Authors: Anne Jäkäläniemi Pirkko Siikamäki Anna Kilpiä Juha Tuomi
Publish Date: 2008/12/09
Volume: 159, Issue: 3, Pages: 505-513
Abstract
Regional persistence of species requires a positive balance between colonizations and local extinctions In this study we examined the amount of colonizations and extinctions and their likelihood as a function of patch size isolation and habitat characteristics of a riparian perennial plant Erigeron acer subsp decoloratus We also studied the importance of patch dynamics to the regional population growth Over five successive years we counted the number of plant patches along 43 km of riverside Most patches were small in area and population size The annual finite growth rate in the number of patches varied between years but the geometric mean was close to 10 indicating a viable patch network in spite of local extinctions Extinction rate was highest on steep slopes and for small patches with few individual plants and a small patch area When the patches were classified into different stage classes the most common fate was stasis ie the patch remained at the same stage Patch survival and local withinpatch dynamics were most important during this fiveyear period Betweenpatch dynamics including colonization for example accounted for 5–10 of annual transitions The overall dynamics were relatively similar to those of other plant species subjected to riparian disturbance regimes In the long run the survival of the species depends on how well it is able to escape from competition from forest and meadow species and track the availability of suitable habitats This kind of habitat tracking differs from classical metapopulation dynamics In the former local extinctions occur as a consequence of adverse changes in the habitat and recolonizations are rare whereas metapopulation models assume a highly persistent habitat structure with frequent recolonizations In this respect the regional dynamics of perennial plants in disturbed riparian habitats may differ from classical metapopulationsWe thank the students and the staff of Oulanka Research Station for helping in the field and Aaron Bergdahl for language checking This study was supported by grants from the Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation and the University of Oulu Metsähallitus provided financial support for the travel costs We express our gratitude to the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments The research complied with current laws in Finland
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