Flowering Ecology of Some Spring Woodland Herbs

Ecology ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas W. Schemske ◽  
Mary F. Willson ◽  
Michael N. Melampy ◽  
Linda J. Miller ◽  
Louis Verner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Woodland Herbs

scholarly journals The shape of things to come: woodland herb niche contraction begins during recruitment in mesic forest microhabitat

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1710) ◽  
pp. 1390-1398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Warren ◽  
Mark A. Bradford
Keyword(s):  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Natural Abundance ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Plant Populations ◽  
Mesic Forest ◽  
Woodland Herb ◽  
Physiological Tolerances ◽  
Woodland Herbs ◽  
Resource Levels ◽  
To Come

Natural abundance is shaped by the abiotic requirements and biotic interactions that shape a species' niche, yet these influences are rarely decoupled. Moreover, most plant mortality occurs during early life stages, making seed recruitment critical in structuring plant populations. We find that natural abundance of two woodland herbs, Hexastylis arifolia and Hepatica nobilis , peaks at intermediate resource levels, a pattern probably formed by concurrent abiotic and biotic interactions. To determine how this abundance patterning reflects intrinsic physiological optima and extrinsic biotic interactions, we translocate adults and seeds to novel locations across experimentally extended abiotic gradients. These experiments indicate that the plant distributions probably reflect biotic interactions as much as physiological requirements, and that adult abundance provides a poor indication of the underlying niche requirements. The positive response exhibited by adult transplants in the wettest conditions is offset by increased fungal attack on buried seeds consistent with peak natural abundance where soil moisture is intermediate. This contraction of niche space is best described by Connell's model—species are limited by physiological tolerances where resources are low and biotic interactions where resources are high.

Assimilation Rates of Some Woodland Herbs in Ontario

1967 ◽  
Vol 128 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 160-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Sparling
Keyword(s):  
Woodland Herbs

Temperate forest herbs are adapted to high air humidity — evidence from climate chamber and humidity manipulation experiments in the field

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 2332-2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmin Lendzion ◽  
Christoph Leuschner
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Production ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Air Humidity ◽  
Climate Chamber ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Chamber Experiment ◽  
Forest Herbs ◽  
Woodland Herbs ◽  
Gap Creation

How growth and morphology of wild plants are controlled by the water vapor saturation deficit of the air (vapor pressure deficit, VPD) is not sufficiently understood. We tested the hypothesis that VPD acts on temperate woodland herbs independently from soil moisture by exposing two species ( Mercurialis perennis L. and Stachys sylvatica Torr.) to variable VPD levels in climate chambers and in open-top chambers on the forest floor. A decrease in air humidity from 85% to 40% in the climate chamber experiment, which simulates a microclimate change after canopy gap creation, resulted in a 40% decrease in biomass production of both species when grown in hydroponic culture. This result is supported by the more realistic open-top chamber experiment, which showed a productivity decrease by approximately 25% when plants were continuously exposed to an atmosphere with 15% lower air humidity than ambient. Elevated VPD levels reduced biomass production through either a reduced leaf expansion rate or a lower number of formed leaf buds. We conclude that many woodland herbs require sufficiently high air humidity for optimal growth; permanently decreased air humidity, as may occur in a future drier climate, after gap creation, or after clear-cutting of the forest, may threaten the vitality and survival of woodland herbs.

Regrowth and nutrient accumulations following whole-tree harvesting of a maple–oak forest

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1305-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Crow ◽  
G. D. Mroz ◽  
M. R. Gale
Keyword(s):  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Successional Species ◽  
Woodland Herbs ◽  
Whole Tree Harvesting ◽  
Whole Tree ◽  
Tree Harvesting

The rates of biomass and N, P, K, Ca, and Mg accumulations were measured in a mixed hardwood – Haplorthod ecosystem following whole-tree harvesting and compared with preharvest conditions. Stand biomass and net primary production averaged 150.7 Mg/ha and 7.3 Mg•ha−1•year−1, respectively, in the preharvest forest. An estimated 100 Mg/ha of biomass was removed in a commercial whole-tree harvesting operation during the dormant season. Regrowth during the 4 years after harvest was categorized into the following floristic groups: woody plants, woodland herbaceous species that were part of the preharvest forest, early successional species that colonized the site after harvest, and graminoids. Woodland herbaceous and woody species dominated the recovery vegetation and together accounted for more than 70% of the nutrients captured by vegetation throughout the postharvest measurement period. Extensive clonal structures for many woody species and two common woodland herbaceous species, Pteridiumaquilinum (L.) Kuhn and Astermacrophyllus L., resulted in their rapid recovery. Rapid growth along with high nutrient concentrations (especially K for woodland herbs) provided effective mechanisms for conserving nutrients following disturbance. After the first growing season following whole-tree harvesting, 44% of the total aboveground dry weight was in woody vegetation, 46% in woodland herbs, 9% in early successional species, and 1% in graminoids, compared with 73, 17, 7, and 3% for the same categories by year 4. Annual rates of N, K, and Mg uptake by plants should equal or exceed their preharvest rates within 5 years after harvest; those for Ca and P take longer.

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