Assessing ecological integrity: A multi-scale structural and functional approach using Structural Equation Modeling

Ecological Indicators

Volumn 71, Issue , 2016, Pages 258-269

  Capmourteres, Virginia ^a   Anand, Madhur ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH   (Canada)

Author keywords

Complexity; Conservation planning; Ecosystem integrity; Human environment systems; Monitoring

Indexed keywords

APPLICATION PROGRAMS; BIRDS; CONSERVATION; ECOLOGY; FORESTRY; MONITORING; NATURAL RESOURCES; PLANTS (BOTANY); SOILS;

CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS; COMPLEXITY; CONSERVATION PLANNING; ECOSYSTEM DEGRADATION; FUNCTIONAL INTEGRITIES; HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT SYSTEMS; SOIL ORGANIC MATTERS; STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING;

ECOSYSTEMS;

BIRD; COMPLEXITY; CONSERVATION PLANNING; ECOLOGICAL MODELING; ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION; ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE; ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION; ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATOR; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; HABITAT MANAGEMENT; NATURE-SOCIETY RELATIONS; REFUGE; VEGETATION COVER; WATERSHED; WILD POPULATION;

CANADA; CREDIT RIVER; ONTARIO [CANADA];

ANIMALIA; AVES;

EID: 84978646021     PISSN: 1470160X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.07.006     Document Type: Article

References (119)

1. Agricultural Resource Inventory (ARI), OMAFRA-Ontario. 1983 Website: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/landuse/gis/ari_1983.htm#4.
2. Acton, D.F., Gregorich, L.J., The Health of Our Soils-towards Sustainable Agriculture in Canada. 1995, Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Research Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ont (xiv + 138 pp).
3. Allison, P.D., Missing data techniques for structural equation modeling. J. Abnorm. Psychol., 112(4), 2003, 545.
4. Anand, M., Gonzalez, A., Guichard, F., Kolasa, J., Parrott, L., Ecological systems as complex systems: challenges for an emerging science. Diversity 2:3 (2010), 395–410.
5. Bagozzi, R.P., Yi, Y., Specification, evaluation, and interpretation of structural equation models. J. Acad. Mark. Sci. 40:1 (2012), 8–34.
6. Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., Falk, J., Visitors’ learning for environmental sustainability: testing short-and long-term impacts of wildlife tourism experiences using structural equation modelling. Tourism Manage. 32:6 (2011), 1243–1252.
7. Banks-Leite, C., Ewers, R.M., Metzger, J.P., The confounded effects of habitat disturbance at the local: patch and landscape scale on understorey birds of the Atlantic Forest: implications for the development of landscape-based indicators. Ecol. Indic. 31 (2013), 82–88.
8. Barnosky, A.D., Hadly, E.A., Bascompte, J., Berlow, E.L., Brown, J.H., Fortelius, M., Martinez, N.D., Approaching a state shift in earth/'s biosphere. Nature 486:7401 (2012), 52–58.
9. Bierwagen, B.G., Theobald, D.M., Pyke, C.R., Choate, A., Groth, P., Thomas, J.V., Morefield, P., National housing and impervious surface scenarios for integrated climate impact assessments. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 107:49 (2010), 20887–20892.
10. Bischi, G.I., Effects of time lags on transient characteristics of a nutrient cycling model. Math. Biosci. 109:2 (1992), 151–175.
11. Bizzi, S., Surridge, B.W., Lerner, D.N., Structural equation modelling: a novel statistical framework for exploring the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in riverine ecosystems. River Res. Appl. 29:6 (2013), 743–759.
12. Bleeker, A., Hicks, W.K., Dentener, F., Galloway, J., Erisman, J.W., N deposition as a threat to the world's protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Environ. Pollut. 159:10 (2011), 2280–2288.
13. Brais, S., Paré, D., Lierman, C., Tree bole mineralization rates of four species of the Canadian eastern boreal forest: implications for nutrient dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances. Can. J. For. Res. 36:9 (2006), 2331–2340.
14. Bunce, R.G.H., Bogers, M.M.B., Evans, D., Halada, L., Jongman, R.H.G., Mucher, C.A., Bauch, B., de Blust, G., Parr, T.W., Olsvig-Whittaker, L., The significance of habitats as indicators of biodiversity and their links to species. Ecol. Indic. 33 (2013), 19–25.
15. Byrne, B.M., Structural Equation Modeling with Mplus: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming. 2012, Routledge, 412.
16. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Rising to the Challenge: A Handbook for Understanding and Protecting the Credit River Watershed. first edition, 2009, 58.
17. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Ecological Land Classification (ELC). 2011, 4.
18. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Monitoring Health. 2012, 150 (Chapters 1–16).
19. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Forest Soil Monitoring Methodology. 2013, 18.
20. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Forest Plant Community Monitoring Methodology. 2013, 22.
21. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Forest Canopy Cover Monitoring Methodology. 2013, 8.
22. Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Forest Index of Biotic Integrity: A Tool to Evaluate Forests in the Credit River Watershed Using Long-term Monitoring Data. 2013, 79.
23. Calabrese, J.M., Fagan, W.F., A comparison-shopper's guide to connectivity metrics. Front. Ecol. Environ. 2:10 (2004), 529–536.
24. Chen, D., Zheng, S., Shan, Y., Taube, F., Bai, Y., Vertebrate herbivore-induced changes in plants and soils: linkages to ecosystem functioning in a semi-arid steppe. Funct. Ecol. 27:1 (2013), 273–281.
25. Cronan, C.S., Grigal, D.F., Use of calcium/aluminum ratios as indicators of stress in forest ecosystems. J. Environ. Qual. 24:2 (1995), 209–226.
26. Dale, V.H., Beyeler, S.C., Challenges in the development and use of ecological indicators. Ecol. Indic. 1:1 (2001), 3–10.
27. De Deyn, G.B., Raaijmakers, C.E., Van der Putten, W.H., Plant community development is affected by nutrients and soil biota. J. Ecol. 92:5 (2004), 824–834.
28. De Groot, R.S., Wilson, M.A., Boumans, R.M., A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. Ecol. Econ. 41:3 (2002), 393–408.
29. Dentener, F., Drevet, J., Lamarque, J.F., Bey, I., Eickhout, B., Fiore, A.M., Lawrence, M., Nitrogen and sulfur deposition on regional and global scales: a multimodel evaluation. Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 20(4), 2006.
30. Diffendorfer, J.E., Fleming, G.M., Duggan, J.M., Chapman, R.E., Rahn, M.E., Mitrovich, M.J., Fisher, R.N., Developing terrestrial, multi-taxon indices of biological integrity: an example from coastal sage scrub. Biol. Conserv. 140:1 (2007), 130–141.
31. Diouf, A., Barbier, N., Lykke, A.M., Couteron, P., Deblauwe, V., Mahamane, A., Bogaert, J., Relationships between fire history, edaphic factors and woody vegetation structure and composition in a semi-arid savanna landscape (Niger, West Africa). Appl. Veg. Sci. 15:4 (2012), 488–500.
32. Dornelas, M., Gotelli, N.J., McGill, B., Shimadzu, H., Moyes, F., Sievers, C., Magurran, A.E., Assemblage time series reveal biodiversity change but not systematic loss. Science 344:6181 (2014), 296–299.
33. Eldridge, D.J., Bowker, M.A., Maestre, F.T., Roger, E., Reynolds, J.F., Whitford, W.G., Impacts of shrub encroachment on ecosystem structure and functioning: towards a global synthesis. Ecol. Lett. 14:7 (2011), 709–722.
34. Eskelinen, A., Stark, S., Männistö, M., Links between plant community composition, soil organic matter quality and microbial communities in contrasting tundra habitats. Oecologia 161:1 (2009), 113–123.
35. Fahey, T.J., Hughes, J.W., Pu, M., Arthur, M.A., Root decomposition and nutrient flux following whole-tree harvest of northern hardwood forest. For. Sci. 34:3 (1988), 744–768.
36. Fahrig, L., Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst., 2003, 487–515.
37. Fahrig, L., Non-optimal animal movement in human-altered landscapes. Funct. Ecol. 21:6 (2007), 1003–1015.
38. Fauth, P.T., Gustafson, E.J., Rabenold, K.N., Using landscape metrics to model source habitat for Neotropical migrants in the midwestern US. Landscape Ecol. 15:7 (2000), 621–631.
39. Feld, C.K., Martins da Silva, P., Paulo Sousa, J., De Bello, F., Bugter, R., Grandin, U., Harrison, P., Indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services: a synthesis across ecosystems and spatial scales. Oikos 118:12 (2009), 1862–1871.
40. Filotas, E., Parrott, L., Burton, P.J., Chazdon, R.L., Coates, K.D., Coll, L., Haeussler, S., Martin, K., Nocentini, S., Puettmann, K.J., Putz, F.E., Simard, S.W., Messier, C., Viewing forests through the lens of complex systems science. Ecosphere, 5(1), 2014, art1.
41. Fischer, L.K., Rodorff, V., von der Lippe, M., Kowarik, I., Drivers of biodiversity patterns in parks of a growing South American megacity. Urban Ecosyst., 2016, 1–19.
42. Fontaine, S., Mariotti, A., Abbadie, L., The priming effect of organic matter: a question of microbial competition?. Soil Biol. Biochem. 35:6 (2003), 837–843.
43. Gibson, L., Lynam, A.J., Bradshaw, C.J., He, F., Bickford, D.P., Woodruff, D.S., Laurance, W.F., Near-complete extinction of native small mammal fauna 25 years after forest fragmentation. Science 341:6153 (2013), 1508–1510.
44. Gonthier, D.J., Ennis, K.K., Farinas, S., Hsieh, H.Y., Iverson, A.L., Batáry, P., Perfecto, I., Biodiversity conservation in agriculture requires a multi-scale approach. Proc. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci., 281(1791), 2014, 20141358.
45. Grace, J.B., Anderson, T.M., Olff, H., Scheiner, S.M., On the specification of structural equation models for ecological systems. Ecol. Monogr. 80:1 (2010), 67–87.
46. Grace, J.B., Structural Equation Modeling and Natural Systems. 2006, Cambridge University Press, 365.
47. Haines-Young, R., Land use and biodiversity relationships. Land Use Policy 26 (2009), S178–S186.
48. Hatten, J.R., Batt, T.R., Connolly, P.J., Maule, A.G., Modeling effects of climate change on Yakima River salmonid habitats. Clim. Change 124:1–2 (2014), 427–439.
49. Hendry, R.J., McGlade, J.M., The role of memory in ecological systems. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B: Biol. Sci. 259:1355 (1995), 153–159.
50. Hermoso, V., Clavero, M., Blanco-Garrido, F., Prenda, J., Invasive species and habitat degradation in Iberian streams: an analysis of their role in freshwater fish diversity loss. Ecol. Appl. 21:1 (2011), 175–188.
51. Hodgson, J.A., Moilanen, A., Wintle, B.A., Thomas, C.D., Habitat area, quality and connectivity: striking the balance for efficient conservation. J. Appl. Ecol. 48:1 (2011), 148–152.
52. Hughes, M.A., Price, R.L., Marrs, D.W., Linking theory construction and theory testing: models with multiple indicators of latent variables. Acad. Manage. Rev. 11:1 (1986), 128–144.
53. James, F.C., Wamer, N.O., Relationships between temperate forest bird communities and vegetation structure. Ecology, 1982, 159–171.
54. Jantz, S.M., Barker, B., Brooks, T.M., Chini, L.P., Huang, Q., Moore, R.M., Hurtt, G.C., Future habitat loss and extinctions driven by land-use change in biodiversity hotspots under four scenarios of climate-change mitigation. Conserv. Biol. 29:4 (2015), 1122–1131.
55. Jennings, S.B., Brown, N.D., Sheil, D., Assessing forest canopies and understorey illumination: canopy closure, canopy cover and other measures. Forestry 72:1 (1999), 59–74.
56. Jones, Julia P.G., Collen, Ben, Atkinson, Giles, Baxter, Peter W.J., Bubb, Philip, Illian, Janine B., Katzner, Todd E., Keane, Aidan, Loh, Jonathan, Mcdonald-Madden, Eve, Nicholson, Emily, Pereira, Henrique M., Possingham, Hugh P., Pullin, Andrew S., Rodrigues, Ana S.L., Ruiz-Gutierrez, Viviana, Sommerville, Matthew, Milner‐Gulland, E.J., The why, what, and how of global biodiversity indicators beyond the 2010 target. Conserv. Biol. 25:3 (2011), 450–457.
57. Kandziora, M., Burkhard, B., Müller, F., Interactions of ecosystem properties: ecosystem integrity and ecosystem service indicators—a theoretical matrix exercise. Ecol. Indic. 28 (2013), 54–78.
58. Karr, J.R., Dudley, D.R., Ecological perspective on water quality goals. Environ. Manage. 5:1 (1981), 55–68.
59. Karr, J.R., Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries 6:6 (1981), 21–27.
60. Kiviat, E., Ecosystem services of Phragmites in North America with emphasis on habitat functions. AoB Plants, 5, 2013, plt008.
61. Land Information Ontario (LIO). 2008 Website: https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/land-information-ontario.
62. Laliberté, E., Tylianakis, J.M., Cascading effects of long-term land-use changes on plant traits and ecosystem functioning. Ecology 93:1 (2012), 145–155.
63. Lam, T.Y., Maguire, D.A., Structural equation modeling: theory and applications in forest management. Int. J. For. Res., 2012, 2012.
64. Lang, Friederike, Bauhus, Jürgen, Frossard, Emmanuel, George, Eckhard, Kaiser, Klaus, Kaupenjohann, Martin, Krüger, Jaane, Matzner, Egbert, Polle, Andrea, Prietzel, Jörg, Rennenberg, Heinz, Wellbrock, Nicole, Phosphorus in forest ecosystems: new insights from an ecosystem nutrition perspective. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 000 (2016), 1–7.
65. Leithead, M., Anand, M., Duarte, L.D.S., Pillar, V.D., Causal effects of latitude, disturbance and dispersal limitation on richness in a recovering temperate, subtropical and tropical forest. J. Veg. Sci. 23:2 (2012), 339–351.
66. Lindenmayer, D.B., Likens, G.E., The science and application of ecological monitoring. Biol. Conserv. 143:6 (2010), 1317–1328.
67. Magle, S.B., Theobald, D.M., Crooks, K.R., A comparison of metrics predicting landscape connectivity for a highly interactive species along an urban gradient in Colorado, USA. Landsc. Ecol. 24:2 (2009), 267–280.
68. Matías, L., Castro, J., Zamora, R., Effect of simulated climate change on soil respiration in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem: rainfall and habitat type are more important than temperature or the soil carbon pool. Ecosystems 15:2 (2012), 299–310.
69. McDonald, J.H., Handbook of Biological Statistics, vol. 2, 2009, Sparky House Publishing, Baltimore, MD, 173–181 (313 pp.).
70. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being. Statement from the Board. 2005, 28.
71. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. 2005, 100.
72. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Biodiversity regulation of ecosystem services. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Current State and Trends, 2005, 229–329.
73. Mimet, A., Houet, T., Julliard, R., Simon, L., Assessing functional connectivity: a landscape approach for handling multiple ecological requirements. Methods Ecol. Evol. 4:5 (2013), 453–463.
74. Moilanen, A., Nieminen, M., Simple connectivity measures in spatial ecology. Ecology 83:4 (2002), 1131–1145.
75. Mooney, H.A., The ecosystem-service chain and the biological diversity crisis. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci. 365:1537 (2010), 31–39.
76. Mortelliti, A., Amori, G., Boitani, L., The role of habitat quality in fragmented landscapes: a conceptual overview and prospectus for future research. Oecologia 163:2 (2010), 535–547.
77. Nagendra, H., Munroe, D.K., Southworth, J., From pattern to process: landscape fragmentation and the analysis of land use/land cover change Agriculture. Ecosyst. Environ. 101:2 (2004), 111–115.
78. Neumann, C., Weiss, G., Schmidtlein, S., Itzerott, S., Lausch, A., Doktor, D., Brell, M., Gradient-based assessment of habitat quality for spectral ecosystem monitoring. Remote Sens. 7:3 (2015), 2871–2898.
79. Newman, M.E.J., Resource letter CS–1: complex systems. Am. J. Phys 79:8 (2011), 800–810.
80. Norris, R.H., Hawkins, C.P., Monitoring river health. Hydrobiologia 435:1–3 (2000), 5–17.
81. Noss, R.F., Indicators for monitoring biodiversity: a hierarchical approach. Conserv. Biol. 4 (1990), 355–364.
82. Odum, E.P., Relationships between structure and function in the ecosystem. Jpn. J. Ecol. 12:3 (1962), 108–118.
83. Osman, K.T., Organic matter of forest soils. Forest Soils, 2013, Springer International Publishing, 63–76.
84. Pardini, R., de Arruda Bueno, A., Gardner, T.A., Prado, P.I., Metzger, J.P., Beyond the fragmentation threshold hypothesis: regime shifts in biodiversity across fragmented landscapes. PLoS One, 5(10), 2010, e13666.
85. Pardo, L.H., Approaches for Estimating Critical Loads of Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition for Forest Ecosystems on US Federal Lands, vol. 71, 2010, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
86. Parrott, L., Kok, R., Incorporating complexity in ecosystem modelling. Complexity Int. 7 (2000), 1–19.
87. Pimm, S.L., Jenkins, C.N., Abell, R., Brooks, T.M., Gittleman, J.L., Joppa, L.N., Raven, P.H., Roberts, C.M., Sexton, J.O., The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science, 344(6187), 2014, 1246752.
88. Prugh, L.R., An evaluation of patch connectivity measures. Ecol. Appl. 19:5 (2009), 1300–1310.
89. Pugesek, B.H., von Eye, A., Structural Equation Modeling. Applications in Ecological and Evolutionary Biology. 2003, Cambridge University Press, 409.
90. Reich, Peter B., Oleksyn, Jacek, Modrzynski, Jerzy, Mrozinski, Pawel, Hobbie, Sarah E., Eissenstat, David M., Chorover, Jon, Chadwick, Oliver A., Hale, Cynthia M., Tjoelker, M.G., Linking litter calcium, earthworms and soil properties: a common garden test with 14 tree species. Ecol. Lett. 8:8 (2005), 811–818.
91. Rempel, R.S., Kaukinen, D., Carr, A.P., Patch Analyst and Patch Grid. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 2012, Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research, Thunder Bay, Ontario.
92. Rempel, R.S., Naylor, B.J., Elkie, P.C., Baker, J., Churcher, J., Gluck, M.J., An indicator system to assess ecological integrity of managed forests. Ecol. Indic. 60 (2016), 860–869.
93. Riseng, C.M., Wiley, M.J., Black, R.W., Munn, M.D., Impacts of agricultural land use on biological integrity: a causal analysis. Ecol. Appl. 21:8 (2011), 3128–3146.
94. Roem, W.J., Berendse, F., Soil acidity and nutrient supply ratio as possible factors determining changes in plant species diversity in grassland and heathland communities. Biol. Conserv. 92 (2000), 151–161.
95. Rosseel, Y., Lavaan: an R package for structural equation modeling. J. Stat. Softw. 48:2 (2012), 1–36.
96. Savalei, V., Understanding robust corrections in structural equation modeling. Struct. Equ. Model.: Multidiscip. J. 21:1 (2014), 149–160.
97. Schmidt, Michael W.I., Torn, Margaret S., Abiven, Samuel, Dittmar, Thorsten, Guggenberger, Georg, Janssens, Ivan A., Kleber, Markus, Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid, Lehmann, Johannes, Manning, David A.C., Nannipieri, Paolo, Rasse, Daniel P., Weiner, Steve, Trumbore, Susan E., Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature 478:7367 (2011), 49–56.
98. Seitzinger, S.P., Harrison, J.A., Dumont, E., Beusen, A.H., Bouwman, A.F., Sources and delivery of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to the coastal zone: an overview of Global Nutrient Export from Watersheds (NEWS) models and their application. Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 19(4), 2005.
99. Shannon, C.E., A mathematical theory of communication. Bell Syst. Tech. J. 27 (1948), 379–423.
100. Shuster, W.D., Bonta, J., Thurston, H., Warnemuende, E., Smith, D.R., Impacts of impervious surface on watershed hydrology: a review. Urban Water J. 2:4 (2005), 263–275.
101. Singh, N., Abiven, S., Maestrini, B., Bird, J.A., Torn, M.S., Schmidt, M.W., Transformation and stabilization of pyrogenic organic matter in a temperate forest field experiment. Global Change Biol. 20:5 (2014), 1629–1642.
102. Smith, J.A., Reitsma, L.R., Marra, P.P., Moisture as a determinant of habitat quality for a nonbreeding Neotropical migratory songbird. Ecology 91:10 (2010), 2874–2882.
103. Stewart-Oaten, A., Bence, J.R., Osenberg, C.W., Assessing effects of unreplicated perturbations: no simple solutions. Ecology, 1992, 1396–1404.
104. Sun, Z., Ren, H., Schaefer, V., Lu, H., Wang, J., Li, L., Liu, N., Quantifying ecological memory during forest succession: a case study from lower subtropical forest ecosystems in South China. Ecol. Indic. 34 (2013), 192–203.
105. Sutton-Grier, A.E., Kenney, M.A., Richardson, C.J., Examining the relationship between ecosystem structure and function using structural equation modelling: a case study examining denitrification potential in restored wetland soils. Ecol. Model. 221:5 (2010), 761–768.
106. Tessier, J.T., Raynal, D.J., Use of nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in plant tissue as an indicator of nutrient limitation and nitrogen saturation. J. Appl. Ecol. 40:3 (2003), 523–534.
107. Tierney, G.L., Faber-Langendoen, D., Mitchell, B.R., Shriver, W.G., Gibbs, J.P., Monitoring and evaluating the ecological integrity of forest ecosystems. Front. Ecol. Environ. 7:6 (2009), 308–316.
108. Tilman, D., Nitrogen-limited growth in plants from different successional stages. Ecology, 1986, 555–563.
109. Turbé, A., De Toni, A., Benito, P., Lavelle, P., Lavelle, P., Camacho, N.R., Mudgal, S., 2010. Soil biodiversity: functions, threats and tools for policy makers. Bio Intelligence Service, IRD, and NIOO, Report for European Commission (DG Environment). 250 pp.
110. Uriarte, M., Yackulic, C.B., Lim, Y., Arce-Nazario, J.A., Influence of land use on water quality in a tropical landscape: a multi-scale analysis. Landsc. Ecol. 26:8 (2011), 1151–1164.
111. Uuemaa, E., Mander, Ü., Marja, R., Trends in the use of landscape spatial metrics as landscape indicators: a review. Ecol. Indic. 28 (2013), 100–106.
112. Valiente-Banuet, A., Aizen, M.A., Alcántara, J.M., Arroyo, J., Cocucci, A., Galetti, M., Medel, R., Beyond species loss: the extinction of ecological interactions in a changing world. Funct. Ecol. 29:3 (2015), 299–307.
113. Verhoeven, J.T.A., Koerselman, W., Meuleman, A.F.M., Nitrogen-or phosphorus-limited growth in herbaceous, wet vegetation: relations with atmospheric inputs and management regimes. Trends Ecol. Evol. 11:12 (1996), 494–497.
114. Walz, U., Syrbe, R.U., Linking landscape structure and biodiversity. Ecol. Indic. 31:8 (2013), 1–5.
115. White, T.C.R., The role of food, weather and climate in limiting the abundance of animals. Biol. Rev. 83:3 (2008), 227–248.
116. Whittier, T.R., Hughes, R.M., Stoddard, J.L., Lomnicky, G.A., Peck, D.V., Herlihy, A.T., A structured approach for developing indices of biotic integrity: three examples from streams and rivers in the western USA. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 136:3 (2007), 718–735.
117. Wintle, B.A., Runge, M.C., Bekessy, S.A., Allocating monitoring effort in the face of unknown unknowns. Ecol. Lett. 13:11 (2010), 1325–1337.
118. Woodwell, G.M., The functional integrity of normally forested landscapes: a proposal for an index of environmental capital. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 99:21 (2002), 13600–13605.
119. Yang, H., Li, Y., Wu, M., Zhang, Z.H.E., Li, L., Wan, S., Plant community responses to nitrogen addition and increased precipitation: the importance of water availability and species traits. Global Change Biol. 17:9 (2011), 2936–2944.