Open Vegetation Research Articles

Ecological and habitat ranges of orchids in the northernmost regions of their distribution areas: A case study from Ural Mountains, Russia

The Orchidaceae, which is one of the most interesting families of angiosperms, contains a large number of rare species. Despite their acknowledged importance, little attention has been paid to the study of orchids distributed in northern territories. In this study, we determined the syntaxonomical diversity and ecological parameters of orchid habitats in two of Europe's largest protected areas, the Pechoro-Ilychsky Reserve and the Yugyd Va National Park (northeastern European Russia), and then compared our findings to those in other parts of orchid distribution ranges. For this purpose, we studied 345 descriptions of plant communities (releves) containing species from Orchidaceae and defined habitat parameters using Ellenberg indicator values with the community weight mean approach, nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS), and relative niche width. We found that orchids were distributed in eight habitat types and 97 plant associations. The largest number of orchid species is found in forest communities. Half of the orchid species under study occur in the mires and rock habitats with open vegetation. Several orchids consistently occur in areas disturbed by human activity. In addition, our study indicates that the main drivers of orchid distribution across the vegetation types are light and soil nitrogen. Our analysis of the ecological parameters of orchid habitats indicates that some orchid species can be classified as habitat specialists that are confined to a relatively narrow ecological niche in the Urals (e.g., Goodyera repens, Cypripedium guttatum and Dactylorhiza maculata). Several other species (e.g. Neottia cordata and Dactylorhiza fuchsia) grow under diverse ecological parameters.

Impact of mining on vegetation cover: A case study of Prestea Huni-Valley municipality

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes are the direct and indirect consequences of human actions to secure essential resources for a successful livelihood. Therefore, it has become essential to analyze such changes for effective management of natural resources and protection of our environment. Anthropogenic factors such as urbanization, mining, and population increase in the Prestea Huni-Valley municipality are causing rapid changes to the land cover. These factors among others are putting a lot of pressure on the vegetation and this has dire consequences on the availability and protection of the vegetative cover. Given this, the study focused on assessing the impact of mining on vegetation cover with a particular focus on Prestea Huni-Valley municipality. Multi-spectral satellite images of the study area from 1986 to 2016 were spatially analyzed to identify the LULC change patterns. Modeling and analysis of these images were performed using IDRISI and R software. Six land cover classes were identified including forest, open vegetation, cultivated areas, bare lands, built-up, and mine sites. The result showed that the forest, open vegetation, and bare areas decreased by 14.59 %, 3.86 %, and 8.36 % respectively whereas cultivated, built up and mines increased by 6.31 %, 3.14 %, and 7.36 % respectively.

RESPONSE OF TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL BENTHIC MACROFAUNA RICHNESS TO LAND USE AND LAND COVER AT BRAZILIAN RESERVOIRS DURING EXTREME DROUGHT

Introduction: Reservoirs are artificial aquatic ecosystems created by damming rivers, and are influenced by different sorts of impacts. Anthropic land use and occupation are one of the main causes of the loss of environmental quality and biological diversity in aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of land use and occupation on the taxonomic and functional richness of benthic macroinvertebrates in reservoirs in the Brazilian semiarid region during a period of extreme drought. Material and methods: The study was conducted in six reservoirs located in the semiarid region from Brazilian Northeast (Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte states): Sabugí, Passagem das Traíras, Cruzeta, Cordeiro, Sumé and Poções. The collections of benthic macrofauna, physical and chemical variables of water and the mapping of land use and occupation were performed for the years 2014 and 2019, in June and September. The sampling period was characterized as the most severe drought in the last 50 years in this study area. The land use and occupation were verified through the semi-supervised classification method of images captured by the Landsat 8 satellite, within 100 meters of the reservoir margin. The diversity of benthic macrofauna was analyzed through the taxonomic richness and functional richness, according to five functional characteristics: feeding trophic groups, breathing mode, voltinism, body size and body protection. To check for significant differences in physical and chemical water variables and taxonomic and functional richness among land use and land cover categories we performed PERMANOVA test. Results and Discussion: Seven land use and land cover categories were found in the reservoirs studied in the years 2014 and 2019, these are: water, agriculture, pasture, exposed soil, human occupation, open vegetation (native and exotic species of small/medium size with continuous spacing) and tree/shrub vegetation (native and exotic species of medium/large size with associated herbaceous stratum and predominance of semi-continuous dorsel). In all reservoirs the prevalent-use was pasture. Physical and chemical variables of water varied significantly among land use and land cover types, they were soluble reactive phosphate (p=0.02), total phosphorus (p=0.002) and water volume (p=0.01). The highest concentrations of total phosphorus were associated with predominant human occupation and soluble reactive phosphate with agriculture. The highest percentage of water volume was associated with a predominant use of tree/shrub vegetation. In reservoirs of semiarid regions with low connectivity due to intermittent rivers and extreme drought periods, adjacent anthropic activities such as agriculture, pasture and human occupation are the main external sources of nutrients. The taxonomic and functional richness of benthic macrofauna was higher in areas of open vegetation, however, it did not vary significantly between land use and land cover categories. Conclusions: Our results show that the effects of anthropic use and occupation in reservoirs associated with water scarcity lead to the homogenization of the macrobenthic community, which can generate negative consequences in processes sustained by the community.

Open vegetation formations (grasslands and savannahs) support a higher diversity of Cetoniidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) than forest formations in the brazilian Cerrado

Open vegetation formations (grasslands and savannahs) support a higher diversity of Cetoniidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) than forest formations in the brazilian Cerrado

New data on the new micromammalian localities of Afoud (Aït Kandoula Basin, Morocco) at the Mio-Pliocene boundary: Biochronological, paleoecological and paleobiogeographic implications

Small mammal remains have been discovered in three new outcrops from the Afoud locality. This site is significant from a paleontological point of view because it has yielded fauna of European affinities (Castillomys, Occitanomys, Stephanomys, Eliomys, and Prolagus). The presence of two different species of Arvicanthis from the Afoud locality represents the oldest record in North Africa. The association of small mammals from the AF12-2 deposits provides an approximate view of the local environment and climate at the time of the formation of this locality. This faunal assemblage indicates a warm, temperate, semi-arid climate and an open vegetation cover of wooded savannah. Fossil assemblages documented in this paper expand our knowledge on the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene small mammal communities of the Aït Kandoula Basin. This study provides useful data for understanding the paleobiogeography of the Mediterranean region and faunal exchanges between North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula that took place before the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

The origin and evolution of open habitats in North America inferred by Bayesian deep learning models

Some of the most extensive terrestrial biomes today consist of open vegetation, including temperate grasslands and tropical savannas. These biomes originated relatively recently in Earth’s history, likely replacing forested habitats in the second half of the Cenozoic. However, the timing of their origination and expansion remains disputed. Here, we present a Bayesian deep learning model that utilizes information from fossil evidence, geologic models, and paleoclimatic proxies to reconstruct paleovegetation, placing the emergence of open habitats in North America at around 23 million years ago. By the time of the onset of the Quaternary glacial cycles, open habitats were covering more than 30% of North America and were expanding at peak rates, to eventually become the most prominent natural vegetation type today. Our entirely data-driven approach demonstrates how deep learning can harness unexplored signals from complex data sets to provide insights into the evolution of Earth’s biomes in time and space.

Rspatialdata: a collection of data sources and tutorials on downloading and visualising spatial data using R

Spatial and spatio-temporal data are used in a wide range of fields including environmental, health and social disciplines. Several packages in the statistical software R have been recently developed as clients for various databases to meet the growing demands for easily accessible and reliable spatial data. While documentation on how to use many of these packages exist, there is an increasing need for a one stop repository for tutorials on this information. In this paper, we present rspatialdata a website that provides a collection of data sources and tutorials on downloading and visualising spatial data using R. The website includes a wide range of datasets including administrative boundaries of countries, Open Street Map data, population, temperature, vegetation, air pollution, and malaria data. The goal of the website is to equip researchers and communities with the tools to engage in spatial data analysis and visualisation so that they can address important local issues, such as estimating air pollution, quantifying disease burdens, and evaluating and monitoring the United Nation’s sustainable development goals.

Classification of grasslands and other open vegetation types in the Palaearctic – Introduction to the Special Collection

With this editorial, we introduce the Special Collection “Classification of grasslands and other open vegetation types in the Palaearctic”. In searching the Web of Science for classification papers on Palaearctic grasslands, we found 207 studies from 1972–2021, including 106 typical classification works. These studies originated mainly from Europe, with only few from Asia and only one from Northern Africa. While Europe in the 20th century already had a strong tradition in regional classification studies, the launch of a common plot database (European Vegetation Archive, EVA) and a continental syntaxonomic reference list (EuroVegChecklist) have spurred the developments there in recent years. We then introduce the seven articles of the Special Collection. Four of them present regional studies of certain vegetation types, namely spring vegetation (Montio-Cardaminetea) in Grisons, Switzerland, dry grasslands (Festuco-Brometea) of the inneralpine valleys of Austria, montane to subalpine tall-herb vegetation (Mulgedio-Aconitetea) in the Sudetes Mts., Poland, and steppe depressions (Festuco-Brometea and Molinio-Arrhentatheretea) in Southern Ukraine. A new synthesis of the grassland vegetation of Navarre in Spain (all classes, focus on Festuco-Brometea), started with an unsupervised classification and translated it into a hierarchical expert system, while another study provided the first synthesis of the tall-herb vegetation (mainly Ulopteretea prangae) of Tajikistan. Finally, a study based on the GrassPlot database compared fine-grain beta-diversities across open vegetation types of the Palaearctic. Abbreviations: EDGG = Eurasian Dry Grassland Group, EVA = European Vegetation Archive, IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science, WoS = Web of Science.

Rspatialdata: a collection of data sources and tutorials on downloading and visualising spatial data using R.

Spatial and spatio-temporal data are used in a wide range of fields including environmental, health and social disciplines. Several packages in the statistical software R have been recently developed as clients for various databases to meet the growing demands for easily accessible and reliable spatial data. While documentation on how to use many of these packages exist, there is an increasing need for a one stop repository for tutorials on this information. In this paper, we present rspatialdataa website that provides a collection of data sources and tutorials on downloading and visualising spatial data using R. The website includes a wide range of datasets including administrative boundaries of countries, Open Street Map data, population, temperature, vegetation, air pollution, and malaria data.The goal of the website is to equip researchers and communities with the tools to engage in spatial data analysis and visualisation so that they can address important local issues, such as estimating air pollution, quantifying disease burdens, and evaluating and monitoring the United Nation's sustainable development goals.

Extended-Range Luminescence Dating of Central and Eastern Amazonia Sandy Terrains

The Amazonia biome hosts upland closed and open vegetation ecosystems, in which the current biogeographical patterns relate to the evolution of the physical landscape. Therefore, understanding the origin and timing of the substrates supporting different ecosystems is indispensable for better comprehension of Amazonian biogeography. Here we used quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) for dating sandy substrates of closed and open vegetation environments in Central and Eastern Amazonia, from both outcrop and drill core samples (Autazes core: PBAT-15-43). These sandy substrates present ages ranging from 1 ka up to almost 2 Ma, that were primarily interpreted as depositional ages of fluvial terraces. Moreover, ages are discussed in terms of potential geomorphic processes leading to the formation of substrates, such as soil mixing and apparent age of quartz from the parent bedrock. The coupling between OSL and TT-OSL techniques allow us to date sedimentary deposits covering the whole Quaternary, which implies a new time window for the Amazonia history.

Channel Migration Detection and Landuse/Landcover Changes for Barak River in Northeast India

Abstract In northeast India, Barak river is among one of the principal rivers, which is highly meandering in nature in its flood plain area.For infrastructural development and river protection works, it is essential to know the behavior of banklines shifting on landuse and landcover changes. This study is to evaluate the impact of bank lines shifting on land use and land cover changes. In order to fulfill the purpose of the present study 12 reaches with 41 cross-sections have been selected. The whole work has been done with the help of RS and GIS techniques using Landsat images and hybrid classification for the landuse and landcover classification. The result of the study shows that in the upper reach of the alluvial plain,there is an active shifting. Also, it is observed that at the lower reach, the river has moved in both north and south direction. It is observed that maximum migration rate is 130.2 m/year with a mean migration rate (9.43 m/year). The sinuosity estimated for the same reach with 12 bends is in the range 1.24 - 3.89. Among all the sections, the minimum and maximum changes of width are 0.26m and 249.93m respectively with an average value of 84.51m. It is found that the Barak river can be classified into sinuous channel (1.05 to 1.5), as well as meandering channel (>1.5).The investigation of changes in the pattern of land use land cover (LULC) of the Barak basin over 33 year’s period (1984-2017) shows that urban/built-up and agricultural land was increased gradually, e.g., urban increased by 40.6% for 1984-1992, 72.14% for 2002-2012, 180.15% for 1984-2017. While, agricultural land increased by 18.9% for 1984-1992, 41.15% for 1992-2002 and 93.20% for 1984-2017. In addition water bodies increased by 19% and 41.73% from 1984-1992 and 1984-2017 respectively. In contrast, dense vegetation decreased by 5.6% for 1984-1992 and 21.77% for 2002-2012 and 39.14% for 1984-2017. Open vegetation showed a decreasing tren by 11.1% for 1984-1992, 26.83% for 1992-2002, and 36.27% for 1984-2017. Rapid population growth, migration of rural people to urban, unawareness of biophysical limitations and poverty are some of the probable reasons behind the changes in the LULC. The results of the hybrid classification of the LULC of the Barak River for the Landsat 1(1984; MSS), Landsat 2 (1992; TM), Landsat 5 (2002; TM), Landsat 7(2012;ETM+) and Landsat 8(2017; OLI)showed overall classification accuracy of 90.83%, 86.67%, 90.56%,93.33%and 86.11% with overall kappa statistics of 0.8900, 0.8400, 0.8867, 0.9200 and 0.8333 respectively. The channel migration directly affects the land use and land use change and has direct effect on the flood plain dwellers of the study area. All the assessments of this study highlight a significant message of immense vulnerability of the Barak river and also provide news about geomorpho-logical instabilities of the study area

Evolutionary Relationships and Range Evolution of Greenhood Orchids (Subtribe Pterostylidinae): Insights From Plastid Phylogenomics.

Australia harbours a rich and highly endemic orchid flora with over 90% of native species found nowhere else. However, little is known about the assembly and evolution of Australia’s orchid flora. Here, we used a phylogenomic approach to infer evolutionary relationships, divergence times and range evolution in Pterostylidinae (Orchidoideae), the second largest subtribe in the Australian orchid flora, comprising the genera Pterostylis and Achlydosa. Phylogenetic analysis of 75 plastid genes provided well-resolved and supported phylogenies. Intrageneric relationships in Pterostylis were clarified and monophyly of eight of 10 sections supported. Achlydosa was found to not form part of Pterostylidinae and instead merits recognition at subtribal level, as Achlydosinae. Pterostylidinae were inferred to have originated in eastern Australia in the early Oligocene, coinciding with the complete separation of Australia from Antarctica and the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which led to profound changes in the world’s climate. Divergence of all major lineages occurred during the Miocene, accompanied by increased aridification and seasonality of the Australian continent, resulting in strong vegetational changes from rainforest to more open sclerophyllous vegetation. The majority of extant species were inferred to have originated in the Quaternary, from the Pleistocene onwards. The rapid climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene may have acted as important driver of speciation in Pterostylidinae. The subtribe underwent lineage diversification mainly within its ancestral range, in eastern Australia. Long-distance dispersals to southwest Australia commenced from the late Miocene onwards, after the establishment of the Nullarbor Plain, which constitutes a strong edaphic barrier to mesic plants. Range expansions from the mesic into the arid zone of eastern Australia (Eremaean region) commenced from the early Pleistocene onwards. Extant distributions of Pterostylidinae in other Australasian regions, such as New Zealand and New Caledonia, are of more recent origin, resulting from long-distance dispersals from the Pliocene onwards. Temperate eastern Australia was identified as key source area for dispersals to other Australasian regions.

Differences in plant-dispersal mechanisms between contrasting Brazilian savanna habitats

ABSTRACT Background By favouring long-distance dispersal, anemochory is often associated with open and patchy habitats, whereas zoochory enables short-distance dispersal and prevails in closed and extensive habitats. Brazilian savanna (Cerrado) on shallow rocky soils (RS) have open vegetation and are patchily distributed, whereas savanna on deep soils (DS) have dense vegetation and occur in large stands. Thus, we predicted that zoochory would be favoured in DS and anemochory would characterise RS. Aims We tested the hypothesis that vegetation structure and distribution patchiness are related to the characteristic dispersal mechanisms associated with closed and open habitats. Methods We compared the abundance of dispersal mechanisms between DS and RS with generalised linear mixed models and used an indicator species analysis to identify species associated with each vegetation type. Results There was no difference between DS and RS in the number of species associated with one or the other dispersal mechanism. We found fewer-than-expected zoochorous individuals and more-than-expected anemochorous individuals in RS, and more zoochorous indicator species in DS. Conclusion Habitat patchiness and openness are related to the composition of dispersal mechanisms. Open vegetation on shallow rocky soils favours long-distance dispersal relative to zoochory. This implies reduced plant establishment and increased leaflessness, being harsher on animal dispersers. Protected areas are often concentrated in RS, whereas DS are rapidly converted into croplands due to their excellent aptitude for mechanised agriculture. Conserving DS and RS requires a balanced complementary approach, that ensures that all landscape elements are adequately represented in protected areas.

Quantification and characterisation of commensal wild birds and their interactions with domestic ducks on a free-range farm in southwest France

The role of commensal birds in the epidemiology of pathogens in poultry farms remains unclear. Our study aimed to identify potential key species for interactions with domestic ducks on one free-range duck farm in southwest France. Methods combined direct individual observations on duck outdoor foraging areas, network analysis, and general linear mixed models of abundances. Results showed a wide diversity of wild bird species visiting foraging areas, heavily dominated in frequency by White wagtails (Motacilla alba) and Sparrows (Passer domesticus and Passer montanus). These also were the only species seen entering duck premises or perching on drinkers in the presence of ducks. Moreover, White wagtails were the species most frequently observed on the ground and in close proximity to ducks. Network analysis suggested the role of White wagtails and Sparrows in linking ducks to other wild birds on the farm. The abundance of White wagtails was positively associated with open vegetation, with the presence of ducks and particularly in the afternoon, while the abundance of Sparrows was positively associated only with the fall-winter season. By precisely characterising interactions, the study was able to identify few wild bird species which should be prioritized in infectious investigations at the interface with poultry.

Attributes that ensure Cerrado shrub layer resilience after afforestation: The case of Psidium grandifolium

The Cerrado, the most biodiverse savanna, has been losing its natural areas through conversion to agricultural land. In the Santa Barbara Ecological Station (SBES), more than 136.4 ha of open Cerrado vegetation were converted into pine plantations in the 1960s-1970s. Nonetheless, nowadays techniques such as clear-cutting pine trees and burning of the remaining material have been used to recover the native vegetation in those areas. In one of these recovering areas, some native species have resprouted, particularly Psidium grandifolium, which naturally occurs in open Cerrado vegetation. Here, we aimed to elucidate which attributes ensured the resilience of this species after decades of afforestation. To do so, we compare the belowground systems, bud banks, chemical contents of roots and vessel characteristics of P. grandifolium occurring in a natural open Cerrado area and an area under regeneration after the clear-cutting of pine and later burning at SBES. In both study areas, plants showed xylopodium whose upper parts consisted of a thin cauline axis joined to a lignified tuberous root with fusiform morphology. In the natural area, the xylopodia were orientated vertically on the ground, while in the regenerating area, there was a curvature in the cauline axis, changing the xylopodia orientation to a horizontal position. The belowground bud bank was three times greater in the area under regeneration. Roots presented significant differences in the concentrations of total soluble carbohydrates and flavonoids between study areas. Our results also demonstrated that plants with thickened bud-bearing belowground systems held great resilience capacity, even when the structures were damaged by soil management before pine planting. Individuals of P. grandifolium managed to remain dormant in the plantations for decades until the conditions for resprouting were adequate. This work showed a series of plastic responses that Cerrado species present when submitted to afforestation and different growing conditions.

Pliocene - Early Pleistocene continental climate and vegetation in Europe based on stable isotope compositions of mammal tooth enamel

There is an increasing need for paleoclimate records from continental settings to better understand the climatic changes during critical periods such as the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. Present data indicates a transition from a warmer than present-day climate to a substantially different cooler climate. This study reviews the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of mammalian tooth enamel for the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of South and Central Europe to reconstruct the spatial distribution and temporal changes of the vegetation and oxygen isotope composition of precipitation (δ18Oppt). In addition to a literature review, this study adds new stable isotope measurements for this period. All δ13C values indicate C3 ecosystems and reflect major changes in the water use efficiency and/or in the prevailing humidity. The reconstructed major floral types range from woodland to woodland ‒ mesic grassland in all of the investigated regions. The carbon isotope compositions of fossil mammal teeth demonstrate that the spatial distribution of vegetation was broadly similar to those of the present-day for the Early/Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene, with the most “closed” vegetation in Central and Northern Italy, while open mesic grassland vegetation covers can be reconstructed for the Iberian Peninsula, Massif Central region (Central France) and the Carpathian Basin. The calculated δ18Oppt values give a negative temporal shift of about 1–1.5‰ from the Early Pliocene to Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene in three regions (Iberian Peninsula, Central Italy, Carpathian Basin), potentially representing a 1.5–3.0 °C decrease in mean annual temperatures (MAT) over time. In the Massif Central region and the Carpathian Basin, the δ18Oppt values are almost the same for the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, while in Northern Italy the values decreased over that period. The δ18Oppt values are in the range of present-day δ18Oppt values over the Early Pliocene and somewhat lower than present-day values for the Late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene in most of the regions. Because most other proxies indicate warmer than present-day climate for the Early Pliocene and similar to present-day climate for the Early Pleistocene, the δ18Oppt values are generally lower than expected, which can be partially explained by local effects.

Using sentinel and comparing two classification algorithms for land cover mapping in the area dominated by small scale heterogeneous agricultural land

Sentinel images are widely used for monitoring and mapping our environment phenomenon. The imagery applies in land-use and land cover mapping using pixel-based classification, image segmentation, or other image interpretation algorithms. One type of algorithm may be more suitable for a specific area, depending on many factors. This study aims to analyse and compare two classification algorithms for land cover (LC) mapping in the region characterised by a small scale type of agricultural land occupation. The primary input for this study is the Sentinel 2A image. Two well-known pixel-based classification algorithms, i.e., Maximum Likelihood classifier (MLC) and ECHO (Extraction and Classification of Homogeneous Objects), are used and are compared. The study covers an area of 3320.3 km2. The classification result produces nine (9) land cover classes, i.e., (1) pavement or urban area, (2) heterogeneous agricultural land, (3) irrigated paddy, (4) open water body, (5) dense vegetation or forest, (6) sparse vegetation or plantation, (7) shrubland or dry-land, (8) wetlands, and (9) sand-clay-rock. Classification using MLC and ECHO produced kappa and overall accuracies of more than 90%. In general, both algorithms can produce a relatively similar area extend for each class. However, two classes, i.e., (2) heterogeneous agricultural land and (6) sparse vegetation, are still tricky to distinguish.

Plant richness, land use and temperature differently shape invertebrate leaf-chewing herbivory on plant functional groups

Higher temperatures can increase metabolic rates and carbon demands of invertebrate herbivores, which may shift leaf-chewing herbivory among plant functional groups differing in C:N (carbon:nitrogen) ratios. Biotic factors influencing herbivore species richness may modulate these temperature effects. Yet, systematic studies comparing leaf-chewing herbivory among plant functional groups in different habitats and landscapes along temperature gradients are lacking. This study was conducted on 80 plots covering large gradients of temperature, plant richness and land use in Bavaria, Germany. We investigated proportional leaf area loss by chewing invertebrates (‘herbivory’) in three plant functional groups on open herbaceous vegetation. As potential drivers, we considered local mean temperature (range 8.4–18.8 °C), multi-annual mean temperature (range 6.5–10.0 °C), local plant richness (species and family level, ranges 10–51 species, 5–25 families), adjacent habitat type (forest, grassland, arable field, settlement), proportion of grassland and landscape diversity (0.2–3 km scale). We observed differential responses of leaf-chewing herbivory among plant functional groups in response to plant richness (family level only) and habitat type, but not to grassland proportion, landscape diversity and temperature—except for multi-annual mean temperature influencing herbivory on grassland plots. Three-way interactions of plant functional group, temperature and predictors of plant richness or land use did not substantially impact herbivory. We conclude that abiotic and biotic factors can assert different effects on leaf-chewing herbivory among plant functional groups. At present, effects of plant richness and habitat type outweigh effects of temperature and landscape-scale land use on herbivory among legumes, forbs and grasses.

Soil moisture observation in a forested headwater catchment: combining a dense cosmic-ray neutron sensor network with roving and hydrogravimetry at the TERENO site Wüstebach

Abstract. Cosmic-ray neutron sensing (CRNS) has become an effective method to measure soil moisture at a horizontal scale of hundreds of metres and a depth of decimetres. Recent studies proposed operating CRNS in a network with overlapping footprints in order to cover root-zone water dynamics at the small catchment scale and, at the same time, to represent spatial heterogeneity. In a joint field campaign from September to November 2020 (JFC-2020), five German research institutions deployed 15 CRNS sensors in the 0.4 km2 Wüstebach catchment (Eifel mountains, Germany). The catchment is dominantly forested (but includes a substantial fraction of open vegetation) and features a topographically distinct catchment boundary. In addition to the dense CRNS coverage, the campaign featured a unique combination of additional instruments and techniques: hydro-gravimetry (to detect water storage dynamics also below the root zone); ground-based and, for the first time, airborne CRNS roving; an extensive wireless soil sensor network, supplemented by manual measurements; and six weighable lysimeters. Together with comprehensive data from the long-term local research infrastructure, the published data set (available at https://doi.org/10.23728/b2share.756ca0485800474e9dc7f5949c63b872; Heistermann et al., 2022) will be a valuable asset in various research contexts: to advance the retrieval of landscape water storage from CRNS, wireless soil sensor networks, or hydrogravimetry; to identify scale-specific combinations of sensors and methods to represent soil moisture variability; to improve the understanding and simulation of land–atmosphere exchange as well as hydrological and hydrogeological processes at the hillslope and the catchment scale; and to support the retrieval of soil water content from airborne and spaceborne remote sensing platforms.

Nest density, egg conspicuity, vegetation structure and seasonality affect artificial nest predation in the Brazilian Cerrado

AbstractNest predators use visual, acoustic and chemical cues to locate nests. In the Neotropics, predation is high being the main cause of nest failure. Despite that, it is still not completely clear what kind of information predators are using to find nests or whether predators respond differently according to habitat characteristics. Here, we executed an experimental manipulation to investigate how different ecological factors influence nest predation probability. We hypothesised that egg conspicuousness, nest clustering and a more open vegetation structure would increase nest predation probability, and that nest predation would be higher during the breeding season of most avian species in the region. We used artificial nests baited with plasticine and quail eggs (Coturnix coturnix), manipulated egg coloration and nest density. Artificial nests were distributed over forest and savanna-like vegetations. Overall predation rate was 40.9%. We found that nests baited with conspicuous eggs, located in open habitats, at higher densities and during the dry period were more predated. Results suggest that main predators must be visually orientated, and that egg crypsis is an important trait for open-nest species in the area. Moreover, a higher nest density may affect predator behaviour, favouring an increase in nest searching, which may be facilitated in open habitats.