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Sampling multi-scale and multi-taxon plant diversity data in the subalpine and alpine habitats of Switzerland: Report on the 14th EDGG Field Workshop

Posted on November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 by David Zeleny

By Jürgen Dengler, Beata Cykowska-Marzencka, Timon Bruderer, Christian Dolnik, Patrick Neumann, Susanne Riedel, Hallie Seiler, Jinghui Zhang & Iwona Dembicz

Sampling an acidic subalpine grassland at Alp Glivers, canton of Grisons, Switzerland, with the nested-plot methodology of EDGG. Photo credit: Jürgen Dengler.

JVS 2020/6 contains Special Feature “Dispersal and Establishment”

Posted on November 9, 2020November 9, 2020 by Milan Chytry

The new issue of JVS contains 16 articles of the Special Feature “Plant dispersal and establishment as drivers of vegetation dynamics and resilience”, edited by Péter Török, James M. Bullock, Borja Jiménez-Alfaro and Judit Sonkoly.

The title picture by Anton Korablev shows the establishment of pioneer plants on a volcanic plateau in Kamchatka, Russia.

Palaearctic Grasslands 47 is published

Posted on November 8, 2020November 12, 2020 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Jürgen Dengler (Deputy Chief Editor of Palaearctic Grasslands)

The new issue of Palaearctic Grasslands, EDGG’s scientific journal and magazine is out, and you can read the complete issue here. On 75 richly illustrated pages, it contains reports and announcements from EDGG activities, a long Scientific Report on the 14th EDGG Field Workshop, three Photo Stories, two Glimpses of a Grassland, Short Contributions and a Book Review.…

How does the Kalahari vegetation response to seasonal climate and herbivory?

Posted on November 4, 2020November 4, 2020 by David Zeleny

The post provided by Ute Schmiedel

One of our permanent plots in the Kalahari, South Africa, at the peak of the growing season during an average rainfall season (2013) and after several years of very low rainfall (2015). The grazing herbivores removed most of the grass biomass and provided vegetation gaps for the new plants to grow.

Endozoochory of the same community of plants lacking fleshy fruits by storks and gulls

Posted on October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 by David Zeleny

By Víctor Martín-Vélez, Ádám Lovas-Kiss, Marta I. Sánchez and Andy J. Green

Sampling bird faeces and regurgitates from a dyke alongside recently harvested ricefields in Doñana, south-west Spain. Photo credit: Andy J. Green.

We teach our children that seeds disperse in different manners according to their morphology, and how only those inside berries and other fleshy fruits are able to disperse inside birds, a process known as “endozoochory”.…

Environmental variables driving species composition in Subarctic springs in the face of climate change

Posted on October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Tara K. Miller, Einar Heegaard, Kristian Hassel & Jutta Kapfer

A spring in Kvannfjellet in Balsfjord county, Norway. Photo credit: Jutta Kapfer.

Springs are important ecosystems to support biodiversity. They are fed by groundwater and are critical for maintaining high biodiversity because of the specific and stable habitat conditions they provide: high water quality, consistent temperatures, and low seasonal variability.…

The ecological filters in restoration practice

Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020 by David Zeleny

The post provided by Paweł Waryszak

Paweł Waryszak, the main author of this study, records seedlings emergence on restoration study site after topsoil transfer. Photo credit: William Fowler.

This post refers to the article Best served deep: the seedbank from salvaged topsoil underscores the role of the dispersal filter in restoration practice by Waryszak et al.…

Why we still need permanent plots for vegetation science

Posted on October 18, 2020 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Francesco de Bello, Enrique Valencia, David Ward & Lauren Hallett

A dedicated researcher (Jan Lepš, Šuspa, with the help of Tereza Dudíková) doing an annual sampling of species frequency in a species rich meadow, Ohrazení, south Bohemia (photo from 2008).

Drivers of biodiversity depend on spatial grain and plant group: new paper from the EDGG Field Workshop to Bulgarian dry grasslands

Posted on October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Jürgen Dengler & Iwona Dembicz

A thorough sampling of an “EDGG Biodiversity Plot” is a time-consuming and almost meditative procedure. Photo credit: Jürgen Dengler.

This Behind the paper post refers to the article by Dembicz et al. Drivers of plant diversity in Bulgarian dry grasslands vary across spatial scales and functional-taxonomic groups, published in the Journal of Vegetation Science (https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12935…

Habitat type and island identity as drivers of community assembly in an archipelago

Posted on October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 by David Zeleny

By Alessandro Chiarucci, Fabrizio Buldrini, Marco Cervellini, Riccardo Guarino, Marco Caccianiga, Bruno Foggi, Daniele Viciani, Lorenzo Lazzaro, Laura Casella, Pierangela Angelini, Bruno Enrico Leone Cerabolini, Salvatore Pasta, Mirko Enea & Piero Zannini