Incomplete recovery of plant diversity in restored prairie wetlands on agricultural landscapes

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 520-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saloni Salaria ◽  
Renee Howard ◽  
Shari Clare ◽  
Irena F. Creed
The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S Elgin ◽  
Robert G Clark ◽  
Christy A Morrissey

Abstract Millions of wetland basins, embedded in croplands and grasslands, are biodiversity hotspots in North America’s Prairie Pothole Region, but prairie wetlands continue to be degraded and drained, primarily for agricultural activities. Aerial insectivorous swallows are known to forage over water, but it is unclear whether swallows exhibit greater selection for wetlands relative to other habitats in croplands and grasslands. Central-place foraging theory suggests that habitat selectivity should increase with traveling distance from a central place, such that foragers compensate for traveling costs by selecting more profitable foraging habitat. Using global positioning system (GPS) tags, we evaluated habitat selection by female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at 4 sites containing wetlands and where terrestrial land cover was dominated by grasslands (grass, herbaceous cover) and/or cultivated cropland. We also used sweep-net transects to assess the abundance and biomass of flying insects in different habitats available to swallows (wetland pond margins, grassy field margins, and representative uplands). As expected for a central-place forager, GPS-tagged swallows selected more for wetland ponds (disproportionate to availability), and appeared to increasingly select for wetlands with increasing distance from their nests. On cropland-dominated sites, insect abundance and biomass tended to be higher in pond margins or grassy field margins compared to cropped uplands, while abundance and biomass were more uniform among sampled habitats at sites dominated by grass and herbaceous cover. Swallow habitat selection was not clearly explained by the distribution of sampled insects among habitats; however, traditional terrestrial sampling methods may not adequately reflect prey distribution and availability to aerially foraging swallows. Overall, our results underscore the importance of protecting and enhancing prairie wetlands and other non-crop habitats in agricultural landscapes, given their disproportionate use and capacity to support breeding swallow and insect populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 2396-2407
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Bortolotti ◽  
Vincent L. St. Louis ◽  
Rolf D. Vinebrooke

Elucidating drivers of aquatic ecosystem metabolism is key to forecasting how inland waters will respond to anthropogenic changes. We quantified gross primary production (GPP), respiration (ER), and net ecosystem production (NEP) in a natural and two restored prairie wetlands (one “older” and one “recently” restored) and identified drivers of temporal variation. GPP and ER were highest in the older restored wetland, followed by the natural and recently restored sites. The natural wetland was the only net autotrophic site. Metabolic differences could not be definitively tied to restoration history, but were consistent with previous studies of restored wetlands. Wetlands showed similar metabolic responses to abiotic variables (photosynthetically active radiation, wind speed, temperature), but differed in the direct and interactive influences of biotic factors (submersed aquatic vegetation, phytoplankton). Drivers and patterns of metabolism suggested the importance of light over nutrient limitation and the dominance of autochthonous production. Such similarity in ecosystem metabolism between prairie wetlands and shallow lakes highlights the need for a unifying metabolic theory for small and productive aquatic ecosystems.


2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Mayer ◽  
Robert O. Megard ◽  
Susan M. Galatowitsch

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edyta Łaskawiec

This review discusses the importance of ecotones with high plant diversity which are highly effective in retaining pollutants and waste. Biogeochemical barriers play a vital role in eliminating biogenic pollutants, pesticides and heavy metals. Belts of rush plants and meadow vegetation considerably expand the accumulation capacity of water bodies and watercourses. The mechanisms responsible for the protective role of biogeochemical barriers involve various processes such as sorption, sedimentation, denitrification and assimilation, which require the coexistence of plants and microorganisms in aquatic ecosystems. Buffer barriers were presented as one of the ecohydrology tools in agricultural landscapes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 142 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 144-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Hofer ◽  
Robert G.H. Bunce ◽  
Peter J. Edwards ◽  
Erich Szerencsits ◽  
Helene H. Wagner ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 206-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Lindborg ◽  
J. Plue ◽  
K. Andersson ◽  
S.A.O. Cousins

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 1856-1864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Sutter ◽  
Philippe Jeanneret ◽  
Agustín M. Bartual ◽  
Gionata Bocci ◽  
Matthias Albrecht

2017 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 234-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Rembold ◽  
Hardianto Mangopo ◽  
Sri Sudarmiyati Tjitrosoedirdjo ◽  
Holger Kreft

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis S. Hesler ◽  
Eric A. Beckendorf

Lady (= ladybird) beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) provide agroecosystem services as major predators of aphids and other pests of field crops. Several native coccinellids in North America have declined in association with the introduction of invasive species of lady beetles. In particular, populations of three native species declined drastically (Coccinella transversoguttata richardsoni) or effectively disappeared (Coccinella novemnotata, Adalia bipunctata) from agricultural landscapes in eastern South Dakota, U.S.A., following establishment of an invasive coccinellid (Coccinella septempunctata) in the 1980s. Since then, two other non-native coccinellids (Harmonia axyridis and Hippodamia variegata) have established in eastern South Dakota, but long-term analysis of their impact on the aphidophagous coccinellid guild is lacking. This paper summarizes long-term results from 14 years (2007–2020) of sampling coccinellids by sweepnet and timed searches in five field crops and restored prairie in eastern South Dakota. In all, 17,338 aphidophagous coccinellids comprising 10 species were sampled. Two invasive species (Coc. septempunctata, Har. axyridis) were the third- and fourth-most abundant species, respectively. The seven most abundant species constituted 99% of all coccinellids sampled and were recorded from all six habitats. However, coccinellid species ranged considerably in their evenness of habitat use, resulting in differences in rank abundance among habitats. Coccinellid assemblages were similar for alfalfa and winter wheat, but not for other habitats, which possessed distinct coccinellid assemblages based on rank abundance. Annual abundance of coccinellids varied considerably within habitats, but declining trends were evident from significant negative regressions in annual abundance for adult and immature coccinellids in corn and adults in soybean. As a group, native adult coccinellids showed a significant declining trend in corn but not in other habitats, whereas trends for non-native adult coccinellids were non-significant in all habitats. Sample rates of coccinellids in alfalfa, spring grains, and corn in this study were 74, 26, and 6%, respectively, compared to that of a previous study from the region, further indicating substantial decreases in coccinellid abundance. Possible explanations and implications for observed patterns in coccinellid diversity and individual species abundances in field crops and restored prairie of eastern South Dakota are discussed with respect to prey, agronomic trends, and landscape factors.


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