Wyniki wyszukiwania

Wyszukiwano:
w słowach kluczowych: Apennine grassland

Sortuj według:

Ogranicz wyniki do:

Effect of long-term abandonment and spring grazing on floristic and functional composition of dry grasslands in a Central Apennine farmland

100%

Catorci A., Casaretti S., Gatti R.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2013

tom 61

nr 3

Semi-natural dry grasslands host some of the most valuable habitats in Europe, due to their biodiversity heritage. Nevertheless, a strong decline in their extension, due to the cessation of traditional management, has been observed in the last decades. The aim of the study was to assess plant community changes due to abandonment and the effect of spring grazing in sub-Mediterranean dry grasslands, focusing on the plant functional traits involved in this turnover. The study area is located in the central Apennines (Italy), where grasslands were grazed by sheep in late winter and spring until 1980 and are nowadays abandoned. Relevés sampled (using the Braun-Blanquet method) in different years, namely in 1976–1980 (grazed pasture) and again in 2010 (abandoned pasture) were compared. Results indicated that abandonment leads to the increase of species richness. Traits and strategies indicator sets were: therophyte for the grazed pasture; geophytes, flower palatability, early flowering strategy, clonal ability and presence of storage organs for the abandoned ones. Traits related to low levels of stress (tolerance strategies) are heavily reduced in grazed systems, and thus the functional composition of plant community is mostly characterised by traits promoting avoidance strategies. In abandoned conditions a higher number of species can co-exist thanks to the micro-scale variation of soil features and niche diversification. The research findings also revealed grazing timing as a key factor for understanding changes of plant functional trait patterns and spring grazing as a threat for orchid species.

Functional differentiation of Central Apennine grasslands under mowing and grazing disturbance regimes

67%

Catorci A., Ottaviani G., Ballelli S., Cesaretti S.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2011

tom 59

nr 1

This research dealt to two grasslands potentially developing the same vegetation type because sited in the same environmental contest (bioclimate, substratum, soil, slope, altitude) but under diverse management regimes (grazing and mowing) for many decades. The evidenced differentiation between the two pastoral vegetations can be attributed to disturbance type and the statistical functional analysis performed through seven plant traits (prostrate form, early flowering, storage organs, clonal ability, basal meristems, chemical defences and hairs), revealed the distinguishing patterns. Discriminant analysis pointed out typical biological attributes for each disturbance conditions, while from correlation analysis emerged different possible traits combinations which do not follow the previous traits separation. Such outcomes are explainable because both grazing and mowing provoke aboveground phytomass removal, although grazing is a selective pressure, while mowing gives to all the species the same development chances. It is reasonable to conclude that convergent strategies within the two systems are possible and frequent.

Ograniczanie wyników

2 Polish Journal of Ecology

2 Catorci A.

1 Ballelli S.

1 Casaretti S.

1 Cesaretti S.

1 Gatti R.

1 Ottaviani G.

1 2013

1 2011

Wyniki wyszukiwania

Effect of long-term abandonment and spring grazing on floristic and functional composition of dry grasslands in a Central Apennine farmland

Functional differentiation of Central Apennine grasslands under mowing and grazing disturbance regimes