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Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years

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Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years. / Keith, Sal; Newton, Adrian; Morecroft, Michael D. et al.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, 22.07.2009.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Keith, S, Newton, A, Morecroft, MD, Bealey, C & Bullock, J 2009, 'Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years', Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0938

APA

Keith, S., Newton, A., Morecroft, M. D., Bealey, C., & Bullock, J. (2009). Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0938

Vancouver

Keith S, Newton A, Morecroft MD, Bealey C, Bullock J. Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. 2009 Jul 22. Epub 2009 Jul 22. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0938

Author

Keith, Sal ; Newton, Adrian ; Morecroft, Michael D. et al. / Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. 2009.

Bibtex

@article{076d58906f7a46b59ed6f1172b5a1fab,
title = "Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years",
abstract = "Taxonomic homogenization (TH) is the increasing similarity of the species composition of ecological communities over time. Such homogenization represents a form of biodiversity loss and can result from local species turnover. Evidence for TH is limited, reflecting a lack of suitable historical datasets, and previous analyses have generated contrasting conclusions. We present an analysis of woodland patches across a southern English county (Dorset) in which we quantified 70 years of change in the composition of vascular plant communities. We tested the hypotheses that over this time patches decreased in species richness, homogenized, or shifted towards novel communities. Although mean species richness at the patch scale did not change, we found increased similarity in species composition among woodlands over time. We concluded that the woodlands have undergone TH without experiencing declines in local diversity or shifts towards novel communities. Analysis of species characteristics suggested that these changes were not driven by non-native species invasions or climate change, but instead reflected reorganization of the native plant communities in response to eutrophication and increasingly shaded conditions. These analyses provide, to our knowledge, the first direct evidence of TH in the UK and highlight the potential importance of this phenomenon as a contributor to biodiversity loss.",
keywords = "biotic homogenization, biodiversity, conservation, environmental change",
author = "Sal Keith and Adrian Newton and Morecroft, {Michael D.} and Clive Bealey and James Bullock",
year = "2009",
month = jul,
day = "22",
doi = "10.1098/rspb.2009.0938",
language = "English",
journal = "Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B",
issn = "0080-4649",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Taxonomic homogenization of woodland plant communities over 70 years

AU - Keith, Sal

AU - Newton, Adrian

AU - Morecroft, Michael D.

AU - Bealey, Clive

AU - Bullock, James

PY - 2009/7/22

Y1 - 2009/7/22

N2 - Taxonomic homogenization (TH) is the increasing similarity of the species composition of ecological communities over time. Such homogenization represents a form of biodiversity loss and can result from local species turnover. Evidence for TH is limited, reflecting a lack of suitable historical datasets, and previous analyses have generated contrasting conclusions. We present an analysis of woodland patches across a southern English county (Dorset) in which we quantified 70 years of change in the composition of vascular plant communities. We tested the hypotheses that over this time patches decreased in species richness, homogenized, or shifted towards novel communities. Although mean species richness at the patch scale did not change, we found increased similarity in species composition among woodlands over time. We concluded that the woodlands have undergone TH without experiencing declines in local diversity or shifts towards novel communities. Analysis of species characteristics suggested that these changes were not driven by non-native species invasions or climate change, but instead reflected reorganization of the native plant communities in response to eutrophication and increasingly shaded conditions. These analyses provide, to our knowledge, the first direct evidence of TH in the UK and highlight the potential importance of this phenomenon as a contributor to biodiversity loss.

AB - Taxonomic homogenization (TH) is the increasing similarity of the species composition of ecological communities over time. Such homogenization represents a form of biodiversity loss and can result from local species turnover. Evidence for TH is limited, reflecting a lack of suitable historical datasets, and previous analyses have generated contrasting conclusions. We present an analysis of woodland patches across a southern English county (Dorset) in which we quantified 70 years of change in the composition of vascular plant communities. We tested the hypotheses that over this time patches decreased in species richness, homogenized, or shifted towards novel communities. Although mean species richness at the patch scale did not change, we found increased similarity in species composition among woodlands over time. We concluded that the woodlands have undergone TH without experiencing declines in local diversity or shifts towards novel communities. Analysis of species characteristics suggested that these changes were not driven by non-native species invasions or climate change, but instead reflected reorganization of the native plant communities in response to eutrophication and increasingly shaded conditions. These analyses provide, to our knowledge, the first direct evidence of TH in the UK and highlight the potential importance of this phenomenon as a contributor to biodiversity loss.

KW - biotic homogenization

KW - biodiversity

KW - conservation

KW - environmental change

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2009.0938

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2009.0938

M3 - Journal article

JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B

SN - 0080-4649

ER -