ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3627-0347
Current Organisation
University of Adelaide
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/AVSC.12448
Abstract: Niche complementarity is often invoked to explain co‐existence between native and alien plant species in grasslands. However, positive correlations between native and alien plant ersity observed in recent studies could mask the displacement of particular native species and functional groups or the negative effects of particular alien species. We asked: do alien species alter the species composition or proportions of growth forms in grasslands? Do particular alien species decrease native plant ersity? South Australian grasslands. We performed RDA ordination on growth form abundances or Hellinger‐transformed species abundances obtained from plot‐based surveys, constrained by alien species richness and cumulative cover. Control variables (climate, soil, land use and geographic space) were partialled out. We related in idual alien species abundances to native richness, ersity and cover. We tested for functional differences between coexisting growth forms using trait hypervolumes. While alien richness and cover explained just 2% of variance in native species composition (control variables 17%), aliens explained 18% of variance in native growth form abundance (control variables 33%), and were associated with increased herb and grass cover. Few in idual alien species were associated with strong negative or positive differences in native richness, ersity or cover: correlations followed a Gaussian distribution with near‐zero mean. Trait hypervolumes differed between native and alien herbs with an overlap of 0.44, indicating substantial, but not complete, functional differences. Given environmental context, alien cover was a good predictor of native herb and grass abundance relative to woody growth forms, but not of species composition per se. While the direction of causality is equivocal, aliens may facilitate native grasses and herbs, and niche complementarity may be involved. Due to functional redundancy across the species pool, the resulting species composition appears to be spatially contingent. Importantly for management, we identify alien species associated with reduced native ersity.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 11-10-2021
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 15-12-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-11-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-35294-7
Abstract: Understanding the mechanisms that support the arrival, establishment and spread of species over an introduced range is crucial in invasion ecology. We analysed the unintentionally introduced herbaceous species that are naturalised in the five Mediterranean-climate regions. There is an asymmetry in the species flows among regions, being the Iberian Peninsula the main donor to the other regions. At interregional scale, the species’ capacity to spread among regions is related to the ecological versatility of the species in the donor area (Iberian Peninsula). At intraregional scale, the species’ capacity to successfully occupy a complete region first depends on the time elapsed from its introduction and afterwards on the degree of occurrence in the region of origin, which is commonly related to its chance of coming into contact with humans. Information on exotic species in their origin region provides insights into invasion process and decision-making to reduce the risks of future invasions.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.3390/F11090960
Abstract: Research Highlights: Water use efficiency (WUE) varied along a gradient of Juniperus thurifera (L.) forest expansion, being higher in recently colonised areas. Background and Objectives: WUE is a classic physiological process of plants that reflects the compromise between carbon assimilation and water loss and has a profound influence on their performance in water-limited environments. Forest expansion in Mediterranean regions associated with land abandonment can influence the WUE of plants due to the existence of two opposing gradients: one of favourable–unfavourable environmental conditions and another one of increased–decreased intraspecific competition, the former increasing and the latter decreasing towards the expanding front. The main objective of this study was to elucidate how the WUE of Juniperus thurifera varied along the stages of forest expansion and to provide insight on how this variation is influenced by intraspecific competition and abiotic factors. Materials and Methods: Seventeen plots at different distances from the mature forest core were selected at three sites located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. For 30 in iduals within each plot, we measured biometric characteristics, age, tree vigour, and C/N ratio in leaves, and the leaf carbon isotope signature (δ13C (‰)) as a proxy for WUE. Around each in idual, we scored the percentage cover of bare soil, stoniness, conspecifics, and other woody species. Results: WUE of J. thurifera in iduals varied along the forest expansion gradient, being greater for the in iduals at the expanding front than for those at the mature forest. WUE was influenced by the cover of conspecifics, tree age, and C/N ratio in leaves. This pattern reveals that less favourable environmental conditions (i.e., rocky soils and higher radiation due to lower vegetation cover) and younger trees at the expanding front are associated with increased WUE. The increased cover of conspecifics decreases irradiance at the mature forest, involving milder stress conditions than at the expanding front. Conclusions: Lower WUE in mature forests due to more favourable conditions and higher WUE due to abiotic stress at expanding fronts revealed high constraints on water economy of this tree species in these two contrasting situations. Climate change scenarios bringing increased aridity are a serious threat to Juniperus thurifera forests, affecting both mature and juvenile populations although in different ways, which deserve further research to fully unveil.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-06-2018
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 05-08-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.12652
Abstract: Orchids are potentially useful as ecological indicators because of their sensitivity to habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbance. While many studies explore the effect of single factors on orchid ersity, few investigate how the extent, configuration, and condition of surrounding habitat affect whole orchid communities. Here, we unravel the effect of biological invasions, anthropogenic disturbance (i.e., grazing pressure, ecological condition), and habitat fragmentation on an Australian orchid community. We s led 39 plots across nine sites in the Mount Lofty Ranges, Australia. We recorded the number of orchid species and number of in iduals per species in mid‐winter, early‐spring, and late‐spring to account for the effect of season on species visibility, with 115 surveys in total. We ranked grazing intensity and ecological condition, and estimated cover of exotic species. We analyzed the response of richness and ersity through generalized linear mixed models, and differences in species composition through non‐metric multidimensional scaling. Habitat configuration in the surrounding landscape had different effects at increasing radii, explaining 29%–87% of variance. Patch‐level orchid ersity was positively correlated with habitat edges in the immediate area, and with habitat cohesion at medium scales, whereas ersity was negatively correlated with increasing mean patch habitat area across larger surrounding areas. Orchids co‐existed with exotic species but were negatively affected once exotic cover exceeded 20%. Species composition was correlated with exotic cover. Our findings reveal a complex relationship between orchid communities and their surrounding environments suggesting orchids benefit from a somewhat disturbed environment at patch and landscape scales. These idiosyncratic responses suggest orchid ersity may be unreliable as early‐warning indicators of habitat disturbance.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-10-2020
DOI: 10.1002/PAN3.10161
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
Publisher: Universidad de la Rioja
Date: 18-06-2019
DOI: 10.18172/CIG.3681
Abstract: The Anthropocene as a distinct geological era has been the subject of active discussion within the scientific community. This era includes the notion that Homo sapiens has had a large impact on global planetary processes. Here, we aim at connecting the notion and nature of the Anthropocene with the social-economic success and the unexpected or unplanned environmental impacts of the anthropogenic activity. Some of the main achievements along the history of humankind have been important developmental steps for many human civilisations but they have also had undesired results that we could not foresee, including the rise of greenhouse gases emissions, the shifts in the area of species distributions or the affection of all major biogeochemical cycles. Increasing human life expectancy and health has promoted an exponential population growth, which together with the increased environmental footprint per capita has pushed many core variables for Earth functioning (e.g. bio ersity, nitrogen cycle, climate change) out of their safety limits. We illustrate ex les of many ecosystems that have collapsed around the world because we have crossed the limits of their sustainable exploitation. Paradoxically, it is humanity itself who is pushing the Planet to conditions in which our own survival will unlikely be possible. The reason behind such a strong ecological and functional impact on the Planet within a relatively short space of time is an unsustainable economic system based on the assumption that a perpetual economic growth is not only possible but also desirable. Our awakening should lie on a global framework aimed at changing our relationship with the Planet.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.13016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-06-2020
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-04-2021
Abstract: Forest regrowth following farmland (agriculture and pasture) abandonment has been positively associated with a number of processes including the regulation of hydrological cycling, the enhancement of soil functioning and an increase in forest productivity and carbon (C) sequestration. Although these changes in ecosystem functioning post‐farmland abandonment have been observed in multiple locations and studies, the ecophysiological basis underpinning these patterns remains unclear. Here, we examine whether increased forest expansion following pastureland abandonment is associated with greater water‐use efficiency (WUE) and legacies from previous land use in terms of nitrogen (N) availability. We thus explored differences in leaf traits and N availability between recently established (post‐1950) beech Fagus sylvatica (L.) forests on former pastureland and long‐established beech forests (pre‐1950). The investigated leaf traits were SLA, leaf N concentration (%N) and intrinsic WUE (iWUE, i.e. the ratio between photosynthesis and stomatal conductance) as well, leaf and soil stable N isotope composition (δ 15 N) and total %N were used to assess changes in N availability. Finally, we compared the correlation strength between the above‐mentioned parameters and those associated with tree productivity (wood density and basal area increment, BAI) and the richness of ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) in these two forest types. Recent forests had greater iWUE than long‐established forests, which was associated more with lower SLA than leaf %N. Leaf and soil δ 15 N were more robust proxies than %N for detecting differences in N availability. Less negative leaf and soil δ 15 N values in recent versus long‐established forests suggest, on the one hand, greater N availability, probably due to higher historical N input originating from animal excreta on these former pasturelands, and, on the other hand, an increase in N loss pathways. Our results point to greater correlations between leaf δ 15 N, tree iWUE and productivity in recent forests than in long‐established forests, thereby suggesting a close link between C and N cycles. Our findings also highlight different N dynamics between the two forest types, with recent forests showing ‘leaky’ N cycling wherever lower N retention by trees and associated ECM fungi occurs as a legacy of previous land use. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-11-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8344
Abstract: In an era of unprecedented ecological upheaval, monitoring ecosystem change at large spatial scales and over long‐time frames is an essential endeavor of effective environmental management and conservation. However, economic limitations often preclude revisiting entire monitoring networks at high frequency. We aimed here to develop a prioritization strategy for monitoring networks to select a subset of existing sites that meets the principles of complementarity and representativeness of the whole ecological reality, and maximizes ecological complementarity (species accumulation) and the spatial and environmental representativeness. We applied two well‐known approaches for conservation design, the “minimum set” and the “maximal coverage” problems, using a suite of alpha and beta bio ersity metrics. We created a novel function for the R environment that performs bio ersity metric comparisons and site prioritization on a plot‐by‐plot basis. We tested our procedures using plot data provided by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) AusPlots, an Australian long‐term monitoring network of 774 vegetation and soil monitoring plots. We selected 250 plots and 80% of the total species recorded as targets for the maximal coverage and minimum set problems, respectively. We compared the subsets selected by the different bio ersity metrics in terms of complementarity and spatial and environmental representativeness. We found that prioritization based on species turnover (i.e., iterative selection of the most dissimilar plot to a cumulative s le in terms of species replacement) maximized ecological complementarity and spatial representativeness, while also providing high environmental coverage. Species richness was an unreliable metric for spatial representation. Selection based on range‐rarity‐richness was balanced in terms of complementarity and representativeness, whereas its richness‐corrected implementation failed to capture ecological and environmental variation. Prioritization based on species turnover is desirable to cover the maximum variability of the whole network. Synthesis and applications: Our results inform monitoring design and conservation priorities, which can benefit by considering the turnover component of beta ersity in addition to univariate metrics. Our tool is computationally efficient, free, and can be readily applied to any species versus sites dataset, facilitating rapid decision‐making.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 08-01-2013
DOI: 10.1155/2013/142670
Abstract: National and international reports developed for the International Year of Bio ersity concluded that we have failed to meet the 2010 bio ersity target. There is an urgent need to analyze current policies for bio ersity conservation. We examined the anthropomorphic factors underlying the threatened species listings (both red lists and legal lists) and funding allocation for the conservation of vertebrates in Spain at different organizational levels, from the global to subnational level. Our results reveal a strong effect of anthropomorphic factors on conservation policies, mainly legal listings and species priority setting at national scale. Specifically, we found that those vertebrates that are phylogenetically close to humans or physically similar to human neonates tend to receive more conservation attention. Based on results, we suggest recommendations to improve conservation policies in Spain.
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 29-03-2022
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.72.72066
Abstract: Associated with the introduction of alien species in a new area, interactions with other native species within the recipient community occur, reshaping the original community and resulting in a unique assemblage. Yet, the differences in community assemblage between native and invaded ranges remain unclear. Mediterranean grasslands provide an excellent scenario to study community assembly following transcontinental naturalisation of plant species. Here, we compared the community resemblance of plant communities in Mediterranean grasslands from both the native (Spain) and invaded (Chile) ranges. We used a novel approach, based on network analysis applied to co-occurrence analysis in plant communities, allowing us to study the co-existence of native and alien species in central Chile. This useful methodology is presented as a step forward in invasion ecology studies and conservation strategies. We found that community structure differed between the native and the invaded range, with alien species displaying a higher number of connections and, therefore, acting as keystones to sustain the structure within the invaded community. Alien species acting like keystones within the Chilean grassland communities might exacerbate the threat posed by biological invasions for the native bio ersity assets. Controlling the spread of the alien species identified here as keystones should help managing potential invasion in surrounding areas. Network analyses is a free, easy-to-implement and straightforward visual tool that can be widely used to reveal shifts in native communities and elucidate the role of multiple invaders into communities.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-04-2014
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12184
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 24-03-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-09-2017
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 05-07-2023
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.86.104039
Abstract: Determining the factors that pre-adapt plant species to successfully establish and spread outside of their native ranges constitutes a powerful approach with great potential for management. While this source-area approach accounts for the bias associated with species’ regions of origin, it has been only implemented in pools of species known to be established elsewhere. We argue that, in regions with well-known introduction histories, such as the Mediterranean Biome, the consideration of co-dominant non-introduced species as a control group allows a better understanding of the invasion process. For this purpose, we used occurrence data from GBIF and trait data from previous studies to find predictors of establishment and invasion. We compare the frequency, climatic niche and functional traits of 149 co-dominant plant species in their native region in southern Spain, considering whether they have colonised other Mediterranean-climate regions or not and their level of invasion. We found that large native ranges and erse climatic niches were the best predictors of species establishment abroad. Moreover, coloniser species had longer bloom periods, higher growth rates and greater resource acquisition, whereas coloniser species becoming invasive had also greater reproductive height and nitrogen use efficiency. This framework has the potential to improve prediction models and management practices to prevent the harmful impacts from species in invaded communities.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 31-07-2023
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTAC074
Abstract: To maintain recruitment in orchid populations in an ecosystem setting, we must understand how surrounding floral resources affect fruiting success. We studied fruiting success in two endemic Australian species, Diuris pardina and Glossodia major, in relation to surrounding floral resources. Diuris pardina has a visually deceptive pollination strategy via mimicry of pea flowers, attracting pollinators associated with co-flowering plants of Pultenaea. Glossodia major displays dummy anthers and has a more generalist pollination strategy. We expected fruiting success of both species to positively correlate to conspecific and heterospecific floral density because orchid pollination should be enhanced by the attraction of higher densities of native bees. We expected fruiting success of D. pardina to positively correlate with abundance of Pultenaea flowers. Surveying 18 plots in South Australia, we counted species, in iduals and flowers of conspecifics and heterospecifics and returned to count flowers that set fruit. We conducted Pearson correlations between fruiting success and density of conspecific flowers, richness, abundance and Shannon index of surrounding floral resources and floral abundance of in idual species. Fruiting success was correlated with conspecific floral density for D. pardina but not G. major. No relationship was found between fruiting success and heterospecific floral resources. Fruiting success of D. pardina was not correlated with abundance of Pultenaea instead it was positively correlated with the invasive species Lavandula stoechas.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 10-09-2021
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 21-12-2018
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.41.29965
Abstract: Plant traits such as phenological development, growth rate, stress tolerance and seeds production may play an important role in the process of acclimatisation to new environments for introduced plants. Experiments that distinguish phenotypic plasticity from ecotypic differentiation would allow an understanding of the role of plant traits in the invasion process. We quantified the variation in phenological and overall performance traits associated with the invasion process for three herbaceous species native to Spain and invasive to Chile ( Trifoliumglomeratum , Hypochaerisglabra and Leontodonsaxatilis ). We grew plants from native and exotic populations along rainfall gradients in outdoor common gardens, located in the native and the introduced ranges and measured plant survival, phenology (days to flowering), biomass and seed output. Days to flowering was positively correlated with precipitation of the origin population for T.glomeratum and the native populations of H.glabra , but this pattern was not adaptive, as it was not associated with an increase in performance traits of these species. Phenology may instead reflect ecotypic differentiation to the environmental conditions of the original populations. Comparison between ranges (i.e. performance in both common gardens) was only possible for L.saxatilis . This species showed little variation in phenology and both native and exotic populations had higher fitness in the introduced range. This suggests that plasticity enhances invasiveness through increased propagule pressure in the novel environment. Our findings highlight the utility of common garden experiments in examining patterns of phenological and performance traits that relate to species invasiveness.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-05-2016
DOI: 10.1093/JPE/RTW043
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2021
DOI: 10.1111/JVS.13046
Abstract: The Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), Australia's national land ecosystem monitoring programme, measures critical environmental attributes from local to continental scale and generates quality data for research and land management. Since 2011, TERN has performed standardised field surveys and s ling across a national plot network. At each plot, TERN records vegetation structure, composition and ersity, soil characteristics, and collects plant and soil s les for analysis. At the time of submission, TERN has established over 750 plots and performed over 1,000 plot surveys across Australia. Here we present ausplotsR , an R package for the R statistical computing environment that provides a user‐friendly interface to rapidly import, visualise, and analyse TERN plot data. Easy‐to‐use functions extract the data and compile data tables that can be incorporated into a variety of statistical analysis, most notably multivariate applications requiring plant community data with standardised relative abundances. ausplotsR includes functions to calculate useful vegetation metrics, such as species presence/absence, cover, and basal area. The package also provides information on TERN’s extensive soil and plant s le collection. We expect ausplotsR will help facilitate and advance ecological research and management throughout Australia and provide useful data for vegetation modellers globally.
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 26-04-2022
Publisher: California Digital Library (CDL)
Date: 14-09-2023
DOI: 10.32942/X23C70
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S13595-020-00993-7
Abstract: • Key message This special issue gathers articles arising from the ERA-NET Bio ERsA3 research project “Unraveling the Potential of Spontaneous Forest Establishment for Improving Ecosystem Functions and Services in Dynamic Landscapes (SPONFOREST)”. Using a broad spectrum of research approaches, they provide detailed insights into how new forest stands establish and which consequences the establishment process has for their character and functioning.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-05-1970
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-01457-1
Abstract: Dispersal and reproductive traits of successful plant invaders are expected to undergo strong selection during biological invasions. Numerous Asteraceae are invasive and display dimorphic fruits within a single flower head, resulting in differential dispersal pathways - wind-dispersed fruits vs. non-dispersing fruits. We explored ecotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of seed output and fruit dimorphisms in exotic Chilean and native Spanish populations of Leontodon saxatilis subsp. rothii . We collected flower heads from populations in Spain and Chile along a rainfall gradient. Seeds from all populations were planted in reciprocal transplant trials in Spain and Chile to explore their performance in the native and invasive range. We scored plant biomass, reproductive investment and fruit dimorphism. We observed strong plasticity, where plants grown in the invasive range had much greater biomass, flower head size and seed output, with a higher proportion of wind-dispersed fruits, than those grown in the native range. We also observed a significant ecotype effect, where the exotic populations displayed higher proportions of wind-dispersed fruits than native populations. Together, these patterns reflect a combination of phenotypic plasticity and ecotypic differentiation, indicating that Leontodon saxatilis has probably increased propagule pressure and dispersal distances in its invasive range to enhance its invasiveness.
No related grants have been discovered for Irene Martín-Forés.