Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.9
3.2
Journals
Land
Special Issues
Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant...
share announcement

Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Landscape Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2024) | Viewed by 11610

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kostas Kougioumoutzis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15701 Athens, Greece
Interests: biogeography; biodiversity; biodiversity and climate change; conservation; conservation biogeography; conservation biology; island biodiversity; island biogeography; plant diversity; plant systematics; species distribution modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ioannis P. Kokkoris

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Botany, Department of Biology, University of Patras, GR-26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: conservation ecology; biodiversity; biomonitoring; inventory and mapping of flora and habitat types/vegetation types; mapping and assessment of ecosystems and ecosystem services; GIS and remote sensing; environmental management; sustainable development; environmental policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Panitsa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: diversity of plant species
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant diversity is unevenly spatially distributed due to eco-evolutionary processes. We live in an era where human-induced land use and climate change are threating biodiversity at unprecedented rates. Consequently, biodiversity loss and extinction rates have exceeded historically high levels, a phenomenon observed all over the globe and at all spatial scales since the Industrial Revolution, mainly due to habitat loss and degradation. This trend is bound to continue in the coming decades. This will lead to increasing biotic homogenization, as well as altering biodiversity patterns and biotic interactions. The Mediterranean, apart from being the second largest global biodiversity hotspot, is also a global biodiversity hotspot of vulnerable taxa and is among the regions where the effects of climate and land-use change on plant diversity are expected to be the largest. There is thus an urgent need to assess current biodiversity patterns, conservation actions, practices, and management plans, as well as for studies conducted on potentially threatened or socioeconomically important taxa. This Special Issue aims to encourage ongoing plant diversity and conservation research in the Mediterranean at any level (from molecular to ecosystem), as well as in any other global biodiversity hotspot.

Dr. Kostas Kougioumoutzis
Dr. Ioannis P. Kokkoris
Dr. Maria Panitsa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Anthropocene
  • biodiversity conservation
  • biodiversity patterns
  • conservation biogeography
  • conservation biology
  • conservation genetics
  • climate change
  • conservation prioritization
  • cultural ecology
  • ecosystems services
  • ethnobotany
  • environmental management
  • ex situ conservation
  • extinction risk
  • in situ conservation
  • genetic, taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity
  • management
  • land-use change
  • plant-pollinator networks
  • plant conservation
  • phylogeography
  • physiology
  • policymaking
  • policy evaluation
  • population genetics
  • species distribution modelling
  • sustainable development
  • taxonomy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 2922 KiB  
Article
Simulation of the Potential Effect of Meteorological Condition Variations on Forage Production in Native Pastures in the Warm Climate of Colombia
by Eliecer David Díaz-Almanza, José Alejandro Cleves-Leguizamo and Rodrigo Daniel Salgado-Ordosgoitia
Land 2025, 14(2), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14020397 - 14 Feb 2025
Viewed by 619
Abstract
The increasing variability of climatic conditions poses significant challenges for agricultural and livestock systems worldwide. In regions with warm climates, such as northern Colombia, the effects of changing temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration are particularly pronounced, influencing the productivity and sustainability of native pastures. [...] Read more.
The increasing variability of climatic conditions poses significant challenges for agricultural and livestock systems worldwide. In regions with warm climates, such as northern Colombia, the effects of changing temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration are particularly pronounced, influencing the productivity and sustainability of native pastures. To address these challenges, modeling tools provide a valuable means of understanding and predicting forage production dynamics under diverse climatic scenarios, enabling farmers to make informed decisions that enhance resilience and sustainability. This research was conducted in Córdoba, Colombia, with the objective of evaluating the impact of climatic variations in temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration on forage production in native pastures in hot climates in northern Colombia. Modeling tools were used to assess the potential yield of pastures based on climate conditions, enabling the understanding and addressing of challenges associated with climatic fluctuations in estimated production. To plan animal grazing, climate variability from 2018 to 2021, a period influenced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, was analyzed. This type of integrated analysis, which combines meteorological data, soil, crops, and evaluation of animal load per unit area, is an ideal and practical approach to addressing productivity challenges associated with climatic variability in livestock production in the warm climate of Colombia. The results confirmed the significant impact of climatic conditions on forage production, leading to the conclusion that simulation tools for water use in Bothriochloa “Colosuana” pastures are relevant for efficient water resource management, particularly during the dry season and drought events. This allows for anticipating the impacts of climate change on agriculture and livestock, facilitating timely and sustainable decision-making by farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 4841 KiB  
Article
Uncertainty Assessment of Species Distribution Prediction Using Multiple Global Climate Models on the Tibetan Plateau: A Case Study of Gentiana yunnanensis and Gentiana siphonantha
by Yuxin Song, Xiaoting Xu, Shuoying Zhang and Xiulian Chi
Land 2024, 13(9), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091376 - 28 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1324
Abstract
Species distribution models (SDMs) have been widely used to project how species respond to future climate changes as forecasted by global climate models (GCMs). While uncertainties in GCMs specific to the Tibetan Plateau have been acknowledged, their impacts on species distribution modeling needs [...] Read more.
Species distribution models (SDMs) have been widely used to project how species respond to future climate changes as forecasted by global climate models (GCMs). While uncertainties in GCMs specific to the Tibetan Plateau have been acknowledged, their impacts on species distribution modeling needs to be explored. Here, we employed ten algorithms to evaluate the uncertainties of SDMs across four GCMs (ACCESS-CM2, CMCC-ESM2, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, and UKESM1-0-LL) under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) at two time stages. We selected two endemic species of the Tibetan Plateau, Gentiana yunnanensis and G. siphonantha, distributed in the Hengduan Mountain regions of the southeast plateau and northeast plateau regions, respectively, as case studies. Under the two SSPs and two time periods, there are significant differences in the distribution areas of G. yunnanensis predicted by different GCMs, with some showing increases and others showing decreases. In contrast, the distribution range trends for G. siphonantha predicted by different GCMs are consistent, initially increasing and then decreasing. The CMCC-ESM2 model predicted the largest increase in the distribution range of G. yunnanensis, while the UKESM1-0-LL model predicted the greatest decrease in the distribution range of G. siphonantha. Our findings highlight that the four selected GCMs still lead to some variations in the final outcome despite the existence of similar trends. We recommend employing the average values from the four selected GCMs to simulate species potential distribution under future climate change scenarios to mitigate uncertainties among GCMs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 6300 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Dynamic Change and Driving Force of Vegetation Carbon Sink in Taihang Mountain, China
by Qiushi Qu, Sihui Jian, Anguo Chen and Chiwei Xiao
Land 2024, 13(9), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13091348 - 24 Aug 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1525
Abstract
Vegetation plays an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide and accelerating the achievement of carbon neutrality. As the ecological barrier of North China, the Taihang Mountains are pivotal to the ecological construction project of China. Nevertheless, the dynamic development of the vegetation carbon [...] Read more.
Vegetation plays an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide and accelerating the achievement of carbon neutrality. As the ecological barrier of North China, the Taihang Mountains are pivotal to the ecological construction project of China. Nevertheless, the dynamic development of the vegetation carbon sink in the region and the impact factors on the sink have not been systematically evaluated. This study employed a comprehensive approach, utilising remote sensing technology and meteorological and topographic data, in conjunction with the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) estimation model to reveal the characteristics of vegetation carbon sinks in the Taihang Mountain, and then revealed the dynamics evolution of the NEP and the inter-annual trend by using Theil–Sen Median slope estimation, the Mann–Kendall test, and the coefficient of dissociation and analysed the driving roles of the influencing factors by using the parameter optimal geographic detector. Our findings suggest that the NEP in the Taihang Mountain area has a clear growth trend in time, the average value of NEP in the Taihang Mountain area is 289 gC-m−2-a−1 from 2000 to 2022, and the spatial distribution shows the characteristics of high in the northeast and low in the middle and west, with a gradual increase from the northeast to the southwest; the areas with high fluctuation of NEP are mainly distributed in the areas around some cities that are susceptible to the interference of natural or anthropogenic factors. The vegetation carbon sinks in the Taihang Mountains are influenced by a variety of natural factors, among which the explanatory power of each natural factor is as follows: DEM (0.174) > temperature (0.148) > precipitation (0.026) > slope (0.017) > slope direction (0.003). The natural factor DEM had the strongest explanatory power for NEP changes, and the two-by-two effects of the natural factors on vegetation carbon sinks were all significantly stronger than the effects of a single factor, in which the interaction between DEM and precipitation had the strongest explanatory power; distinguishing from climate change factors, the contribution of anthropogenic activities to NEP changes in more than 90% of the area of the Taihang Mountainous Region was more than 60%, and the driving force of anthropogenic factors on NEP changes in the Taihang Mountainous Region was significantly stronger than that of natural climate change. The contribution of anthropogenic factors to NEP changes in the Taihang Mountains was significantly stronger than that of natural climate change. The results of this study can not only provide a reference for carbon reduction and sink increase and ecological restoration projects in the Taihang Mountains but also benefit the research paradigm of vegetation carbon sequestration in other regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 4966 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Changes in Typical Mountain Wetlands in the Middle and High Latitudes of China over the Past 30 Years
by Nana Luo, Rui Yu and Bolong Wen
Land 2024, 13(8), 1124; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13081124 - 24 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 885
Abstract
Analysis of the driving mechanisms of wetland change can help identify spatial differences in the mechanisms affecting various elements, enabling a more scientific approach to the conservation and utilization of wetlands. This study investigated the impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on the [...] Read more.
Analysis of the driving mechanisms of wetland change can help identify spatial differences in the mechanisms affecting various elements, enabling a more scientific approach to the conservation and utilization of wetlands. This study investigated the impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors on the spatiotemporal evolution of the Altay and Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains areas using Landsat satellite image data from 1980 to 2018 and fieldwork data from 2019 to 2020. A transfer matrix, correlation analysis, and dynamic characteristics were applied to calculate and analyze the transformation types and areas of wetland resources across all consecutive periods. Finally, the dominant factors influencing the spatiotemporal evolution of the wetland were explored and revealed using the drought index (Standardized Precipitation Index, SPEI) and statistical almanacs. The results showed: (1) From 1980 to 2018, the wetlands area in the Altay Mountains exhibited a decreasing trend, whereas the wetlands area in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains showed an increasing trend. The primary type of wetland transfer in the Altay Mountains was grassland, whereas in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains regions, the primary types of wetland transfer were grassland and forestland. The wetlands area transferred out of the Altay Mountain region was larger than the area of wetland types transferred into during 2010–2018, whereas the wetland areas of the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountain areas showed the opposite trend. (2) From 1980 to 2018, the wetland ecosystem types in the Altay Mountains exhibited the highest dynamic and conversion degrees of the channels. Similarly, the mountain areas of the Greater Khingan Mountains showed the highest dynamic and conversion degrees of marshes and channels among the wetland types. In addition, the mountainous areas of the Lesser Khingan Mountains showed the highest dynamic and conversion degrees for reservoirs and rivers. (3) Natural driving factor analysis revealed that the SPEI values in the Altay Mountains and the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains areas exhibited an increasing trend, indicating that the climate has been warm and humid over the past 30 years and that the expansion of cropland and human-made wetland areas has been significantly influenced by human activities. Therefore, the wetland areas of the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains in the northeast are strongly influenced by human activities, whereas the wetland in the Altay Mountains in the northwest is strongly influenced by the climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 8509 KiB  
Article
Short- and Mid-Term Spatiotemporal Diversity Patterns of Post-Fire Insect-Pollinated Plant Communities in the Mediterranean
by Georgios Nakas, Konstantinos Kougioumoutzis and Theodora Petanidou
Land 2023, 12(12), 2109; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12122109 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1391
Abstract
In the Mediterranean, one of the most fire-prone regions in the world, wildfires are considered a key factor in vegetation distribution, structure, and function. Severe or frequent fires can lead to homogenized plant communities and habitat fragmentation with significant consequences for the ecosystem [...] Read more.
In the Mediterranean, one of the most fire-prone regions in the world, wildfires are considered a key factor in vegetation distribution, structure, and function. Severe or frequent fires can lead to homogenized plant communities and habitat fragmentation with significant consequences for the ecosystem and plant-dependent animals such as pollinators. Herein, we present the results of a 10-year post-fire study (2013–2022) conducted on Chios Island, Greece. We explored the effects of a large-scale fire on beta diversity patterns of the flowering insect-pollinated plant communities and its turnover and nestedness components in both burned and unburned sites. In addition, we investigated whether the recorded differences in the burned and unburned plant communities were a result of species gains or losses in the post-fire years. Burned communities display higher post-fire beta diversity compared to the unburned ones, due to higher species turnover across all years of reference. Species turnover was highest overall in the burned sites during the second post-fire year and decreased a decade later. In conclusion, Mediterranean flowering insect-pollinated plant communities are rather fire-resilient, implying positive impacts on pollinator diversity and plant-pollinator interactions during regeneration after a wildfire. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

44 pages, 4237 KiB  
Article
Alnus glutinosa Riparian Woodlands of Italy and Corsica: Phytosociological Classification and Floristic Diversity
by Saverio Sciandrello, Claudia Angiolini, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Maurizio Cutini, Jeremy Dumoulin, Mauro Fois, Antonio Gabellini, Matilde Gennai, Lorenzo Gianguzzi, Marco Landi, Pietro Minissale, Christophe Panaïotis, Marta Puglisi, Giovanni Spampinato, Gianmarco Tavilla, Valeria Tomaselli, Daniele Viciani and Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo
Land 2023, 12(1), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010088 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4167
Abstract
A comparative analysis of the riparian vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa in Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, based on literature data and unpublished relevés, is presented. A total of 456 phytosociological relevés were processed. For the definition of plant communities and alliances, hierarchical clustering [...] Read more.
A comparative analysis of the riparian vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa in Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, based on literature data and unpublished relevés, is presented. A total of 456 phytosociological relevés were processed. For the definition of plant communities and alliances, hierarchical clustering was performed by using Bray-Curtis coefficient and Detrended Correspondence Analysis ordination methods. Identification of diagnostic species of the vegetation units was performed by means of the phi fidelity index. Quantum GIS software version 3.6 was used for the interpolation of the bioclimatic variables and A. glutinosa communities. Overall, a total of 18 A. glutinosa-riparian wood communities were distinguished for Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, of which two new associations and one new subassassociation are described. The classification of the relevés showed two main vegetation groups: the first one including the plant communities of the Osmundo-Alnion alliance, and the other including the vegetation of the Ligustro vulgaris-Alnion glutinosae alliance. This latest includes the riparian meso-thermophilous communities of central and northern Italy. Within the Osmundo-Alnion alliance, two subgroups can be recognized: the first one includes the thermophilous communities of the Hyperico hircini-Alnenion glutinosae sub-alliance, mainly spread in the Tyrrhenian islands, while the second group includes the mesophilous communities attributed to the new suballiance Struthioptero-Alnenion glutinosae, widespread in central Italy and the Corsican mountains. The present paper provides the first comprehensive and exhaustive scheme of the A. glutinosa riparian woodlands diversity in Italy and Corsica. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assess the Effects of Climate and Land-Use Change on Plant Species Distribution)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop