Cross Taxon Congruence Between Lichens and Vascular Plants in a Riparian Ecosystem

Bibliographic Details
Title: Cross Taxon Congruence Between Lichens and Vascular Plants in a Riparian Ecosystem
Authors: Giovanni Bacaro, Enrico Tordoni, Stefano Martellos, Simona Maccherini, Michela Marignani, Lucia Muggia, Francesco Petruzzellis, Rossella Napolitano, Daniele Da Re, Tommaso Guidi, Renato Benesperi, Vincenzo Gonnelli, Lorenzo Lastrucci
Source: Diversity, Vol 11, Iss 8, p 133 (2019)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2019.
Publication Year: 2019
Collection: LCC:Biology (General)
Subject Terms: biodiversity, co-correspondence analysis, conservation planning, surrogate taxon, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
More Details: Despite that congruence across taxa has been proved as an effective tool to provide insights into the processes structuring the spatial distribution of taxonomic groups and is useful for conservation purposes, only a few studies on cross-taxon congruence focused on freshwater ecosystems and on the relations among vascular plants and lichens. We hypothesized here that, since vascular plants could be good surrogates of lichens in these ecosystems, it would be possible to assess the overall biodiversity of riparian habitats using plant data only. In this frame, we explored the relationship between (a) species richness and (b) community composition of plants and lichens in a wetland area located in central Italy to (i) assess whether vascular plants are good surrogates of lichens and (ii) to test the congruence of patterns of species richness and composition among plants and lichens along an ecological gradient. The general performance of plant species richness per se, as a biodiversity surrogate of lichens, had poor results. Nonetheless, the congruence in compositional patterns between lichens and vascular plants varied across habitats and was influenced by the characteristics of the vegetation. In general, we discussed how the strength of the studied relationships could be influenced by characteristics of the data (presence/absence vs. abundance), by the spatial scale, and by the features of the habitats. Overall, our data confirm that the more diverse and structurally complex the vegetation is, the more diverse are the lichen communities it hosts.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1424-2818
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/8/133; https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818
DOI: 10.3390/d11080133
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/e1cbaad1b6554c049afd4054686be30c
Accession Number: edsdoj.1cbaad1b6554c049afd4054686be30c
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:14242818
DOI:10.3390/d11080133
Published in:Diversity
Language:English