Distribution of three indigenous fern species along a rural–urban gradient in the city of Angers, France

The preservation of wild plants and animals in urban environments can be a good means to meet the demand for natural areas for recreational purposes. However, the impacts of urbanisation on native species distribution are poorly studied. A city environment has high impact on vegetal community dynamics, especially in terms of climate modification, level of perturbationand pattern of dispersion. We chose to study the three indigenous species of the genus Polypodium that are known to grow in a wide range of habitats, including forest and urban environments, and exhibit a priori a strong ability for dispersal. The aim of the study was to evaluate the factors involved in the Polypodium species distribution and to determine whether this distribution was influenced by the rural–urban gradient. The distribution of the three fern species was investigated in the city of Angers (France) at two levels: for a park (urban woodland) and for the whole city. A contrasted distribution of the three Polypodies has been recorded and shows a rural–urban gradient. This can be explained by the ecology of each species and some biological traits. It means that differences in the spatial structure of the city lead to particular patterns of distribution for these plants. Thus, preserved indigenous vegetation may be influenced in its species composition by the surrounding urban development.     

Urban domestic gardens (XIII): Composition of the bryophyte and lichen floras, and determinants of species richness

Private, residential gardens form a substantial proportion of the undeveloped land in urban areas. Evaluating their role in supporting biodiversity is crucial to (i) predicting which plant and animal species can persist in towns and cities, (ii) understanding the regional impacts of urbanisation, and (iii) guiding sympathetic garden management by owners. To obtain baseline information on a poorly-studied component of garden biodiversity, we measured the size and composition of the cryptogam assemblages in 61 domestic gardens in the city of Sheffield, UK. A total of 67 bryophyte and 77 lichen taxa were recorded. Bryophytes ranged from 3 to 24 species per garden, with a mean richness of 11.3 species; lichens ranged from 2 to 30, with a mean of 14.9 species. Stone substrates supported the highest lichen richness, although minor substrates contributed unique species. Just over one fifth of bryophyte species were recorded in grass lawns, and these were more widespread than those of other habitats. Most cryptogams were scarce, with around one quarter of both bryophytes and lichens occurring in single gardens, and only 10% were found in more than half of the gardens. Garden area - correlated with substrate richness - and garden altitude were the only two factors explaining variation in cryptogam richness (bryophytes 39.1%, lichens 32.4%). Positive correlations existed among bryophyte, lichen and vascular plant richness, and these were only partially mediated by the effect of garden area. Therefore the opportunity remains for garden owners to support cryptogam richness, the most effective action being to enhance substrate diversity.     

Species occurrences at stand level cannot be understood without considering the landscape context: Cyanolichens on aspen in boreal Sweden

A major challenge in conservation biology is to understand species’ responses to habitat loss. In Fennoscandia, the ongoing decline in aspen in forests is of particular concern, since aspen is the boreal forest tree species that supports the most host-specific species of cryptogams and invertebrates. In order to predict the potential effects of aspen decline we compared the occurrence of three epiphytic cyanolichens in old-growth stands of the same habitat quality, in four aspen-rich and four aspen-poor landscapes. Collemacurtisporum and Collemafurfuraceum were, on average, five and six times more frequent, respectively, in the aspen-rich than in the aspen-poor landscapes. Leptogiumsaturninum was not affected by the abundance of aspen stands at the landscape level. Our data suggests that lichen species with poor dispersal abilities may be more sensitive to habitat loss than more easily dispersed species and that species with broader habitat amplitude may be less sensitive to habitat loss than more specialized species, even if they have inferior dispersal ability. We conclude that (i) predictions of species occurrences at the stand level have to take account of the amount of suitable habitat at the landscape level, and (ii) predicting the responses of individual species based on life-history traits can be crucial, but cannot be based on single traits. Thus our study shows that biological value cannot be assessed on the basis of habitat quality alone and that a landscape perspective is needed for the sustainable management of specialist species.