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Diversity
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Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands
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Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 23215

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. François Munoz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique (LIPhy), Université Grenoble-Alpes, 140 Rue de la Physique, 38402 Saint-Martin-d’Hères, France
Interests: plant ecology; functional ecology; biogeography; metacommunities; tropical ecosystems; temperate grasslands
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mariusz Lamentowicz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Bogumiła Krygowskiego 10, 61-680 Poznań, Poland
Interests: ecology and long-term ecology of wetlands

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Peatlands are remarkable for their specific biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. They provide the essential services of water regulation and provision and carbon storage. They are dominated by ecosystem engineers, such as peat mosses, that determine abiotic and biotic conditions for other organisms. These specific conditions have shaped original evolutionary pathways and adaptations. The accumulation of peat provides invaluable archives of past environmental and vegetation conditions. Yet peatlands face many threats, especially those related to anthropogenic activities. In all biomes, wetlands are converted and peatlands decrease in surface area or are degraded. Global warming is liable to deeply change peatland functioning and to convert peatlands from carbon sinks to carbon sources at high latitudes. In this context, this Special Issue will include contributions highlighting the current ecological health of peatlands in different biomes, and proposing perspectives for their conservation and management. We also hope to present contributions on the evolutionary ecology and biogeography of peatlands, shedding light on their past to better forecast their contribution to future ecosystem functioning.

text text text

Prof. François Munoz
Prof. Dr. Mariusz Lamentowicz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecosystem services
  • ecosystem engineers
  • ecological specialization
  • biodiversity dynamics
  • niche construction
  • global changes
  • palynology

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 775 KiB  
Article
Mires in Europe—Regional Diversity, Condition and Protection
by Franziska Tanneberger, Asbjørn Moen, Alexandra Barthelmes, Edward Lewis, Lera Miles, Andrey Sirin, Cosima Tegetmeyer and Hans Joosten
Diversity 2021, 13(8), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13080381 - 16 Aug 2021
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 10565
Abstract
In spite of the worldwide largest proportional loss of mires, Europe is a continent with important mire diversity. This article analyses the condition and protection status of European mire ecosystems. The overview is based on the system of European mire regions, representing regional [...] Read more.
In spite of the worldwide largest proportional loss of mires, Europe is a continent with important mire diversity. This article analyses the condition and protection status of European mire ecosystems. The overview is based on the system of European mire regions, representing regional variety and ecosystem biodiversity. We combined peatland distribution data with land cover maps of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service as well as with the World Database on Protected Areas to assess the extent of degraded peatlands and the proportion of peatlands located in protected areas in each European mire region. The total proportion of degraded peatlands in Europe is 25%; within the EU it is 50% (120,000 km2). The proportion of degradation clearly increases from north to south, as does the proportion of peatlands located within protected areas. In more than half of Europe’s mire regions, the target of at least 17% of the area located in protected areas is not met with respect to peatlands. Data quality is discussed and the lessons learned from Europe for peatland conservation are presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands)
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19 pages, 2629 KiB  
Article
Diversity of Testate Amoebae as an Indicator of the Conservation Status of Peatlands in Southwest Europe
by Rafael Carballeira and Xabier Pontevedra-Pombal
Diversity 2021, 13(6), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13060269 - 15 Jun 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3412
Abstract
Testate amoebae are one of the most studied groups of microorganisms in Sphagnum peatland ecosystems and, therefore, one of the most reliable bioindicators of their ecological status. Peatland ecosystems are supported by a delicate biogeochemical balance that leads to the formation of peat, [...] Read more.
Testate amoebae are one of the most studied groups of microorganisms in Sphagnum peatland ecosystems and, therefore, one of the most reliable bioindicators of their ecological status. Peatland ecosystems are supported by a delicate biogeochemical balance that leads to the formation of peat, one of the main sinks of C, as a result of soil–atmosphere interaction, but currently they are one of the most threatened wetland types at their southern distribution limit. In the European continent, where climatic conditions limit peat formation, they have endured significant anthropic pressure for centuries, and the risk of loss of biodiversity linked to these ecosystems is critical. In addition, peatlands are poorly known ecosystems in the Iberian Peninsula compared with other wetlands; therefore, we have studied the chemical parameters of water and the diversity patterns of testate amoebae in the western Iberian Peninsula to better understand the current status of these ecosystems. The analysis of testate amoeba communities showed an inverse relationship between the diversity and conservation status of these peatlands, both in relation to chemical parameters (i.e., pH, electrical conductivity, phosphates) and to the proportion of anthropized area, with a marked geographical pattern in the degree of anthropogenic disturbance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands)
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25 pages, 7812 KiB  
Article
Peatland Development, Vegetation History, Climate Change and Human Activity in the Valdai Uplands (Central European Russia) during the Holocene: A Multi-Proxy Palaeoecological Study
by Yuri A. Mazei, Andrey N. Tsyganov, Maxim V. Bobrovsky, Natalia G. Mazei, Dmitry A. Kupriyanov, Mariusz Gałka, Dmitry V. Rostanets, Kseniya P. Khazanova, Tamara G. Stoiko, Yulia A. Pastukhova, Yulia A. Fatynina, Alexander A. Komarov, Kirill V. Babeshko, Anastasiya D. Makarova, Damir A. Saldaev, Elya P. Zazovskaya, Maria V. Dobrovolskaya and Alexei V. Tiunov
Diversity 2020, 12(12), 462; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12120462 - 3 Dec 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4552
Abstract
Peatlands are remarkable for their specific biodiversity, crucial role in carbon cycling and climate change. Their deposits preserve organism remains that can be used to reconstruct long-term ecosystem and environmental changes as well as human impact in the prehistorical and historical past. This [...] Read more.
Peatlands are remarkable for their specific biodiversity, crucial role in carbon cycling and climate change. Their deposits preserve organism remains that can be used to reconstruct long-term ecosystem and environmental changes as well as human impact in the prehistorical and historical past. This study presents a new multi-proxy reconstruction of the peatland and vegetation development investigating climate dynamics and human impact at the border between mixed and boreal forests in the Valdai Uplands (the East European Plain, Russia) during most of the Holocene. We performed plant macrofossil, pollen, testate amoeba, Cladocera, diatom, peat humification, loss on ignition, carbon and nitrogen content, δ13C and δ15N analyses supported by radiocarbon dating of the peat deposits from the Krivetskiy Mokh mire. The results of the study indicate that the wetland ecosystem underwent a classic hydroserial succession from a lake (8300 BC–900 BC) terrestrialized through a fen (900 BC–630 AD) to an ombrotrophic bog (630 AD–until present) and responded to climate changes documented over the Holocene. Each stage was associated with clear changes in local diversity of organisms responding mostly to autogenic successional changes during the lake stage and to allogenic factors at the fen-bog stage. The latter can be related to increased human impact and greater sensitivity of peatland ecosystems to external, especially climatic, drivers as compared to lakes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands)
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23 pages, 7291 KiB  
Article
Interspecific Hybridization and Introgression Influence Biodiversity—Based on Genetic Diversity of Central European Viola epipsila-V. palustris Complex
by Justyna Żabicka, Grzegorz Migdałek, Aneta Słomka, Elwira Sliwinska, Leszek Mackiewicz, Andrzej Keczyński and Elżbieta Kuta
Diversity 2020, 12(9), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12090321 - 24 Aug 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3517
Abstract
The Viola epipsila-V. palustris complex is a highly taxonomically complicated group of species in its entire circumboreal range of distribution. Habitat loss, forest flooding, and hybridization could lead to the extinction of V. epipsila. A hybrid index and principal component [...] Read more.
The Viola epipsila-V. palustris complex is a highly taxonomically complicated group of species in its entire circumboreal range of distribution. Habitat loss, forest flooding, and hybridization could lead to the extinction of V. epipsila. A hybrid index and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to select qualitative and quantitative morphological features to distinguish parent species and hybrids, inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to determine the genetic diversity of the populations, flow cytometry to estimate the genome size (GS), and non-coding chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) regions to indicate the directions of crosses. All taxa are very morphologically variable, and their features can change within a season. The most stable feature is the distance of the bracts on the pedicel from the rhizome. The genetic diversity of all taxa populations is low and highly influenced by selfing and vegetative propagation. The population structure is differentiated: populations of V. epipsila or V. palustris, mixed populations with both parent species, F1 hybrids and populations with introgressive forms occur in different regions. The interspecific GS variation corresponds to the ploidy level (4x = 2.52 pg, 8x = 4.26 pg, 6x = 3.42 pg). Viola epipsila is the mother plant of the hybrids. Research has shown the risk of V. epipsila extinction in Central Europe and the importance of local populations in studying the role of hybridization in reducing/maintaining/increasing biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Peatlands)
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