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Role of past and present landscape structure in determining epiphyte richness in fragmented Mediterranean forests

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Abstract

Context

The anthropocene is characterised by global landscape modification, and the structure of remnant habitats can explain different patterns of species richness. The most pervasive processes of degradation include habitat loss and fragmentation. However, a recovery of modified landscape is occurring in some areas.

Objectives

The main goal is to know how lichen and bryophyte epiphytic richness growing on Mediterranean forests is influenced not only by fragments characteristics but also by the structure of the landscape. We introduce a temporal dimension in order to evaluate if the historical landscape structure is relevant for current epiphytic communities.

Methods

40 well-preserved forest fragments were selected in a landscape with a large habitat loss over decades, but with a recovery of forest surface in the last 55 years. The most relevant fragment and landscape-scale attributes were considered. Some of the variables were measured in three different years to incorporate a temporal framework.

Results

The results showed that variables at fragment scale had a higher influence, whereas variables at the landscape scale were irrelevant. Among all the historical variables analyzed, only the shift in forest fragment size had influence on species richness.

Conclusions

Mediterranean forests had suffered fragmentation along centuries. Their epiphytic communities also suffer the hard conditions of Mediterranean climate. Our results indicate that Mediterranean epiphytic communities may be in a threshold since it they will never be similar to those communities existing previous fragmentation process even a recovery habitat occur or, they may require more time to response to this habitat recovery.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for the economic support to develop this research through the projects CGL2010-22049-P and CGL2013-47010-P, and the PhD grant BES-2011-046139. The collaboration between RBGE and URJC was especially possible thanks to a mobility grant (EEBB-I-2015-09971) awarded to JLHC, that allowed a fruitful exchange of ideas in Edinburgh. We acknowledge the predisposition and interesting contributions of Antje Ahrends to improve the study during the initial steps. We also thanks Dr. Luis Cayuela (URJC) for statistical advices, and to the Cabañeros National Park staff for their attention and kindness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Calle Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Madrid, Spain

    Juan Luis H. Cardós, Isabel Martínez & Gregorio Aragón

  2. Department of Cryptogamic Plants and Fungi, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK

    Christopher J. Ellis

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  1. Juan Luis H. Cardós
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  2. Isabel Martínez
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Correspondence to Isabel Martínez.

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Cardós, J.L.H., Martínez, I., Aragón, G. et al. Role of past and present landscape structure in determining epiphyte richness in fragmented Mediterranean forests. Landscape Ecol 33, 1757–1768 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0700-6

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