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Article Dans Une Revue Ecology Letters Année : 2009

Dispersal failure contributes to plant losses in NW Europe

Résumé

The ongoing decline of many plant species in Northwest Europe indicates that traditional conservation measures to improve the habitat quality, although useful, are not enough to halt diversity losses. Using recent databases, we show for the first time that differences between species in adaptations to various dispersal vectors, in combination with changes in the availability of these vectors, contribute significantly to explaining losses in plant diversity in Northwest Europe in the 20th century. Species with water- or fur-assisted dispersal are over-represented among declining species, while others (windor bird-assisted dispersal) are under-represented. Our analysis indicates that the 'colonization deficit' due to a degraded dispersal infrastructure is no less important in explaining plant diversity losses than the more commonly accepted effect of eutrophication and associated niche-based processes. Our findings call for measures that aim to restore the dispersal infrastructure across entre regions and that go beyond current conservation practices.

Dates et versions

hal-00370863 , version 1 (25-03-2009)

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Citer

Wim Ozinga, Christine Romermann, Renée M. Bekker, Andreas Prinzing, Wil L. M. Tamis, et al.. Dispersal failure contributes to plant losses in NW Europe. Ecology Letters, 2009, 12 (1), pp.66-74. ⟨10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01261.x⟩. ⟨hal-00370863⟩
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