Urban grassland plant communities assemble according to productivity and disturbance gradients

Urban grassland plant communities assemble according to productivity and disturbance gradients | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 31 January 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Urban grassland plant communities assemble according to productivity and disturbance gradients Authors : Pasi Pouta 0000-0003-3568-3457 [email protected] , Jussi Lampinen , Henry Väre , and Johan Kotze Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173833062.28862148/v1 Published Journal of Vegetation Science Version of record Peer review timeline 307 views 149 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Urban grasslands host important plant biodiversity while offering multiple ecosystem services. These grasslands comprise a multitude of open habitats varying from species-rich semi-natural grasslands to more species-poor recent grasslands. However, they often fail to sustain populations of specialised species. To foster plant biodiversity in urban grasslands, we need to understand how their communities are assembled. Here, we studied 200 urban grasslands in the Helsinki Capital region, Finland. The grasslands represented wide variation in grassland types, productivity, and landscape context. We investigated semi-natural grasslands, landscape grasslands, lawns, and grasslands resulting from deliberate biodiversity actions: reduced management intensity in lawns and the sowing of grassland seed mixtures. We analysed the plant communities, the environmental factors driving them, and the relationships between species niches and traits by using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and hierarchical modelling of species communities (HMSC). Species and trait composition varied according to two main gradients: productivity and disturbance, aligning with Grime’s CSR strategies. The productivity gradient divided sites from rocky to dry and mesic grasslands. The disturbance gradient divided sites from ruderal to semi-natural and forest-influenced grasslands. The highest species richness and specialised species were associated with long-term intermediate disturbance and non-extreme productivity, while more ruderal, eutrophicated or barren sites had lower species richness. Biodiversity actions increased species richness as compared to lawns, but often failed to include many of the specialised grassland species. Our results suggest that the wide variation in urban grassland plant communities can be understood through their degree of disturbance and productivity. Moreover, recent grasslands may develop towards semi-natural grasslands under suitable long-term management if productivity is not too high or low, and if dispersal occurs. We conclude that long-term extensive maintenance, reducing nutrients and facilitating dispersal can help in developing species-rich urban grasslands. Supplementary Material File (figs1-4.pdf) Download 225.31 KB File (main text.docx) Download 1.01 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 31 January 2025 Peer review timeline Published Journal of Vegetation Science Version of Record 14 Nov 2025 Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords community ecology ecological experiment plants terrestrial Authors Affiliations Pasi Pouta 0000-0003-3568-3457 [email protected] University of Helsinki View all articles by this author Jussi Lampinen University of Helsinki View all articles by this author Henry Väre University of Helsinki View all articles by this author Johan Kotze University of Helsinki View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 307 views 149 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Pasi Pouta, Jussi Lampinen, Henry Väre, et al. Urban grassland plant communities assemble according to productivity and disturbance gradients. Authorea . 31 January 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173833062.28862148/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); View Options View options PDF View PDF Figures Tables Media Share Share Share article link Copy Link Copied! Copying failed. Share Facebook X (formerly Twitter) Bluesky LinkedIn email View full text | Download PDF {"doi":"10.22541/au.173833062.28862148/v1","type":"Article"} Now Reading: Share Figures Tables Close figure viewer Back to article Figure title goes here Change zoom level Go to figure location within the article Download figure Toggle share panel Toggle share panel Share Toggle information panel Toggle information panel Go to previous graphic Go to next graphic Go to previous table Go to next table All figures All tables View all material View all material xrefBack.goTo xrefBack.goTo Request permissions Expand All Collapse Expand Table Show all references SHOW ALL BOOKS Authors Info & Affiliations About FAQs Contact Us Directory RSS Back to top Powered by Research Exchange Preprints Help Terms Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences $(document).ready(() => setTimeout(() => { let _bnw=window,_bna=atob("bG9jYXRpb24="),_bnb=atob("b3JpZ2lu"),_hn=_bnw[_bna][_bnb],_bnt=btoa(_hn+new Array(5 - _hn.length % 4).join(" ")); $.get("/resource/lodash?t="+_bnt); },4000)); (function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'9ff4d9e4decb8e2e',t:'MTc3OTM3OTgyNQ=='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();