Contemporary spatial and environmental factors determine vascular plant species richness on highly fragmented meadows in Central Finland

• DOI: 10.1007/s10980-018-0731-z
• Publication Date: 2018-11-01T14:28:19Z
• Authors: Kaisa J. Raatikainen; Anna Oldén; Niina Käyhkö; Mikko Mönkkönen; Panu Halme
• Keywords: Extinction debt; Vascular plant; Extinction (optical mineralogy); Habitat Fragmentation; Fragmentation; Nestedness

Habitat loss is a major threat to biodiversity. It can create temporal lags in decline of species relation destruction habitat coverage. Plant specialized semi-natural grasslands, especially meadows, often express such extinction debt. We studied and fragmentation meadows examined whether the changes meadow coverage had caused an debt on vascular plants. also historical or present landscape patterns contemporary environmental factors were more important determinants occurrence. surveyed plant assemblages 12 grazed mown Central Finland detected coverages from their surroundings two spatial scales three time steps. modelled effects functional connectivity, amount, isolation richness community composition. observed drastic dynamic landscapes surrounding our study sites during last 150 years. However, we did not find explicit evidence for The correlated with factors, whereas both availability 1960s affected Effective conservation management biodiversity builds accurate understanding relative importance past assemblages. Both high need be managed future. effort should preferably targeted located near each other.