On the interest of plant functional classifications to study community-level effects of increased disturbance on coastal dune vegetation

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Jose Antonio Macedo (Author) Other; Paulo Alves (Author) Other; Angela Lomba (Author) Other; Joana Vicente (Author) Other; Renato Henriques (Author) Other; Helena Granja (Author) Other; Joao Honrado (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Acta Botanica Gallica

Vol. 157

Pages: 305-315

ISSN: 1253-8078

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 11 Citations

Scopus - 10 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Biological sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-5SJ

DOI: 10.1080/12538078.2010.10516208

Abstract (EN): Coastal zones are suffering from severe changes Dune systems are forecasted to be impacted severely by such changes Since shifts in coastal dynamics may drive modifications in the floristic composition of plant communities, effective indicators of such changes are needed to support adaptive measures We performe here an assessment of the relative efficiency of functional and phytosociological classifications in the analysis of structure and dynamics in foredune vegetation Our results identified common signals but also highlighted some differences among results from different classifications with potential consequences for the monitoring of changes in dune ecosystems The coincident signals provided by the analysed classification systems suggest that they are effective in capturing the major rules involved in the structure and dynamics of foredune vegetation Since the disturbance regime in foredunes is mostly related to prevailing coastal dynamics, compositional shifts in phytosociological or functional spectra are thus useful in the establishment of reliable indicators and protocols to monitor changes in coastal zones

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 11