Judit Bódis

Ecological data are increasingly collected by networks of collaborators using replicated designs and methods, which can significantly improve the quality and quantity of data throughout the ecological niche and geographic range of species or communities. The coordinated generation and management of data is critical for producing datasets (Standard Data Products) across multiple sites that can be used by different researchers, over extended time periods and for multiple purposes. We describe and use a Quality Assurance framework for the design, collection and production of reproducible Standard Data Products for distributed ecology projects. We identified six critical project elements of a Quality Assurance framework (QA1‐6) to produce ecological Standard Data Products with high immediate and future value. We applied the Quality Assurance framework to the Plantpopnet project as a case‐study. Plantpopnet is a coordinated distributed system for population macroecology using the model species Plantago lanceolata . We mapped Plantpopnet activities to the Quality Assurance Framework as follows: (QA1) Measurable objectives : research project objectives with data requirements, (QA2) Process control : governance policies, (QA3) Project specific procedures : model organism selection and data collection protocol, (QA4) Supporting production of high quality data : recruitment, retention and engagement of participants, (QA5) Data management : data management plan and reproducible data cleaning workflow, (QA6) Production and management of outputs : Standard Data Products and papers. Explicit use of Quality Assurance, project and data management tools together with standardised ecological methods facilitated the design, collection, maintenance and sustainability of high‐quality data products. We provide a Quality Assurance framework together with governance documents, code and data for a reproducible Standard Data Product. This framework supports a distributed funding model which can be sustainably applied to facilitate future research and applications of coordinated distributed ecology projects.

The fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is a rare and endangered species that originated in forested habitats, but due to landscape changes, turned into a wet meadow plant. Currently, larger populations can be found in meadows than in forests. Nowadays, as hay production has become unnecessary, wet meadows are being slowly reforested. Little comparative evidence exists on the performance of populations in the two contrasting habitats. We examined Fritillaria meleagris populations in meadows and forests to investigate the impact of current land use changes on the demographic characteristics of this species. The study was carried out over three years in two geographical regions in Hungary, comparatively in two habitat types (forest and meadow). We used permanent quadrats to record the demographic status and morphometric traits of at least 100 fritillary plants in every population. Although some characteristics were different in each population, the results suggested that each population has a special demographic structure. There were larger variations between the different populations and only minor variations among populations across years in demographic composition. Trait variation across geographical regions exceeded the variation observed between habitat types as well. We conclude that regional differences override the role of habitat type in determining the demography and vulnerability of fritillaries.

Individual plant size often determines the vital rates of growth, survival and reproduction. However, size can be measured in several ways (e.g. height, biomass, leaf length). There is no consensus on the best size metric for modelling vital rates in plants. Demographic datasets are expanding in geographic extent, leading to choices about how to represent size for the same species in multiple ecological contexts. If the choice of size variable varies among locations, inter‐population comparative demography increases in complexity. Here, we present a framework to perform size metric selection in large‐scale demographic studies. We highlight potential pitfalls and suggest methods applicable to diverse study organisms. We assessed the performance of five different size metrics for the perennial herb Plantago lanceolata , across 55 populations on three continents within its native and non‐native ranges, using the spatially replicated demographic dataset PlantPopNet. We compared the performance of each candidate size metric for four vital rates (growth, survival, flowering probability and reproductive output) using generalized linear mixed models. We ranked the candidate size metrics based on their overall performance (highest generalized R ² ) and homogeneity of performance across populations (lowest total magnitude of, and variance in, population‐level error). While all size variables performed well for modelling vital rates, the number of leaves (modelled as a discrete variable, without transformation) was selected as the best size metric, followed by leaf length. We show how to interrogate potential trade‐offs between overall explanatory power and homogeneity of predictions across populations in any organism. Synthesis . Size is an important determinant of vital rates. Using a dataset of unprecedented spatial extent, we find (a) consistent size‐based models of growth, survival and reproduction across native and non‐native populations of this cosmopolitan plant species and (b) that several tested size metrics perform similarly well. This is encouraging for large‐scale demographic studies and for comparative projects using different size metrics, as they may be robust to this methodological difference.

Most of Europe’s semi-natural grasslands have been maintained by land use for thousands of years. Consequently, as a side effect of this type of land use, high grassland biodiversity was able to develop in those areas. Today, due to changes in land use, only fragments of the native grasslands and their biodiversity, especially in wetlands, remain. We conducted a study on changes in land use and the conservation context of a species-rich Hungarian fen meadow over 250 years. In addition to the main changes, we focused on sustainable grassland management. For our research, we built a geospatial database in which we attached great importance to georeferenced aerial photographs taken decades ago. To better understand what we can see in aerial photographs, we studied archived newspaper articles and conducted interviews. An aerial photograph taken in 1963 served as an exceptional illustration and data source for the key factors of sustainability and biodiversity. Our case study illustrates most of the major global problems affecting the European fen meadow (drainage, agricultural intensification, expansion of infrastructure networks, abandonment of farming). Based on our research, mosaic, adaptive, small-scale landscape use is necessary for the long-term sustainability of European wet grasslands and their special wildlife.

A mocsári kockásliliom (Fritillaria meleagris L.) természetvédelmi helyzete indokolja az állományok monitoring jellegű vizsgálatát, a tövek számának nyomon követését. A virágzó egyedek számának rendszeres megállapítását nehezíti, hogy a faj csak rövid ideig észlelhető, és nagy kiterjedésű réteken fordul elő. Míg a korábban rendelkezésre álló megoldások idő- és költségigénye nem tette lehetővé az évenkénti teljes körű adatgyűjtést, a légi felmérés költséghatékony segítséget nyújthat az állományok aktuális virágzó egyedszámának becslésében. Ennek a modern módszernek is vannak fizikai korlátai: az ortofotó-mozaik geometriai megbízhatóságát 10 cm alatti értéken kell tartani, a felvételeket nagy átfedéssel készíteni (legalább 80% sorok közötti, legalább 90% soron belüli átfedések), a terepi felbontást pedig 0,7 mm körülire szükséges tervezni.

Az apró vetővirág (Sternbergia colchiciflora Waldst. et Kit., Amaryllidaceae) szárazgyepekben előforduló, többször termő évelő lágy szárú növény. Elterjedési területének nagy részén veszélyeztetett faj, melynek életmenete és reprodukcióbiológiája kevéssé tanulmányozott. A 2020 és 2023 között végzett ex situ vizsgálat során a faj kelését tanulmányoztuk. Vetési kísérletben kerestük, milyen beavatkozásokkal fokozható a kelés sikere. A magokat részben a természetes körülményeket utánzó módon, részben különböző kezelések után vetettük el. Emellett vizsgáltuk a termésérést követő hónapokban az embrió fejlődésének dinamikáját. A kísérleteket megelőzően két alkalommal is megállapítottuk az ezermagtömeget, mely az irodalmi adatokkal jól egyezően 5,60 (2021) és 5,84 g-nak (2022) adódott. A vetési kísérletek során mérsékelt csírázási sikert tapasztaltunk: a kelési arány – kezeléstől függően – 0 és 37,5% között változott. A 2020-ban és 2021-ben gyűjtött, 2021 őszén elvetett magok csak közel másfél év elteltével kezdtek kihajtani, míg a 2022-ben, a termésérést követően rögtön elvetett magok egy része már a rákövetkező évben kikelt. A kezelt magok esetében a szkarifi káció jelentősen gyorsította a csírázást, már 10 héttel a vetést követően megjelentek az ilyen magokból származó magoncok. Az egyes kezeléseket összehasonlító kísérletben a termésérést követően azonnal elvetett, kezeletlen magok kelési sikerétől messze elmaradt a négy hónap tárolás után vetett magoké, kezeléstípustól függetlenül. Az embriófejlődés vizsgálatára beállított kísérletünkben nem tapasztaltuk a magok szkarifikációjának jelentős hatását az embrió növekedésére. Az embriók hossza a vizsgált időszakban (június és október vége között) mindvégig lassan, de közel egyenletes tempóban nőtt (a kezdetben átlagosan 1,21 mm embrióhossz a kísérlet végére 2,08 mm-re nőtt – ez a magok hosszának 48,8, illetve 72,8%-át jelentette). Az időbeli változás üteméből következtetve az embriók még nem érték el végleges méretüket, és a magok nem kezdtek el kihajtani. Az embrióvizsgálat és a kezeléseknek alávetett magok kelési dinamikája alapján a morfofiziológiai magnyugalmi típust tartjuk a legvalószínűbbnek az apró vetővirág esetében. A kísérlet folytatásának fontos eleme lesz a szerzett információkon alapuló, hatékonyabb csíráztatási módszer tervezése és próbája, illetve a magoncok túlélésének, fejlődésének vizsgálata.

The marsh gladiolus (Gladiolus palustris Gaud.) is a species of community interest in the European Union, and it’s strictly protected by law in Hungary. Survival of its populations is threatened by a number of factors, so thorough knowledge on the biology of the species is required for its conservation and long-time survival. To interpret the data collected in local populations, it is essential to examine the dynamics between age-stage categories and study germination rates of seeds in the populations. For this purpose, ex-situ and in-situ germination biology studies were set up to monitor the development of individuals starting from germination and establish a suitable age-stage categorization system for demographic purposes. During the autumn of 2023, seeds were sown in an open forest and in a meadow (in-situ), and seeds from these sites were sown in containers (ex-situ) at the same time. Germination rates were considerably higher in the ex-situ sowing than in the in-situ experiment for seeds of both origins. Moreover, there were significant differences between the average height (leaf length) of the seedlings. Under in-situ conditions average height was significantly larger in the open forest than in the meadows. There were significant differences between average height of seedlings in the in-situ and ex-situ experiments only during the first measurement, which differences became less pronounced later on.

Management of invasive alien plants is an increasing problem throughout the world. In some cases native rare or protected species can appear or even prefer habitats dominated by invasive alien plants, which raises questions about the optimal treatment of such areas. Erythronium dens-canis in Hungary is a protected species which only have several occurrences in the country and a number of these populations situated in Robinia pseudoacacia stands developed after harvesting native forests. In this study a total of five populations of E. dens-canis were surveyed between 2020 and 2022 in southwestern Hungary examining and comparing the ongoing demographic changes under native and Robinia stands by monitoring individual plants. Two populations were situated in forests composed of native tree species, two in Robinia pseudoacacia-dominated stands and one in a Robinia-native tree species mixed stand. We categorized the plants into five age-state categories: dormant, seedling, juvenile, vegetative adult, and reproductive adult. We found some considerable differences (e.g. leaf size, reproduction rate) between the populations situated in native and in Robinia stands, whereas the population in mixed forest showed intermediate character in most examined factors. Based on our results, R. pseudoacacia have a significant effect on the phenology and life history of E. dens-canis, and this effect is greater with higher proportion of R. pseudoacacia in a forest stand where the E. dens-canis occurs.

Our understanding of plant functional trait variation among populations and how this relates to local adaptation to environmental conditions is largely shaped by above‐ground traits. However, we might expect below‐ground traits linked to resource acquisition and conservation to vary among populations that experience different environmental conditions. Alternatively, below‐ground traits might be highly plastic in response to growing conditions, such as availability of soil resources and association with symbiont arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We assessed (i) the strength of among‐population variation in above‐ and below‐ground traits, (ii) the effects of growing conditions on among‐population variation and (iii) whether variation among populations is linked to source environment conditions, in a globally distributed perennial Plantago lanceolata. Using seeds from 14 populations across three continents, we grew plants in a common garden experiment and measured leaf and root traits linked to resource acquisition and water conservation. We included two sets of experimental treatments (high or low water availability; with and without AMF inoculation), which enabled us to assess trait responses to growing conditions. Across treatments, the percentage of root trait variation explained by populations and continents was 9%–26%, compared to 7%–20% for leaf trait variation. From principal component analysis (PCA), the first PC axis for both root and leaf traits largely reflected plant size, while the second PC broadly captured mass allocation. Root mass allocation (PC 2) was related to mean annual temperature and mean moisture index, indicating that populations from cooler, wetter environments had longer, thinner roots. However, we found little support for a relationship between source environment and leaf trait PCs, root system size (PC1) or individual traits. Water availability and AMF inoculation effects on size were consistent among populations, with larger plants under AMF inoculation, and less mass allocation to leaves under lower water availability. Plantago lanceolata shows substantial population‐level variation in a suite of root traits, but that variation is only partially linked to the source environmental variables studied. Despite considerable differences in source abiotic environments, geographically separated populations have retained a strong and similar capacity for phenotypic plasticity both above and below‐ground. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

With 22 taxa reported from the country so far, Epipactis is the most species-rich orchid genus in Hungary. Many of them are rare, threatened species. To protect endangered species effectively, it is crucial to explore their ecology. Our work aimed to select and examine factors that are influencing the distribution of Epipactis species. Our data collection (2014–2018) was carried out in the Keszthely Hills, in the northeastern part of the Zala Hills and the Southern Bakony Mountains. We assigned ecologically relevant data from databases of local forestries, terrain models and geological maps to each occurrence. We examined the factors that result in the best differentiation between the studied species. At 1,261 localities, a total of 5,223 individuals of 15 taxa were found. We found three factors (tree species composition of the forest, genetic soil type, bedrock type) that significantly influenced the distribution of Epipactis species. Our results can help understand the distribution patterns of these species and allow for more effective, targeted protection of their potential habitats on a regional level. With 22 taxa reported from the country so far, Epipactis is the most species-rich orchid genus in Hungary. Many of them are rare, threatened species. To protect endangered species effectively, it is crucial to explore their ecology. Our work aimed to select and examine factors that are influencing the distribution of Epipactis species. Our data collection (2014–2018) was carried out in the Keszthely Hills, in the northeastern part of the Zala Hills and the Southern Bakony Mountains. We assigned ecologically relevant data from databases of local forestries, terrain models and geological maps to each occurrence. We examined the factors that result in the best differentiation between the studied species. At 1,261 localities, a total of 5,223 individuals of 15 taxa were found. We found three factors (tree species composition of the forest, genetic soil type, bedrock type) that significantly influenced the distribution of Epipactis species. Our results can help understand the distribution patterns of these species and allow for more effective, targeted protection of their potential habitats on a regional level.