Changes in vegetation structure and composition of a lowland mire over a sixty-five-year interval.

ABSTRACT: Mires are characterized by plant communities of high conservation and societal value, which have experienced a major decline in area in many parts of the world, particularly Europe. Evidence suggests that they may be particularly vulnerable to changes in climate and nutrient addition. Although they have been the focus of extensive paleoecological research, few attempts have been made to examine the dynamics of mire vegetation during the current era of anthropogenic environmental change.To assess long-term change in the spatial structure and composition of a lowland mire community, in 2016 we resurveyed plots first surveyed in 1951. Measures of species richness and composition were compared between the two surveys, and changes in community composition were related to plant traits.Overall, m

SUBMITTER: Lovegrove AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7771134 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature