caa a22 4500 605527040 CHVBK 20210128100806.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150301xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10531-014-0840-1 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10531-014-0840-1 Combining phytolith analysis with historical ecology to reveal the long-term, local-scale dynamics within a savannah-forest landscape mosaic [Elektronische Daten] [Jenny McCune, Mark Vellend, Marlow Pellatt] An understanding of the historical range of variability of an ecosystem can improve management and restoration activities, but this variability depends on the spatial and temporal scale at which it is measured. We examined the extent of local-scale variation in vegetation prior to European settlement across a savannah-forest landscape mosaic on southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. We used phytoliths extracted from soil surface samples to calibrate an index that differentiates open savannahs from closed canopy Douglas-fir forests and then examined shifts in this index with soil depth at seven local sites. We tested whether changes with depth aligned with known vegetation changes based on land survey records from the mid-1800s, and then inferred vegetation change prior to European settlement. The log ratio of astrosclereids (phytolith specific to Douglas-fir) and rondels (phytolith specific to grasses) in soil surface samples accurately distinguished between current vegetation types, and shifts in this ratio with depth were sensitive to known historical changes in most of the cores. Some sites have supported open savannah vegetation for at least 2,000years, while others that were formerly open have been filled in by Douglas-fir forest. However, this infilling appears to have begun at different times for different sites. Our findings demonstrate that the degree and timing of historical variation in vegetation can differ between local sites within a broader regional landscape that appears relatively stable. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2014 British Columbia nationallicence Douglas-fir nationallicence Garry oak nationallicence Historical range of variability nationallicence Landscape history nationallicence Paleoecology nationallicence McCune Jenny The Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd., V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada aut Vellend Mark Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard De l'Université, J1K 2R1, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada aut Pellatt Marlow Parks Canada, Natural Resource Conservation, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation Directorate, 300-300 West Georgia St., V6B 6B4, Vancouver, BC, Canada aut Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/3(2015-03-01), 609-626 0960-3115 24:3<609 2015 24 10531 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0840-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0840-1 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- McCune Jenny The Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd., V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Vellend Mark Département de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard De l'Université, J1K 2R1, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Pellatt Marlow Parks Canada, Natural Resource Conservation, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation Directorate, 300-300 West Georgia St., V6B 6B4, Vancouver, BC, Canada aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/3(2015-03-01), 609-626 0960-3115 24:3<609 2015 24 10531