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We propose to consider semi-natural habitats—hotspots for biodiversity—being caught in a socio-ecological extinction vortex, similar to the phenomenon described for species threatened with extinction. These habitats are essentially socioecological systems, in which socioeconomic drivers are interlinked with ecological processes. We identify four highly interlinked and mutually reinforcing socio-economic processes, pertaining to the importance of semi-natural habitats for (i) agricultural production, (ii) policy, research and development; (iii) vocational education in the fields of agricultural sciences and (iv) public’s experiences with semi-natural habitats. Evidence from six countries in the boreal region demonstrates that recent slowing down or even reversal of two processes are insufficient to stop the extinction vortex phenomenon. We suggest research directions to ascertain the phenomenon, monitor its development and develop proactive actions to weaken the vortex. It is highly plausible that interventions directed at most, if not all, of the key vortex processes are needed to reverse the overall deteriorating trends of a socio-ecological system.

Over the past decade, we witnessed a rapid growth in the use of social media data when assessing cultural ecosystem services (CESs), like modelling the supply-demand relationships. Researchers increasingly use user-generated content (predominantly geotagged pictures and texts from Flickr, Twitter, VK.com) as a spatially explicit proxy of CES demand. However, for modelling CES supply most of such studies relied on simplistic geospatial data, such as land cover and digital elevation models. As a result, our understanding of the favourable environmental conditions underlying good landscape experience remains weak and overly generic.Our study aims to detect the spatial disparities between population density and CES supply in Estonia in order to prioritise them for further in-depth CES assessment and green and blue infrastructure improvements. We relied on Flickr and VK.com photographs to detect the usage of three CESs: passive landscape watching, active outdoor recreation, and wildlife watching (biota observations at organism and community levels) with automated image content recognition via Clarifai API and subsequent topic modelling. Then, we used Landsat-8 cloudless mosaic, digital elevation and digital surface models, as well as land cover model to derive 526 environmental variables (textural, spectral indices and other indicators of landscape physiognomy) via the Google Earth Engine platform. We conducted an ensemble environmental niche modelling to analyse the relative strength and directions of relationships between these predictors and the observed occurrence of CES demand. Based on multicollinearity and relative importance analysis, we selected 21 relevant and non-collinear indicators of CES supply. With these indicators as inputs, we then trained five models, popular in environmental niche modelling: Boosted Regression Trees, Generalized Linear Model, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline, Maxent, and Random Forest. Random Forest performed better than the other models for all three CES types, with the average 10-fold cross-validation area under curve > 0.9 for landscape watching, >0.87 for outdoor recreation, and >0.85 for wildlife watching. Our modelling allowed us to estimate the share of the Estonian population residing in the spatial clusters of systematically high and low environmental suitability for three considered CESs. The share of the population residing in the clusters of low environmental suitability for landscape watching, outdoor recreation, and wildlife watching is 5.5%, 3.1%, and 7.3%, respectively. These results indicate that dozens of thousands of people in Estonia (population is >1.3 million) likely have fewer opportunities for everyday usage of considered CESs. However, these results are biased as there was not enough evidence in social media for CES use in some of these areas.Although our results should be treated with caution, because social media data are likely to contain a considerable sampling bias, we have demonstrated the added value of remote sensing data for CES supply estimation. Given nearly global and continuously updated satellite imagery archives, remote sensing opens new perspectives for monitoring the loss and gains in landscape suitability for CES across temporal and spatial scales. As such, we can better account for the intangible underlying geospatial features that can influence economic and environmental decision-making.

Heterostyly is a genetically determined floral polymorphism of style length promoting outcrossing between individuals of different morphs, which usually coexist within populations at equal frequencies. Loss in the area and connectivity of suitable habitats may cause deviations from the expected equal morph frequencies. However, there is a need to evaluate the generality of this pattern at larger spatial extents and to identify possible underlying mechanisms. A citizen‐science approach was used to study morph frequencies in populations of the heterostylous grassland plant Primula veris across Estonia. We developed an online platform to facilitate an easy upload of the data. We examined the effect of the following variables in the surroundings of the study populations reflecting the landscape context on the deviation of morph ratios: (a) semi‐natural grasslands, (b) forests and shrubs, (c) human population density and (d) a proxy for plant population size. The citizen‐science approach provided unprecedented density of data from 1,700 localities. Nearly half of these observations, which were maintained for further analysis after data filtering, included over 62,000 short‐styled morphs and about 54,000 long‐styled morphs. Small populations were characterized by higher overall deviation of morph ratios from isoplethy (equal morph ratio). Deviation increased in semi‐natural grasslands located in regions with high human population density. The significant effect of human population density and plant population size on deviations of morph frequencies suggests the role of stochastic demographic effects of habitat fragmentation on morph ratios. Overall lower proportion of long‐styled morphs indicates that partial intra‐morph compatibility shown in long‐styled morphs may lead to higher inbreeding and related decline in fitness and abundance. Synthesis. Citizen‐science data about the morph type of Primula veris across Estonia obtained with the help of thousands of people demonstrates that in addition to plant population size, landscape context may affect plant reproductive traits, such as heterostyly. Larger population size of P. veris can help to buffer against random fluctuations in this trait. Increasing impact of human activities may have a negative impact on both small and large populations. The exact underlying mechanisms of the prevalence of one morph over the other, however, pose novel questions for further research.

Biotic and abiotic factors interact with dominant plants—the locally most frequent or with the largest coverage—and nondominant plants differently, partially because dominant plants modify the environment where nondominant plants grow. For instance, if dominant plants compete strongly, they will deplete most resources, forcing nondominant plants into a narrower niche space. Conversely, if dominant plants are constrained by the environment, they might not exhaust available resources but instead may ameliorate environmental stressors that usually limit nondominants. Hence, the nature of interactions among nondominant species could be modified by dominant species. Furthermore, these differences could translate into a disparity in the phylogenetic relatedness among dominants compared to the relatedness among nondominants. By estimating phylogenetic dispersion in 78 grasslands across five continents, we found that dominant species were clustered (e.g., co‐dominant grasses), suggesting dominant species are likely organized by environmental filtering, and that nondominant species were either randomly assembled or overdispersed. Traits showed similar trends for those sites (, We found a prevalent disparity between the dominant and nondominant species (measured as the standardized effect size of the mean nearest taxonomic distance), with the former more clustered than the latter, suggesting a disparity in the mechanisms organizing both groups. We also found several clades more likely to have nondominant species than dominant species, measured as the probability of finding a species of a given clade among the third less abundant species in the sites where that clade occurred. Unexpectedly, many nondominant clades have a large number of species, mainly were comprised of nonwoody species, and often appeared in the phylogeny. Together, these findings suggest dominance and nondominance are conserved and that their differences have ecological consequences.

Fil: Carvalheiro, Luísa G. Universidade Federal de Goiás. Departamento de Ecologia; Brasil. Fil: Carvalheiro, Luísa G. Universidade de Lisboa. Faculdade de Ciências. Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes; Portugal. Fil: Biesmeijer, Jacobus C. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos. Fil: Biesmeijer, Jacobus C. Leiden University. Institute for Environmental Sciences; Países Bajos. Fil: Franzén, Markus. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Department of Community Ecology; Alemania. Fil: Franzén, Markus. Linnaeus University. Department of Biology and Environmental Science. Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems; Suecia. Fil: Aguirre Gutiérrez, Jesús. University of Oxford. School of Geography and the Environment. Environmental Change Institute; Reino Unido. Fil: Aguirre Gutiérrez, Jesús. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina. Fil: Helm, Aveliina. University of Tartu. Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences; Estonia. Fil: Michez, Denis. University of Mons. Research Institute of Biosciences. Laboratory of Zoology; Bélgica. Fil: Pöyry, Juha. Biodiversity Centre. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia. Fil: Reemer, Menno. European Invertebrate Survey; Países Bajos. Fil: Reemer, Menno. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos. Fil: Schweiger, Oliver. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Department of Community Ecology; Alemania. Fil: van den Berg, Leon. Bosgroep Zuid Nederland; Países Bajos. Fil: van den Berg, Leon. Radboud University Nijmegen; Países Bajos. Fil: WallisDeVries, Michiel F. De Vlinderstichting/Dutch Butterfly Conservation; Países Bajos. Fil: WallisDeVries, Michiel F. Wageningen University. Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group; Países Bajos. Fil: Kunin, William E. University of Leeds. School of Biology; Reino Unido. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition and other sources of environmental eutrophication have increased substantially over the past century worldwide, notwithstanding the recent declining trends in Europe. Despite the recognized susceptibility of plants to eutrophication, few studies evaluated how impacts propagate to consumers, such as pollinators. Here we aim to test if soil eutrophication contributes to the temporal dynamics of pollinators and their larval resources. We used a temporally and spatially explicit historical dataset with information on species occurrences to test if soil eutrophication, and more specifically nitrogen deposition, contributes to the patterns of change of plant and pollinator richness in the Netherlands over an 80 yr period. We focus on bees and butterflies, two groups for which we have good knowledge of larval resources that allowed us to define groups of species with different nitrogen related diet preferences. For each group we estimated richness changes between different 20‐yr periods at local, regional and national scale, using analytical methods developed for analyzing richness changes based on collection data. Our findings suggest that the impacts of soil eutrophication on plant communities propagate to higher trophic levels, but with a time‐lag. Pollinators with nitrogen‐related diet preferences were particularly affected, in turn potentially impairing the performance of pollinator‐dependent plants. Pollinator declines continued even after their focal plants started to recover. In addition, our results suggest that current levels of nitrogen deposition still have a negative impact on most groups here analyzed, constraining richness recoveries and accentuating declines. Our results indicate that the global increase in nitrogen availability plays an important role in the ongoing pollinator decline. Consequently, species tolerances to soil nitrogen levels should be considered across all trophic levels in management plans that aim to halt biodiversity loss and enhance ecosystems services worldwide.

Calcareous alvar grasslands are one of the most species-rich habitats in Estonia. Land-use change and cessation of traditional agricultural practices have led to a decrease of the area of these valuable grasslands during the past century. Therefore, their conservation and restoration are becoming increasingly important. Efforts to restore these habitats have already been made in recent years. Land suitability analysis for potential restoration sites, using the machine learning technique Random Forest (RF), was performed for the first time in this study, which aimed to assess the use of RF for a suitability analysis of alvar grassland. RF predicted 610.91 km2 of areas suitable for restoring alvar grasslands or for creating alvar- like habitats in Estonia. These areas include all existing alvar areas as well an additional 140.91 km2 suitable for establishing new habitat similar to calcareous alvar grasslands. We discuss suitability analysis to help with restoration planning and find it to be a reasonable and efficient tool that has potential to provide relevant information. The quality of the prediction could be improved by including additional data relevant for alvar grasslands, such as soil depth, but such data was unfortunately unavailable.

Recent habitat change in semi-natural grasslands due to a lack of management has been shown to affect the genetic diversity of grassland plants. However, it is unknown how a change in local environment affects genetic diversity at adaptive loci. We applied RADseq (restriction-site associated DNA sequencing) to extract > 3,000 SNPs across 568 individuals from 32 Estonian populations of Primula veris, a plant species common to semi-natural grasslands. We evaluated the effect of recent grassland overgrowth following management abandonment on the genetic diversity at putatively neutral and adaptive loci, which we distinguished by applying three methods, i.e., linear and categorical environmental association analyses, and an FST outlier test. For validation, we randomised the genotype to sample assignments. Effects of recent habitat change on genetic diversity differed between neutral and adaptive SNP sets. Genetic diversity assessed at putatively neutral loci was similar in open and overgrown habitats but showed a significant difference between these habitat types at putatively adaptive loci: overgrown (i.e. newly established) habitats exhibited higher genetic diversity at putatively adaptive loci than open (i.e. old) habitats, likely due to the exertion of novel selection pressures imposed by new habitat conditions. This increase in genetic diversity at putatively adaptive loci in the new environment points to currently ongoing selection processes where genetic adaptation to the old habitat is potentially lost through altered allele frequencies. Our study suggests that a recent change in local habitat conditions may not be reflected in neutral loci whereas putatively adaptive loci can inform about potential selection processes.

To understand, model and predict landscape evolution, ecosystem services and hydrological processes the availability of detailed observation-based soil data is extremely valuable. Estonia has a national digitized soil map based on decades of Soviet era field mapping. It maps more than 750 000 soil units throughout Estonia at a scale of 1:10 000 - with 75% of mapped units smaller than 4.0 ha. However, due to the way it was recorded the data is not immediately useful for numerical modelling. We synthesized the EstSoil-EH dataset - more than 20 eco-hydrological variables on soil, topography and land use for Estonia as numerical and categorical values - using data fusion and machine learning.As additional feature information we used a 5m DEM, the Estonian Topographic Database, and EU-SoilHydroGrids layers. For each soil unit, we analysed type, texture, and layer information from the originally recorded composite text-based soil information, which contains the actual texture class, classifiers for rock content, peat soils, distinct compositional layers, and their depths. Subsequently, we derived soil layering, clay, silt, and sand contents and coarse fragments of the soil layers. In addition, we aggregated and predicted physical variables related to water and carbon cycles (bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, organic carbon content, available water capacity). We validated our modelled data and achieved satisfying degrees of agreement depending on the variables type.

Phenotypic plasticity can mask population genetic differentiation, reducing the predictability of trait-environment relationships. In short-lived plants, reproductive traits may be more genetically determined due to their direct impact on fitness, whereas vegetative traits may show higher plasticity to buffer short-term perturbations. Combining a multi-treatment greenhouse experiment with global field observations for the short-lived Plantago lanceolata, we 1) disentangled the genetic and plastic responses of functional traits to a set of environmental drivers and 2) assessed the utility of trait-environment relationshisps inferred from observational data for predicting genetic differentiation. Reproductive traits showed distinct genetic differentiation that was highly predictable from observational data, but only when correcting traits for differences in their (labile) biomass component. Vegetative traits showed higher plasticity and contrasting genetic and plastic responses, leading to unpredictable trait patterns. Our study suggests that genetic differentiation may be inferred from observational data only for the traits most closely related with fitness.

Genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity jointly shape intraspecific trait variation, but their roles differ among traits. In short- lived plants, reproductive traits may be more genetically determined due to their impact on fitness, whereas vegetative traits may show higher plasticity to buffer short- term perturbations. Combining a multi- treatment greenhouse experiment with observational field data throughout the range of a widespread short- lived herb, Plantago lanceolata, we (1) disentangled genetic and plastic responses of functional traits to a set of environmental drivers and (2) assessed how genetic differentiation and plasticity shape observational trait– environment relationships. Reproductive traits showed distinct genetic differentiation that largely determined observational patterns, but only when correcting traits for differences in biomass. Vegetative traits showed higher plasticity and opposite genetic and plastic responses, masking the genetic component underlying field- observed trait variation. Our study suggests that genetic differentiation may be inferred from observational data only for the traits most closely related to fitness.

Aim: Range size conservatism suggests that closely-related species maintain geographic ranges of similar extent. However, consensus regarding this suggestion has not been reached. To shed more light on this phenomenon, we studied freshwater plant range size conservatism, range overlap and environmental niche conservatism using congeneric species comparison in two continents. In addition, we investigated whether a phylogenetic signal is found in the range sizes of aquatic plants. Location: Europe and North America. Taxon: Freshwater plants. Methods: Across spatial resolutions (50 km², 100 km² and 200 km²), we applied Spearman correlations among 347 and 730 pairs of congeneric species in Europe and North America, respectively, and 63 pairs shared between them. In addition, Spearman correlations were used to evaluate how the degree of spatial overlap influences range sizes and which environmental variables explain variation in range sizes. Brownian evolutionary model was used to assess the phylogenetic signal in species range sizes. Results: We found no evidence of range size conservatism across spatial resolutions for any species and species shared between the continents. In addition, range sizes of more closely related species did not overlap geographically more than those of distantly related ones and no support for environmental niche conservatism was evidenced. Main conclusions: We found that aquatic plants show no range size conservatism in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that it is challenging to define different range sizes of freshwater plants through species traits. Furthermore, we are unable to predict unknown distributions of extant aquatic plant species based on known distributional attributes of closely related species. However, our findings suggest that the interpretations of previous investigations on the range sizes of aquatic plants remain valid due to lack of range size conservatism. These practical implications encourage studying range size conservatism across realms and regions, especially for understudied organismal groups.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T11:52:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-03-04 European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange) University of Tartu (Estonian Research Council ) Moscow State University Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant Russian Science Foundation Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet) The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are a globally distributed group of soil organisms that play critical roles in ecosystem function. However, the ecological niches of individual AM fungal taxa are poorly understood. We collected > 300 soil samples from natural ecosystems worldwide and modelled the realised niches of AM fungal virtual taxa (VT; approximately species-level phylogroups). We found that environmental and spatial variables jointly explained VT distribution worldwide, with temperature and pH being the most important abiotic drivers, and spatial effects generally occurring at local to regional scales. While dispersal limitation could explain some variation in VT distribution, VT relative abundance was almost exclusively driven by environmental variables. Several environmental and spatial effects on VT distribution and relative abundance were correlated with phylogeny, indicating that closely related VT exhibit similar niche optima and widths. Major clades within the Glomeraceae exhibited distinct niche optima, Acaulosporaceae generally had niche optima in low pH and low temperature conditions, and Gigasporaceae generally had niche optima in high precipitation conditions. Identification of the realised niche space occupied by individual and phylogenetic groups of soil microbial taxa provides a basis for building detailed hypotheses about how soil communities respond to gradients and manipulation in ecosystems worldwide. Univ Tartu, Inst Ecol & Earth Sci, EE-51005 Tartu, Estonia Univ Manchester, Sch Earth & Environm Sci, Manchester M13 9PL, Lancs, England Qatar Univ, Environm Sci Ctr, Doha 2713, Qatar Moscow Lomonsov State Univ, Dept Ecol & Plant Geog, Fac Biol, Moscow 119991, Russia King Saud Univ, Zool Dept, Coll Sci, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia Russian Acad Sci, Inst Biol Problems, North Far East Branch, Magadan 685000, Russia Swedish Univ Agr Sci, Dept Ecol, S-75651 Uppsala, Sweden Univ Alberta, Dept Biol Sci, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada Univ Nacl Cordoba, Inst Multidisciplinario Biol Vegetal, CONICET, X5000HUA, Cordoba, Argentina Univ Nacl Rio Cuarto, Fac Agron & Vet, Dept Biol Agr, X5804BYA, Cordoba, Argentina Univ Penn, Dept Biol, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA Russian Acad Sci, Inst Biol Problems Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch, Yakutsk 677000, Russia Univ Djibouti, Dept Rech Sci Environm, Private Bag 1904, Djibouti, Djibouti Univ Aveiro, Dept Biol, P-3810193 Aveiro, Portugal Univ Aveiro, CESAM, P-3810193 Aveiro, Portugal Thompson Rivers Univ, Dept Nat Resource Sci, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada Jules Verne Univ Picardie, Ecol & Dynam Syst Anthropises, F-80037 Amiens, France Univ Namibia, Dept Wildlife Management & Ecotourism, Private Bag 1096, Katima Mulilo, Namibia RAS, FEB, Bot Garden Inst, Vladivostok 690024, Russia Univ Calif Riverside, Dept Microbiol & Plant Pathol, Riverside, CA 92521 USA Univ Western Ontario, Dept Biol, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada UPR Forets & Societes, CIRAD, Yamoussoukro, Cote Ivoire Univ Montpellier, Forets & Societes, CIRAD, F-34000 Montpellier, France INP HB, Inst Natl Polytech Felix Houphouet Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Cote Ivoire Beni Suef Univ, Bot & Microbiol Dept, Fac Sci, Bani Suwayf 62511, Egypt Czech Acad Sci, Inst Microbiol, Prague 14220, Czech Republic Charles Univ Prague, Dept Expt Plant Biol, Fac Sci, Prague 12843, Czech Republic Estonian Univ Life Sci, Chair Biodivers & Nat Tourism, EE-51006 Tartu, Estonia Murdoch Univ, Harry Butler Inst, Iluka Chair Vegetat Sci & Biogeog, Perth, WA 6150, Australia Stellenbosch Univ, Dept Geog & Environm Studies, ZA-7602 Stellenbosch, South Africa Univ Rwanda, Sch Sci, Coll Sci & Technol, Kigali 3900, Rwanda Univ Bern, Inst Plant Sci, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland Estonian Univ Life Sci, Chair Crop Sci & Plant Biol, EE-51006 Tartu, Estonia Botswana Int Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Biol Sci & Biotechnol, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana Nakhon Phanom Univ, Dept Biol, Nakhon Phanom 48000, Thailand Univ Tartu, Nat Hist Museum, EE-51014 Tartu, Estonia Univ Palermo, Dept Agr Food & Forest Sci, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Univ Bangui, Ctr Studies & Res Pharmacopoeia & Tradit African, Bangui, Cent Afr Republ Inst Amazon Invest Cient Sinchi, Leticia 910001, Amazonas, Colombia Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biodivers, BR-13506900 Sao Paulo, Brazil Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Inst Water & Wetland Res, Dept Aquat Ecol & Environm Biol, NL-6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands Univ Tartu, Dept Bot, EE-51005 Tartu, Estonia Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biodivers, BR-13506900 Sao Paulo, Brazil University of Tartu: PLTOM20903 (Estonian Research Council ): MOBTP 105 (Estonian Research Council ): MOBERC20 (Estonian Research Council ): PRG352 (Estonian Research Council ): PRG609 (Estonian Research Council ): PRG 1065 (Estonian Research Council ): PRG 1170 (Estonian Research Council ): PRG 1409 Moscow State University: AAAA-A16-116021660039-1 Russian Science Foundation: 19-14-00038 FAPESP: 2016/25197-0 Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet): 2017-05019 Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsradet): QUEX-CAS-QP-RD-18/19

Highlights • New empirical studies are repeatedly demonstrating the importance of rare species. • However, very little is still known about species rarity in the aquatic realm. • Continental maps suggest variable latitudinal trends in freshwater plants. • Human footprint, past and present-day climates predict rarity hotspots. • Current centers of freshwater plant rarity might shrink within a century. Patterns of species rarity have long fascinated ecologists, yet most of what we know about the natural world stems from studies of common species. A large proportion of freshwater plant species has small range sizes and are therefore considered rare. However, little is known about the mechanisms and geographical distribution of rarity in the aquatic realm and to what extent diversity of rare species in freshwater plants follows their terrestrial counterparts. Here, we present the first in–depth analysis of geographical patterns, potential deterministic ecogeographical factors and projected scenarios of freshwater vascular plant rarity using 50 × 50 km grid cells across Europe (41°N–71°N) and North America (25°N–78°N). Our results suggest that diversity of rare species shows different patterns in relation to latitude on the two continents, and that hotspots of rarity concentrate in a relatively small proportion of the European and North American land surface, especially in mountainous as well as in climatically rare and stable areas. Interestingly, we found no differences among alternative rarity definitions and measures when delineating areas with notably high diversity of rare species. Our findings also indicate that few variables, namely a combination of current climate, Late Quaternary climate–change velocity and human footprint, are able to accurately predict the location of continental centers of rare species diversity. However, these relationships are not geographically homogeneous, and the underlying factors likely act synergistically. Perhaps more importantly, we provide empirical evidence that current centers of rare species diversity are characterized by higher anthropogenic impacts and might shrink disproportionately within this century as the climate changes. Our reported distributional patterns of species rarity align with the known trends in species richness of other freshwater organisms and may help conservation planners make informed decisions mitigating the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity.

The prevailing nature-based solution to tackle climate change is tree planting. However, there is growing evidence that it has serious contraindications in many regions. The main shortcoming of global tree planting is its awareness disparity to alternative ecosystem types, mainly grasslands. Grasslands, where they constitute the natural vegetation, may support higher biodiversity and a safer, soil-locked carbon stock than plantations and other forests. We suggest replacing “tree planting” by “restore native vegetation.” This improved action terminology reduces the risks of inappropriate afforestation and, by diversifying target ecosystem types, does not reduce but increases potential land area for nature-based climate mitigation.

Significance We found that long-distance dispersal and repeated introductions by humans have shaped adaptive potential in a globally distributed invasive species. Some plant species, therefore, do not need strong demographic changes to overcome environmental constraints that exist in the native range; simply mixing genetic stock from multiple populations can provide an adaptive advantage. This work highlights the value of preventing future introduction events for problematic invasive species, even if the species already exists in an area., When plants establish outside their native range, their ability to adapt to the new environment is influenced by both demography and dispersal. However, the relative importance of these two factors is poorly understood. To quantify the influence of demography and dispersal on patterns of genetic diversity underlying adaptation, we used data from a globally distributed demographic research network comprising 35 native and 18 nonnative populations of Plantago lanceolata. Species-specific simulation experiments showed that dispersal would dilute demographic influences on genetic diversity at local scales. Populations in the native European range had strong spatial genetic structure associated with geographic distance and precipitation seasonality. In contrast, nonnative populations had weaker spatial genetic structure that was not associated with environmental gradients but with higher within-population genetic diversity. Our findings show that dispersal caused by repeated, long-distance, human-mediated introductions has allowed invasive plant populations to overcome environmental constraints on genetic diversity, even without strong demographic changes. The impact of invasive plants may, therefore, increase with repeated introductions, highlighting the need to constrain future introductions of species even if they already exist in an area.

1. The latitudinal diversity gradient hypothesis suggests that species richness should be highest at low latitudes, whereas Rapoport’s rule states that largest ranges ought to be found for species at high latitudes. However, there is no consensus over these patterns and their underlying drivers in the freshwater realm. 2. We investigated species richness and mean range size of freshwater plants in 50 × 50 km grid cells across Europe (40°N–71°N) and North America (25°N–78°N), supplemented with data based on 1° latitudinal bands for mean range size. We were especially interested to find out whether there are similarities and differences in these ecogeographical patterns and their underlying drivers between the continents due to their contrasting historical characteristics, spatial extent and topography. 3. First, we used partial regression to reveal whether species richness and mean range size of freshwater plants have a linear or quadratic relationship with latitude. Second, we employed variation partitioning based on partial regression to model relationships between plant species richness and mean range size and four explanatory variable groups (i.e. environmental features, current climate, historical climate and geographical location). Third, we utilized boosted regression tree analysis to further investigate species richness and mean range size of freshwater plants in relation to a set of explanatory variables. 4. Our results revealed that species richness showed relatively similar patterns in relation to latitude between the continents. Similarly, mean range size trends were alike in North America whether we used 50 × 50 km grid cell data or 1° latitudinal bands. Instead, different patterns in mean range size emerged between the used datasets in Europe. For both species richness and mean range size, current climate (with different individual predictor variables) was the main driver in both the continents, but historical effects had a small influence on the response variables. 5. Synthesis. Our findings indicated that major ecogeographical rules can strongly vary for the same taxonomic group across broad scales between continents. It is also premature to rely solely on well‐known terrestrial taxonomic groups when drawing generalizations about ecogeographical rules.

The Soil Map of Estonia is a vector dataset that maps more than 750 000 soil units throughout Estonia at a scale of 1:10 000. It is the most detailed and information-rich dataset for soils in Estonia, a Baltic country with an area of approximately 45 000 km2. For each soil unit, it describes the soil type, quality, texture, and layer information with a series of complex text codes. However, to use it as an input for numerical modelling using process-based physical models, these text codes must be translated into numbers. Various generalisations and aggregations for agricultural soils for less-detailed versions of the map have been made at a scale of 1:100 000 and 1:200 000. In this study, we create an extended eco-hydrological dataset for Estonia, the EstSoil-EH v1.0 (Kmoch et al., 2019a; https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.3473290), containing derived numerical values for the following data in all of the mapped soil units in the 1:10 000 soil map: soil profiles (e.g., layers, depths), texture (clay, silt, sand components), coarse fragments and rock content, and physical variables related to water and carbon (bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, organic carbon content). Ultimately, our objective was to develop a reproducible method for deriving numerical values to support modelling and prediction of eco-hydrological processes in Estonia using the popular Soil and Water Assessment Tool. The developed methodology and dataset will be an important resource for the Baltic region. Countries like Lithuania and Latvia have similar historical soil records from the Soviet era that could be turned into value-added datasets such as the one we developed for Estonia.

Species dispersal, establishment, and assembly are crucial stages of the life history of plants, and clear understanding of the governing forces and rules that shape species composition in a particular community is vital for successful ecological restoration. In this article, we focus on five aspects of seed dispersal and plant establishment, which should be considered during habitat restoration actions. In the first two sections, we discuss the success of spontaneous dispersal and establishment on restoration based on either spatial dispersal or local seed banks. In the third section, we assess the possibilities of species introduction and assisted dispersal. In the fourth section, we introduce some possibilities for the improvement of establishment success of spontaneously dispersed or introduced species. Finally, we highlight issues influencing long‐term persistence and sustainability of restored habitats, related to the alteration of management type and intensity, climate change, and spread of non‐native species. With the present article, we introduce the special issue entitled “Seed dispersal and soil seed banks – promising sources for ecological restoration” containing 15 papers by 62 authors from 10 countries arranged in the abovementioned five topics.

In the era of ongoing global change, it is highly important that restoration efforts lead to functioning, self-sustainable ecosystems that are resilient to disturbance and resistant to environmental changes. Therefore, it is necessary that restoration aims at achieving high genetic diversity of plant populations in addition to the recovery of characteristic species composition and diversity. Nevertheless, species- and gene-level biodiversity are rarely examined together in the context of restoration, although high genetic diversity of plant populations is a fundamental factor ensuring long-term success of restoration. Landscape-scale dispersal is the key process linked to the recovery of vegetation and maintaining both species and genetic diversity following restoration. In fragmented landscapes, dispersal of seeds and genetic material is often disrupted, leading to failure in spontaneous recovery of species richness as well as in establishment and maintenance of genetically diverse populations. Here, we review the linkages between landscape-scale dispersal of plants and the recovery of species richness and genetic diversity of plants during habitat restoration. We propose recommendations for restoration planners and practitioners to consider while aiming to restore self-sustainable ecosystems with high species- and gene-level biodiversity.

The importance of single-species forest plantations in sustaining biodiversity could be bigger than expected. We described the diversity of lichens and bryophytes in 15 midterm (16- to 17-year-old) hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × Populus tremuloides) plantations in Estonia. Species richness and composition data were linked with environmental and landscape-scale variables. Altogether, 44 lichen and 37 bryophyte species were recorded from plantations; richnesses of bryophytes and lichens were positively correlated. Lichen species composition was significantly affected by landscape-scale parameters (distance to the nearest present forest, distance to the nearest forest continuously occurring in the same place since the 1930s, and forest area in the study plot vicinity in the 1930s). Bryophyte species composition was affected mainly by light conditions and forest area in the 1930s. Among lichens, the sexual crustose species functional group dominated in midterm plantations; appearance of asexual lichens of di...

Aim Identifying the factors that drive large-scale patterns of biotic interaction is fundamental for understanding how communities respond to changing environmental conditions. Mycorrhizal symbiosis is a key interaction between fungi and most vascular plants. Whether plants are obligately (OM) or facultatively (FM) mycorrhizal, and which mycorrhizal type they form – arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (ECM), ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) or non-mycorrhizal (NM) – can have strong implications for plant species distribution at the continental scale and on the responses of plants to environmental gradients. Location Europe, north of 43° latitude and excluding Russia, Belarus and Moldova. Time period Undefined. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods Using published sources, we compiled the most complete dataset yet of plant mycorrhizal and geographical information for Europe, comprising 1442 plant species. We mapped the European distributions of plant mycorrhizal status (OM and FM) and type (AM, ECM, ERM and NM) and analysed their relationships with climatic, edaphic and plant productivity drivers on a 50 km × 50 km equal-area grid. Results The distribution of mycorrhizal types in Europe was driven by mean temperature, soil pH and productivity. AM plant species predominated throughout the region, but at higher latitudes the share of NM and, to a lesser extent, ECM and ERM species increased. FM species predominated over OM species, and this increased with latitude and was dependent on temperature drivers. The high share of OM species in the central European mountains indicates a possible influence of historical glacial refugia. Main conclusions Our results challenge the prevailing view of parallel trends in the latitudinal and elevational distribution of mycorrhizal types and demonstrate distinctive responses of plants with different mycorrhizal status to climatic, edaphic and biogeographical drivers at the European scale.

The involvement of ecological theory in habitat restoration has significantly increased in the past decade. However, despite the fact that the field of restoration ecology has grown academically strong in recent years, there are still visible gaps between the advancing discipline of theoretical ecology and current approaches of habitat restoration. We propose bridging these gaps by linking recent developments in theoretical plant ecology with the main questions every restoration practitioner should ask, namely: Q1) How to identify target species and baseline conditions for restoration of the selected habitat?; Q2) When can one count on spontaneous dispersal and when are additional efforts required for facilitating dispersal of desired species?; Q3) Which factors determine the successful establishment of target species and assembly of target communities?; and Q4) What time-scale needs to be considered for the evaluation of species colonisation and restoration success? Knowledge and experience accumulated in practical restoration can considerably benefit theoretical ecology for example by improving the understanding on (i) temporal changes in community, (ii) species assembly, (iii) species dispersal and establishment and (iv) landscape-scale dynamics of biodiversity. We emphasise that to improve joint thinking of practical restoration and theoretical ecology, restoration-problem-driven theoretical research is necessary. We suggest either (i) to translate and link the current findings of theoretical ecology to restoration strategies; and/or (ii) to summarise practical restoration needs by formulation of questions and testable hypotheses based on theory.

During the past century, grasslands in Europe have undergone marked changes in land-use, leading to a decline in plant diversity both at local and regional scales, thus possibly also affecting the mechanisms of species sorting into local communities. We studied plant species assembly in grasslands with differing habitat history and hypothesised that trait divergence prevails in historical grasslands due to niche differentiation and trait convergence prevails in more dynamic grasslands due to competitive exclusion and dispersal limitation. We tested these hypotheses in 35 grassland complexes in Estonia, containing neighbouring grassland habitats with different land-use histories: continuously managed open historical grassland, currently overgrown former grassland and young developing grassland. We assessed species assembly patterns in each grassland type for finer scale-a 2 × 2 m plot scale from a local community pool and for broader scale-a local community from the habitat species pool for that grassland stage and observed changes in trait means at finer scale. We found that grasslands with long management history are assembled differently from former grasslands or young developing grasslands. In historical grasslands, divergence or random patterns prevailed at finer scale species assembly while in former or developing grasslands, mostly convergence patterns prevailed. With increasing scale convergence patterns become more prevalent in all grassland types. We conclude that land-use history is an important factor to consider when assessing grassland functional trait assembly, particularly at small scales. Understanding the mechanisms behind species assembly and their relationship with land-use history is vital for habitat conservation and restoration.

Calcareous grasslands have become severely threatened habitats in Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in plant species richness, and functional and phylogenetic diversity in northern Estonian calcareous (alvar) grasslands resampled after 90 years of land-use change. Functional traits characterizing species that have benefited most from decreased habitat area and altered environmental conditions, and additional species that can potentially inhabit the remaining grassland patches were identified. Also changes in the relative amount of habitat-specific species were studied to detect a possible decrease in habitat integrity. Although grasslands in the studied region had lost most of their original area (~90 %), species richness had substantially increased due to invasion by more competitive, nutrient-demanding native species. Functional diversity generally increased, whereas phylogenetic diversity showed no response to altered conditions. Overall, these grasslands have lost their integrity as calcareous grassland habitat type in the region, because the relative amount of habitat-specific characteristic species has declined significantly. However, although the grasslands have transformed to a ‘hybrid’ habitat type and restoration to their previous state is likely not reasonable, such degraded species-rich grassland fragments can still be recognized as important habitats to preserve high local biodiversity and several characteristic species of calcareous grasslands. As current landscapes consist of an increasing number of hybrid and novel communities, new tools to supplement traditional conservation or restoration practices are necessary to recognize and maintain regions and habitats of high local biodiversity.

Myosotis laxa s. lato (Boraginaceae) is a morphologically highly variable taxon. We examined whether, in the Baltic Sea region, the coastal form of M. laxa has a single centre of origin or if it has emerged due to landscape dissimilarity (sea/land ratio) and environmental factors independently in different regions. We used partial Mantel's test to investigate correlations between the genetic and phenotypic variability of M. laxa and the mentioned habitat factors. Although the correlation between genetic distance and the sea/land ratio existed (p < 0.01), it was not strong (r = 0.34). Phenotypic distance among populations was not correlated with habitat factors. Similarly, there was no correlation between geographic distance and morphological characteristics of the studied populations. As neither phenotypic nor genetic dissimilarity between sampled locations was correlated with geographic distance, we suggest that the coastal form can arise independently in suitable habitats and its development may be caus...

Traditionally managed and unregulated floodplain meadows are characterised by high and habitat-specific biodiversity. In most parts of Europe, however, these habitats are almost completely lost. Despite possessing high importance in conservation, little is known about the dynamics of important species groups in those valuable communities. Here, we studied the diversity and composition of ground-dwelling spider fauna in ten sites of temporarily flooded semi-natural grasslands in the Matsalu Bay, Western Estonia. As fluctuation of aquatic and terrestrial phases is the strongest factor determining the environmental conditions in flooded coastal and floodplain meadows, we estimated the effect of floods on spider diversity and composition. Studied grasslands were characterized by opportunistic, eurytopic and hydrophilic spider species that are also abundant in other disturbed habitats. Most species belonged to families characterised by species with good dispersal ability (Linyphiidae and Lycosidae). Average ecological flexibility of spiders (i.e. number of preferred habitats) increased, while activity density of spiders declined towards the sea, where floods are more frequent and more saline. Our results indicate that the spider fauna of floodplain meadows is dependent on flooding regime and is likely re-structured after major flooding events via colonisation from nearby habitats.

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001; ... 1,000 m²) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetation-plot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database “sPlot”. Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale- and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board. Abbreviations: EDGG = Eurasian Dry Grassland Group; EVA = European Vegetation Archive; GrassPlot = Database of Scale-Dependent Phytodiversity Patterns in Palaearctic Grasslands; SAR = species-area relationship.

Temperate calcareous grasslands are characterized by high levels of species richness at small spatial scales. Nevertheless, many species from a habitat-specific regional species pool may be absent from local communities and represent the dark diversity' of these sites. Here we investigate dry calcareous grasslands in northern Europe to determine what proportion of the habitat-specific species pool is realized at small scales (i.e. how the community completeness varies) and which mechanisms may be contributing to the relative sizes of the observed and dark diversity. We test whether the absence of particular species in potentially suitable grassland sites is a consequence of dispersal limitation and/or a low ability to tolerate stress (e.g. drought and grazing). We analysed a total of 1223 vegetation plots (1 x 1 m) from dry calcareous grasslands in Sweden, Estonia and western Russia. The species co-occurrence approach was used to estimate the dark diversity for each plot. We calculated the maximum dispersal distance for each of the 291 species in our dataset by using simple plant traits (dispersal syndrome, growth form and seed characteristics). Large seed size was used as proxy for small seed number; tall plant height and low S-strategy type scores were used to characterise low stress-tolerance. Levels of small-scale community completeness were relatively low (more species were absent than present) and varied between the grasslands in different geographic areas. Species in the dark diversity were generally characterized by shorter dispersal distances and greater seed weight (fewer seeds) than species in the observed diversity. Species within the dark diversity were generally taller and had a lower tolerance of stressful conditions. We conclude that, even if temperate grasslands have high levels of small-scale plant diversity, the majority of potentially suitable species in the regional species pool may be absent as a result of dispersal limitation and low stress-tolerance. (Less)

Anthropogenic environmental changes in climate, land use and disturbance regimes, as well as mass propagule transport are having dramatic effects on many ecosystems. Both conservationists and ecologists need ecologically relevant metrics to quantify the condition of plant and animal communities. However, current metrics fail to address the invasion of species native to different community types in the same region, even though these ‘native aliens’ can serve as valuable indicators of recent changes in habitat condition. We propose a novel approach to reconceptualize community biodiversity based on the composition of historically developed habitat-specific species pools. Total observed community diversity can be divided to characteristic diversity, consisting of species belonging to habitat-specific species pool, and derived diversity, consisting of either native or non-native species not typical to a given community and whose presence is driven by adverse human impact. Characteristic and derived diversity in communities have different historical backgrounds; thus, the ecological patterns of these components, effects on ecosystem functioning as well as actions necessary for their conservation are likewise different. We propose the Index of Favourable Conservation Status – the log ratio of characteristic to derived diversity – as an easily quantified, ecologically relevant and universal indicator of biodiversity integrity and community condition. The Index of Favourable Conservation Status provides valuable information on habitat conservation needs and recent adverse human impact in relative terms and can be compared between regions and across a wide range of ecosystems. It can also be used to monitor restoration success or characterize biodiversity degradation. We present standardized procedure of determining habitat-specific species pools and bring several examples of how the concept of characteristic and derived diversity can be applied in conservation and research and how expert knowledge on habitat-specific species pool composition can expand our understanding of community biodiversity.