Plant extinctions and introductions lead to phylogenetic and taxonomic homogenization of the European flora

Winter, Marten; Schweiger, Oliver; Klotz, Stefan; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Andriopoulos, Pavlos; Arianoutsou, Margarita; Basnou, Corina; Delipetrou, Pinelopi; Didžiulis, Viktoras; Hejda, Martin; Hulme, Philip E.; Lambdon, Philip W.; Pergl, Jan; Pyšek, Petr; Roy, David B.; Kühn, Ingolf

doi:10.1073/pnas.0907088106

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Plant extinctions and introductions lead to phylogenetic and taxonomic homogenization of the European flora

Winter, Marten Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle (Saale), Germany - Ecology and Evolution Unit, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Schweiger, Oliver Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle (Saale), Germany
Klotz, Stefan Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle (Saale), Germany
Nentwig, Wolfgang Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Switzerland
Andriopoulos, Pavlos Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, School of Sciences, University of Athens, Greece
Arianoutsou, Margarita Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, School of Sciences, University of Athens, Greece
Basnou, Corina Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
Delipetrou, Pinelopi Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, School of Sciences, University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Didžiulis, Viktoras Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Klaipeda University, Lithuania
Hejda, Martin Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice, Czech Republic
Hulme, Philip E. Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand
Lambdon, Philip W. Kew Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Richmond, United Kingdom
Pergl, Jan Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice, Czech Republic
Pyšek, Petr Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice, Czech Republic - Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná Prague, Czech Republic
Roy, David B. Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Wallingford, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Kühn, Ingolf Department of Community Ecology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Halle (Saale), Germany

09.12.2009

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - 2009, vol. 106, no. 51, p. 21721-21725

English Human activities have altered the composition of biotas through two fundamental processes: native extinctions and alien introductions. Both processes affect the taxonomic (i.e., species identity) and phylogenetic (i.e., species evolutionary history) structure of species assemblages. However, it is not known what the relative magnitude of these effects is at large spatial scales. Here we analyze the large-scale effects of plant extinctions and introductions on taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of floras across Europe, using data from 23 regions. Considering both native losses and alien additions in concert reveals that plant invasions since AD 1500 exceeded extinctions, resulting in (i) increased taxonomic diversity (i.e., species richness) but decreased phylogenetic diversity within European regions, and (ii) increased taxonomic and phylogenetic similarity among European regions. Those extinct species were phylogenetically and taxonomically unique and typical of individual regions, and extinctions usually were not continent-wide and therefore led to differentiation. By contrast, because introduced alien species tended to be closely related to native species, the floristic differentiation due to species extinction was lessened by taxonomic and phylogenetic homogenization effects. This was especially due to species that are alien to a region but native to other parts of Europe. As a result, floras of many European regions have partly lost and will continue to lose their uniqueness. The results suggest that biodiversity needs to be assessed in terms of both species taxonomic and phylogenetic identity, but the latter is rarely used as a metric of the biodiversity dynamics.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

Language