Marta Gaia Sperandii

Masaryk University | MUNI · Department of Botany and Zoology

Multi-year temporal studies are invaluable tools for monitoring changes in biodiversity through time. However, their applications in coastal ecosystems are still scarce. We investigated temporal trends in coastal dunes analyzing a set of 858 randomly-sampled georeferenced relevés performed between 2002 and 2015 along Central Italy’s sandy coastline...

Resurveying studies are commonly appreciated as a means to monitoring temporal changes in plant diversity. However, most of them still rely on phytosociological plots, which, although representing an invaluable source of data, can lead to biased estimates of vegetation changes. At the community-level, temporal changes can be quantified by means of...

In light of the global biodiversity loss, syntheses of the available knowledge about drivers of biodiversity are becoming increasingly important. However, despite the high number of studies analyzing patterns of plant species diversity, few attempts have been made to synthesize findings within different ecosystems. In this work, the relative role o...

Questions Semi‐natural grasslands in Southern Europe are biodiversity hotspots, yet their patterns of plant species richness are less studied than in Central Europe. In the Central Apennines (Italy), there are large areas of dry calcareous grasslands, across a steep gradient of mean annual precipitation (from 650 to 1350 mm within c. 30 km). We ask...

Aims: We introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, includ...

A long history of human colonisation has profoundly altered Mediterranean coastal dunes, as well as their capacity of providing ecosystem services important for human well-being. The provisioning of these services depends on the integrity of the dune system, which is formed and maintained by coastal plant communities. Analysing the drivers of plant...

1. How biodiversity underpins ecosystem resistance (i.e. ability to withstand environmental perturbations) and recovery (i.e. ability to return to a pre-perturbation state), and thus, stability under extreme climatic events is a timely question in ecology. To date, most studies have focussed on the role of taxonomic diversity, neglecting how commun...

1. How biodiversity underpins ecosystem resistance (i.e., ability to withstand environmental perturbations) and recovery (i.e., ability to return to a pre-perturbation state) and thus stability under extreme climatic events is a timely question in ecology. To date, most studies have focused on the role of taxonomic diversity, neglecting how communi...

Balázs Deák 52 | Guillaume Decocq 53 | Iwona Dembicz 54 | Jürgen Dengler 55,56 | Valter Di Cecco 57 | Jan Dick 58 | Martin Diekmann 59 | Hartmut Dierschke 60, † | Thomas Dirnböck 61 | Inken Doerfler 62 | Jiří Doležal 63,64 | Ute Döring 65 | Tomasz Durak 66 | Ciara Dwyer 67 | Rasmus Ejrnaes 68 | Inna Ermakova 69 | Brigitta Erschbamer 70 | Giuliano F...

Semi-dry grasslands are among the most species-rich plant communities in the world, harbouring many specialised and threatened species. Most of these grasslands were traditionally maintained by grazing and hay-making. After traditional management ended, protected areas were established and conservation management was introduced to protect the most...

Global change pressures are highlighting the need to better understand the mechanisms driving the temporal stability of natural communities under different environmental conditions. There is ample evidence that species richness helps communities to withstand environmental fluctuations and stabilise over time. However, it is still debated whether ri...

Aim Assessing how different sampling strategies affect the accuracy and precision of species response curves estimated by parametric species distribution models. Major Taxa Studied Virtual plant species. Location Abruzzo (Italy). Time Period Timeless (simulated data). Methods We simulated the occurrence of two virtual species with different eco...

The role of plant traits in shaping community assembly along environmental gradients is a topic of ongoing research. It is well accepted that plant traits of aboveground organs tend to be conservative in stressful conditions. However, there is limited understanding of how belowground traits respond. Plants may have similar strategies above and belo...

The role of plant traits in shaping community assembly along environmental gradients is a topic of ongoing research. It is well accepted that plant traits of aboveground organs tend to be conservative in stressful conditions. However, there is limited understanding of how belowground traits respond. Plants may have similar strategies above and belo...

The role of plant traits in shaping community assembly along environmental gradients is a topic of ongoing research. It is well accepted that plant traits of aboveground organs tend to be conservative in stressful conditions. However, there is limited understanding of how belowground traits respond. Plants may have similar strategies above and belo...

Incorporating archaeology within the ecosystem services (ES) framework can offer decision‐makers lessons from the past and a broader sustainability perspective. Given the claimed archaeology‐ES link, the island of Sardinia (Italy) offers an unparalleled opportunity where a unique archaeological heritage occurs in an area of high biodiversity value....

Aim: Assessing how different sampling strategies affect the accuracy and precision of species response curves estimated by parametric Species Distribution Models. Major taxa studied: Virtual plant species. Location: Abruzzo (Italy). Time period: Timeless (simulated data). Methods: We simulated the occurrence of two virtual species with different ec...

Aim: In species distribution models (SDMs), the quality and quantity of data describing the species distribution determine the quality of the estimate of the species-environment relationship. However, SDMs usually rely on opportunistic datasets sampled from existing projects/repositories with different purposes than modelling the distribution of th...

Trait-based biodiversity experiments (TBBE) are an important tool to understand the role of plant communities on ecosystem functions and stability. Although, specific care is needed in designing of such experiments. The design should not only aim for maximizing the range of communities´ functional metrics, but also consider natural and random assem...

Biodiversity experiments are a widespread tool to understand key mechanisms on how natural and semi-natural communities respond to climate change and the role of biodiversity on ecosystem functions and stability. More recently, experiments have also taken into account species` functional traits, although specific care is needed in designing trait-b...

Pioneering investigations on the effects of introduced populations on community structure, ecosystem functioning and services have focused on the effects of invaders on taxonomic diversity. However, taxonomic-based diversity metrics overlook the heterogeneity of species roles within and among communities. As the homogenizing effects of biological i...

Analysing temporal patterns in plant communities is extremely important to quantify the extent and the consequences of ecological changes, especially considering the current biodiversity crisis. Long‐term data collected through the regular sampling of permanent plots represent the most accurate resource to study ecological succession, analyse the s...

With the aim to identify future challenges and opportunities in vegetation science, we brought together a group of 22 early-career vegetation scientists from diverse backgrounds to perform a horizon scan. In this contribution, we present a selection of 15 topics that were ranked by participants as the most emergent and impactful for vegetation scie...

Alien plants represent a significant threat to species diversity and composition in natural habitats. Nevertheless, little is known about the dynamic of the invasion process and how its effects on native species change over time. In this study, we explored vegetation changes that occurred in invaded coastal dune habitats over the last 10–15 years (...

Analysing temporal patterns in plant communities is extremely important to quantify the extent and the consequences of ecological changes, especially considering the current biodiversity crisis. Long-term data collected through the regular sampling of permanent plots represent the most accurate resource to study ecological succession, analyse the s...

Motivation Assessing biodiversity status and trends in plant communities is critical for understanding, quantifying and predicting the effects of global change on ecosystems. Vegetation plots record the occurrence or abundance of all plant species co‐occurring within delimited local areas. This allows species absences to be inferred, information se...

Aims Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the...

Habitat monitoring in Europe is regulated by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, which suggests the use of typical species to assess habitat conservation status. Yet, the Directive uses the term “typical” species but does not provide a definition, either for its use in reporting or for its use in impact assessments. To address the issue, an onlin...

Assessing temporal changes in plant communities is a core aim of temporal ecology and a shared priority of global conservation agendas which is particularly urgent in threatened ecosystems. Mediterranean coastal dunes harbour some of the most threatened habitats in Europe. Yet, surprisingly, studies capturing the recent temporal dynamics of biodive...

Grasslands are widespread elements of urban greenspace providing recreational, psychological and aesthetic benefits to city residents. Two urban grassland types of contrasting management dominate urban greenspaces: frequently mown, species-poor short-cut lawns and less intensively managed, near-natural tall-grass meadows. The higher conservation va...

Small-scale landforms influence plant species richness, but their mechanisms and effects in semi-natural dry grasslands have been poorly investigated. In this study we compared vascular plant richness, species composition, plant traits, soil properties and biomass nutrient content of convex (hillocks) and concave (hollows) karst landforms in a moun...

Though protected areas are recognized as the cornerstone of global conservation efforts, their effectiveness in safeguarding biodiversity is currently debated. In particular, studies evaluating the counterfactual influence of protection status on community metrics derived from field-collected data are still scarce. In this paper, using data from a...

Increasing urbanization worldwide calls for more sustainable urban development. Simultaneously, the global biodiversity crisis accentuates the need of fostering biodiversity within cities. Policies supporting urban nature conservation need to understand people’s acceptance of biodiversity-friendly greenspace management. We surveyed more than 2,000...

Coastal erosion, in combination with sea-level rise and extreme meteorological events, is globally threatening the biodiversity and functioning of dune ecosystems, along with the essential ecosystem services they provide. In this study, by quantifying the intensity of erosion and accretion processes occurred over two decades in a wide Mediterranean...

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research sp...

Festuca valesiaca Schleich. ex Gaudin subsp. valesiaca is acknowledged as one of the most characteristic grasses of the continental grasslands and steppes of Eurasia. In Italy, the species was known almost only from the continental valleys of the Alpine chain (with the exception of two small populations at the northernmost edge of the Apennines). H...

Secondary dry grasslands in Europe can host high levels of vascular plant richness at small spatial scales. However, in Southern Europe their biodiversity patterns are largely unexplored. In this work, we aim at: (i) estimating plant species richness patterns at very fine scales in montane dry grasslands, on limestone bedrock, in Abruzzo Lazio and...

Coastal areas harbor the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, and cost-effective ways to monitor and protect them are urgently needed, but they represent a challenge for habitat mapping and multi-temporal observations. The availability of open access, remotely sensed data with increasing spatial and spectral resolution is promising in this context....

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots...

The 10th EDGG Field Workshop took place in a sector of the Central Apennine Mountains, Italy, in June 2017. Altogether, 22 researchers from nine European and Asian countries attended this Field Workshop. We sampled plant and insect biodiversity in sub-montane and lower-montane grasslands along a precipitation gradient, from the L’Aquila valley and...

First results from the revisitation of 50, quasi-permanent random plots originally sampled in 2005. After 12 years, we could observe major changes in the area: 8% of the plots disappeared, while significant compositional changes, assessed through a beta-diversity analysis, similarly characterized each EUNIS category. Partitioning beta-diversity all...

An analysis of temporal trends in plant species richness and cover of the main sandy habitats, along with temporal trends of invasion in Italian coastal dunes.

We introduce RanVegDunes (GIVD ID EU-IT-020), the first Italian database gathering standardized, randomly- sampled vegetation data in coastal dune environments. RanVegDunes currently consists of 979 original georeferenced relevés randomly collected over about 160 km of Holocenic dune systems of central Italy between 2002 and 2015. Plots were locate...

In the last century, urbanization and other related human pressures caused severe losses in the extension of dune systems, which are still considered as being among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. In this light, collecting and storing vegetation data is crucial to keep track of changes and monitor the conservation status of these ecosystem...

Astragalus exscapus L. subsp. exscapus (Fabaceae) is a rare and declining perennial herb with a very fragmented distribution range. It is interpreted as a relict of the glacial steppe flora. In Italy, it was known until now only from the Alpine “dry valleys”, namely from Val d’Aosta and Val Venosta/Vinschgau. We report on the discovery of a populat...

Plant diversity measures (e.g., alpha- and beta-diversity) provide the basis for a number of ecological indication and monitoring methods. These measures are based on species counts in sampling units (plots or quadrats). However, there are two alternative conventions for defining a vascular plant species as “present” in a plot, i.e. “shoot presence...