversity of an extensive agricultural landscape.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Universidad de Buenos Aires (Programa UBACYT) and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT), Argentina. We thank specialists from the Instituto Darwinion and from the Chair of Botany (Universidad of Buenos Aires) for identification of plant specimens, and to two anonymous reviewers for their useful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFEVA-Facultad de Agronomía, UBA/CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Silvia E. Burkart, Rolando J. C. León & Susana B. Perelman

  2. Departamento Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía, UBA, Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Silvia E. Burkart & Rolando J. C. León

  3. Departamento Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información, Facultad de Agronomía, UBA, Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María C. Conde & Susana B. Perelman

Authors
  1. Silvia E. Burkart
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  2. Rolando J. C. León
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  3. María C. Conde
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  4. Susana B. Perelman
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Correspondence to Susana B. Perelman.

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Burkart, S.E., León, R.J.C., Conde, M.C. et al. Plant species diversity in remnant grasslands on arable soils in the cropping Pampa. Plant Ecol 212, 1009–1024 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9881-z

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