Changes in plant species composition of coastal dune habitats over a 20-year period

AoB Plants
Silvia Del VecchioAngela Stanisci

Abstract

Coastal sandy ecosystems are increasingly being threatened by human pressure, causing loss of biodiversity, habitat degradation and landscape modifications. However, there are still very few detailed studies focussing on compositional changes in coastal dune plant communities over time. In this work, we investigated how coastal dune European Union (EU) habitats (from pioneer annual beach communities to Mediterranean scrubs on the landward fixed dunes) have changed during the last 20 years. Using phytosociological relevés conducted in 1989-90 and in 2010-12, we investigated changes in floristic composition over time. We then compared plant cover and the proportion of ruderal, alien and habitat diagnostic species ('focal species') in the two periods. Finally, we used Ellenberg indicator values to define the 'preferences' of the plant species for temperature and moisture. We found that only fore dune habitats showed significant differences in species cover between the two time periods, with higher plant cover in the more recent relevés and a significant increase in thermophilic species. Although previous studies have demonstrated consistent habitat loss in this area, we observed that all coastal dune plant communities remain well ...Continue Reading

References

Sep 18, 2009·Medical Law Review·Stefano Biondi
Jul 3, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Forest IsbellSeth Binder
Jul 26, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Weile WangRanga B Myneni
Aug 13, 2013·Comptes rendus biologies·Silvia Del VecchioAngela Stanisci

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Citations

Jun 4, 2016·AoB Plants·Silvia Del VecchioGabriella Buffa
Feb 16, 2018·Frontiers in Microbiology·Fehmida BibiEsam I Azhar

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