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Dispersal constraints for the conservation of the grassland herb Thymus pulegioides L. in a highly fragmented agricultural landscape

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Abstract

Species-rich grassland communities are one of the most important habitats for biodiversity and of high conservation priority in Europe. Restoration actions are mainly focused on the improvement of abiotic conditions, such as nutrient depletion techniques, and are generally based on the assumption that the target community will re-establish at the restored site when the target species exist in the neighborhood. Information on the contemporary seed-dispersal range is therefore crucial to develop effective conservation measures. Here, we investigated the contemporary long-distance seed dispersal and genetic structure of the grassland herb Thymus pulegioides in an intensively managed agricultural landscape in Flanders (Northern Belgium). Assignment tests based on amplified fragment length polymorphisms revealed very low levels of effective seed dispersal between populations although seed availability and seed viability was not a limiting factor. The process of fragmentation has resulted in a high population differentiation and without further incoming gene flow the remnant populations are prone to further genetic erosion and perhaps extinction. Our findings illustrate that restoring suitable abiotic habitat conditions in the neighborhood of existing populations does likely not guarantee colonization for this grassland specialist. For the survival of the species, existing populations should be functionally connected and seed addition may be necessary for successful conservation to overcome dispersal-limitation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Leen Verschaeve, Nancy Van Liefferinge, An Van Breusegem, David Halfmaerten, Sabrina Neyrinck for laboratory assistance and Kasper van Acker, R. Guelinckx and the nature reserve managers of Natuurpunt for sampling assistance and information on sampling locations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Gaverstraat 4, 9500, Geraardsbergen, Belgium

    An Vanden Broeck & Joachim Mergeay

  2. Division Plant Ecology and Systematics, Department Biology, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 3, 3001, Louvain, Belgium

    Tobias Ceulemans, Gunter Kathagen & Olivier Honnay

  3. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Kliniekstraat 25, 1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Maurice Hoffmann

  4. Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Maurice Hoffmann

  5. VIB Center for the Biology of Disease, University of Leuven, O&N I Herestraat 49, P.O. Box 1028, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    Gunter Kathagen

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  1. An Vanden Broeck
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  2. Tobias Ceulemans
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  3. Gunter Kathagen
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  4. Maurice Hoffmann
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  5. Olivier Honnay
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Correspondence to An Vanden Broeck.

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Vanden Broeck, A., Ceulemans, T., Kathagen, G. et al. Dispersal constraints for the conservation of the grassland herb Thymus pulegioides L. in a highly fragmented agricultural landscape. Conserv Genet 16, 765–776 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-015-0698-0

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