Although harvestmen are a relatively well-studied group of arachnids in Europe from a faunistic point of view, detailed information about the ecological requirements of individual species is still lacking. Several species are closely associated with the humid environment facilitated by vegetation. In forests, habitat features (including leaf litter and soil properties) are predominantly driven by tree species distribution and characteristics, but their specific effects on harvestman community composition are not well understood. Therefore, our study examines selected characteristics of vegetation and soil and litter properties under monocultures of autochthonous and allochthonous tree species and their effect on harvestman community. Research was carried out in the Mlyňany Arboretum (western Slovakia), in nine monoculture stands of autochthonous and allochthonous tree species. Harvestmen were collected by pitfall trapping during vegetated periods in 2013–2015. In total, 429 individuals of 11 species were obtained. The general linear models revealed the litter C/N ratio as a significant predictor of harvestman diversity. Both species richness and Shannon diversity decreased with an increasing C/N ratio. Variation in harvestman community composition was significantly related to the C content in the litter (p = 0.022). The majority of the species preferred habitats with more palatable litter with a lower C/N ratio and C content. In terms of both overall epigeic activity and species richness, forest stands of autochthonous tree species provided more suitable conditions for harvestman communities than forest stands of allochthonous tree species. Our results provide new knowledge about the environmental variables helping form the habitat associations of harvestmen in forest stands.

Competitive releases of understorey trees are an important pathway to canopy recruitment in unmanaged, closed-canopy forests, with significant consequences for resilience of these ecosystems. As climate and disturbance regimes progressively shift, the dynamics of canopy accession are expected to change. However, the response norms of subcanopy trees to competitive release and other developmental drivers have been understudied. To investigate the aggregate effects of multiple factors (i.e., disturbance severity, climate, ontogeny, topography, and calendar year) on growth rates and duration of growth releases, we examined growth patterns of more than 17100 tree cores of European beech and Norway spruce collected on permanent research plots located across primary forest remnants in the Carpathian Mountains. The percentage of canopy removed on the plot was the dominant extrinsic driver of growth during release events for both species, with beech exhibiting a more pronounced positive response than spruce. For both species, growth response was significantly affected by ontogeny-related factors: beech growth primarily increased with diameter at release onset, whereas spruce responded primarily negatively to age at release onset. Size at release onset also emerged as the primary predictor of release duration for both species. Additionally, both species exhibited increases in released growth rates throughout the past century, indicating a relative increase in canopy accession rates. However, it remains uncertain whether this trend will persist under a potential further intensification of disturbance regimes and shifting climatic constraints, particularly as trees on warmer and drier southern slopes already display weaker growth responses to canopy release compared to individuals on less sun-exposed sites.

Old-growth forests uniquely support biodiversity while serving as some of the planet's most important carbon stocks. The influence of tree and stand age on carbon flux dynamics remains debated-an urgent question as climate-driven disturbances may reshape forest age structures and in situ carbon storage. To clarify these relationships in Fagus sylvatica, systems, we examined a unique dataset of 3,503 tree ring series from 190 plots across some of the best preserved old-growth forests from five southern European countries. By employing a dendrochronological approach and integrating key environmental variables, including elevation, slope, temperature, and the presence of large-diameter trees (>= 60 cm), we analyzed the complex relationships between tree/stand age within a plot (represented by plot-level mean values, hereafter "stand age") and aboveground carbon stock across live, standing, and lying deadwood pools. The average stand age was 220 years, with 230 tC & sdot;ha-1 of carbon stored in aboveground biomass and necromass. We found a positive correlation between age and carbon storage at both the individual tree and plot levels. Notably, the presence of large-diameter trees was the strongest indicator of carbon stock, with carbon accumulation peaking at about 30% large-tree stems proportion before stabilising, while younger beech trees (below 100 years old) had a smaller contribution to carbon storage. We found no evidence of a decline in carbon stock with advancing stand age across the studied sites. Despite the ecological importance of old-growth forests, many of them remain unprotected and are disappearing across Europe. Our findings highlight the importance of preserving old-growth forests to maximize their role as long-term ecosystem carbon reservoirs.

Disturbances are key drivers of forest structure and function, creating spatial and temporal heterogeneity across landscapes. Evidence shows that disturbance regimes are shifting with climate change, yet it remains unclear how historical disturbances continue to shape present-day forest structure, composition, and mortality. We combined dendrochronological reconstructions of disturbance over the past two centuries with repeated inventories from 133 permanent 0.1-ha plots in primary mixed-Fagus sylvatica forests in the Dinaric Mountains to investigate how the legacy of disturbance timing, severity, and frequency shapes contemporary forest structure and average annual basal area mortality. Our results showed that quadratic mean diameter increased with time since disturbance, peaking at similar to 150-175 years. Canopy layer diversity, although remaining relatively high (>0.8), declined with increasing time since disturbance. Disturbance severity modestly reduced horizontal size variability. Neither beech nor fir dominance responded to disturbance history. Structural equation modeling revealed that time since disturbance and its interaction with severity continued to directly affect mortality. Disturbance effects explained 13.5% of the total deviance. Historical disturbances had persistent legacy effects on mortality, with the highest rates in recently disturbed (<50 years) and long-undisturbed (>150 years) plots. The time-severity interaction identified a peak in mortality following recent very high-severity events, with average annual basal area mortality reaching approximately 9%. Mortality increased with larger quadratic mean diameter, declined with greater beech dominance, and rose under drier recent conditions. Together, these findings demonstrate that disturbance legacies shape forest structure and modulate contemporary mortality for centuries after disturbance, remaining detectable even amid emerging climate stress.

Background and Aims Plants have colonized diverse habitats, with their ecological success depending on key adaptive traits. Among these, reproductive characteristics such as pollen and ovule production are critical. The allocation to sexual reproduction is likely shaped by diverse selective pressures and constraints. This study investigates the evolution of pollen and ovule production and its drivers in the Brassicaceae family.Methods We analysed 158 Brassicaceae species, recorded pollen and ovule numbers, and used phylogenetic analyses to characterize the evolution of these traits. We then cultivated a subset of 66 species in a common garden and tested the association of pollen and ovule production with environmental conditions of original habitats.Key Results and Conclusions Ovule production is strongly constrained by phylogeny, whereas pollen production is more evolutionarily flexible. Expectedly, recurrent mating system shifts played a role in this observation, as selfing species consistently produced fewer pollen grains but did not show significant changes in ovule number, supporting selection for reduced male investment in response to increased mating efficiency. In contrast, environmental associations with both traits were limited yet significant, with pollen and ovule production evolving according to different environmental pressures. Polyploidy did not influence the evolution of these traits. These phylogeny-informed findings refine our understanding of the evolutionary drivers of sexual allocation, demonstrating that male and female investment evolve under distinct selective pressures in hermaphroditic species.

Novel invasive genotypes can arise through polyploidisation, hybridisation, or gene flow between populations of distinct origins or related species. Solidago gigantea, a notorious European invader, has long been reported exclusively as tetraploid in its invasive range. Recently, mixed-ploidy populations, including tetraploid and pentaploid plants, were discovered; yet the potential role of the novel pentaploid cytotype (and its progeny) in S. gigantea invasions remains poorly understood. This study aims to elucidate the origin of pentaploids and the cytotype and genetic structure of mixed-ploidy populations, characterise the reproductive mode and mating interactions of pentaploid plants, and assess their fitness and potential contribution to invasiveness using relative DNA content screening, ddRADseq population genetics, and reproductive potential and fitness assessments. Molecular analyses revealed that pentaploids constitute a genetically distinct lineage within S. gigantea. Our results rule out both an autopolyploid origin from the common tetraploid cytotype and an allopolyploid origin via hybridisation with co-occurring native or invasive Solidago species. The pentaploid cytotype reproduces exclusively through clonal propagation; its low genetic variability suggests that the two studied populations may belong to a single extensive clonal genet. Pentaploids produce viable gametes but appear to exhibit strict self-incompatibility, preventing the formation of offspring within the same genotype. However, pentaploid S. gigantea engages in bidirectional mating with co-occurring tetraploid plants, yielding well-developed seeds with offspring ploidy ranging from 4x to 5x (predominantly aneuploid). Despite this cytological variability, progeny from mixed-ploidy populations displayed germination rates and early growth comparable to those from pure tetraploid populations. Notably, at least some tetraploid offspring from 4x–5x crosses successfully established, flowered, and backcrossed with pentaploid plants to produce viable seeds of subsequent introgressed generations. The pentaploid cytotype of S. gigantea introduces a new post-invasion dynamic to its invasive populations. Rather than being an evolutionary dead-end, this cytotype may potentially enhance the species’ invasiveness through three evolutionary pathways: (1) a highly successful clonal life strategy enabling both local and long-distance spread; (2) genetic enrichment of tetraploid populations via ongoing interploidy crosses; and (3) establishment of novel aneuploid genotypes due to the remarkable tolerance of chromosomal instability observed in S. gigantea.

Water bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Leptopodomorpha, Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha) are commonly found on the surface, margins, water column, or the bottom of water bodies globally. Most of them are generalist predators, feeding upon invertebrates or vertebrates, but the ingestion of algae and detritus has also been recorded in some species. Although most of their diversity is found in tropical areas, still significant knowledge gaps persist on the composition and distribution of this fauna in those regions. Here, we describe a new species of Tenagobia (Romanogobia) Nieser, 1977 (Nepomorpha: Micronectidae) and provide new records of 24 species of water bugs from Venezuela, Brazil, and Madagascar.

Environmental filtering along resource gradients is a central mechanism shaping local species assemblages, yet how soil and litter chemistry mediates this process for epigeic arthropod communities remains incompletely understood. We investigated how variation in soil and leaf litter chemistry structures carabid assemblages in a temperate arboretum comprising nine monoculture stands. Ground beetles were sampled using pitfall traps across six sampling periods over three years, and assemblage composition was related to environmental variables using redundancy analysis. Carabid assemblages were significantly structured by soil and litter chemistry (RDA, p = 0.005), with pH and phosphorus content emerging as the main gradients, explaining 26.1% and 13.5% of the variation in species composition, respectively. These gradients were consistent with patterns identified by principal component analysis, which indicated that litter chemistry—particularly pH and nutrient-related variables—was the primary source of environmental differentiation among stands. In contrast, univariate models showed limited responses of community-level diversity metrics to these gradients: neither species richness nor Shannon diversity varied significantly with pH or phosphorus, whereas epigeic activity declined along the phosphorus gradient. These results indicate that soil and litter chemistry structures species composition through environmental filtering, but its influence on aggregate community metrics is weaker and primarily expressed through changes in activity rather than diversity. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of belowground chemical gradients, which co-vary with overstory composition, as filters shaping carabid assemblage composition and activity.

The processes and mechanisms that determine the long-term dynamics of bird assemblages are not well understood. Previous studies of bird assemblage have found that variability in the relative abundances of species increase with time and that species reordering may be one of the main mechanisms determining long-term dynamics. In this study, we examined the bird assemblage dynamics in a primeval beech-fir forest in the Šrámková National Nature Reserve in the Western Carpathians, Slovakia, over 20 years (1997−2016). Our main goal was to identify the main mechanisms involved in dynamics of this bird assemblage. This is the first analysis of the temporal stability of a bird assemblage within a primeval forest for conservation monitoring in Slovakia. Population abundances within a 27.5-ha census plot were estimated by the territory mapping method. We analyzed turnover by three metrics (total, appearances, and disappearances). We also computed mean rank shifts, Hellinger distances and Sørensen and Horn dissimilarity indices, and subjected these metrics to a time lag analysis (TLA), based on null model testing, to reveal general trends over time. Based on the TLA, mean rank shifts had the highest slopes, indicating the relative importance of species reordering in assemblage dynamics. Species turnover was also important, as indicated, by relatively high values of all turnover metrics. TLA of Hellinger distances showed a non-significant pattern over time, suggesting that the bird assemblage was stable and fluctuated around zero or randomly without autocorrelation. TLA computed from the Sørensen and Horn indices yielded significant, but only weakly increasing slopes, indicating slightly increasing species composition and dominance dissimilarity over time. Based on the results of the TLA of Hellinger distances, we found that our assemblage was more stable than those reported from other studies of bird assemblages in primeval forests. We identified mean rank shifts and species turnover as the main mechanisms shaping the dynamics of this assemblage. Our results highlight the high conservation and scientific value of this primeval forest bird assemblage as a native biodiversity hotspot in the Carpathians Mts.

Freshwaters are among the most threatened ecosystems globally, with biodiversity declining at far greater rates than the biodiversity of the most affected terrestrial ecosystems. There is an urgent need for accurate information on spatial patterns of freshwater biodiversity, a first step in effective conservation planning and management of these ecosystems. We explored patterns of aquatic macrophyte diversity in four waterbody types, rivers, streams, ponds and ditches, across three Central European regions. By analyzing local (α), among-site (β) and regional (γ) diversity, we assessed the roles of these ecosystems as biodiversity hotspots, particularly for red-listed species. Sampling 220 sites across Slovakia and Slovenia, we recorded 113 macrophyte taxa (31% of which were red-listed), with ponds and ditches consistently supporting higher α and γ diversity than running waters. β diversity was primarily driven by species turnover, with ponds displaying high heterogeneity linked to environmental variability. Our findings highlight the conservation value of artificial habitats like ditches and ponds, harbouring significant macrophyte diversity, including unique and threatened species. These results underscore the need to prioritize small waterbodies in biodiversity conservation strategies within agricultural landscapes.

Riparian forests play a crucial role in aquatic ecosystems by regulating light, temperature, channel stability and nutrient cycling. However, these forests are highly vulnerable to invasion by alien plant species, which can alter leaf litter inputs and decomposition dynamics, thereby impacting freshwater ecosystem functions. This study explores the decomposition rates of native black alder (Alnus glutinosa) and two riparian invaders, Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), in both headwater streams and pond mesocosms in Central Europe. We conducted experiments with 169 litter bags to assess decomposition rates and test the home-field advantage hypothesis. The hypothesis assumes that native litter decomposes faster due to the evolutionary adaptation of local decomposer communities. We found that invasive S. canadensis decomposed significantly faster than native A. glutinosa in both lotic and lentic environments. On the other hand, invasive F. japonica decomposed at a comparable rate (streams) or at a slower rate (ponds) than the native species. These findings contradict the home-field advantage hypothesis, suggesting that decomposition rates are primarily driven by litter nutrient content rather than geographic origin. The rapid breakdown of S. canadensis is likely driven by the low C:P ratio of its litter. The rapid decomposition of this litter may lead to short-term nutrient boosts that are quickly lost due to microbial activity, whereas the slow decomposition of F. japonica may limit immediate nutrient availability but extend their accessibility over longer periods. Overall, the invasion of riparian zones by species with litter traits distinct from those of native species can disrupt ecosystem processes, leading to cascading effects on aquatic food webs and nutrient cycling. Understanding the effects of riparian forest invasions on organic matter processing is essential for managing biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem integrity in freshwater environments.

Many freshwater ecosystems rely on the decomposition of organic matter as a key process for nutrient cycling and energy flow. Small lentic freshwater ecosystems, such as ponds, often derive a large amount of energy from allochthonous detritus due to their close connection with the terrestrial environment. However, the process of leaf litter decomposition in ponds remains poorly understood. We conducted a microcosm experiment in a pond environment to investigate intra- and inter-specific variation in organic matter processing by three shredders (Tipula sp., Sericostoma sp. and Gammarus fossarum) and to assess the effects of shredder community characteristics on the mass loss of black alder (Alnus glutinosa) leaf litter. We developed a novel approach to quantify functional traits directly related to litter processing. Detailed gut content analysis revealed significant inter- and intra-specific variation in the organic matter particles ingested by individual shredder taxa. Our results showed that neither taxonomic nor functional diversity reliably predicts leaf litter decomposition rates in ponds. Instead, the keystone shredder Sericostoma showed a pronounced effect on decomposition rates driven by their unique feeding behaviour and density-dependent shifts in particle size preferences. These findings highlight the importance of a detailed understanding of species-specific functional traits and behaviour in shaping ecosystem processes, as the role of keystone species can outweigh the contributions of overall diversity measures in driving ecosystem processes.

Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. However, the traditional agroecosystems are often associated with high avian diversity because of their landscape heterogeneity, offering available niches to different bird species. Here, we focused on the temporal changes in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of avian communities from Satoyama traditional agricultural landscapes of Japan. We found significant temporal trends (e.g. increasing) in overall species richness, forest specialist species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic relatedness within avian assemblages, regardless of the land use composition surrounding the sites. The simultaneous increase in species richness and phylogenetic relatedness could highlight a process of biotic homogenization, typical of anthropized environments. Avian diversity was also significantly affected by the proportion of water bodies (e.g. increasing functional richness and dispersion, but decreasing functional evenness or redundancy) and other land use types (e.g. a negative association between species richness and the proportion of fields). The proportion of paddy fields affected each type of bird richness differently: an inverse U‐shape for forest generalists, negative for forest specialist species, and positive for open land specialists. When assessing the temporal stability of bird community composition, we found that such stability was significantly correlated with the proportion of grasslands, waterbodies, and urban landscapes. Specifically, avian communities surrounded by grasslands were characterized by higher species replacement over time. Additionally, very low or very high proportions of urban landscapes were associated with a relative instability of bird community composition. Our findings support the hypothesis that traditional farming systems represent valuable landscapes supporting avian diversity. However, the relative composition of land use types is crucial in shaping different taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity components in bird assemblages and their temporal stability.

Abstract Public perception of large carnivores is heterogeneous and contrasting attitudes of various stakeholder groups may create barriers to effective management. The most prominent disparities occur between hunters and conservationists. While dissatisfaction among hunters may lead to increased instances of illegal killing as a form of protest, conservationists' disapproval can impact public opinion, potentially eroding trust in management policy. We conducted a survey across Slovakia (n = 1071) to understand how different stakeholders perceive current management of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and to identify key commonalities and potential conflicts of interests. We found broad consensus among stakeholders regarding high intrinsic value of lynx in Slovak nature and low potential for conflict regarding livestock damages caused by lynx. Majority of respondents, including hunters (63%), foresters (63%), and farmers (62%), supported the legal protection of lynx in Slovakia. Our study also demonstrates widespread support of the Slovak public (75%–88%) for reintroduction programs using Slovak lynx population as a resource. However, the majority of respondents (65%–75%) supported using primarily orphans and rehabilitated lynx for these programs. The greatest polarization between hunters and conservationists was observed in issues related to lynx population status and lynx heaving an impact on roe deer population. Approximately half of hunters believed lynx population over the past 20 years increased and that lynx poses a threat to the roe deer population, with over a third advocating for legal lynx hunting. These attitudes likely lead to the relatively widespread illegal killing on over ~50% of the lynx distribution range in Slovakia. Our data suggest that increasing public awareness of lynx, implementing adaptive science‐based management, and involving hunters in citizen science and management decisions might be the most effective way to develop policies balancing conservation goals with the socio‐cultural context of human‐large carnivore coexistence.

The study of dragonfly exuviae is an effective tool that provides noninvasive insight into many aspects of their population biology or interspecific interactions with their predators or prey. Here, we analysed morphometric parameters of the exuviae of five dominant dragonfly species in three central European ponds characterized by different fish populations and generated a robust set of morphometric data. We hypothesized that sexual dimorphism may occur at least in some taxa, and we assumed that the presence of fish may induce phenotypic plasticity – differences in some morphological parameters (e.g., larger abdominal spines in Anisoptera). Except for one, all of the studied species showed significant sexual size dimorphism that was species-specific. In Aeshna cyanea, Pyrrhosoma nymphula and Coenagrion cf. puella female exuviae were generally larger than male exuviae, whereas the exuviae were larger for males than for females in Sympetrum cf. vulgatum. We suppose that sexual selection but also other selection mechanisms, such as phenotypic adaptation to different microhabitats, underlie the observed patterns. The morphometric characteristics of the dragonfly nymphal populations also differed geographically, most likely as a trade-off between induced defence against fish predation and predation by other invertebrates, and adaptations for fish fry capture. Sexual dimorphism and between-site variability can have important ecological consequences for dragonfly nymphs in freshwater food webs. However, both may arise from a complicated tangle of factors that need further study.

Extreme disturbance activity is a signature of anthropogenic environmental change. Empirical information describing the historical normative limits of disturbance regimes provides baseline data that facilitates the detection of contemporary trends in both disturbances and community-level responses. Quantifying the attributes of historical disturbances is challenging due to their transient episodic nature, with decades-to centurieslong intervals between recurrences. Unmanaged primary forests that support centuries-old trees therefore serve as unique reference systems for quantifying past disturbance regimes. We surveyed relict stands of primary beech-dominated forests over wide environmental gradients in the Carpathian Mountains of Europe. We collected core samples from 3,026 trees in 208 field survey plots distributed across 13 forest stands in two countries. We used dendrochronological methods to analyze time-series of annually-resolved ring-width variation and to identify anomalous growth patterns diagnostic of past forest canopy removal. A 180-year record (1810-1990) of spatially and temporally explicit disturbance events (n = 333) was compiled and used to derive statistical attributes of the disturbance regime. We quantified disturbance severity (canopy area lost), patch size, and return intervals. Our analyses describe a complex regime where a background of relatively frequent, smallscale, low-to intermediate-severity disturbance was punctuated by episodic large-scale high-severity events. Even the most severe events were non-catastrophic at a stand level, leaving significant residual tree cover that supported a continuity of ecological function. We did not detect evidence for an expected climate-induced intensification of disturbance with time, but methodological limitations precluded an assessment of disturbance activity in the decades since 1990.

Semi-natural submontane meadows are biodiversity-rich habitats that require appropriate management for conservation; however the effects of management on millipede communities remain understudied. We investigated millipede communities across 30 plots in mowed, grazed, and abandoned meadows at 10 localities in central Slovakia using pitfall traps in 2018. In total, 705 individuals from 15 species were collected. Mowed meadows had the highest average activity density (43.4 individuals), species richness (5.6 species), and Shannon diversity (H = 1.32), followed by grazed meadows. In contrast, abandoned meadows showed the lowest average values (9.6 individuals, 2.9 species, H = 0.83). Species composition differed across habitat types, with Megaphyllum projectum favouring grazed meadows and Unciger transsilvanicus and Mastigona bosniensis preferring managed meadows (mowed and grazed), and Glomeris tetrasticha was more abundant in abandoned meadows. Plot area and distance to continuous forest were identified as significant predictors of community composition. Millipede activity density increased with plot area but declined with increasing distance from continuous forest. Species richness also showed a positive relationship with plot area but decreased with higher soil nitrogen content. Soil nitrogen further had a negative effect on Shannon diversity, whereas solar radiation exerted a positive influence. Mowing emerged as the most suitable management practice, whereas grazing and abandonment were less favourable.

Understanding the structure and diversity of high-altitude lake communities and the patterns of their altitudinal changes is important for predicting their response to ongoing climate change. We analysed littoral benthic communities of 18 mountain lakes of glacial origin distributed along a 500-m altitudinal gradient and characterized by differing topographic shading levels: unshaded lakes and shaded lakes with a substantially lower (by 1151 h) mean annual duration of direct solar radiation. We hypothesized that local topographic shading modifies diversity–altitude relationships and affects the pattern of community turnover along the altitudinal gradient. We found a decreasing trend in diversity with increasing altitude and a significant deviation from that pattern in shaded lakes. Investigated lake groups supported distinct communities in lower altitudes. However, their community composition converged towards higher altitudes in communities typical for a greater abundance of cold stenotherms. The proportion of cold-stenothermal species increased with increasing altitude in shaded lakes and was notably greater than that in unshaded lakes along the studied altitudinal gradient. The lower temperatures of shaded lakes and different temperature variabilities of the two groups of lakes likely explain the observed patterns. We hypothesize that topographically shaded lakes may provide refugia for cold-stenothermal communities threatened by ongoing global warming.

Given global changes and the loss of ecosystem services, it is crucial to assess the effects of landscape characteristics on ecosystem service distribution for sustainable territory management. Italy’s diverse landscapes present an opportunity to study this effect. This study identified optimal elevation and landscape heterogeneity ranges that optimize four ecosystem service provisions across Italy. We mapped ecosystem services across Italy using generalized additive models (GAM) to assess their spatial relationships with landscape characteristics, such as elevation and heterogeneity, and specifically, we identified their optimal values concerning elevation and landscape heterogeneity. In Italy, agricultural production is concentrated at low altitudes, like the Po Valley, while the pre-Alps and Apennines regions at intermediate altitudes provide ecosystem services like timber production and carbon storage. However, elevation gradient and landscape heterogeneity significantly influence trade-offs between agricultural production and these services. The optimal altitude for timber production, carbon storage, and habitat quality is around 1500 m above sea level, while agricultural production peaks at the lowest and highest elevations. Our study shows landscape features’ significant role in supporting specific ecosystem services. This information is crucial for guiding land use planning and management decisions, especially under global land use and climate change.

River corridors are among the most important natural pathways for invasive species to spread into landscapes. Nevertheless, the ecological processes underlying invasions of riparian habitats are poorly understood for many taxonomic groups. We sampled bryophytes, vascular plants, and molluscs along three West Carpathian rivers (Central Europe) to identify spatial trends and drivers of native and alien species diversity across multiple taxa. Generalised additive models revealed decreasing downstream diversity patterns across all studied rivers and taxonomic groups. In contrast, alien diversity showed the opposite trend, displaying a high degree of idiosyncrasy among the rivers. Random forest analysis revealed that climate-induced variables (altitude and related temperature) played a more pronounced role in the diversity of alien species than in the diversity of native species. The diversity of native species was more influenced by local land use and habitat alternations (molluscs) or by source-to-mouth river interactions along the longitudinal gradient (plants). Dispersal limitation and temperature constrain alien species distributions along river corridors, while a multitude of natural and anthropic influences drive native species diversity. The climate-driven distribution of alien plants and molluscs suggests future altitudinal and longitudinal shifts in non-native species along river corridors, which will be exacerbated by ongoing climate warming and associated environmental changes.