Authors
Alberto Suárez-Esteban
Publication date
2013/10/18
Description
In Chapter 4, we investigated the effect of SLD on fleshy-fruited shrub seedling emergence and survival. SLD had no effect on these stages, i.e. seedling emergence and survival were similar both in SLD verges and in adjacent scrublands suggesting that these habitats are suitable for shrub recruitment. In Chapter 5, we measured the abundance, diversity and spatial configuration of Mediterranean shrubs in relation to SLD, comparing shrub communities along SLD verges with those in adjacent scrublands. Fleshy-fruited shrub densities were higher along SLD verges than in adjacent scrublands, which is mostly a consequence of the differential seed arrival. Considering all analyzed stages of the plant life cycle, we conclude that the plant-animal interaction more affected by SLD, with the potential to influence the spatial configuration, abundance and diversity of the Mediterranean scrubland was seed dispersal. Given seed dispersal by foxes and rabbits, SLD may become hotspots of recruitment and establishment of native Mediterranean shrubs. In the long term, those shrubs may create hedgerows that probably benefit biodiversity in multiple ways (e.g. reducing erosion, improving the connectivity between otherwise isolated populations, promoting the reforestation of adjacent fields, etc.). The conservation of seed dispersers and a careful management of SLD verges are needed in order to take advantage of all these potential benefits.
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