Bryophyte diversity, ecological gradients and global change
Start of project: 2016
Bryophytes are the second largest group of land plants with some 20 000 species in total. Bryophytes play a key roles in several ecosystem functions and services. Changes in climate, environment and nutrient deposition are increasingly threatening bryophytes, but underlying community processes are not well understood. This project aims to quantify bryophyte abundance, diversity and traits along environmental gradients, as well as experimentally investigate effects of nutrient load and disturbance regimes on bryophyte abundance and diversity
We are working to address the following questions:
How is bryophyte diversity and abundance related to broad scale environmental gradients?
How does bryophyte diversity respond to nutrient deposition?
What are the main mechanisms driving bryophyte abundance and diversity under nutrient load?
What factors influence the persistence and dynamics of bryophyte assemblages under changing environmental conditions?
Approaches used to address these questions:
- Global scale observational data on bryophyte biomass and climatic drivers (NutNet, tundra systems)
- Experimental addition of multiple nutrients and quantifying bryophyte diversity and abundance responses (NutNet experimental sites)
- Light-addition effects on bryophyte survival under eutrophication and grazing levels (GCEF facility)
- Long-term analysis of community dynamics and diversity trends using repeat samplings
References
Lehosmaa, K., Jyväsjärvi, J., Virtanen, R., Ilmonen, J., Saastamoinen, J., & Muotka, T. (2017). Anthropogenic habitat disturbance induces a major biodiversity change in habitat specialist bryophytes of boreal springs. Biological Conservation, 215, 169-178.
Virtanen, R., Eskelinen, A., & Harrison, S. (2017). Comparing the responses of bryophytes and short‐statured vascular plants to climate shifts and eutrophication. Functional Ecology, 31(4), 946-954.