Biodiversity loss in plants worldwide

Date:
December 15, 2021
Source:
University of Konstanz
Summary:
Naturalized alien plants are causing a worldwide decline in the
uniqueness of regional floras, according to the results of a global
research project.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
When alien plants integrate into an existing ecosystem and successfully
spread there, in rare cases this can contribute to the increased
uniqueness of the regional flora. However, much more often this process
-- known as "naturalization" -- leads to a homogenization of regional
floras and thus to a net loss of global floristic uniqueness. Especially "super-invaders," which are highly effective at colonizing new territory
and displacing native species, are causing the flora in even distant
regions with clear geographic separation to become increasingly
similar. These are the findings of an international research team led
by biologists from Konstanz that were published in the journalNature Communications.


========================================================================== Global databases used for study In their recent study, the researchers
used global databases to make the first comparison of the composition
of 658 regional floras from nearly all parts of the world. In addition,
they investigated the influence of biogeographical and anthropogenic
(i.e., human-made) factors on the increasing homogenization of regional
floras. To assess the floristic uniqueness of individual regions,
they took into account both the number of plant species that a region
shares or does not share with other regions and the degree to which
plant species are related to each other. In doing so, they also included regional evolutionary histories in their analysis.

An important role in the spread of alien plants and the loss of uniqueness
of regional floras is played by various biogeographic factors. These
factors include the geographic distance between the regions under
consideration and their "climatic distance" from each other, according to
the study. "The more similar two regions are in terms of climate, the more likely it is that a plant from one region will succeed in establishing
itself as a naturalized species in the other region, once geographic
barriers have been crossed. In a sense, plants from a region with short climatic distance to their new habitat are 'climatically pre-adapted',"
Dr Qiang Yang, the lead author of the study, explains the effect.

Political factors as additional driving force However, anthropogenic
factors also have an impact on the spread of alien plants and the global homogenization of regional floras. For instance, the researchers describe
that the shared administrative history of some of the regions under consideration plays a role: Regions that are now or had been under the
same political administration in the past exhibit greater homogenization
in the composition of their floras.

Current examples are regions that are part of the same national territory,
such as different regions within the United States. Historical examples,
on the other hand, are the European colonial powers and their former
colonies.

"Between regions of the same national territory or regions with historical colonial ties, there is or at least was lively exchange in the past --
in the form of both cargo and passenger traffic. This usually also
increases the exchange of plants across geographical borders, be it intentionally, as trade goods or agricultural crops, or unintentionally,"
Qiang Yang explains.

More effective biosecurity measures needed Overall, naturalized alien
plant species are driving the global homogenization of regional plant communities, and humans are making a clear contribution by spreading alien plants. "These effects are now evident even in the most remote corners
of the world," reports Dr Mark van Kleunen, Professor of Ecology in the Department of Biology at the University of Konstanz and senior author
of the publication. He concludes: "Unless more effective protective
measures are taken to counter the ongoing spread and naturalization of
alien plants in the future, they will continue to destroy the uniqueness
of our ecosystems -- making the world a less diverse place." Key facts
* Investigation of the uniqueness of regional floras and its worldwide
change due to biogeographical and anthropogenic factors based on
global databases.

* Naturalization of alien plants is causing a global net loss of
uniqueness
in regional floras.

* In addition to biogeographical factors, such as geographic or
climatic
distance, anthropogenic factors, such as administrative
relationships between the regions studied, also play a role.

* Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG), German Federal
Ministry of
Education and Research (BMBF), Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
and Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AV ?R), Austrian
Science Fund (FWF), Foundation ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Konstanz. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Qiang Yang, Patrick Weigelt, Trevor S. Fristoe, Zhijie Zhang, Holger
Kreft, Anke Stein, Hanno Seebens, Wayne Dawson, Franz Essl,
Christian Ko"nig, Bernd Lenzner, Jan Pergl, Robin Pouteau,
Petr Pysek, Marten Winter, Aleksandr L. Ebel, Nicol Fuentes,
Eduardo L. H. Giehl, John Kartesz, Pavel Krestov, Toomas Kukk,
Misako Nishino, Andrey Kupriyanov, Jose Luis Villasen~or, Jan
J. Wieringa, Abida Zeddam, Elena Zykova, Mark van Kleunen. The
global loss of floristic uniqueness. Nature Communications, 2021;
12 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27603-y ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211215082025.htm

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