Contemporary floras have higher percentages of nonnative species than historic floras: the percent of nonnatives in floras have increased by 1.5% to 19.7% across the region. No variable that we examine (e.g., size of area, size of flora, conservation status, and data sources) explains differences in losses across all sites. We find floras across the region have lost, on average, one-quarter of their native species-ranging from a loss of 3.5% of species from the Finger Lakes Region in New York to a loss of 53.1% of species on Staten Island, New York. Here, we review patterns of change throughout the region and explore in-depth floristic change at a northern site: Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine, which holds the largest section of Acadia National Park. These changes are often linked to land use change, deer herbivory, development pressures, and climate change. Studies of floristic change in towns, counties, and preserves over the past 150 years reveal regional patterns of species loss and increasing proportions of nonnative species. Abstract: The wealth of historical botanical surveys in New England and New York allows ecologists to study changes in plant communities over time across well documented sites.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |