Extinction debt varies in two threatened Mediterranean-type woodland communities undergoing rapid urbanisation

William M. Fowler; Rachel J. Standish; Neal J. Enright; Joseph B. Fontaine

doi:10.1071/BT22134

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Extinction debt varies in two threatened Mediterranean-type woodland communities undergoing rapid urbanisation

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Extinction debt varies in two threatened Mediterranean-type woodland communities undergoing rapid urbanisation

William M. Fowler, Rachel J. Standish, Neal J. Enright and Joseph B. Fontaine

Australian journal of botany, Vol.71(8), pp.421-433

2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/BT22134

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Abstract

banksia woodland

extinction debt

habitat fragmentation

habitat loss

mediterranean

plant traits

Context Extinction debt, the time-delayed species loss response to fragmentation associated with habitat clearance, is a conservation concern for management of biological diversity globally. Extinction debt is well defined but difficult to measure owing to the long-term data needed to measure species loss, particularly for communities of long-lived species. Aims We aimed to estimate extinction debt for two adjacent threatened communities with contrasting soil fertility in south-western Australia: banksia and tuart woodlands. Further, we assessed what species functional traits are associated with extinction risk. Methods Using contemporary (2016) and historical (1992) data on vegetation richness, and patch characteristics dating back to the time of European colonisation (1829), we examined 60 woodland patches using three methods to detect and quantify extinction debt. Key results We found evidence of extinction debt in banksia woodland, but not in tuart woodland. We estimated the extinction debt for banksia woodlands as a future average loss of 28% or ~13 species per patch. Conclusions Our study demonstrated a delay of species loss consistent with extinction debt in one of two vegetation communities. Despite sharing species and traits, these vegetation communities have responded differently to landscape change over the same timescale and within the same landscape. Implications Understanding how vegetation communities, and functional trait types, respond to time-delayed impacts helps land managers to prioritise intervention efforts to pre-empt species decline and extinction through species conservation, and ecological restoration of remnant vegetation patches.

Details

Title: Extinction debt varies in two threatened Mediterranean-type woodland communities undergoing rapid urbanisation
Authors/Creators: William M. Fowler - Murdoch University
Rachel J. Standish - Murdoch University, School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Neal J. Enright - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
Joseph B. Fontaine - Murdoch University
Publication Details: Australian journal of botany, Vol.71(8), pp.421-433
Publisher: Csiro Publishing
Number of pages: 13
Identifiers: 991005599166407891
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)).
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.195 Biodiversity Conservation
Web Of Science research areas: Plant Sciences
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science