Abstract
Abstract. The population sizes of five perennial vascular plant species confined to old unimproved dry grasslands were assessed, viz. Anthericum ramosum, Filipendula vulgaris, Silene nutans, Thymus pulegioides, and Thymus serpyllum. All populations within the region were included. Only for Filipendula vulgaris and Thymus serpyllum, significant relationships between habitat area and population size were found. Thus, apparently perennial vascular plants have a limited ability to respond to large habitat areas by forming large populations. This puts a question mark on the use of incidence-function models for the study of plant metapopulations, because these models are based on an assumed positive relationship between habitat area and population size.
Highlights
The population sizes of five perennial vascular plant species confined to old unimproved dry grasslands were assessed, viz. Anthericum ramosum, Filipendula vulgaris, Silene nutans, Thymus pulegioides, and Thymus serpyllum
The present paper aims at testing whether population size for five perennial vascular plant species inhabiting Scandinavian grassland patches is well predicted by habitat patch area
The five species investigated exhibit highly varying regional abundance; F. vulgaris occurs at 61 sites, T. pulegioides at 23, T. serpyllum at 17, S. nutans at 11, and A. ramosum at 8 sites (Fig. 1)
Summary
The population sizes of five perennial vascular plant species confined to old unimproved dry grasslands were assessed, viz. Anthericum ramosum, Filipendula vulgaris, Silene nutans, Thymus pulegioides, and Thymus serpyllum. Apparently perennial vascular plants have a limited ability to respond to large habitat areas by forming large populations. This puts a question mark on the use of incidence-function models for the study of plant metapopulations, because these models are based on an assumed positive relationship between habitat area and population size. While some models require population censuses in each population (e.g., Akçakaya 2001), one of the less data demanding, and more popular, methods is the incidence function model (Hanski et al 1996, ter Braak et al 1997) This type of metapopulation model allows for the simplifying assumption that extinction probability increases linearly with decreasing habitat area. The present paper aims at testing whether population size for five perennial vascular plant species inhabiting Scandinavian grassland patches is well predicted by habitat patch area
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
