Finished - University of Tartu Landscape Biodiversity Group

Implementing citizen science to explore grassland ecology

Duration: 2021

The loss of traditionally managed diverse grasslands throughout Europe threatens the survival of many species. The proposed project will (1) raise awareness in the society about the impacts of grassland loss on biodiversity and (2) will improve scientific knowledge of the effects of grassland loss on important ecological processes. A citizen-science campaign carried out in the spring of 2021 simultaneously all across Europe will form the backbone of the project. The campaign will focus on reporting the frequency of flower types of a common grassland species, cowslip (Primula veris). Different cowslip individuals can have one of two different types of flowers (“heterostyly”). Cowslips with different flower types usually occur at equal frequencies, but grassland loss may cause strong deviations in these patterns with negative consequences for cowslips’ viability. Pilot campaigns carried out in Estonia in 2019 and 2020 (see www.cowslip.science) proved to be a great success with numerous participants and exciting scientific findings. The latter encourages expanding the geographic scope of the study towards other European regions, where the preferred habitat of cowslips (i.e. semi-natural grasslands) has once been common. The results of the project will be communicated to public, conservation practitioners and scientific audience throughout 2021.

Project participants: Tsipe Aavik, Kertu Hool, Marianne Kaldra, Iris Reinula

Funding: This project of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic Germany.

Activities:

Campaign's web page: cowslip.science.

See also the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages of the campaign.

Participants from 30 countries made 3427 observations of 393 422 flowers and took 6 897 photos. More info about the first results can be found here and here.

More videos of the campaign can be found here.

landscape - 08.04.2021 - Genetic diversity, Mycorrhiza - No Comments

Large-scale restoration of calcareous grasslands, implications for biodiversity

Duration: 2019 january - 2021 april

Project focuses on impacts of large-scale grassland restoration on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and provision of ecosystem services. This is a follow-up to the project carried out in 2015-2017, during which the pre-restoration status of grassland biodiversity was recorded. Current project aims to 1) describe the post-restoration status of important species groups; 2) analyze the impacts of large-scale restoration activities on biodiversity, ecosystem services and ecosystem functions; 3) compile the guidelines for landscape-scale restoration of Estonian grasslands, considering the impact of different restoration actions on biodiversity. Results of the project are important for organizing the conservation and restoration of semi-natural grasslands.

Project participants: Aveliina Helm, Tsipe Aavik, Liis Kasari, Triin Reitalu, Elisabeth Prangel

Funding: Environmental Investment Centre

Project information in Estonian Research Information System

landscape - 16.03.2021 - No Comments

Centre of Excellence EcolChange

Duration: 2016 march - 2023 march

The Centre of Excellence EcolChange is created in cooperation of two universities, Estonian University of Life Sciences and University of Tartu. Head of the Centre is Professor Ülo Niinemets, Estonian University of Life Sciences. Our work group participates in the work of the Center of Excellence through the Macroecology work group. The EcolChange represents a synergistic network of expertise to elaborate global and local scenarios for terrestrial ecosystems in the context of global change, from molecular to biome-level responses. It aims to integrate studies of ecosystem function, biodiversity and adaptability, create symbiosis between macroecological big-data, genetic and experimental approaches and incorporate ecological knowledge into principles of adaptation to global change through sustainable ecosystem management. Furthermore, it aims to enhance ecologically sustainable economic growth via smart regional planning in forestry and agriculture.

Project participants: the whole work group

Funding: European Regional Development Fund

landscape - 03.04.2020 - No Comments

Conservation of natural biodiversity in agricultural land

Duration: 2019 March - 2020 September

In addition to nature reserves, biodiversity should be preserved elsewhere. For instance, agricultural landscapes contain biodiversity that should be preserved. One of the aims of this project is to bring together information on effective activities and practices that help preserve the natural biodiversity of Estonian agricultural landscapes. It also gives an overview of the different performance-based support schemes tested in Europe and proposes a concept for paying performance-based semi-natural habitat support on the basis of community status and biodiversity indicators. In order to achieve these aims, an easily understandable overview about the biodiversity conservation activities in agricultural landscapes and input for the development of result-based semi-natural habitat support will be provided. In addition, overviews of the impact of different management regimes on permanent grassland biota and farmers' and landscape caretakers' expectations about the result-based habitat support will be done. The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Macroecology workgroup.

Project participants: Aveliina Helm, Tsipe Aavik, Elisabeth Prangel, Krista Takkis, Rufus Trepp, Kersti Riibak

Funding: Ministry of Rural Affairs

Final report of the project (in Estonian)

landscape - 21.01.2020 - No Comments

CELSA project: Linking genetic diversity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities of host plant

Duration: 2019-2020

Increasing land-use intensity across Europe has brought along the loss of many natural habitats and a rapid decrease in biodiversity. There is an urgent need for solutions to alleviate these negative effects, and the restoration of degraded habitats is the key to halting further biodiversity loss. The restoration of self-sustainable plant populations is critical for successful habitat restoration. Two of the most important bottlenecks in this context are (i) the generally low genetic diversity of restored plant populations, and (ii) the lack of suitable soil fungi. First, because plant populations colonizing newly restored habitats are often small and generally originate from few source populations, their population genetic diversity is low, resulting in reduced fitness due to inbreeding and genetic drift. Second, many plant species depend on the presence of beneficial soil fungi, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which can improve plant nutrition and protection from pathogens. Lack of such fungi in restored habitats can therefore impose a significant hurdle in the process of ecological restoration. However, it is not currently known, how both of these factors, i.e. plant genetic diversity and AM fungi, interact with each other and affect the effectiveness of ecological restoration. The results of this project will be an overview about the existing knowledge of the problem, results of the experimental study with Campanula rotundifolia as the host plant and practical guidelines to restore self-sustainable plant populations. This project is done in collaboration with Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and our colleagues from plant ecology workgroup in the University of Tartu.

Project participants: Aveliina Helm, Tsipe Aavik

Funding: University of Tartu and Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven)

landscape - 20.01.2020 - Genetic diversity, Mycorrhiza - No Comments

The effect of landscape configuration on the functional connectivity of Primula veris – a landscape genomic approach

Duration: 2018 - 2020

Habitat fragmentation is a major threat to species and genetic diversity, the latter being a crucial prerequisite for species survival in times of rapid environmental change. Yet, we still lack detailed understanding of how landscape elements shape gene flow and by that affect the distribution of genetic diversity in habitats which experience drastic decrease in area and connectivity. To address this gap in our knowledge, I will apply state-of-the-art molecular tools in combination with landscape analysis for determining landscape variables affecting connectivity-related gene flow between fragmented populations, and neutral as well as adaptive relevant genetic diversity within and between populations. With the proposed project, we shall obtain fundamental insights into the landscape-driven genetic background of plants, which can serve as a basis for guiding decision-making in environmental conservation policy.

Project participants: Sabrina Träger, Tsipe Aavik

Funding: Estonian Research Council (ETAg)

Project information in Estonian Research Information System

Scheme of landscape genetic analyses

landscape - 22.02.2019 - No Comments

Genetic diversity of grassland plants: the effect of spatiotemporal landscape changes

Duration: 2015-2021

Fragmentation is one of the major threats to biodiversity. However, genetic consequences of fragmentation and its evolutionary impact are not fully understood. DNA sequencing techniques enable the detection of numerous molecular markers in neutral and adaptive parts of genome. This offers great opportunities for answering questions about the effects of fragmentation on genetic diversity and its evolutionary consequences. We will use a system of alvar grasslands in Estonia to examine the effect of fragmentation on the genetic diversity of grassland plants. We will apply novel tools of next-generation sequencing and landscape genomics – a discipline combining population genomics with landscape ecology – to assess the role of current and historic landscape structure on neutral as well as adaptive genetic diversity of plants. The results of the project will advance knowledge of the consequences of fragmentation for biodiversity and are relevant for effective grassland conservation.

Project participants: Tsipe Aavik, Sabrina Träger, Iris Reinula, Marianne Kaldra

Funding: Estonian Research Council Project information in Estonian Research Information System Scheme of landscape genetic analyses

Coverage:

alfa - 10.02.2019 - No Comments

Restoration of Estonian alvar grasslands

Duration: 2014-2019

Project LIFE to Alvars (LIFE13 NAT/EE/000082) started in 1.09.2014 and lasted 5 years. During the project, 2500 hectares of alvar grasslands in Estonia were restored and biodiversity-supporting habitat management was launched. Alvar grasslands are valuable and highly biodiverse habitats, designated to the European Union’s Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) code 6280* (Nordic alvar and precambrian calcareous flatrocks). Alvar grasslands are semi-natural grasslands with thin lime-rich soil on a limestone bedrock.
One third of all the alvar grasslands in Europe are situated in Estonia. However, in 2013 only around 2000 hectares i.e less than 30% of Estonian alvar grasslands were under annual management (moderate grazing), which is necessary for the long-term persistence of this habitat and its diverse set of species. Unmanaged sites heavily overgrow with shrubs (mostly juniper Juniperus communis) and trees (mostly Scots pine Pinus sylvestris).
LIFE to Alvars project was carried out on 25 sites. 12 project sites were on Saaremaal island, 6 on Hiiumaa island, 5 on Muhu island, 1 in Pärnumaa and 1 in Läänemaa. Restoration actions involved the removal of excessive trees and shrubs, as well as the establishment of the grazing infrastructure.
During the project, specialists from the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences monitored the effect of restoration on biodiversity. During the summers of 2014-2015, specialists quantified the pre-restoration environmental conditions of habitats and recorded the status of vascular plants, bryophytes, spiders, butterflies, bumblebees, birds and mycorrhiza. After restoration, in 2019 and 2020, post-restoration monitoring took place. In the future, the goal is to repeat the monitoring at least after every 5 years. Such extensive biodiversity monitoring is necessary for accurate assessment of restoration success in the future.

Project participants: Aveliina Helm, Liis Kasari, Elisabeth Prangel, Linda Pall

Funding: The total cost of the project is approximately EUR 3.7 million, of which 75% is a contribution from the European Community LIFE + Nature Program and 25% from the Estonian State. Local co-financing is provided by the Environmental Investment Center, University of Tartu, Estonian University of Life Sciences and Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association.

Final report of the project and maintenance plan of alvars (in Estonian).

alfa - 10.02.2019 - No Comments

Mapping and assessment of Estonian ecosystems and related ecosystem services

Duration: 2018-2020 July

During the project, the most suitable methodology for assessing the status of Estonian forests, marshes, grasslands and agricultural ecosystems, and for fixing the baseline values of selected ecosystem services will be developed. The aim is to identify the most important ecosystem services offered by the selected ecosystems and to associate these with the state of ecosystems. As a result of the work, assessments of the state of the Estonian ecosystems and related ecosystem services will be made, which will significantly improve our ability to take into account the great importance of natural communities in maintaining our living environment. The project will be carried out in cooperation with the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Project participants: Aveliina Helm, Elisabeth Prangel

Funding: Environment Agency, project ELME „Elurikkuse sotsiaal-majanduslikult ja kliimamuutustega seostatud keskkonnaseisundi hindamiseks, prognoosiks ja andmete kättesaadavuse tagamiseks vajalikud töövahendid”

The presentations of the final seminar of the project (in Estonian)