Dispersal and persistence traits inform long-term herbaceous plant community change in encroached savannas

"Dispersal and persistence traits inform long-term herbaceous plant community change in encroached savannas"

This open access article was published March 2, 2023, in Plant Ecology. Access the article via the permanent web address (DOI). (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01307-3)

Abstract

Savanna plant communities are highly diverse, characterized by an open-canopy structure with rich herbaceous diversity, and maintained by frequent low-intensity fire and grazing. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, savannas are globally threatened, with less than 1% of former oak savanna land cover found in the Midwestern United States remaining. In remnant oak savannas, loss of fire and grazing has led to woody encroachment and canopy closure over the past century with cascading consequences for the taxonomic composition. Whether these taxonomic changes can be broadly predicted using species functional traits (morpho-physio-phenological characteristics that impact the fitness of a species) is a key question. We ask whether the impacts of woody encroachment on herbaceous species can be predicted from species’ abilities to persist (avoid extinction) and disperse (colonize new areas). Specifically, we pair persistence traits (e.g., clonality, belowground storage) and dispersal traits (e.g., seed mass, dispersal mode, flowering height) with a rare 60-year dataset from oak savannas in Wisconsin, USA to understand how the representation of these traits has changed in the herbaceous community over time. Over 60 years, change in species composition was explained both by dispersal abilities and persistence traits; small-seeded species reliant on unassisted dispersal and moderately clonal species experienced the greatest losses. These changes in functional composition are likely due to increased woody encroachment, which may impede propagule production and movement. Restoration efforts need to prioritize species that are dispersal limited and those that create fine fuels, which aid the persistence of fire-maintained open habitat savannas.

Keywords: Dispersal; persistence; woody encroachment; colonization, local extinction, temperate oak savanna

Citation

Ahler, S.J., Ladwig, L.M., Charton, K.T. et al. Dispersal and persistence traits inform long-term herbaceous plant community change in encroached savannas. Plant Ecol 224, 361–371 (2023).