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Supplementary Material
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This material is available as part of the online article from:
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Ozinga et al. Dispersal failure contributes to plant losses in NW Europe
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http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1461-0248.XXXX.XXXXX.x
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Appendix S1 Possible confounding effects
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Appendix S2 Historical overview of changes in dispersal infrastructure in the landscape
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of Northwest Europe.
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Please note: Blackwell Publishing is not responsible for the content or functionality of
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any supplementary materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing
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material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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Appendix S2: Historical overview of changes in dispersal
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infrastructure in the landscape of Northwest Europe
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Several vectors transport seeds between sites, including water, wind, birds and
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large mammals, each with their own characteristics (Hodgson & Grime 1990; Fischer et
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al. 1996; Poschlod & Bonn 1998; Boedeltje et al. 2003; Manzano & Malo 2006; Nathan
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2006). At the landscape level, these dispersal vectors act like a complex ‘dispersal
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infrastructure’. In Northwest Europe, wind patterns and bird migrations remained almost
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unchanged throughout the 19th and 20th centuries (KNMI 2005 respectively LWVT /
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SOVON 2002), while the exchange of large mammals and water between sites has
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greatly decreased. These changes mostly took place some 50 to 150 years ago (Ridley
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1930; Beaufoy et al. 1994; Dynesius & Nilsson 1994; European Environment Agency
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2003; Poschlod et al. 2005; see Poschlod & Bonn 1998 for a comprehensive review).
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Free-ranging or herded large mammals
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For many plant species, the retention time of seeds by large mammals (both
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externally in the fur and internally in the digestive tract) is long enough to enable seeds to
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be transported across corridors over distances of many kilometres (Fischer et al. 1996;
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Pakeman 2001; Myers et al. 2004; Manzano & Malo 2006). Of the large herbivores that
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roamed the plains and forests of Pleistocene NW Europe, most large mammalian species
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and all ‘megaherbivores’ became extinct (Anderson 1984; Stuart 1991, 2005). Since there
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is a positive log-linear relation between body weight and dispersal distances (as regards
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both median and maximum dispersal distances, Sutherland et al. 2000), the most effective
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long-distance dispersal vectors among the mammals have thereby probably disappeared.
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Only four widely distributed ungulate species have remained (in order of increasing
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median dispersal distances): Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Fallow deer (Dama dama),
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Wild boar (Sus scrofa) and Red deer (Cervus elaphus). The natural migration of these
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remaining wild mammalian species is currently severely hampered in most European
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landscapes (Wallis de Vries 1995; Groot Bruinderink et al. 2003).
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Grazing by livestock, i.e. horses, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, can be regarded as
10
a modern analogy of seed dispersal by the original fauna (Janzen & Martin 1982, Olff &
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Ritchie 1998). Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was common for farmers to herd
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their livestock on a daily basis on the unfenced pastures, covering distances of
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approximately 0.5 to 10 km per day. The highly branched networks of drift-roads for
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livestock around the villages remained in use for many centuries (Slichter Van Bath
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1980; Jager 1985; Bielemans 1987; Hillegers 1993; Spek 2004).
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It was also common to transport livestock between regions (over distances of 20-
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200 km) for trade (Wiese 1966; Bieleman 1987; Hillegers 1993; Gijsbers 1999). These
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migratory livestock systems (transhumance) existed in large parts of Europe (Ruiz &
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Ruiz 1986; Whittaker 1988; Poschlod & Bonn 1998; Bruun & Fritbøger 2002; Bunce et
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al. 2004). Although the seasonal transhumance was potentially important for the
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migration of plant species over very long distances (>100 km; Fischer et al. 1996;
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Poschlod & Bonn 1998; Manzano & Malo 2006), the herded livestock within regions was
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more important for seed dispersal in a quantitative sense. Interregional drift of livestock
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was restricted to a few main drove-roads. By contrast, the daily, local herding of livestock
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encompassed much larger areas with a higher frequency (Jager 1985; Gijsbers 1999;
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Spek 2004).
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Nowadays, free-ranging or herded livestock grazing has become rare in
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Northwest-Europe. In the Netherlands its spatial coverage has been reduced by more than
6
90% (Slichter Van Bath 1980; Bielemans 1987; Spek 2004) and by 75% in many other
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parts of Northwest Europe (Beaufoy et al. 1994; Bignal & McCracken 1996; Poschlod &
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Bonn 1998; Bruun & Fritbøger 2002; Bunce et al. 2004). Free-ranging or herded
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livestock grazing has been replaced by grazing in fenced fields or livestock housing. This
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in turn has greatly reduced the potential for mammal-assisted dispersal of plants between
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sites (Fischer et al. 1996; Poschlod & Bonn 1998; Manzano & Malo 2006).
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Free-running and inundating water
Palaeo-ecological evidence shows that prior to human inference, the hydrology of
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many European lowland rivers was dynamic, with multi-braided channels influencing
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large stretches of land (Brown 2002). In many floodplains in Northwest Europe,
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inundations were tolerated, and from the Late Middle Ages onwards even stimulated due
18
to the positive effects on grassland productivity (Rackham 1986; Ellenberg 1988; Pott
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1995; Konold 1997; Poschlod & Bonn 1998). In rivers and brooks throughout Europe,
20
however, natural flood regimes have been altered severely by large flow- and flood-
21
control projects implemented during the 19th and 20th century (Dynesius & Nilsson
22
1994; Lytle & Poff 2004; Nilsson et al. 2005). As a result, the area affected by frequent
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inundations has been greatly decreased over the last two centuries, in the Netherlands
4
1
(Gottschalk 1977; Kalweit 1993) as well as in many other parts of Europe (Dynesius &
2
Nilsson 1994; Brown 2002; Lytle & Poff 2004; Nilsson et al. 2005). It is estimated that
3
more than 90% of European floodplains are now ‘cultivated’ and therefore functionally
4
‘extinct’ (Tockner & Stanford 2002). For example, it has been estimated for parts of the
5
Netherlands that until 1860, up to 60% of the area was inundated periodically with
6
surface- or groundwater during the winter period, while this area is now reduced to less
7
than 1% (Corporaal et al. 2002). The restriction of transversal and longitudinal water
8
flows has therefore greatly reduced the potential of seed dispersal between sites
9
(Dynesius & Nilsson 1994; Poschlod & Bonn 1998; Jansson et al. 2000; Lytle & Poff
10
2004; Boedeltje et al. 2003).
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13
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