Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Clonal Growth Strategies Along Flooding and Grazing Gradients in Atlantic Coastal Meadows

  • Published:
Folia Geobotanica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Specific composition and species clonal traits were characterized along combined flooding and grazing gradients to answer two questions. i) To what extent does the interaction of flooding and grazing influence the clonal characteristics of the vegetation? ii) Are the effects of both environmental factors independent or interactive? This study was carried out in a wet meadow along the Atlantic coast (France). Three plant communities (hygrophilous, meso-hygrophilous and mesophilous) were distinguished along a flooding gradient and five levels of grazing pressure were controlled through an experimental design (from no grazing to heavy grazing). We monitored species composition and retrieved, for each species, the type of clonal growth organs (CGOs) and clonal traits from the CLO-PLA3 database. We identified two syndromes of clonal traits: “above-ground splitters” and “below-ground integrators”. Clonal traits played a key role in plant assembly in the studied meadows. The interaction of both environmental factors selected for particular syndromes of clonal traits; however, flooding had a stronger filtering effect than grazing. The hygrophilous community was dominated by above-ground splitters, whereas the meso-hygrophilous vegetation was dominated by below-ground integrators. In the mesophilous community, clonal composition was the most diverse and shared clonal traits with the vegetation of both the hygrophilous and meso-hygrophilous communities. Grazing impact on CGOs and clonal traits differed between plant communities, i.e., the effect of grazing was modulated by the flooding regime. This study confirmed that vegetation responses to grazing might depend on the pool of traits, primarily filtered by environmental factors such as flooding.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler PB, Raff DA, Laurenroth WK (2001) The effect of grazing on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation. Oecologia 128:465–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amiaud B (1998) Dynamique végétale d’un écosystème prairial soumis à différentes modalités de pâturage. Exemple des communaux du Marais Poitevin (Dynamics of a prairial ecosystem submitted to different grazing regimes. Example of common wet meadows in the Marais Poitevin). PhD thesis, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes

  • Austrheim G, Mysterud A, Pedersen B, Halvorsen R, Hassel K, Evju M (2008) Large scale experimental effects of three levels of sheep density on an alpine ecosystem. Oikos 117:837–846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banach K, Banach AM, Lamers LPM, de Kroon H, Bennicelli RP, Smits AJM, Visser EJW (2009) Differences in flooding tolerance between species from two wetland habitats with contrasting hydrology: implications for vegetation development in future floodwater retention areas. Ann Bot (Oxford) 103: 341–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrat-Segretain MH, Bornette G, Hering-Vilas-Bôas A (1998) Comparative abilities of vegetative regeneration among aquatic plants growing in disturbed habitats. Aquatic Bot 60:201–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blom CWPM (1999) Adaptations to flooding stress: from plant community to molecule. Pl Biol 1:261–273

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blom CWPM, Voesenek LACJ (1996) Flooding: the survival strategies of plants. Trends Ecol Evol 11:290–295

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonis A, Bouzillé JB, Amiaud B, Loucougaray G (2005) Plant community patterns in old embanked grasslands and the survival of halophytic flora. Flora 200:74–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Briske DD (1996) Strategies of plant survival in grazed systems: a functional interpretation. In Hodgson J, Illius AW (eds) The ecology and management of grazing systems. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 33–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaneton EJ, Facelli JM (1991) Disturbance effects on plant community diversity: spatial scales and dominance hierarchies. Pl Ecol 93:143–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chessel D, Dufour AB, Thioulouse J (2004) The ade4 package – I – One-table methods. R News 4:5–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RMM (1996) Whole plant adaptations to fluctuating water tables. Folia Geobot Phytotax 31:7–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RMM, Brändle R (1996) Oxygen deprivation stress in a changing environment. J Exp Bot 47:145–159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crawley MJ (2007) The R book. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester

    Book  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 

  • del-Val E, Crawley MJ (2005) Are grazing increaser species better tolerators than decreasers? An experimental assessment of defoliation tolerance in eight British grassland species. J Ecol 93:1005–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • des Abbayes H, Claustres G, Corillon R, Dupont P (1971) Flore et végétation du Massif armoricain (Flora and vegetation of the Armorican Massif). Presses universitaires de Bretagne, Saint-Brieuc

  • Díaz S, Lavorel S, McIntyre S, Falczuk V, Casanoves F, Michunas DG, Skarpe C, Rusch G, Sternberg M, Noy-Meir I, Landsberg J, Zhang W, Clark H, Campbell BD (2007) Plant trait responses to grazing – a global synthesis. Global Change Biol 13:313–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolédec S, Chessel D (1991) Recent development in linear ordination methods for environmental sciences. Advances Ecol 1:133–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Dong M, de Kroon H (1994) Plasticity in morphology and biomass allocation in Cynodon dactylon, a grass species forming stolons and rhizomes. Oikos 70:99–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong M, Pierdominici MG (1995) Morphology and growth of stolons and rhizomes in three clonal grasses, as affected by different light supply. Vegetatio 116:25–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Evju M, Austrheim G, Halvorsen R, Mysterud A (2009) Grazing responses in herbs in relation to herbivore selectivity and plant traits in an alpine ecosystem. Oecologia 161:77–85

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grace J (1993) The adaptive significance of clonal reproduction in angiosperms: an aquatic perspective. Aquatic Bot 44:159–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP (1977) Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory. Amer Naturalist 111:1169–1194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross N, Suding K, Lavorel S (2007) Leaf dry matter content and lateral spread predict response to land use change for six subalpine grassland species. J Veg Sci 18:289–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper JL (1977) Population biology of plants. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntly N (1991) Herbivores and the dynamic of communities and ecosystems. Annual Rev Ecol Syst 22:477–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Insausti P, Chaneton EJ, Soriano A (1999) Flooding reverted grazing effects on plant community structure in mesocosms of lowland grassland. Oikos 84:266–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwasa Y, Kubo T (1997) Optimal size of storage for recovery after unpredictable disturbances. Evol Ecol 11:41–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson MB, Drew MC (1984) Effects of flooding on growth and metabolism of herbaceous plants. In Kozlowsky TT (ed) Flooding and plant growth. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Florida, pp 47–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Jutila H (1999) Effect of grazing on the vegetation of shore meadows along the Bothnian Sea, Finland. Pl Ecol 140:77–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleyer M, Bekker RM, Knevel IC, Bakker JP, Thompson K, Sonnenschein M, Poschlod P, van Groenendael JM, Klimeš L, Klimešová J, Klotz S, Rusch GM, Hermy M, Adriaens D, Boedeltje G, Bossuyt B, Dannemann A, Endels P, Götzenberger L, Hodgson JG, Jackel AK, Kühn I, Kunzmann D, Ozinga WA, Römermann C, Stadler M, Schlegelmilch J, Steendam HJ, Tackenberg O, Wilmann B, Cornelissen JHC, Eriksson O, Garnier E, Peco B (2008) The LEDA Traitbase: A database of life history traits of Northwest European flora. J Ecol 96:1266–1274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klimeš L, Klimešová J (2002) The effects of mowing and fertilization on carbohydrate reserves and regrowth of grasses: do they promote plant coexistence in species-rich meadows? Evol Ecol 15:363–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klimeš L, Klimešová J (2005) Clonal traits. In Knevel IC, Bekker RM, Kunzmann D, Stadler M, Thompson K (eds) The Leda traitbase. Collecting and measuring standards of life-history traits of the Northwest European flora. LEDA Traitbase project, University of Groningen, Community and Conservation Ecology group, Groningen, pp 66–88

  • Klimeš L, Klimešová J, Hendricks R, van Groenendael J (1997) Clonal plant architecture: a comparative analysis of form and function. In de Kroon H, van Groenendael J (eds) The ecology and evolution of clonal plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Klimešová J, de Bello F (2009) CLO-PLA: the database of clonal and bud bank traits of Central European flora. J Veg Sci 20:511–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klimešová J, Klimeš L (2008) Clonal growth diversity and bud banks of plants in the Czech flora: an evaluation using the CLO-PLA3 database. Preslia 80:255–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Klimešová J, Latzel V, de Bello F, van Groenendael JM (2008) Plant functional traits in studies of vegetation changes in response to grazing and mowing: towards a use of more specific traits. Preslia 80:245–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical ecology. Ed 2. Elsevier, Amsterdam

  • Lenssen JPM, van Kleunen M, Fischer M, de Kroon H (2004) Local adaptation of clonal plant Ranunculus reptans to flooding along a small-scale gradient. J Ecol 92:696–706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loucougaray G, Bonis A, Bouzillé JB (2004) Effects of grazing by horses and/or cattle on the diversity of coastal grasslands in western France. Biol Conservation 116:59–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ménard C, Ducan P, Fleurance G, George JY, Lila M (2002) Comparative foraging and nutrition in horses and cattle in Europe wetlands. J Appl Ecol 39:120–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mesléard F, Lepart J, Grillas P, Mauchamp A (1999) Effects of seasonal flooding and grazing on the vegetation of former ricefields in the Rhône delta (Southern France). Pl Ecol 145:101–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen J, Ingvarsson PK, Walton DWH (1999) Estimates of structural complexity in clonal plant morphology: comparisons of grazed and ungrazed Acaena magellanica rhizomes. Canad J Bot 77:869–876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oesterheld M, McNaughton SJ (1991) Interactive effect of flooding and grazing on the growth of Serengeti grasses. Oecologia 88:153–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J, Kindt R, Legendre P, O’Hara B, Simpson GL, Solymos P, Stevens MHH, Wagner H (2008) Vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 1.15-1. Available at: http://cran.r-project.org/, http://vegan.r-forge.r-project.org

  • Olofsson J (2006) Short- and long-term effects of changes in reindeer grazing pressure on tundra heath vegetation. J Ecol 94:431–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pakeman RJ (2004) Consistency of plant species and trait responses to grazing along a productivity gradient: a multi-site analysis. J Ecol 92:893–905

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pakeman RJ, Pywell RF, Wells TCE (2002) Species spread and persistence: implications for experimental design and habitat re-creation. Appl Veg Sci 5:75–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pakeman RJ, Lepš J, Kleyer M, Lavorel S, Garnier E, the VISTA consortium (2009) Relative climatic, edaphic and management controls of plant functional trait signatures. J Veg Sci 20:148–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings S, Callaway R (2000) The advantages of clonal integration under different ecological conditions: a community-wide test. Ecology 81:709–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Puijalon S, Bouma TJ, van Groenendael J, Bornette G (2008) Clonal plasticity of aquatic plant species submitted to mechanical stress: escape versus resistance strategy. Ann Bot (Oxford) 102:989–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. Available at: http://www.R-project.org

  • Rossignol N, Bonis A, Bouzillé J-B (2006) Relationships between grazing pattern and vegetation structure on the spatial variations of net N mineralisation in a wet grassland. Appl Soil Ecol 31:62–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sammul M, Kull K, Niitla T, Möls T (2004) A comparison of plant communities on the basis of their clonal growth patterns. Evol Ecol 18:443–467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santamaria L (2002) Why are most aquatic plants widely distributed? Dispersal, clonal growth and small-scale heterogeneity in a stressful environment. Acta Oecol 23:137–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sosnová M, van Diggelen R, Klimešová (2010) Distribution of clonal growth forms in wetlands. Aquatic Bot 92:33–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soukupová L (1994) Allocation plasticity and modular structure in clonal graminoids in response to waterlogging. Folia Geobot Phytotax 29:227–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuefer J, Huber H (1999) The role of stolon internodes for ramet survival after clone fragmentation in Potentilla anserina. Ecol Lett 2:135–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki J, Stuefer J (1999) On the ecological and evolutionary significance of storage in clonal plants. Pl Spec Biol 14:11–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamm A, Kull K, Sammul M (2002) Classifying clonal growth forms based on vegetative mobility and ramet longevity: a whole community analysis. Evol Ecol 15:383–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Eck WHJM, van de Steeg HM, Blom CWPM, de Kroon (2004) Is tolerance to summer flooding correlated with distribution patterns in river floodplains? A comparative study of 20 terrestrial grassland species. Oikos 107:393–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Groenendael JM, Klimeš L, Klimešová J, Hendricks R (1996) Comparative ecology of clonal plants. Phil Trans, Ser B 351:1331–1339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiher E, van der Werf A, Thompson K, Roderick M, Garnier E, Eriksson O (1999) Challenging Theophrastus: a common core list of plant traits for functional ecology. J Veg Sci 10:609–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the persons who provided technical support for this study, in particular Stéphane Barbier for his contribution toward data collection. We are grateful to Jitka Klimešová and Tomáš Herben for their proposition to contribute to this special issue of Folia Geobotanica. We also would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of this manuscript, which proved very helpful for its improvement. The English content has been corrected by Sarah Mullin. This work is a publication from the DIVHERB Project (French national program ECOGER funded by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) and a contribution to GDR 2574 “TRAITS”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR CNRS 6553, ECOBIO, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Marie-Lise Benot, Cendrine Mony, Amandine Merlin, Benoit Marion, Jan-Bernard Bouzillé & Anne Bonis

Authors
  1. Marie-Lise Benot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cendrine Mony
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Amandine Merlin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Benoit Marion
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jan-Bernard Bouzillé
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anne Bonis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie-Lise Benot.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Benot, ML., Mony, C., Merlin, A. et al. Clonal Growth Strategies Along Flooding and Grazing Gradients in Atlantic Coastal Meadows. Folia Geobot 46, 219–235 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-010-9082-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-010-9082-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation