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Do large scale restoration projects reduce within-species traits variability? - Présentées à 2 congrès
Harzé, Mélanie; Monty, Arnaud; Mahy, Grégory
2015European Dry Grassland Meeting 2015 & 6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration
 

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Keywords :
Dry grasslands; Calcareous grasslands; Restoration; Population; Potentilla neumanniana; Traits variability; SLA; Vegetative height; Soil depth
Abstract :
[en] Dry calcareous grasslands represent local biodiversity hotspots of European temperate regions. They have suffered intensive fragmentations due to due to the abandonment of traditional agropastoral systems and the resulting encroachment, reforestation, urbanization or transformation into arable lands. In order to preserve and enhance their ecological value, a series of ecological restoration projects have been implemented throughout Europe (LIFE+). As habitats restoration costs can be prohibitive, actions should demonstrate their success. In the face of environmental changes, restored populations should possess attributes necessary for adaptive evolutionary changes allowing them to persist over the long term. Intra-population functional variability expresses the range of possible trait values of a species living in a heterogeneous environment. It results notably from genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity and enables species survival, growth and reproduction under various environmental conditions. In Belgium, three European LIFE projects have taken place between 2000 and 2009, restoring more than 400 hectares of calcareous grasslands. Restorations have mainly been evaluated in terms of plant species diversity and community composition. Though it is expected to be of crucial importance for species evolutionary potential, the restoration of the entire range of environmental heterogeneity and the resulting intra-population functional variability of restored population have so far not been assessed. We compared the intra-population variability of functional traits (specific leaf area (SLA) and maximum vegetative height) of 10 restored and 10 reference populations of Potentilla neumanniana (30 individuals per populations). We characterized abiotic and biotic conditions by measuring soil depth, sun exposure, bare ground cover and mean vegetation height around each sampled individual. Our main results showed that the range of within-species functional variability was restored in our study area. We will conclude with implications for the evolutionary potential of restored populations and for future ecological restoration projects.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Harzé, Mélanie ;  Université de Liège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Biodiversité et Paysage
Monty, Arnaud ;  Université de Liège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Biodiversité et Paysage
Mahy, Grégory ;  Université de Liège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Biodiversité et Paysage
Language :
English
Title :
Do large scale restoration projects reduce within-species traits variability? - Présentées à 2 congrès
Publication date :
2015
Event name :
European Dry Grassland Meeting 2015 & 6th World Conference on Ecological Restoration
Event place :
Mainz, United Kingdom
Mainz, Germany
Event date :
22 mai 2015 - 26 mai 2015 & 24 août 2015 - 27 août 2015
Audience :
International
Available on ORBi :
since 29 June 2015

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