Assessing effectiveness of exclusion fences in protecting threatened plants
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Nature
Fecha
2021-08-09Referencia bibliográfica
Lorite, J... [et al.]. Assessing effectiveness of exclusion fences in protecting threatened plants. Sci Rep 11, 16124 (2021). [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95739-4]
Patrocinador
Programa Operativo FEDER 2018 B1-RNM-163-UGR18Resumen
Overgrazing stands out as threat factors on biodiversity, being especially harmful in the
Mediterranean, due to strong human pressure and an accelerated climate change acting
synergistically. Fencing is a common tool used in conservation biology to tackle this problem.
Advantages of fences are usually fast, intuitive, and easy to evaluate. However, disadvantages could
also arise (increasing interspecific competition, disturbing habitat structure, limiting pollination,
reducing dispersion). Together with management issues (maintenance, conflicts with stakeholders,
and pulling effect). Effectiveness of fencing for conservation has been frequently assessed for animals,
while it is almost a neglected topic in plants. We evaluated the outcome of fencing three threatened
and narrow-endemic plants. Selected 5 populations were only partly fenced, which allowed comparing
different variables inside and outside the fence. For evaluating the fencing effects, we sampled several
habitats (vegetation cover, composition, density of target species), and target-species features
(individual size, neighbouring species, and fruit-set). Fencing had strong effects on the habitat
and on target-species individuals, showing contrasting responses at species and population level.
Particularly, for Erodium cazorlanum, fence had a positive effect in one case, and negative in another.
In Hormathophylla baetica effect was positive in all populations. Finally, fencing negatively affected
Solenanthus reverchonii by increasing competition and limiting seed-dispersal. Fencing outcome was
different in assessed species, highlighting the need to a case-by-case evaluation to determine the net
balance (pros vs. cons), also its suitability and most favourable option (i.e. permanent vs. temporary
fences).