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Permanent areas and changes in forests, grasslands, and wetlands in the North European Plain since the eighteenth century—a case study of the Kościan Plain in Poland
AbstractThis study investigates the intricate and enduring interplay of historical events, human activities, and natural processes shaping the landscape of North European Plain in western Poland over 230 years. Topographic maps serve as reliable historical data sources to quantify changes in forest, grassland, and wetland areas, scrutinizing their fragmentation and persistence. The primary objectives are to identify the permanent areas of the landscape and propose a universal cartographic visualization method for effectively mapping these changes. Using topographic maps and historical data, this research quantifies land cover changes, especially in forest, grassland, and wetland areas. With the help of retrogressive method we process raster historical data into vector-based information. Over time, wetlands experienced a substantial reduction, particularly in 1960–1982, attributed to both land reclamation and environmental factors. Grassland areas fluctuated, influenced by wetland and drier habitat dynamics. Fragmentation in grassland areas poses biodiversity and ecosystem health concerns, whereas forested areas showed limited fluctuations, with wetland forests nearly disappearing. These findings highlight wetland ecosystems’ sensitivity to human impacts and emphasize the need to balance conservation and sustainable development to preserve ecological integrity. This study advances landscape dynamics understanding, providing insights into historical, demographic, economic, and environmental transformations. It underscores the imperative for sustainable land management and conservation efforts to mitigate human impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity in the North European Plain.
Take a photo of the river! Assessing the feasibility of using Google Street View images as source materials for assessing river hydromorphology
Wielkopolska Regionalna Inicjatywna Doskonałości w obszarze nauk o życiu Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Poznaniu
Behavioral Responses of Unio tumidus Freshwater Mussels to Neonicotinoid Pesticide Contamination
This investigation examined the behavioral responses of freshwater mussels to neonicotinoid pesticide exposure, a widely implemented agricultural crop protection agent. The study systematically evaluated the behavioral modifications of U. tumidus under controlled laboratory conditions, with particular emphasis on shell dynamics and activity patterns during both acute (2.5 h) and prolonged (20 h) exposure to imidacloprid at 50 µg/L concentration. The experimental findings revealed consistent and statistically significant behavioral alterations. Upon initial pesticide exposure, specimens exhibited an immediate reduction in shell aperture, followed by a sustained period of enhanced opening amplitude. Activity metrics demonstrated acute elevation immediately post-exposure, indicative of stress-induced responses, subsequently achieving homeostatic equilibrium before declining in later temporal phases. These behavioral modifications demonstrated statistical significance across all four experimental iterations, indicating a robust and reproducible stress response pattern. This study demonstrated that exposure to high concentrations of the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid significantly affects the freshwater mussel causing significant, repeatable changes in mussel behavior: initial shell closure followed by prolonged opening and increased activity, indicating stress and subsequent toxic effects.
Different intensities and directions of hyporheic water exchange in habitats of aquatic Ranunculus species in rivers—a case study in Poland
Determining macrophyte species richness and dark diversity sources – A novel approach to improve the biodiversity estimation based on species traits
Ekologiczne uwarunkowania rozwoju włosieniczników (Ranunculus sect. Batrachium, Ranunculaceae, Plantae) w wodach płynących w Polsce jako podstawa skutecznej ochrony i zastosowania w bioindykacji rzek
Molecular identification and habitat requirements of the hybrid Ranunculus circinatus × R. fluitans and its parental taxa R. circinatus and R. fluitans in running waters
AbstractRanunculus species grouped in the section Batrachium (water crowfoots) indicate the most valuable fluvial habitat in Europe under the EU Habitats Directive, and recognition of their environmental preferences plays a crucial role in efficient conservation. Moreover, water crowfoots are used in various monitoring systems throughout Europe. The aim of this study was to identify the distribution patterns of two common water crowfoot species (Ranunculus fluitans, R. circinatus) and their hybrid (R. circinatus × R. fluitans) in relation to environmental variables in rivers. Various chemical and hydromorphological parameters were estimated for 54 river sites where 58 different Batrachium populations were recorded. Our study revealed the most distinct positive reaction of R. fluitans to rhithral conditions characterized by rapid currents and coarse substrate. R. circinatus × R. fluitans preferred larger channels, although this taxon also flourished in rhithral rivers. The preferences of R. circinatus were not so evident confirming its occurrence under a wide range of habitat conditions. The ecological reaction of the hybrid was compared with its parental species, revealing their ecological specificity, which is useful in designing appropriate conservation programmes.
Origin, genetic structure and evolutionary potential of the natural hybrid Ranunculus circinatus × R. fluitans
AbstractUnderstanding the genetic variability of hybrids provides information on their current and future evolutionary role. In this paper, we focus on the interspecific hybridRanunculus circinatus × R. fluitansthat forms spontaneously within the groupRanuculusL. sect.BatrachiumDC. (Ranunculaceae Juss.). Genome-wide DNA fingerprinting using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) was employed to determine the genetic variation among 36 riverine populations of the hybrid and their parental species. The results demonstrate a strong genetic structure ofR. circinatus × R. fluitanswithin Poland (Central Europe), which is attributed to independent hybridization events, sterility of hybrid individuals, vegetative propagation, and isolation through geographical distance within populations. The hybridR. circinatus × R. fluitansis a sterile triploid, but, as we have shown in this study, it may participate in subsequent hybridization events, resulting in a ploidy change that can lead to spontaneous fertility recovery. The ability to produce unreduced female gametes of the hybridR. circinatus × R. fluitansand the parental speciesR. fluitansis an important evolutionary mechanism inRanunculussect.Batrachiumthat could give rise to new taxa.
Urban Aquatic Nature-Based Solutions in the Context of Global Change: Uncovering the Social-ecological-technological Framework
Kierunki ochrony i zagospodarowania rezerwatu przyrody "Żurawiniec" i jego otoczenia na tle dotychczasowych danych
Discovering the ecological structure of different macrophyte groups in rivers using non-parametric and parametric multivariate ordination techniques
AbstractThis paper analyses various methods of ecological ordering that are often used in modelling the relationship between vegetation and habitat. The results of direct gradient ordination by Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), which is based on correlation, were compared with Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), which is based on rank analyses. Both tools were also compared with Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), which is a popular indirect gradient analysis method. The macrophyte assessment was conducted at 98 river locations in the lowland regions of Poland. Each of the surveyed locations falls within a consistent abiotic category: small to medium-sized lowland rivers with a sandy bottom. Habitat elements analysed included limnological variables and geographic parameters, and the botanical survey focused on submerged macrophytes, including vascular plants, as well as bryophytes and algae. Firstly, it was shown that various analytical tools for determining the importance of ecological factors (Monte Carlo test, BIOENV) identify slightly different significant factors responsible for the development of macrophytes in rivers. Secondly, considerable similarity was found in the structure of macrophyte communities generated on NMDS and DCA biplots, while macrophyte communities were presented very differently based on CCA. Thirdly, the ecological preferences of aquatic plants based on one-dimensional analyses primarily reflected the results of CCA, whereas they did not always follow the ecological pattern revealed by NMDS. Finally, by conducting separate studies for non-vascular plants and vascular macrophytes, it was confirmed that different ecological drivers are responsible for the development of particular groups of macrophytes
Environmental heterogeneity governing river macrophyte beta diversity in Europe is scale- and context-dependent
Abstract Content A comprehensive understanding of how and to what extent beta diversity and community-environment relationships vary at various spatial scales is important to derive realistic forecasts of the future of freshwater communities. Objectives We assessed how total beta diversity and its two components (species replacement and species richness differences) of river macrophytes change among and across Portugal, Poland, Germany, Denmark and Finland. We further addressed which and how environmental and spatial gradients explain compositional variation of macrophyte communities among European regions and differences in beta diversity across the continent. Methods We employed generalized linear mixed models, permutational analysis of multivariate dispersions and generalized dissimilarity modelling to investigate beta diversity of river macrophytes among study regions, whereas generalized additive model for location, scale and shape was used to research patterns across regions. Results Macrophytes beta diversity and its replacement component tended to increase or were not significantly related to latitude at regional scales, whereas total beta diversity showed a negative latitudinal effect across study regions in Europe. This finding suggests that patterns predicted at one spatial scale may not necessarily be predicted at other scales. Species replacements also dominated over species richness differences in explaining beta diversity patterns across all the study regions. However, different environmental variables contributed to beta diversity of river macrophytes among the study regions. Conclusion Environmental heterogeneity manifested by altitude range and geodiversity was the major driver of total macrophyte beta diversity in Europe. These results highlight how spatial scale and context-dependency across different regions have a profound influence on how river macrophytes respond to their environment.
