Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition

Land-use changes have huge impacts on natural vegetation, especially megaprojects, as the vegetation layer is destroyed in the course of construction works affecting the plant community composition and functionality. This large-scale disturbance might be a gateway for the establishment of invasive p...

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Autores principales:	Hamada E. Ali, Solveig Franziska Bucher
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	construction sites invasive plant species pipeline plant functional traits vegetation recovery Botany QK1-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e050128a55604db7a3e68bc475557c91
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e050128a55604db7a3e68bc475557c912021-11-25T18:46:23ZEcological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition10.3390/plants101124112223-7747https://doaj.org/article/e050128a55604db7a3e68bc475557c912021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/11/2411https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7747Land-use changes have huge impacts on natural vegetation, especially megaprojects, as the vegetation layer is destroyed in the course of construction works affecting the plant community composition and functionality. This large-scale disturbance might be a gateway for the establishment of invasive plant species, which can outcompete the natural flora. In contrast, species occurring in the area before the construction are not able to re-establish. In this study, we analyzed the impact of a pipeline construction on a wetland nature reserve located in northern Egypt. Therefore, we analyzed the plant species occurrence and abundance and measured each plant species’ traits before the construction in 2017 as well as on multiple occasions up to 2 years after the construction had finished on altogether five sampling events. We found that the construction activity led to the establishment of an invasive species which previously did not occur in the area, namely, <i>Imperata cylindrica</i>, whereas five species (<i>Ipomoea carnea</i>, <i>Pluchea dioscoridis</i>, <i>Polygonum equisetiforme</i>, <i>Tamarix nilotica</i>, and <i>Typha domingensis</i>) could not re-establish after the disturbance. The functionality of ecosystems assessed via the analysis of plant functional traits (plant height, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content) changed within species over all sampling events and within the community showing a tendency to approximate pre-construction values. Functional dispersion and Rao’s quadratic diversity were higher after the megaproject than before. These findings are important to capture possible re-establishment and recovery of natural vegetation after construction and raise awareness to the impact of megaprojects, especially in areas which are high priority for conservation.Hamada E. AliSolveig Franziska BucherMDPI AGarticleconstruction sitesinvasive plant speciespipelineplant functional traitsvegetation recoveryBotanyQK1-989ENPlants, Vol 10, Iss 2411, p 2411 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	construction sites invasive plant species pipeline plant functional traits vegetation recovery Botany QK1-989
spellingShingle	construction sites invasive plant species pipeline plant functional traits vegetation recovery Botany QK1-989 Hamada E. Ali Solveig Franziska Bucher Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
description	Land-use changes have huge impacts on natural vegetation, especially megaprojects, as the vegetation layer is destroyed in the course of construction works affecting the plant community composition and functionality. This large-scale disturbance might be a gateway for the establishment of invasive plant species, which can outcompete the natural flora. In contrast, species occurring in the area before the construction are not able to re-establish. In this study, we analyzed the impact of a pipeline construction on a wetland nature reserve located in northern Egypt. Therefore, we analyzed the plant species occurrence and abundance and measured each plant species’ traits before the construction in 2017 as well as on multiple occasions up to 2 years after the construction had finished on altogether five sampling events. We found that the construction activity led to the establishment of an invasive species which previously did not occur in the area, namely, <i>Imperata cylindrica</i>, whereas five species (<i>Ipomoea carnea</i>, <i>Pluchea dioscoridis</i>, <i>Polygonum equisetiforme</i>, <i>Tamarix nilotica</i>, and <i>Typha domingensis</i>) could not re-establish after the disturbance. The functionality of ecosystems assessed via the analysis of plant functional traits (plant height, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content) changed within species over all sampling events and within the community showing a tendency to approximate pre-construction values. Functional dispersion and Rao’s quadratic diversity were higher after the megaproject than before. These findings are important to capture possible re-establishment and recovery of natural vegetation after construction and raise awareness to the impact of megaprojects, especially in areas which are high priority for conservation.
format	article
author	Hamada E. Ali Solveig Franziska Bucher
author_facet	Hamada E. Ali Solveig Franziska Bucher
author_sort	Hamada E. Ali
title	Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
title_short	Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
title_full	Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
title_fullStr	Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
title_full_unstemmed	Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition
title_sort	ecological impacts of megaprojects: species succession and functional composition
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e050128a55604db7a3e68bc475557c91
work_keys_str_mv	AT hamadaeali ecologicalimpactsofmegaprojectsspeciessuccessionandfunctionalcomposition AT solveigfranziskabucher ecologicalimpactsofmegaprojectsspeciessuccessionandfunctionalcomposition
_version_	1718410745060786176

Ecological Impacts of Megaprojects: Species Succession and Functional Composition

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