Contribution of co-occurring shrub species to community richness and phylogenetic diversity along an environmental gradient

Impact of Invasive Tree Species on Natural Regeneration Species Composition, Diversity, and Density

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11040456 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 456 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marcin K. Dyderski ◽

Andrzej M. Jagodziński

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Tree Species ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Phylogenetic Diversity ◽

Forest Types ◽

Shrub Species ◽

Native Tree ◽

Invasive Tree ◽

Native Tree Species ◽

Invasive Tree Species

Invasive tree species decrease ecosystem resilience with negative impacts on natural regeneration. The influence of alien tree species on ecosystems is unevenly recognized and does not always account for different habitat specificity. We assessed the impacts of the three most frequent invasive tree species in European forests: Prunus serotina Ehrh., Quercus rubra L., and Robinia pseudoacacia L. on natural regeneration diversity, species composition, and density. We hypothesized that invaded forest types, in comparison with non-invaded, will differ in terms of species composition, will have lower taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of natural regeneration, and will have lower densities of native tree species. We used a set of 189 study plots (200 m2) in a systematic design, established in various forest types in Wielkopolski National Park (West Poland). We analyzed impacts of forest type, accounting for soil C:N ratio, soil pH, and light availability on natural regeneration (woody species up to 0.5 m height) species composition, diversity, and density. We found an overlap of species composition among invaded and non-invaded forests and low impacts of invasive species on taxonomic diversity and functional richness. We found no impacts on phylogenetic diversity and other functional diversity components. In contrast, we found that the natural regeneration of forest-forming tree species reached lower densities in invaded than non-invaded forest types. However, sub-canopy and shrub species reached higher densities in invaded than non-invaded forest types. We confirmed that invasive tree species affect natural regeneration by decreasing the regeneration density of native tree species (in eight of nine tree species studied), species composition homogenization, and supporting natural regeneration of sub-canopy and shrub species. Therefore, the restoration of invaded forests requires eradication of invasive tree species to decrease propagule pressure and to stop decreases in the abundance of native tree species’ natural regeneration.

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Lifeform distributions of woodland plant species along a moisture availability gradient in Australia's monsoonal tropics

Australian Systematic Botany ◽

10.1071/sb9960205 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 205 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

JL Egan ◽

RJ Williams

Keyword(s):

Environmental Gradient ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Northern Territory ◽

Rainfall Regime ◽

Perennial Species ◽

Shrub Species ◽

Moisture Availability ◽

Savanna Communities ◽

Species Declines ◽

Allocation Strategies

A series of vegetation sites was established in Australia's Northern Territory between Darwin and Tennant Creek, a distance of approximately 1000 km and 7° latitude (12°30'–19°30'S). This region encompasses a strong environmental gradient in mean annual moisture availability (450–1600 mm) whilst remaining within a predominantly summer monsoonal rainfall regime. All sites are within eucalypt-savanna habitats on lighter textured soils (sands–loams). Major changes in family and species representation occur at approximately 16–17° latitude, supporting findings of other workers. Within these eucalypt-savanna communities, the percentage of annual species is consistently around 30% regardless of latitude. However, the distribution of resource allocation strategies used by perennial plants exhibits distinct latitudinal trends. The proportion of deciduous and seasonally perennial species declines with latitude whilst suffrutescent shrub species become increasingly abundant. Species possessing root structures adapted for storage purposes appear to be limited to latitudes north of 15°S.

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Shifts in Aboveground Biomass Allocation Patterns of Dominant Shrub Species across a Strong Environmental Gradient

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0157136 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. e0157136 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bright B. Kumordzi ◽

Michael J. Gundale ◽

Marie-Charlotte Nilsson ◽

David A. Wardle

Keyword(s):

Biomass Allocation ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Environmental Gradient ◽

Shrub Species ◽

Allocation Patterns

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Impacts of species richness on productivity in a large-scale subtropical forest experiment

Science ◽

10.1126/science.aat6405 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 362 (6410) ◽

pp. 80-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 117

Author(s):

Yuanyuan Huang ◽

Yuxin Chen ◽

Nadia Castro-Izaguirre ◽

Martin Baruffol ◽

Matteo Brezzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Primary Productivity ◽

Ecosystem Functioning ◽

Phylogenetic Diversity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Subtropical Forest ◽

Species Loss ◽

Shrub Species ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

Functional And Phylogenetic Diversity

Biodiversity experiments have shown that species loss reduces ecosystem functioning in grassland. To test whether this result can be extrapolated to forests, the main contributors to terrestrial primary productivity, requires large-scale experiments. We manipulated tree species richness by planting more than 150,000 trees in plots with 1 to 16 species. Simulating multiple extinction scenarios, we found that richness strongly increased stand-level productivity. After 8 years, 16-species mixtures had accumulated over twice the amount of carbon found in average monocultures and similar amounts as those of two commercial monocultures. Species richness effects were strongly associated with functional and phylogenetic diversity. A shrub addition treatment reduced tree productivity, but this reduction was smaller at high shrub species richness. Our results encourage multispecies afforestation strategies to restore biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

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