TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Violle, Cyrille A1 - Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio Manuel A1 - Marañón, Teodoro A1 - Navarro-Fernández, Carmen M. A1 - Olmo, Manuel A1 - Villar, Rafael T1 - A Multidimensional Functional Trait Approach Reveals the Imprint of Environmental Stress in Mediterranean Woody Communities T2 - Ecosystems KW - aridity KW - dry shrubland KW - functionaldiversity KW - functional structure KW - hypervolume KW - planttraits Y1 - 2018 UR - https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10021-017-0147-7.pdf U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-017-0147-7 SN - 1435-0629 SN - 1432-9840 VL - 21 IS - 2 SP - 248 EP - 262 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Marañón, Teodoro A1 - Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio Manuel A1 - Villar, Rafael A1 - Acácio, Vanda A1 - Aranda, Ismael A1 - Camarero, Jesús Julio A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Domínguez, María Teresa ED - Steffensen, Bent J. T1 - Iberian oaks coping with global change: Ecological processes and management strategies T2 - Quercus: Classification, Ecology and Uses N2 - Iberian oak forests and woodlands are vital providing a variety of ecosystem services. They provide raw materials like cork, wood and fuel, and fodder (acorns) for wild and domestic animals. Oak trees provide a climate regulating service by their capacity to sequester carbon and therefore to mitigate the effects of climatic change. There is an increasing demand for cultural services provided by oak woodlands, mainly for recreation and ecotourism. However, some global-change drivers are negatively affecting oak forests, therefore diminishing their ecosystem services and in consequence undermining human well-being. The main drivers affecting Iberian oaks are: land use changes, introduction of exotic pathogens, air and soil pollution deteriorating oak health, and climatic change, in particular the combined reduction of rainfall and the rise in temperature. In this chapter we focus on the ecology of Iberian oaks and how they are affected by global change. Firstly, we introduce a literature overview of the research conducted on Quercus, analysed by species, countries and topics. Secondly, we review the main biological processes related with the oak responses to global change: i) genetic diversity, climatic refuges and adaptation to climatic change; ii) ecophysiological responses to stress and disturbance, functional diversity, growth patterns, and scaling up from leaf to ecosystem; iii) demographic responses, causes of regeneration failures, spatial patterns of recruitment, drivers of decline and dieback. Thirdly, we review the management strategies in three case studies: the agro-silvo-pastoral systems (dehesas and montados), the cork oak woodlands, and the afforestation of a polluted-land for phytostabilization of contaminants. KW - climate change KW - Dehesas KW - Ecosystem services Y1 - 2020 SN - 978-1-53618-026-8 SP - 1 EP - 84 PB - New York CY - Nova Science Publishers ER - TY - GEN A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Funk, Jennifer L. A1 - Vilà, Montserrat T1 - Functional segregation of resource-use strategies of native and invasive plants across Mediterranean biome communities T2 - Biological Invasions N2 - Functional segregation among species in a community depends on their mean trait values (i.e. functional distinctiveness), and the range of trait attributes exhibited by each species (i.e. functional diversity). Previous evidence suggests that invasive plants tend to display traits related to a more acquisitive resource-use strategy than natives. However, the contribution of intraspecific trait variation to functional diversity has received little attention in community ecology, and might provide interesting information about community processes. In this study, we used eight plant traits related to carbon and nutrient acquisition of coexisting dominant native and invasive plants in eight communities across the Mediterranean-climate biome to determine sources of functional segregation between native and invasive species. We found three major axes of functional variation, related to leaf economics, resource-use efficiency, and plant height. Invasive species across communities had leaf traits related to an acquisitive resource-use strategy in contrast to native species, whereas differences in the second and third axes were community dependent. Invasive species were more functionally diverse than native species across the dataset and in four out of the eight communities. Intraspecific variance accounted for 11%–27% of total trait variation and was on average greater in invasive species, and especially important in the axis related to resource use efficiency. These results, although dependent on the trait and community considered, offer interesting insights to the sources of functional trait diversity of native and invasive species within communities, indicating that intraspecific variation might not be equally distributed between native and invasive species. KW - Functional diversity KW - Functional strategies KW - Intraspecific variance KW - Invasive plants KW - Leaf economics spectrum KW - Plant life form Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02368-5 SN - 1573-1464 VL - 23 IS - 1 SP - 253 EP - 266 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Damptey, Frederick Gyasi A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Nsiah, Paul Kofi A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Soil properties and biomass attributes in a former gravel mine area after two decades of forest restoration T2 - Land N2 - The ongoing global deforestation resulting from anthropogenic activities such as unsustainable agriculture and surface mining threatens biodiversity and decreases both soil carbon and above-ground biomass stocks. In this study, we assessed soil properties and below- and above-ground biomass attributes in a restored former gravel mine area in Ghana two decades after active restoration with potted plants and fresh topsoil. We compared conditions to four alternative land-use types (unrestored abandoned gravel mine, arable land, semi-natural forest, and natural forest) representing pre- and post-disturbance as well as natural reference states. We hypothesized that soil properties and related levels of below- and above-ground biomass in the restored area share similarities with the natural reference systems and thereby are indicative of a trajectory towards successful restoration. Eight replicated subareas in each land-use type were assessed for a set of soil parameters as well as below- and above-ground biomass attributes. The soil properties characteristic for the restored area differed significantly from pre-restoration stages, such as the abandoned gravel site, but did not differ significantly from properties in the natural forest (except for bulk density and base saturation). Above-ground biomass was lower in the restored area in comparison to the reference natural forests, while differences were not significant for below-ground biomass. Silt and effective cation exchange capacity were closely related to above-ground biomass, while below-ground biomass was related to soil organic carbon, bulk density, and potassium concentration in soils. Our results suggest that major steps towards successful restoration can be accomplished within a relatively short period, without the wholesale application of topsoil. Improving soil conditions is a vital tool for the successful development of extensive vegetation cover after surface mining, which also affects carbon sequestration by both above- and below-ground biomass. We emphasize that the use of reference systems provides critical information for the monitoring of ecosystem development towards an expected future state of the restored area. KW - carbon sequestration KW - degradation KW - forest management KW - mining KW - restoration success Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/land9060209 SN - 2073-445X VL - 9 IS - 6 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Parker, Ingrid M. A1 - Leiva, María José A1 - Bernardo-Madrid, Rubén A1 - Vilà, Montserrat T1 - Plant Community Assembly in Invaded Recipient Californian Grasslands and Putative Donor Grasslands in Spain T2 - Diversity N2 - The introduction of exotic species to new regions offers opportunities to test fundamental questions in ecology, such as the context-dependency of community structure and assembly. Annual grasslands provide a model system of a major unidirectional introduction of plant species from Europe to North America. We compared the community structure of grasslands in two Mediterranean regions by surveying plots in Spain and in California with similar environmental and management conditions. All species found in Spanish grasslands were native to Spain, and over half of them (74 of 139 species) are known to have colonized California. In contrast, in California, over half of the species (52 of 95 species) were exotic species, all of them native to Spain. Nineteen species were found in multiple plots in both regions (i.e., shared species). The abundance of shared species in California was either similar to (13 species) or greater than (6 species) in Spain. In California, plants considered pests were more likely than non-pest species to have higher abundance. Co-occurring shared species tended to maintain their relative abundance in native and introduced communities, which indicates that pools of exotic species might assemble similarly at home and away. These findings provide interesting insights into community assembly in novel ecosystems. They also highlight an example of startling global and local floristic homogenization. KW - biogeographical comparisons KW - community similarity KW - exotic plants KW - Mediterranean grasslands KW - pests KW - plant invasions KW - species abundance Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/d12050193 SN - 1424-2818 VL - 12 IS - 5 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Damptey, Frederick Gyasi A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Trade-offs and synergies between food and fodder production and other ecosystem services in an actively restored forest in Ghana. T2 - Frontiers in Forests and Global Change N2 - Active restoration of degraded areas with multi-purpose tree species has been proposed as a measure to counter the losses from deforestation and mitigate consequences for local human communities. In a restoration project at a former mining site in Ghana, ecosystem services (ES) proxies in an actively restored forest were compared to a local agroforestry system and a natural forest. The results provide information about trade-offs and synergies between proxies of multiple ES(s). ES proxies were assessed according to the following categories: (a) food-tree ES: biomass of food and fodder trees, (b) other trees ES: biomass of fuelwood, medicine or mulch trees, (c) ES-providing arthropods: the number of detritivorous and predaceous arthropods, (d) carbon storage, and (e) tree diversity. Eight replicated plots with sizes of 20 m × 20 m were established in each forest type, and the following ES proxies were quantified: tree diversity was estimated as taxonomic richness of all trees with a diameter at breast height ≥ 10 cm in each plot. Tree species were then classified into ES categories (food, fodder, fuelwood, medicine, or mulch). Ground-dwelling arthropods were sampled for 10 weeks with five pitfall traps in each plot and categorized as decomposers and predators. Tree above-ground biomass was estimated based on the measured tree diameter, height, and specific wood density using an improved allometric equation. The above-ground biomass was later converted into carbon storage by assuming 50% of the above-ground biomass of each tree. ES proxies based on tree biomass were highest in the natural forest. Fodder, medicine, fuelwood, and mulch ES proxies were significantly higher in the restored forest than the agroforestry system. Decomposer arthropods were most dominant in the natural forest, followed by the restored forest and the agroforestry system. Predacious arthropods were more dominant in the restored forest than in the other forest types. Carbon storage was highest in the natural forest, followed by the agroforestry system and the restored forest. The actively restored forest took an intermediate position between the agroforestry system and the natural forest regarding values for all nine ES proxies. Out of the 14 possible relationships between food or fodder and other ES proxies, five were significantly positive (synergies) with no observed trade-offs (significant negative relationships). High fodder production in the restored and natural forests went along with higher values of other biomass ES proxies and numbers of beneficial arthropods, while higher food biomass also correlated positively with numbers of decomposing arthropods. Our results document that active restoration of degraded sites provides a valuable framework to promote ES provision to local communities compared to agroforestry system, but at the cost of lower food and fuelwood biomass and carbon storage compared to natural forests. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.630959 SN - 2624-893X IS - 4 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Shackelford, Nancy A1 - Paterno, Gustavo B. A1 - Suding, Katharine L. A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts T2 - Nature ecology & evolution N2 - Restoration of degraded drylands is urgently needed to mitigate climate change, reverse desertification and secure livelihoods for the two billion people who live in these areas. Bold global targets have been set for dryland restoration to restore millions of hectares of degraded land. These targets have been questioned as overly ambitious, but without a global evaluation of successes and failures it is impossible to gauge feasibility. Here we examine restoration seeding outcomes across 174 sites on six continents, encompassing 594,065 observations of 671 plant species. Our findings suggest reasons for optimism. Seeding had a positive impact on species presence: in almost a third of all treatments, 100% of species seeded were growing at first monitoring. However, dryland restoration is risky: 17% of projects failed, with no establishment of any seeded species, and consistent declines were found in seeded species as projects matured. Across projects, higher seeding rates and larger seed sizes resulted in a greater probability of recruitment, with further influences on species success including site aridity, taxonomic identity and species life form. Our findings suggest that investigations examining these predictive factors will yield more effective and informed restoration decision-making. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01544-7 SN - 2397-334X IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 8 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Salazar Zarzosa, Pablo A1 - Diaz Herraiz, Aurelio A1 - Olmo, Manuel A1 - Ruiz-Benito, Paloma A1 - Barrón, Vidal A1 - Bastias, Cristina C. A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Villar, Rafael T1 - Linking functional traits with tree growth and forest productivity in Quercus ilex forests along a climatic gradient T2 - Science of The Total Environment N2 - Plant functional traits are highly plastic to changes in climatic factors and nutrient availability. However, the intraspecific plant response to abiotic factors and the overall effect on tree growth and productivity is still under debate. We studied forest productivity for 30 Quercus ilex subsp. ballota forests in Spain along a broad climatic gradient of aridity (mean annual precipitation from 321 to 858 mm). We used linear mixed models to quantify the effect of climatic and edaphic (soil nutrients, topography, and texture) factors on tree functional traits (leaf and branch traits), and subsequently, the effect of such functional traits and abiotic factors on the relative growth rate (RGR) of adult trees. We used piecewise structural equation models (SEMs) to determine the causal effect of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on forest productivity. Our results showed that tree functional traits were mainly explained by climatic and edaphic factors. Functional traits and tree biomass explained forest biomass and RGR, respectively, which ultimately explained forest productivity. In conclusion, intraspecific variability of functional traits has a significant effect on plant biomass and growth, which ultimately may explain forest productivity in Quercus ilex forests. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147468 SN - 0048-9697 SN - 1879-1026 VL - Vol. 786 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Prieto, Iván A1 - Marañón, Teodoro A1 - Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio Manuel A1 - Olmo, Manuel A1 - Villar, Rafael T1 - Root economics spectrum and construction costs in Mediterranean woody plants: the role of symbiotic associations and the environment T2 - Journal of Ecology N2 - 1. Many studies have quantified the functional variation of fine root traits to un-derstand the overarching trade-off between maximizing resource acquisition or conservation (root economics spectrum [RES]). However, we know remarkably less on how plant strategies along the RES are actually constrained by the amount of photosynthates required to construct roots (i.e. construction costs, CC) or how below- ground interactions with symbiotic organisms modify root trait patterns and their relationships with CC.2. Our main aim was to quantify CC of fine roots (<2 mm) and their underlying compo-nents (carbon, minerals and organic nitrogen concentrations) in 60 Mediterranean woody species with contrasting symbiotic association types (ectomycorrhizas, ar-buscular and ericoid mycorrhizas and N-fixing bacteria). We examined (a) whether the covariation among fine root traits along the RES was related to the intrinsic cost of producing roots and whether this relationship was dependent on the type of root symbiosis; (b) whether the relationship of each CC component with the RES was dependent on the type of root symbiosis and (c) whether soil water and nutrient availability determined differences in CC across sites.3. According to the RES hypothesis, fine root traits showed a main covariation trend (acquisition vs. conservation), defined by the first PCA axis, which also segregated species by their two main contrasting symbiotic types (arbuscular and ectomycor-rhizal). We found a positive relationship between root CC and the RES (i.e. PCA axis 1) and, interestingly, slopes differed among symbiotic types, in response to the different role of each specific CC component. In addition, independently of symbiotic type, root CC decreased linearly with soil nutrient availability and quad-ratically with plant water availability.4. Synthesis. Our study demonstrates that woody plants display different functional strategies in their root CC, related with their position on the RES, and that CC differ among symbiotic groups. The influence of the root CC components across species varied among symbiotic associations, pointing to a trade-off between structural and metabolic compounds. Root CC were also strongly modulated by soil resource availability (nutrients and water). This study highlights that root CC are fundamental to better understand below- ground resource-use strategies. KW - below-ground strategies KW - functional traits KW - mycorrhiza KW - resource gradient KW - rhizobium KW - root carbon KW - soil nutrient KW - specific root length Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13612 SN - 1365-2745 VL - 109 IS - 4 SP - 1873 EP - 1885 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Paniw, Maria A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Lloret, Francisco T1 - Demographic traits improve predictions of spatiotemporal changes in community resilience to drought T2 - Journal of Ecology N2 - Communities are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events. The cumulative effects of such events are typically investigated by assessing community resilience, that is, the extent to which affected communities can achieve pre-event states. However, a mechanistic understanding of the processes underlying resilience is frequently lacking and requires linking various measures of resilience to demographic responses within natural communities. Using 13 years of data from a shrub community that experienced a severe drought in 2005, we use generalized additive models to investigate temporal changes in three measures of resilience. We assess whether community-weighted, species-specific demographic traits such as longevity and reproductive output can predict changes in resilience and how the performance of these traits compares to more commonly used plant functional traits such as leaf area or root dry matter content. We find significant spatiotemporal variation in community dynamics after the drought. Overall, demographic traits are better at predicting absolute and relative resilience in total plant cover, but functional traits outperform demographic traits when resilience in community composition is assessed. All resilience measures show nonlinear and context-specific responses to demographic and functional traits; and these responses depend strongly on the severity of initial drought impact. Synthesis. Our work demonstrates that a full picture of the mechanisms underlying community responses to drought requires the assessment of numerous species-specific characteristics (including demographic and functional traits) and how these characteristics differentially affect complementary measures of community changes through time. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13597 SN - 1365-2745 SN - 0022-0477 VL - 109 IS - 9 SP - 3233 EP - 3245 ER -