Landscape complexity has limited effects on the genetic structure of two arable plant species, Adonis aestivalis and Consolida regalis

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • S. Meyer - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • K. Wesche - , Chair of Biodiversity of Higher Plants, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig (Author)
  • J. Hans - , Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Author)
  • C. Leuschner - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • D. C. Albach - , University of Oldenburg (Author)

Abstract

The agricultural landscape of central Europe has changed dramatically in recent decades due to intensified cultivation, bringing many of its characteristic species to the brink of extinction. We investigated whether landscape structure affects the genetic structure and diversity of remnant populations of the two arable plant species Adonis aestivalis and Consolida regalis. We used dominant amplified fragment length polymorphism markers (AFLPs) and compared populations from six regions of 5 km2 in central Germany. These regions represent two different classes of landscape structural complexity: intensively used, homogeneous landscapes (>95% of area covered by arable land with low extent of field margins) or heterogeneous regions (<60% of area covered by arable land with large extent of field margins). Contrary to expectations, within-population diversity levels did not significantly differ between homogeneous and heterogeneous landscapes. No significant isolation-by-distance was found for either species, regardless of landscape structure, and genetic structures may still mirror more continuous conditions before large-scale restructuring commenced in Germany's arable landscapes from the 1950s onwards. These results suggest that current landscape complexity, as such, is not as important for local-level genetic structure for the species studied. Thus, homogenised and intensively used landscapes may also be important for the conservation of arable plant diversity and should not be neglected.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)406-415
Number of pages10
Journal Weed research : the official journal of the European Weed Research Society ; an international journal of weed biology, ecology and vegetation management
Volume55
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2015
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Arable weeds, Field margins, Germany, Habitat fragmentation, Landscape genetics, Landscape structure, Rare segetal plants