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Wang J, Li Y, Rahman MM, Li B, Yan Z, Song G, Zhao Y, Wu J, Chu C. Unraveling the drivers and impacts of leaf phenological diversity in a subtropical forest: A fine-scale analysis using PlanetScope CubeSats. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 38764134 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Leaf phenology variations within plant communities shape community assemblages and influence ecosystem properties and services. However, questions remain regarding quantification, drivers, and productivity impacts of intra-site leaf phenological diversity. With a 50-ha subtropical forest plot in China's Heishiding Provincial Nature Reserve (part of the global ForestGEO network) as a testbed, we gathered a unique dataset combining ground-derived abiotic (topography, soil) and biotic (taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, functional traits) factors. We investigated drivers underlying leaf phenological diversity extracted from high-resolution PlanetScope data, and its influence on aboveground biomass (AGB) using structural equation modeling (SEM). Our results reveal considerable fine-scale leaf phenological diversity across the subtropical forest landscape. This diversity is directly and indirectly influenced by abiotic and biotic factors (e.g. slope, soil, traits, taxonomic diversity; r2 = 0.43). While a notable bivariate relationship between AGB and leaf phenological diversity was identified (r = -0.24, P < 0.05), this relationship did not hold in SEM analysis after considering interactions with other biotic and abiotic factors (P > 0.05). These findings unveil the underlying mechanism regulating intra-site leaf phenological diversity. While leaf phenology is known to be associated with ecosystem properties, our findings confirm that AGB is primarily influenced by functional trait composition and taxonomic diversity rather than leaf phenological diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Wang
- School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518107, China
| | - Yuanzhi Li
- School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518107, China
| | - Md Mizanur Rahman
- Jiangmen Laboratory of Carbon Science and Technology, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 529100, China
- Research Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School for Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
- JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations, Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Buhang Li
- School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510275, China
| | - Zhengbing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Guangqin Song
- Research Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School for Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Yingyi Zhao
- Research Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School for Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Jin Wu
- Research Area of Ecology and Biodiversity, School for Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Chengjin Chu
- School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518107, China
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2
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Núñez CL, Clark JS, Poulsen JR. Disturbance sensitivity shapes patterns of tree species distribution in Afrotropical lowland rainforests more than climate or soil. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11329. [PMID: 38698930 PMCID: PMC11063613 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding how tropical forests respond to abiotic environmental changes is critical for preserving biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and maintaining ecosystem services in the coming century. To evaluate the relative roles of the abiotic environment and human disturbance on Central African tree community composition, we employ tree inventory data, remotely sensed climatic data, and soil nutrient data collected from 30 1-ha plots distributed across a large-scale observational experiment in forests that had been differently impacted by logging and hunting in northern Republic of Congo. We show that the composition of Afrotropical plant communities at this scale responds to human disturbance more than to climate, with particular sensitivities to hunting and distance to the nearest village (a proxy for other human activities, including tree-cutting and gathering). These findings contrast neotropical predictions, highlighting the unique ecological, evolutionary, and anthropogenic history of Afrotropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase L. Núñez
- Department for the Ecology of Animal SocietiesMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorKonstanzGermany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective BehaviourUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
- University Program in EcologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - James S. Clark
- University Program in EcologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | - John R. Poulsen
- University Program in EcologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
- The Nature ConservancyBoulderColoradoUSA
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Gargallo-Garriga A, Sardans J, Llusià J, Peguero G, Ayala-Roque M, Courtois EA, Stahl C, Urban O, Klem K, Nolis P, Pérez-Trujillo M, Parella T, Richter A, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Different profiles of soil phosphorous compounds depending on tree species and availability of soil phosphorus in a tropical rainforest in French Guiana. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2024; 24:278. [PMID: 38609866 PMCID: PMC11010349 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-04907-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The availability of soil phosphorus (P) often limits the productivities of wet tropical lowland forests. Little is known, however, about the metabolomic profile of different chemical P compounds with potentially different uses and about the cycling of P and their variability across space under different tree species in highly diverse tropical rainforests. RESULTS We hypothesised that the different strategies of the competing tree species to retranslocate, mineralise, mobilise, and take up P from the soil would promote distinct soil 31P profiles. We tested this hypothesis by performing a metabolomic analysis of the soils in two rainforests in French Guiana using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We analysed 31P NMR chemical shifts in soil solutions of model P compounds, including inorganic phosphates, orthophosphate mono- and diesters, phosphonates, and organic polyphosphates. The identity of the tree species (growing above the soil samples) explained > 53% of the total variance of the 31P NMR metabolomic profiles of the soils, suggesting species-specific ecological niches and/or species-specific interactions with the soil microbiome and soil trophic web structure and functionality determining the use and production of P compounds. Differences at regional and topographic levels also explained some part of the the total variance of the 31P NMR profiles, although less than the influence of the tree species. Multivariate analyses of soil 31P NMR metabolomics data indicated higher soil concentrations of P biomolecules involved in the active use of P (nucleic acids and molecules involved with energy and anabolism) in soils with lower concentrations of total soil P and higher concentrations of P-storing biomolecules in soils with higher concentrations of total P. CONCLUSIONS The results strongly suggest "niches" of soil P profiles associated with physical gradients, mostly topographic position, and with the specific distribution of species along this gradient, which is associated with species-specific strategies of soil P mineralisation, mobilisation, use, and uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- Global Change Research Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Belidla 986/4a, Brno, CZ-60300, Czech Republic.
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain.
| | - Jordi Sardans
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
| | - Joan Llusià
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
| | - Guille Peguero
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
| | | | - Elodie A Courtois
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
- Laboratoire écologie, évolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens (LEEISA), Université de Guyane, CNRS, IFREMER, Cayenne, France
| | - Clément Stahl
- UMR ECOFOG - Ecologie des forêts de Guyane, Kourou cedex, 97379, France
| | - Otmar Urban
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Karel Klem
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Pau Nolis
- Servei de Ressonància Magnètica Nuclear, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain
| | - Miriam Pérez-Trujillo
- Servei de Ressonància Magnètica Nuclear, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain
| | - Teodor Parella
- Servei de Ressonància Magnètica Nuclear, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Spain
| | - Andreas Richter
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Global Ecology Unit, CSIC, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
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Umarani MS, Wang D, O'Dwyer JP, D'Andrea R. A Spatial Signal of Niche Differentiation in Tropical Forests. Am Nat 2024; 203:445-457. [PMID: 38489774 DOI: 10.1086/729218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2024]
Abstract
AbstractExplaining diversity in tropical forests remains a challenge in community ecology. Theory tells us that species differences can stabilize communities by reducing competition, while species similarities can promote diversity by reducing fitness differences and thus prolonging the time to competitive exclusion. Combined, these processes may lead to clustering of species such that species are niche differentiated across clusters and share a niche within each cluster. Here, we characterize this partial niche differentiation in a tropical forest in Panama by measuring spatial clustering of woody plants and relating these clusters to local soil conditions. We find that species were spatially clustered and the clusters were associated with specific concentrations of soil nutrients, reflecting the existence of nutrient niches. Species were almost twice as likely to recruit in their own nutrient niche. A decision tree algorithm showed that local soil conditions correctly predicted the niche of the trees with up to 85% accuracy. Iron, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and soil pH were among the best predictors of species clusters.
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Medina-Vega JA, Zuleta D, Aguilar S, Alonso A, Bissiengou P, Brockelman WY, Bunyavejchewin S, Burslem DFRP, Castaño N, Chave J, Dalling JW, de Oliveira AA, Duque Á, Ediriweera S, Ewango CEN, Filip J, Hubbell SP, Itoh A, Kiratiprayoon S, Lum SKY, Makana JR, Memiaghe H, Mitre D, Mohamad MB, Nathalang A, Nilus R, Nkongolo NV, Novotny V, O'Brien MJ, Pérez R, Pongpattananurak N, Reynolds G, Russo SE, Tan S, Thompson J, Uriarte M, Valencia R, Vicentini A, Yao TL, Zimmerman JK, Davies SJ. Tropical tree ectomycorrhiza are distributed independently of soil nutrients. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:400-410. [PMID: 38200369 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02298-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Mycorrhizae, a form of plant-fungal symbioses, mediate vegetation impacts on ecosystem functioning. Climatic effects on decomposition and soil quality are suggested to drive mycorrhizal distributions, with arbuscular mycorrhizal plants prevailing in low-latitude/high-soil-quality areas and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) plants in high-latitude/low-soil-quality areas. However, these generalizations, based on coarse-resolution data, obscure finer-scale variations and result in high uncertainties in the predicted distributions of mycorrhizal types and their drivers. Using data from 31 lowland tropical forests, both at a coarse scale (mean-plot-level data) and fine scale (20 × 20 metres from a subset of 16 sites), we demonstrate that the distribution and abundance of EcM-associated trees are independent of soil quality. Resource exchange differences among mycorrhizal partners, stemming from diverse evolutionary origins of mycorrhizal fungi, may decouple soil fertility from the advantage provided by mycorrhizal associations. Additionally, distinct historical biogeographies and diversification patterns have led to differences in forest composition and nutrient-acquisition strategies across three major tropical regions. Notably, Africa and Asia's lowland tropical forests have abundant EcM trees, whereas they are relatively scarce in lowland neotropical forests. A greater understanding of the functional biology of mycorrhizal symbiosis is required, especially in the lowland tropics, to overcome biases from assuming similarity to temperate and boreal regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- José A Medina-Vega
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Alfonso Alonso
- Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Pulchérie Bissiengou
- Herbier National du Gabon, Institut de Pharmacopée et de Médecine Traditionelle, Libreville, Gabon
| | - Warren Y Brockelman
- National Biobank of Thailand, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Khlong Luang, Thailand
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
| | - Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin
- Thai Long-Term Forest Ecological Research Project, Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Nicolás Castaño
- Herbario Amazónico Colombiano, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Jérôme Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, UPS, IRD, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - James W Dalling
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Alexandre A de Oliveira
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Álvaro Duque
- Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Sisira Ediriweera
- Department of Science and Technology, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka
| | - Corneille E N Ewango
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Jonah Filip
- Binatang Research Center, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Stephen P Hubbell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Akira Itoh
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Somboon Kiratiprayoon
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University (Rangsit), Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Shawn K Y Lum
- Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jean-Remy Makana
- Faculty of Sciences, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Hervé Memiaghe
- Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Libreville, Gabon
| | - David Mitre
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | | | - Anuttara Nathalang
- National Biobank of Thailand, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Khlong Luang, Thailand
| | - Reuben Nilus
- Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Malaysia
| | - Nsalambi V Nkongolo
- School of Science, Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, NM, USA
- Institut Facultaire des Sciences Agronomiques (IFA) de Yangambi, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Vojtech Novotny
- Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michael J O'Brien
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Almería, Spain
| | - Rolando Pérez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Nantachai Pongpattananurak
- Thai Long-Term Forest Ecological Research Project, Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Glen Reynolds
- Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Sabrina E Russo
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | | | | | - María Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Renato Valencia
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Alberto Vicentini
- Coordenação de Dinâmica Ambiental (CODAM), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Tze Leong Yao
- Forestry and Environment Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia
| | - Jess K Zimmerman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Stuart J Davies
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
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Ma F, Wang S, Sang W, Zhang S, Ma K. Spatial Distribution and Sustainable Development of Living Woody and Coarse Woody Debris in Warm-Temperate Deciduous Broadleaved Secondary Forests in China. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:638. [PMID: 38475484 DOI: 10.3390/plants13050638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The investigation into the spatial patterns of living woody (LWD) and coarse woody debris (CWD) in warm-temperate deciduous broadleaved secondary forests serves as a foundational exploration of the mechanisms governing coexistence and mortality in forest ecosystems. The complete spatial randomness null model (CSR) was employed to analyze spatial distribution patterns, with the independent component null model (IC) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) utilized to elucidate spatial correlations and topographic influences. All three models were applied to LWD and CWD across various size classes within a 20-hectare plot in the Dongling Mountains. The study's findings indicate that both LWD and CWD predominantly exhibited aggregated patterns, transitioning to a random distribution as the size class increased. Both increasing abundance and maximum diameter at breast height (DBH) also have a significant influence on the distribution of species. Notably, rare species exhibited higher aggregation compared to common and abundant species. The spatial correlation results between LWD and CWD across various size classes predominantly showed positive correlations and uncorrelated patterns within the sampled plots. CCA analysis further revealed that elevation, convexity, slope, and aspect significantly influenced the spatial patterns of LWD and CWD across different size classes. Within the sample site, trees display a tendency to grow and die in clusters. Biotic factors have a more significant influence on species distribution than abiotic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Shunzhong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Weiguo Sang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, #27 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Keming Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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7
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Elsy AD, Pfeifer M, Jones IL, DeWalt SJ, Lopez OR, Dent DH. Incomplete recovery of tree community composition and rare species after 120 years of tropical forest succession in Panama. Biotropica 2024; 56:36-49. [PMID: 38515454 PMCID: PMC10952663 DOI: 10.1111/btp.13275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Determining how fully tropical forests regenerating on abandoned land recover characteristics of old-growth forests is increasingly important for understanding their role in conserving rare species and maintaining ecosystem services. Despite this, our understanding of forest structure and community composition recovery throughout succession is incomplete, as many tropical chronosequences do not extend beyond the first 50 years of succession. Here, we examined trajectories of forest recovery across eight 1-hectare plots in middle and later stages of forest succession (40-120 years) and five 1-hectare old-growth plots, in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument (BCNM), Panama. We first verified that forest age had a greater effect than edaphic or topographic variation on forest structure, diversity and composition and then corroborated results from smaller plots censused 20 years previously. Tree species diversity (but not species richness) and forest structure had fully recovered to old-growth levels by 40 and 90 years, respectively. However, rare species were missing, and old-growth specialists were in low abundance, in the mid- and late secondary forest plots, leading to incomplete recovery of species composition even by 120 years into succession. We also found evidence that dominance early in succession by a long-lived pioneer led to altered forest structure and delayed recovery of species diversity and composition well past a century after land abandonment. Our results illustrate the critical importance of old-growth and old secondary forests for biodiversity conservation, given that recovery of community composition may take several centuries, particularly when a long-lived pioneer dominates in early succession. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander D. Elsy
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Modelling, Evidence and Policy GroupNewcastle UniversityNewcastle upon TyneUK
| | - Isabel L. Jones
- Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | - Saara J. DeWalt
- Department of Biological SciencesClemson UniversityClemsonSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Omar R. Lopez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
- Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT)ClaytonPanama
| | - Daisy H. Dent
- Smithsonian Tropical Research InstituteBalboaPanama
- Max Planck Institute for Animal BehaviorKonstanzGermany
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZürichZurichSwitzerland
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8
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Schmitt S, Hérault B, Derroire G. High intraspecific growth variability despite strong evolutionary legacy in an Amazonian forest. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:2135-2146. [PMID: 37819108 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Tree growth is key to species performance. However, individual growth variability within species remains underexplored for a whole community, and the role of species evolutionary legacy and local environments remains unquantified. Based on 36 years of diameter records for 7961 trees from 138 species, we assessed individual growth across an Amazonian forest. We related individual growth to taxonomy, topography and neighbourhood, before exploring species growth link to functional traits and distribution along the phylogeny. We found most variation in growth among individuals within species, even though taxonomy explained a third of the variation. Species growth was phylogenetically conserved up to the genus. Traits of roots, wood and leaves were good predictors of growth, suggesting their joint selection during convergent evolutions. Neighbourhood crowding significantly decreased individual growth, although much of inter-individual variation remains unexplained. The high intraspecific variation observed could allow individuals to respond to the heterogeneous environments of Amazonian forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Schmitt
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, Cirad, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Kourou, French Guiana
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Montpellier, France
- Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Bruno Hérault
- Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
- CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
- Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, INP-HB, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Géraldine Derroire
- Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Kourou, French Guiana
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9
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Loiseau B, Carrière SD, Jougnot D, Singha K, Mary B, Delpierre N, Guérin R, Martin-StPaul NK. The geophysical toolbox applied to forest ecosystems - A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 899:165503. [PMID: 37454861 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Studying the forest subsurface is a challenge because of its heterogeneous nature and difficult access. Traditional approaches used by ecologists to characterize the subsurface have a low spatial representativity. This review article illustrates how geophysical techniques can and have been used to get new insights into forest ecology. Near-surface geophysics offers a wide range of methods to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of subsurface properties in a non-destructive and integrative way, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. These techniques can be used alone or combined to take advantage of their complementarity. Our review led us to define three topics how near-surface geophysics can support forest ecology studies: 1) detection of root systems, 2) monitoring of water quantity and dynamics, and 3) characterisation of spatial heterogeneity in subsurface properties at the stand level. The number of forest ecology studies using near-surface geophysics is increasing and this multidisciplinary approach opens new opportunities and perspectives for improving quantitative assessment of biophysical properties and exploring forest response to the environment and adaptation to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertille Loiseau
- UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC, CNRS, EPHE, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Simon D Carrière
- UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC, CNRS, EPHE, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Damien Jougnot
- UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC, CNRS, EPHE, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Kamini Singha
- Hydrologic Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
| | - Benjamin Mary
- Geoscience Department, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
| | - Nicolas Delpierre
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, 91405 Orsay, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), France
| | - Roger Guérin
- UMR METIS, Sorbonne Université, UPMC, CNRS, EPHE, 75005 Paris, France
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Ba Y, Li X, Ma Y, Chai Y, Li C, Ma X, Yang Y. A Study on the C, N, and P Contents and Stoichiometric Characteristics of Forage Leaves Based on Fertilizer-Reconstructed Soil in an Alpine Mining Area. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3838. [PMID: 38005735 PMCID: PMC10674538 DOI: 10.3390/plants12223838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we analyzed the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometric characteristics of forage leaves of five species (Elymus breviaristatus cv. Tongde, Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai, Puccinellia tenuiflora cv. Qinghai, Festuca sinensis cv. Qinghai, and Poa pratensis cv. Qinghai) in "fertilizer-reconstructed soil" through integrative soil amendment with parched sheep manure and granular organic fertilizer in an alpine mining area. A model is fitted in order to screen out the best forage species suitable for vegetation restoration in the alpine mining area and the most favorable fertilizer dosage to improve the nutrient content of forage leaves. The results showed that (1) increasing the dosages of granular organic fertilizer and sheep manure had little effect on the C content of the five types of forage grasses, but they could significantly increase the N and P contents and N/P of the manually restored grassland in the alpine mining area (p < 0.05). (2) The productivity and stability of the five species were ranked as follows: Elymus breviaristatus cv. Tongde > Puccinellia tenuiflora cv. Qinghai > Festuca sinensis cv. Qinghai > Poa pratensis cv. Qinghai > Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai. (3) According to the fitted least squares model and the willingness to maximize the C, N, and P contents of the leaves, the ranking of the five forage grasses was described by the Prediction Profiler as follows: Elymus breviaristatus cv. Tongde > Puccinellia tenuiflora cv. Qinghai > Festuca sinensis cv. Qinghai > Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai > Poa pratensis cv. Qinghai. (4) The predictive model suggested that the optimal contents of C, N, and P in Elymus breviaristatus cv. Tongde, Festuca sinensis cv. Qinghai, and Poa pratensis cv. Qinghai leaves could be achieved with the application of 3.6 kg/m2 of granular organic fertilizer and 45.0 kg/m2 of sheep manure. For Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai leaves, the ideal content was attained by applying 0 kg/m2 of granular organic fertilizer and 45.0 kg/m2 of sheep manure. Lastly, the optimal C, N, and P contents in Puccinellia tenuiflora cv. Qinghai leaves could be obtained through the application of 3.6 kg/m2 of granular organic fertilizer combined with 0 kg/m2 of sheep manure. In conclusion, the study's results highlight the significant practical value of the fertilizer-reconstructed soil for vegetation restoration in alpine mining regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichen Ba
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Xilai Li
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Yunqiao Ma
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Yu Chai
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
| | - Chengyi Li
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
| | - Xinyue Ma
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
| | - Yongxiang Yang
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China; (Y.B.); (Y.M.); (Y.C.); (C.L.); (X.M.); (Y.Y.)
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11
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Sardans J, Llusià J, Ogaya R, Vallicrosa H, Filella I, Gargallo-Garriga A, Peguero G, Van Langenhove L, Verryckt LT, Stahl C, Courtois EA, Bréchet LM, Tariq A, Zeng F, Alrefaei AF, Wang W, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Foliar elementome and functional traits relationships identify tree species niche in French Guiana rainforests. Ecology 2023; 104:e4118. [PMID: 37282712 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Biogeochemical niche (BN) hypothesis aims to relate species/genotype elemental composition with its niche based on the fact that different elements are involved differentially in distinct plant functions. We here test the BN hypothesis through the analysis of the 10 foliar elemental concentrations and 20 functional-morphological of 60 tree species in a French Guiana tropical forest. We observed strong legacy (phylogenic + species) signals in the species-specific foliar elemental composition (elementome) and, for the first time, provide empirical evidence for a relationship between species-specific foliar elementome and functional traits. Our study thus supports the BN hypothesis and confirms the general niche segregation process through which the species-specific use of bio-elements drives the high levels of α-diversity in this tropical forest. We show that the simple analysis of foliar elementomes may be used to test for BNs of co-occurring species in highly diverse ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests. Although cause and effect mechanisms of leaf functional and morphological traits in species-specific use of bio-elements require confirmation, we posit the hypothesis that divergences in functional-morphological niches and species-specific biogeochemical use are likely to have co-evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Joan Llusià
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Romà Ogaya
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Helen Vallicrosa
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Iolanda Filella
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Guille Peguero
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leandro Van Langenhove
- Research Group of Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Lore T Verryckt
- Research Group of Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Clément Stahl
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, CIRAD, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Elodie A Courtois
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, CIRAD, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Laëtitia M Bréchet
- Research Group of Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, CIRAD, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Akash Tariq
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, China
| | - Fanjiang Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, China
| | | | - Weiqi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process, Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
- College of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- Research Group of Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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12
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Hu G, Zhang Z, Wu H, Li L. Factors influencing the distribution of woody plants in tropical karst hills, south China. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16331. [PMID: 37908415 PMCID: PMC10615033 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The seasonal rainforests distributed across the tropical karst hills of south China are of high biodiversity conservation value and serve many important ecosystem functions. However, knowledge surrounding distribution patterns of woody plants in tropical karst hills remains limited. In this study, we surveyed the distribution of families, genera and species of woody flora at four slope positions (depression, lower slope, middle slope, and upper slope), and analyzed the influence of topographic and soil variables on the distribution of woody plants in the tropical karst hills of south China. Forty forest plots (each 20 m × 20 m) contained 306 species of woody plants with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥1 cm, representing 187 genera and 66 families. As slope increased, the number of families increased slowly, and the number of genera and species followed a concave-shaped trend, with the lowest number of genera and species in the lower slope position. Differences in species composition were significantly stronger between slope positions than within slope positions. The topographic and soil variables explained 22.4% and 19.6%, respectively, of the distribution of woody plants, with slope position, slope degree, soil potassium and soil water content as the most significant variables. The results of generalized linear mixed model analysis showed that total R2 of fixed effects on variation of woody species richness was 0.498, and rock outcrop rate and soil total phosphorus were the best fitting effects. Our results help to explain the community assembly mechanism and to inform management and protection strategies for species-rich seasonal rainforests in the karst area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Hu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China
- Key Laboratory of Wildlife Evolution and Conservation in Mountain Ecosystem of Guangxi, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Nanning Normal University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Zhonghua Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Wildlife Evolution and Conservation in Mountain Ecosystem of Guangxi, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Nanning Normal University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Hongping Wu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China
| | - Lei Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan, China
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Luo W, Han S, Yu T, Wang P, Ma Y, Wan M, Liu J, Li Z, Tao J. Assessing the suitability and dynamics of three medicinal Sambucus species in China under current and future climate scenarios. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1194444. [PMID: 37929169 PMCID: PMC10620941 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1194444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Climate change exerts profound influences on the ecological environments on a global scale, leading to habitat destruction and altering distribution patterns for numerous plant species. Traditional Chinese medicinal plants, such as those belonging to the Sambucus genus, have been extensively utilized for several centuries to treat fractures, rheumatism, and inflammation. However, our understanding of their geographic distribution and climatic adaptation within China still needs to be improved. In this study, we screened the optimal predictive model (random forest model) to predict the potential suitable distribution of three Sambucus species (Sambucus adnata, Sambucus javanica, and Sambucus williamsii) across China under both current and future climate scenarios. Moreover, we identified key climate factors that influence their potential distributions. Our findings revealed that S. adnata and S. javanica are predominantly shaped by temperature seasonality and mean diurnal range, respectively, whereas S. williamsii is significantly affected by the precipitation of the wettest month. Currently, S. williamsii is primarily distributed in north and central south China (covering 9.57 × 105 km2), S. javanica is prevalent in the south and east regions (covering 6.41×105 km2), and S. adnata predominantly thrives in the southwest China (covering 1.99×105 km2). Under future climate change scenarios, it is anticipated that S. adnata may migrate to higher latitudes while S. javanica may shift to lower latitudes. However, potentially suitable areas for S. williamsii may contract under certain scenarios for the years 2050 and 2090, with an expansion trend under the SSP585 scenario for the year 2090. Our study emphasizes the importance of climatic variables in influencing the potential geographic distribution of Sambucus species. These findings provide valuable theoretical insights for the preservation, cultivation, and utilization of Sambucus medicinal plant resources in the context of ongoing climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixue Luo
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Shunxin Han
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ting Yu
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuxuan Ma
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Maji Wan
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jinchun Liu
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zongfeng Li
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jianping Tao
- Key Laboratory of Eco-environments in Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
- Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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14
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Khan N, Ullah R, Okla MK, Abdel-Maksoud MA, Saleh IA, Abu-Harirah HA, AlRamadneh TN, AbdElgawad H. Spatial distribution of the four invasive plants and their impact on natural communities' dynamics across the arid and semi-arid environments in northwest Pakistan. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1207222. [PMID: 37692447 PMCID: PMC10485558 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1207222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Non-native species are globally successful invaders with negative impacts on vegetation communities' social, economic, and ecological values. Hence, the current research was carried out to assess the spatial distribution patterns and vegetative diversity of the four non-native species in severely invaded areas of the semi-arid parts of northern Pakistan. Methods The research was conducted using data from 1065 plots spread across 165 sites. These sites represented habitats throughout Northern Province, such as farm countryside, highlands, and abandoned places in rural and urban areas. Results and discussion The communities were floristically diverse, represented by 107 plant species, and dominated mainly by annual and perennial life forms with herbaceous habits. Similarly, the floristic structure shows significant variation tested by the χ2 test (P< 0.05) for plant status, life forms, life cycle, and habitat base distribution. In addition, the diversity indices show significant variation having the highest diversity in C-III (P. hysterophorus-dominated sites) and lowest in C-IV (S. marianum-dominated sites, i.e., primarily pure communities), indicating non-native species may increase or decrease site diversity. The diversity communities were further supported by higher quantities of soil nutrients, i.e., organic percentage (2.22 ± 0.04). Altitude, soil nutrients, and texture were shown to be the environmental factors most associated with communities that non-native species had invaded. Recommendation It is recommended that relevant, additional soil and climatic parameters be integrated into species distribution models to improve our understanding of the ecological niches of different species and to make a collective approach for preserving and conserving native plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasrullah Khan
- Department of Botany, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
- University of Malakand, Chakdara, Pakistan
| | - Rafi Ullah
- University of Malakand, Chakdara, Pakistan
| | - Mohammad K. Okla
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mostafa A. Abdel-Maksoud
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Hashem A. Abu-Harirah
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Tareq Nayef AlRamadneh
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Hamada AbdElgawad
- Laboratory for Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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15
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Da R, Fan C, Zhang C, Zhao X, von Gadow K. Are absorptive root traits good predictors of ecosystem functioning? A test in a natural temperate forest. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 239:75-86. [PMID: 36978285 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Trait-based approaches provide a useful framework to predict ecosystem functions under intensifying global change. However, our current understanding of trait-functioning relationships mainly relies on aboveground traits. Belowground traits (e.g. absorptive root traits) are rarely studied although these traits are related to important plant functions. We analyzed four pairs of analogous leaf and absorptive root traits of woody plants in a temperate forest and examined how these traits are coordinated at the community-level, and to what extent the trait covariation depends on local-scale environmental conditions. We then quantified the contributions of leaf and absorptive root traits and the environmental conditions in determining two important forest ecosystem functions, aboveground carbon storage, and woody biomass productivity. The results showed that both morphological trait pairs and chemical trait pairs exhibited positive correlations at the community level. Absorptive root traits show a strong response to environmental conditions compared to leaf traits. We also found that absorptive root traits were better predictors of the two forest ecosystem functions than leaf traits and environmental conditions. Our study confirms the important role of belowground traits in modulating ecosystem functions and deepens our understanding of belowground responses to changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rihan Da
- Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Chunyu Fan
- Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Chunyu Zhang
- Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xiuhai Zhao
- Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Klaus von Gadow
- Faculty of Forestry and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, D-37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa
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16
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Zhou W, Li C, Wang S, Ren Z, Stringer LC. Effects of vegetation restoration on soil properties and vegetation attributes in the arid and semi-arid regions of China. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 343:118186. [PMID: 37224686 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Driven by the goal of reversing desertification and recovering degraded lands, a wide range of vegetation restoration practices (such as planting and fencing) have been implemented in China's drylands. It is essential to examine the effects of vegetation restoration and environmental factors on soil nutrients to optimize restoration approaches. However, quantitative evaluation on this topic is insufficient due to a lack of long-term field monitoring data. This study evaluated the effects of sandy steppe restoration and sand dune fixation in the semi-arid desert, and natural and artificial vegetation restoration in the arid desert. It considered soil and plant characteristics using long-term (2005-2015) data from the Naiman Research Station located in the semi-arid region and Shapotou Research Station in the arid region of China's drylands. Results showed the sandy steppe had higher soil nutrient contents, vegetation biomass and rate of accumulating soil organic matter (OM) than the fixed dunes and moving dunes. Soil nutrient contents and vegetation biomass of the natural vegetation of Artemisia ordosica were higher than those of the artificial restoration of Artemisia ordosica since 1956. Artificial restoration had a higher rate of accumulating soil OM, total nitrogen (TN) and grass litter biomass than natural restoration. Soil water indirectly affected soil OM by affecting vegetation. Grass diversity was the main influencing factor on soil OM variance in the semi-arid Naiman desert while shrub diversity was the main factor in the arid Shapotou desert. These findings indicate that sand fixation in the semi-arid desert and vegetation restoration in the arid desert bring benefits for soil nutrient accumulation and vegetation improvement, and that natural restoration is preferable to artificial restoration. Results can be used to formulate sustainable vegetation restoration strategies, such as encouraging natural restoration, considering local resource constraints, and giving priority to restoring shrubs in arid areas with limited water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenxin Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Changjia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Shuai Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhuobing Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Lindsay C Stringer
- Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK; York Environmental Sustainability Institute, University of York, York, UK
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17
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Kolanowska M. Loss of fungal symbionts and changes in pollinator availability caused by climate change will affect the distribution and survival chances of myco-heterotrophic orchid species. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6848. [PMID: 37100884 PMCID: PMC10133392 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33856-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The first comprehensive species distribution models for orchid, its fungal symbionts and pollinator are presented. To evaluate impact of global warming on these organisms three different projections and four various climate change scenarios were analysed. The niche modelling was based on presence-only records of Limodorum abortivum, two species of Russula and three insects pollinating orchid (Anthophora affinis, Bombus terrestris, Rhodanthidium septemdentatum). Two sets of orchid predictions were examined-the first one included only climatic data and the second one was based on climate data and data on future distribution of orchid fungal symbionts. Overall, a poleward range shift is predicted to occur as a result of climate change and apparently global warming will be favorable for L. abortivum and its potential geographical range will expand. However, due to the negative effect of global warming on fungal symbionts of L. abortivum, the actual extension of the suitable niches of the orchid will be much limited. Considering future possibility of cross-pollination, the availability of A. affinis for L. abortivum will decrease and this bee will be available in the worst case scenarios only for 21% of orchid populations. On the other hand, the overlap of orchid and the buff-tailed bumblebee will increase and as much as 86.5% of plant populations will be located within B. terrestris potential range. Also the availability of R. septemdentatum will be higher than currently observed in almost all analysed climate change projections. This study showed the importance of inclusion of ecological factors in species distribution models as the climate data itself are not enough to estimate the future distribution of plant species. Moreover, the availability of pollen vectors which is crucial for long-term survival of orchid populations should be analysed in context of climate changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Kolanowska
- Department of Geobotany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Banacha 12/16, 90-237, Lodz, Poland.
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van der Sande MT, Powers JS, Kuyper TW, Norden N, Salgado-Negret B, Silva de Almeida J, Bongers F, Delgado D, Dent DH, Derroire G, do Espirito Santo MM, Dupuy JM, Fernandes GW, Finegan B, Gavito ME, Hernández-Stefanoni JL, Jakovac CC, Jones IL, das Dores Magalhães Veloso M, Meave JA, Mora F, Muñoz R, Pérez-Cárdenas N, Piotto D, Álvarez-Dávila E, Caceres-Siani Y, Dalban-Pilon C, Dourdain A, Du DV, García Villalobos D, Nunes YRF, Sanchez-Azofeifa A, Poorter L. Soil resistance and recovery during neotropical forest succession. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210074. [PMID: 36373919 PMCID: PMC9661943 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The recovery of soil conditions is crucial for successful ecosystem restoration and, hence, for achieving the goals of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Here, we assess how soils resist forest conversion and agricultural land use, and how soils recover during subsequent tropical forest succession on abandoned agricultural fields. Our overarching question is how soil resistance and recovery depend on local conditions such as climate, soil type and land-use history. For 300 plots in 21 sites across the Neotropics, we used a chronosequence approach in which we sampled soils from two depths in old-growth forests, agricultural fields (i.e. crop fields and pastures), and secondary forests that differ in age (1-95 years) since abandonment. We measured six soil properties using a standardized sampling design and laboratory analyses. Soil resistance strongly depended on local conditions. Croplands and sites on high-activity clay (i.e. high fertility) show strong increases in bulk density and decreases in pH, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) during deforestation and subsequent agricultural use. Resistance is lower in such sites probably because of a sharp decline in fine root biomass in croplands in the upper soil layers, and a decline in litter input from formerly productive old-growth forest (on high-activity clays). Soil recovery also strongly depended on local conditions. During forest succession, high-activity clays and croplands decreased most strongly in bulk density and increased in C and N, possibly because of strongly compacted soils with low C and N after cropland abandonment, and because of rapid vegetation recovery in high-activity clays leading to greater fine root growth and litter input. Furthermore, sites at low precipitation decreased in pH, whereas sites at high precipitation increased in N and decreased in C : N ratio. Extractable phosphorus (P) did not recover during succession, suggesting increased P limitation as forests age. These results indicate that no single solution exists for effective soil restoration and that local site conditions should determine the restoration strategies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masha T. van der Sande
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior and Plant & Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Thom W. Kuyper
- Soil Biology Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Natalia Norden
- Programa Ciencias Básicas de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbold,Colombia
| | | | - Jarcilene Silva de Almeida
- Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco CEP 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Frans Bongers
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Diego Delgado
- CATIE-Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Daisy H. Dent
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Roosevelt Ave. 401 Balboa, Ancon, Panama,Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour, Konstanz, 78315, Germany,Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, 8902, Switzerland
| | - Géraldine Derroire
- Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, Inrae, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana
| | | | - Juan Manuel Dupuy
- Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Calle 43 # 130(32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, C.P. 97205 Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - Geraldo Wilson Fernandes
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia & Evolução, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 30161-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Bryan Finegan
- CATIE-Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba, Costa Rica
| | - Mayra E. Gavito
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CP 58190 Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - José Luis Hernández-Stefanoni
- Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán A.C. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Calle 43 # 130(32 y 34, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, C.P. 97205 Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - Catarina C. Jakovac
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Isabel L. Jones
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | | | - Jorge A. Meave
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City CP 04510, México
| | - Francisco Mora
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CP 58190 Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Rodrigo Muñoz
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands,Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico City CP 04510, México
| | - Nathalia Pérez-Cárdenas
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CP 58190 Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Daniel Piotto
- Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais, Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, Itabuna-BA 45613-204, Brazil
| | | | | | - Coralie Dalban-Pilon
- Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, Inrae, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Aurélie Dourdain
- Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, Inrae, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana
| | - Dan V. Du
- Department of Soil and Water Systems, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA
| | - Daniel García Villalobos
- Programa Ciencias Básicas de la Biodiversidad, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humbold,Colombia
| | - Yule Roberta Ferreira Nunes
- Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros-MG CEP 39401-089, Brazil
| | - Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Centre for Earth Observation Sciences (CEOS), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G2E3
| | - Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Gibb H, Bishop TR, Leahy L, Parr CL, Lessard J, Sanders NJ, Shik JZ, Ibarra‐Isassi J, Narendra A, Dunn RR, Wright IJ. Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world-wide worker economic spectrum for ants. Funct Ecol 2023; 37:13-25. [PMID: 37056633 PMCID: PMC10084388 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Current global challenges call for a rigorously predictive ecology. Our understanding of ecological strategies, imputed through suites of measurable functional traits, comes from decades of work that largely focussed on plants. However, a key question is whether plant ecological strategies resemble those of other organisms.Among animals, ants have long been recognised to possess similarities with plants: as (largely) central place foragers. For example, individual ant workers play similar foraging roles to plant leaves and roots and are similarly expendable. Frameworks that aim to understand plant ecological strategies through key functional traits, such as the 'leaf economics spectrum', offer the potential for significant parallels with ant ecological strategies.Here, we explore these parallels across several proposed ecological strategy dimensions, including an 'economic spectrum', propagule size-number trade-offs, apparency-defence trade-offs, resource acquisition trade-offs and stress-tolerance trade-offs. We also highlight where ecological strategies may differ between plants and ants. Furthermore, we consider how these strategies play out among the different modules of eusocial organisms, where selective forces act on the worker and reproductive castes, as well as the colony.Finally, we suggest future directions for ecological strategy research, including highlighting the availability of data and traits that may be more difficult to measure, but should receive more attention in future to better understand the ecological strategies of ants. The unique biology of eusocial organisms provides an unrivalled opportunity to bridge the gap in our understanding of ecological strategies in plants and animals and we hope that this perspective will ignite further interest. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heloise Gibb
- Department of Environment and Genetics and Centre for Future LandscapesLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVic.Australia
| | - Tom R. Bishop
- School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
| | - Lily Leahy
- Department of Environment and Genetics and Centre for Future LandscapesLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVic.Australia
| | - Catherine L. Parr
- Department of Zoology and EntomologyUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological SciencesUniversity of LiverpoolLiverpoolUK
| | | | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Jonathan Z. Shik
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of BiologyUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | | | - Ajay Narendra
- Department of Biological SciencesMacquarie UniversityNSWAustralia
| | - Robert R. Dunn
- Department of Applied EcologyNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNCUSA
| | - Ian J. Wright
- Department of Biological SciencesMacquarie UniversityNSWAustralia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the EnvironmentWestern Sydney UniversityPenrithNSWAustralia
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20
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Correlates of plant β-diversity in Atlantic Forest patches in the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, Northeastern Brazil. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467422000426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Understanding how vegetation structure and floristic composition vary across landscapes is fundamental to understand ecological patterns and for designing conservation actions. In a patch-landscape approach, we assessed the β-diversity (q0 order – rare species, q1 order – common species, and q2 order – dominant species) of plants between forest patches and surveyed plots in Atlantic Forest patches located in the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, northeastern Brazil. Furthermore, we tested the influence of predictor variables linked to landscape (forest cover and edge density) and habitat (basal area), as well as the geographical distance between forest patches and plots on the β-diversity in each forest patch and plot. We measured and identified a total of 1,682 individuals (trees and lianas), corresponding to 248 species, 116 genera, and 56 families in 10 plots (50 × 2 m) from each forest patch. The β-diversity presented lower values for the Mata de Água Azul patch at a landscape scale (i.e., between forest patches) and Mata dos Macacos patch at a site scale (i.e., between plots) for all orders. Geographical distance positively influenced the β-diversity at the landscape scale, and higher turnover between plots (e.g., within forest patches) was positively associated with differences in geographical distance, edge density, forest cover, and basal area. Our results indicate the need to conserve forest patches distributed across a wide area (distant sites) that encompass different landscape contexts with different vegetation structures, in order to conserve greater floristic diversity.
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Nobis A, Chmolowska D, Szymura TH, Nowak A, Nobis M. Towards a better understanding of linear species distribution in river valleys: The abundance of river corridor plants is linked to soil exchangeable potassium and pH. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 851:158292. [PMID: 36030864 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The phenomenon that some vascular plant species grow mainly or exclusively in the large river valleys of Central Europe constitutes a long-standing distribution puzzle. In our study, we focused on determining which physicochemical properties of soil affect the distribution of river corridor plant (RCP) species. Research that included RCP coverage, the physicochemical properties of soil as well as several topographic and spatial variables were conducted in 10 transects perpendicular to the San River (SE Poland). The sampled plots were located both in close proximity to the river, where the greatest number of RCP populations are concentrated, and along anthropogenic linear landscape elements which have proven to be important for RCP occurrence in areas located away from the riverbed. Spearman rank correlation matrices were constructed to observe the general relationships between particular variables and Boosted Regression Tree models were used for explaining RCP coverage. Our study indicated that in the case of plots located in proximity to the river, the expected coverage of RCP species was highest in plots characterized by a higher soil exchangeable potassium (K) content, as well as in those located closer to the San River and at lower altitudes. In plots situated along anthropogenic linear landscape elements, the expected coverage of RCPs was highest in plots with a high soil exchangeable K content and in those with a high soil pH. The analyses clearly showed that the physicochemical properties of soils indeed affect RCP species occurrence and they require soils with a high exchangeable K content and a high pH. Since these two soil parameters are closely related to soil fertility, and additionally K enhances root development, we suppose that both factors strengthen the competitiveness of RCPs in floodplain ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Nobis
- Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Dominika Chmolowska
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Tomasz H Szymura
- Department of Ecology, Biogeochemistry and Environmental Protection, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Arkadiusz Nowak
- Department of Botany and Nature Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland; Botanical Garden - Center for Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
| | - Marcin Nobis
- Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
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22
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Heijink BM, Mattijs QA, Valencia R, Philip AL, Piperno DR, McMichael CNH. Long‐term fire and vegetation change in northwestern Amazonia. Biotropica 2022; 55:197-209. [PMID: 37081906 PMCID: PMC10108220 DOI: 10.1111/btp.13175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Amazonian forest plots are used to quantify biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and provide the foundation for much of what is known about tropical ecology. Many plots are assumed to be undisturbed, but recent work suggests that past fire, forest openings, and cultivation created vegetation changes that have persisted for decades to centuries (ecological legacies). The Yasuní Forest Dynamics plot is one of the most biodiverse places on earth, yet its human history remains unknown. Here, we use charcoal and phytolith analysis to investigate the fire and vegetation history of the Yasuní forest plot, and compare results with nearby forest plots in Colombia (Amacayacu) and Peru (Medio Putumayo-Algodón [MPA]) to explore the spatial variability of past disturbances and ecological legacies in northwestern Amazonia. Three 14C dated charcoal fragments provided evidence for a modern (1956 CE) and a past fire event ca. 750 years ago at Yasuní, compared with fire ages of 1000-1600 years ago documented at Amacayacu and MPA. Small-scale disturbances and localized canopy openings also occurred in the Yasuní plot. Phytolith assemblages from Yasuní and Amacayacu showed more variability in past vegetation change than MPA. Low-intensity, non-continuous disturbances occurred at all three plots in the past, and our results highlight the variability of past human activities both in space and time in northwestern Amazonia. Our data also suggest that post-Columbian human disturbances from the Rubber Boom (AD 1850-1920) and subsequent oil exploration have likely left stronger ecological legacies than those left by pre-Columbian peoples in our studied regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Britte M. Heijink
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Quinten A. Mattijs
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Renato Valencia
- Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Quito Ecuador
| | - Annemarie L. Philip
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Dolores R. Piperno
- Department of Anthropology Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Washington District of Columbia USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Crystal N. H. McMichael
- Department of Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
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23
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Li P, Zhang J, Ding S, Yan P, Zhang P, Ding S. Environmental Effects on Taxonomic Turnover in Soil Fauna across Multiple Forest Ecosystems in East Asia. INSECTS 2022; 13:1103. [PMID: 36555013 PMCID: PMC9786105 DOI: 10.3390/insects13121103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The large-scale spatial variation in and causes of biotic turnover of soil fauna remain poorly understood. Analyses were conducted based on published data from 14 independent sampling sites across five forest ecosystems in East Asia. Jaccard and Sørensen's indices were used to measure turnover rates in soil fauna orders. A redundancy analysis was used to investigate multiple environmental controls of the composition of soil fauna communities. The results showed that both Jaccard's and Sørensen's index increased significantly with increasing latitude difference. The environment explained 54.1%, 50.6%, 57.3% and 50.9% of the total variance, and spatial factors explained 13.8%, 15.9%, 21.0% and 12.6% of the total variance in the orders' composition regarding overall, phytophagous, predatory and saprophagous fauna, respectively. In addition, climate factors in environmental processes were observed to have a stronger effect than soil factors on the orders' turnover rates. Our results support the hypothesis that the effect of environment factors on soil animal taxa turnover is more important than the effect of spatial factors. Climatic factors explained more variation in the turnover of phytophagic fauna, but soil and environment factors equally explained the variation in the turnover of predatory fauna. This study provides evidence to support both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation hypotheses at the regional and population scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peikun Li
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Shunping Ding
- Plant Sciences Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA
| | - Peisen Yan
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Panpan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Shengyan Ding
- Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
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24
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Flint I, Golding N, Vesk P, Wang Y, Xia A. The saturated pairwise interaction Gibbs point process as a joint species distribution model. J R Stat Soc Ser C Appl Stat 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rssc.12596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ian Flint
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria Australia
| | - Nick Golding
- School of Public Health Curtin University Perth West Australia Australia
| | - Peter Vesk
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria Australia
| | - Yan Wang
- School of Science RMIT University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Aihua Xia
- School of Mathematics and Statistics The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria Australia
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25
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Tree mycorrhizal type mediates conspecific negative density dependence effects on seedling herbivory, growth, and survival. Oecologia 2022; 199:907-918. [PMID: 35920917 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05224-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Tree mycorrhizal type plays an important role in promoting plant species diversity and coexistence, via its mediating role in conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD), i.e., the process by which an individual's performance is impaired by the density of conspecific plants. Previous findings suggest that ectomycorrhizal (EM) tree species are generally less susceptible to CNDD than arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) tree species, due to the chemical and physical protection that EM fungi provide their host with. We examined how CNDD effects on leaf herbivory, seedling growth, and survival differ between AM and EM seedlings of ten tree species collected over 3 years in an old-growth temperate forest in northeastern China. We found that AM and EM seedlings differed in how conspecific density affected their leaf herbivory, seedling growth, and survival. Specifically, AM seedlings leaf herbivory rates significantly increased with increasing conspecific seedling and adult density, and their growth and survival rates decreased with increasing conspecific adult density, these patterns were, however, absent in EM seedlings. Our work suggests that AM seedlings have a performance disadvantage relative to EM seedlings related to the negative effects from conspecific neighbors. We highlight the importance of integrating information on seedling leaf herbivory, seedling growth, to provide further understanding on potential mechanisms driving differences in CNDD between AM and EM tree seedlings.
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He YY, Srisombut K, Xing DL, Swenson NG, Asefa M, Cao M, Song XY, Wen HD, Yang J. Ontogenetic trait variation and metacommunity effects influence species relative abundances during tree community assembly. PLANT DIVERSITY 2022; 44:360-368. [PMID: 35967256 PMCID: PMC9363650 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2021.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Predicting species abundance is one of the most fundamental pursuits of ecology. Combining the information encoded in functional traits and metacommunities provides a new perspective to predict the abundance of species in communities. We applied a community assembly via trait selection model to predict quadrat-scale species abundances using functional trait variation on ontogenetic stages and metacommunity information for over 490 plant species in a subtropical forest and a lowland tropical forest in Yunnan, China. The relative importance of trait-based selection, mass effects, and stochasticity in shaping local species abundances is evaluated using different null models. We found both mass effects and trait selection contribute to local abundance patterns. Trait selection was detectable at all studied spatial scales (0.04-1 ha), with its strength stronger at larger scales and in the subtropical forest. In contrast, the importance of stochasticity decreased with spatial scale. A significant mass effect of the metacommunity was observed at small spatial scales. Our results indicate that tree community assembly is primarily driven by ontogenetic traits and metacommunity effects. Our findings also demonstrate that including ontogenetic trait variation into predictive frameworks allows ecologists to infer ecological mechanisms operating in community assembly at the individual level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Yun He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kwansupa Srisombut
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Ding-Liang Xing
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Nanthan G. Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Mengesha Asefa
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiao-Yang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Han-Dong Wen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Jie Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
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27
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Al-Amro AM, Al-Qahtani SM. Plant diversity in Sabkha ecosystems of arid region: spatial and environmental drivers. BRAZ J BIOL 2022; 82:e262331. [PMID: 35703636 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.262331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of spatial and environmental factors and their interactions on plant species composition in salt marsh (Sabkha) ecosystem located in arid region (Saudi Arabia). The plant species and environmental variables were investigated in 38 sites located in three regions. A total of 15 environmental variables were measured in each site and the geographical coordinates were used to extract spatial variables (using PCNM). A total of 81plant species were reported from 38 sites. The three regions showed patterns of homogeneity of multivariate dispersions (i.e. beta diversity). The PCNM analysis extracted 18 PCNM vectors and only 3 vectors were retained after forward selection. The spatial variables (selected PCNM vectors) explained only 3.21% of the variation in species composition of plants (using variation partitioning technique). However, eight environmental variables were selected after forward selection (Lead, Copper, total organic matter, Potassium, Magnesium, pH, Zinc and Iron, F= 4.72, P<0.05) and explained 19.61% of the total variation in the species composition. In conclusion, the plant communities in Sabkhas were not spatially structured due to the low percentage of variation explained by the spatial variables (PCNM vectors). The environmental variables were corresponded to the high fraction of variation explained. On the other hand, Sabkhas in Saudi Arabia are considered a hot spot for diversity not only for plants but for other animals (birds, vertebrates and invertebrates). Therefore, immediate conservation plans should be implemented to reduce the adverse effect of urbanization, industrialization as well as other anthropogenic activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Al-Amro
- King Saud University, College of Science, Botany and Microbiology Department, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - S M Al-Qahtani
- Tabuk University, University College of Taymma, Biology Department, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
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Da R, Hao M, Qiao X, Zhang C, Zhao X. Unravelling Trait-Environment Relationships at Local and Regional Scales in Temperate Forests. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:907839. [PMID: 35707613 PMCID: PMC9189410 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.907839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the trait-environment relationships has been a core ecological research topic in the face of global climate change. However, the strength of trait-environment relationships at the local and regional scales in temperate forests remains poorly known. In this study, we investigated the local and regional scale forest plots of the natural broad-leaved temperate forest in northeastern China, to assess what extent community-level trait composition depends on environmental drivers across spatial scales. We measured five key functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf carbon content, leaf nitrogen content, and wood density) of woody plant, and quantified functional compositions of communities by calculating the "specific" community-weighted mean (CWM) traits. The sum of squares decomposition method was used to quantify the relative contribution of intraspecific trait variation to total trait variation among communities. Multiple linear regression model was then used to explore the community-level trait-environment relationships. We found that (i) intraspecific trait variation contributed considerably to total trait variation and decreased with the spatial scale from local to regional; (ii) functional composition was mainly affected by soil and topography factors at the local scale and climate factor at the regional scale, while explaining that variance of environment factors were decreased with increasing spatial scale; and (iii) the main environment driver of functional composition was varied depending on the traits and spatial scale. This work is one of the few multi-scale analyses to investigate the environmental drivers of community functional compositions. The extent of intraspecific trait variation and the strength of trait-environment relationship showed consistent trends with increasing spatial scale. Our findings demonstrate the influence of environmental filtering on both local- and regional-scale temperate forest communities, and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of trait-environment relationships across spatial scales.
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Bartholomew DC, Banin LF, Bittencourt PRL, Suis MAF, Mercado LM, Nilus R, Burslem DFRP, Rowland LR. Differential nutrient limitation and tree height control leaf physiology, supporting niche partitioning in tropical dipterocarp forests. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D. C. Bartholomew
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science Umeå University Umeå Sweden
| | - L. F. Banin
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Penicuik Midlothian UK
| | | | - M. A. F. Suis
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, P.O. Box 1407, 90715 Sandakan Sabah Malaysia
| | - L. M. Mercado
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Wallingford UK
| | - R. Nilus
- Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, P.O. Box 1407, 90715 Sandakan Sabah Malaysia
| | | | - L. R. Rowland
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
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Beta Diversity Patterns Unlock the Community Assembly of Woody Plant Communities in the Riparian Zone. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13050673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Beta diversity refers to changes in community composition across time and space, including species richness and replacement. Few studies have examined beta diversity patterns of riparian vegetation communities in terms of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional attributes. In this study, we conducted a field survey of woody plant communities in the riparian zone of the Lijiang River Basin in China. We analyze variations in taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional beta diversity, the relative contributions of species richness and replacement to beta diversity and the relationships between beta diversity and environmental distance and geographical distance. The results show that: (1) replacement was the dominant component of taxonomic beta diversity and richness was the dominant component of functional and phylogenetic beta diversity; and (2) dispersal limitation and habitat filtering jointly drive the community assembly of woody plant communities in the riparian zone of the Lijiang River Basin. Therefore, when formulating conservation strategies for woody plants along the Lijiang River riparian zone, improving ecological communities and enhancing species dispersal between communities should be given equal attention. From a taxonomic perspective, it is more suitable to establish several small nature reserves, whereas from phylogenetic and functional perspectives, protection should focus on larger nature reserves.
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Zambrano J, Arellano G, Swenson NG, Staniczenko PPA, Thompson J, Fagan WF. Analyses of three-dimensional species associations reveal departures from neutrality in a tropical forest. Ecology 2022; 103:e3681. [PMID: 35315513 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The study of community spatial structure is central to understanding diversity patterns over space and species co-occurrence at local scales. While most analytical approaches consider horizontal and vertical dimensions separately, in this study we introduce a three-dimensional spatial analysis that simultaneously includes horizontal and vertical species associations. Using tree census data (2000 to 2016) and allometries from the Luquillo forest plot in Puerto Rico, we show that spatial organization becomes less random over time as the forest recovered from land-use legacy effects and hurricane disturbance. Tree species vertical segregation is predominant in the forest with almost all species that co-occur in the horizontal plane avoiding each other in the vertical dimension. Horizontal segregation is less common than vertical, while three-dimensional aggregation (a proxy for direct tree competition) is the least frequent type of spatial association. Furthermore, dominant species are involved in more non-random spatial associations, implying that species co-occurrence is facilitated by species segregation in space. This novel three-dimensional analysis allowed us to identify and quantify tree species spatial distributions, how interspecific competition was reduced through forest structure, and how it changed over time after disturbance, in ways not detectable from two-dimensional analyses alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Zambrano
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, U.S.A
| | - Gabriel Arellano
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.,Oikobit LLC, www.oikobit.com
| | - Nathan G Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, U.S.A
| | | | - Jill Thompson
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Scotland
| | - William F Fagan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, U.S.A.,National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A
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Plant Diversity and Soil Nutrients in a Tropical Coastal Secondary Forest: Association Ordination and Sampling Year Differences. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13030376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Studying the patterns of changes in species diversity and soil properties can improve our knowledge of community succession. However, there is still a gap in understanding how soil conditions are related to plant diversity in tropical coastal secondary forests. We sampled plant diversity and soil nutrients spanning two different years (2012 and 2019) to assess the patterns of species diversity and relationships of soil nutrients and species diversity on Hainan Island, southern China. Results showed that the soil pH and total nitrogen (TN) significantly decreased while the soil organic matter (OM) and total phosphorus (TP) significantly increased from 2012 to 2019. Plant species diversity was significantly higher in 2012 than in 2019, and the dominant species significantly changed in two different years. Using multiple regression analysis, we determined that soil TP and TN were significantly related to plant diversity in 2012 and 2019, respectively. Using CCA analysis, TN and OM were the strongest predictors for dominant species in 2012, whereas the soil TP and TN were the strongest predictors for dominant species in 2019. Our findings show a significant change in plant diversity and dominant species after 7 years of development in the tropical coastal secondary forest. The patterns of plant diversity and soil nutrients increase our knowledge of forest restoration in coastal areas.
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Do Spatially Structured Soil Variables Influence the Plant Diversity in Tabuk Arid Region, Saudi Arabia? SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14052611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Plant diversity is affected by spatial variables as well as soil physical and chemical variables. In this study, plant species and soil variables were investigated in five sites of Tabuk Province (Saudi Arabia), namely Aldesah, Alzetah, Alawz, Harra and Sharma, to understand if the spatially structured soil variables (pH, electric conductivity (EC), soil texture, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, phosphate, total organic matter (OM), bicarbonate and sodium) influence the plant diversity. A total of 163 plant species belong to 41 families and 124 genera were reported from the 5 sites. Diversity indices including the species richness (alpha), evenness, Brillouin, Menhinick, Margalef, equitability and estimated Chao-1 were significantly different among the studied sites with pronounced high values in Sharma and Aldesah. The highest value of beta diversity was reported in Aldesah (0.253) followed by Sharma (0.171). According to the principal coordinates of neighbourhood matrix (PCNM) analysis, 11 positive spatial vectors (variables) were found. However, after running the forward selection procedures (using 2 stopping criteria), only 3 spatial vectors were retained (PCNM 1 (adj–R2 = 0.043, F = 5.201, p = 0.004), PCNM 2 (adj–R2 = 0.027, F = 3.97, p = 0.006) and PCNM 3 (adj–R2 = 0.019, F = 3.36, p = 0.007)). The linear models between the selected spatial variables (PCNM vectors) and soil variables were produced to investigate their spatial structure. In the first model, the first PCNM 1 axis showed significant relationship with pH and potassium (adj–R2 = 0.175, p = 0.046). In the second model, the second PCNM 2 axis had a significant relationship with OM and sodium (adj–R2 = 0.561, p < 0.001). Lastly, sodium was the only factor significantly correlated with the third PCNM 3 axis (adj–R2 = 0.365, p = 0.002). In conclusion, the spatially structured variables of soil did not show strong influence on plant diversity except pH and potassium, which were correlated with PCNM 1, OM and sodium, which were correlated with PCNM 2, and sodium, which was correlated with PCNM 3.
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He Y, Liu H, Yang Q, Cao Y, Yin H, Zhou Z, Yu Q, Wang X. Neighborhood Effects on Tree Mortality Depend on Life Stage of Neighbors. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:838046. [PMID: 35273630 PMCID: PMC8902350 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.838046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Neighborhood effects are a crucial ecological processes that allow species to coexist in a forest. Conspecific and heterospecific neighbors, as major group classifications, affect tree mortality through various mechanisms associated with neighbor life stages. However, the influence of neighbor life stages on neighborhood effects and by what mechanisms remains a knowledge gap. Here we censused the mortality of 82,202 trees belonging to 30 species in a 20-ha subtropical forest and classified their neighbors into the following life stages: earlier, same and later. Next, we implemented generalized linear mixed models to estimate the effect of neighbors at different life stages on tree mortality. Our results showed that conspecific later stage neighbors had a positive effect on tree mortality overall, while conspecific earlier stage neighbors had a negative effect on tree mortality. Furthermore, these opposing effects appear to offset each other so that the overall effect of conspecific neighbors on tree mortality is weakened. In contrast, heterospecific neighbors had a decreasing effect on tree mortality overall. These effects are consistent with those of later stage heterospecific neighbors. Our findings demonstrate that neighbors strongly impact tree mortality, and their specific effects are closely related to neighbor life stages. Further, any single effect from one neighbor life stage may disturb or dominate the total effects of the neighbors. Therefore, the neighbors must be divided into different life stages to best explain the neighborhood effect on forest dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Heming Liu
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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Li Y, Xu H, Chen J, Xiao Y, Ni Y, Zhang R, Ye W, Lian J. Effects of soil resource availability on patterns of plant functional traits across spatial scales. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8587. [PMID: 35222961 PMCID: PMC8844114 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying patterns and drivers of plant community assembly has long been a central issue in ecology. Many studies have explored the above questions using a trait‐based approach; however, there are still unknowns around how patterns of plant functional traits vary with environmental gradients. In this study, the responses of individual and multivariate trait dispersions of 134 species to soil resource availability were examined based on correlational analysis and torus‐translation tests across four spatial scales in a subtropical forest, China. Results indicated that different degrees of soil resource availability had different effects on trait dispersions. Specifically, limited resource (available phosphorus) showed negative relationships with trait dispersions, non‐limited resource (available potassium) showed positive relationships with trait dispersions, and saturated resource (available nitrogen) had no effect on trait dispersions. Moreover, compared with the stem (wood density) and architectural trait (maximum height), we found that leaf functional traits can well reflect the response of plants to nutrient gradients. Lastly, the spatial scale only affected the magnitude but not the direction of the correlations between trait dispersions and environmental gradients. Overall, the results highlight the importance of soil resource availability and spatial scale in understanding how plant functional traits respond to environmental gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanpeng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens Chinese Academy of Sciences GuangzhouChina
- Forest Ecology Research Center Research Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry GuangzhouChina
| | - Han Xu
- Forest Ecology Research Center Research Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry GuangzhouChina
| | - Jie Chen
- Forest Ecology Research Center Research Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry GuangzhouChina
| | - Yihua Xiao
- Forest Ecology Research Center Research Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry GuangzhouChina
| | - Yunlong Ni
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens Chinese Academy of Sciences GuangzhouChina
| | - Ruyun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens Chinese Academy of Sciences GuangzhouChina
| | - Wanhui Ye
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens Chinese Academy of Sciences GuangzhouChina
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) GuangzhouChina
| | - Juyu Lian
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens Chinese Academy of Sciences GuangzhouChina
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) GuangzhouChina
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Manu R, Corre MD, Aleeje A, Mwanjalolo MJG, Babweteera F, Veldkamp E, van Straaten O. Responses of tree growth and biomass production to nutrient addition in a semi-deciduous tropical forest in Africa. Ecology 2022; 103:e3659. [PMID: 35129838 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Experimental evidence of nutrient limitations on primary productivity in Afrotropical forests is rare and globally underrepresented, yet are crucial for understanding constraints to terrestrial carbon uptake. In an ecosystem-scale nutrient manipulation experiment, we assessed the early responses of tree growth rates among different tree sizes, taxonomic species and at a community level in a humid tropical forest in Uganda. Following a full factorial design, we established 32 (eight treatments × four replicates) experimental plots of 40 m × 40 m each. We added nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), their combinations (NP, NK, PK, and NPK) and control at the rates of 125 kg N.ha-1 .yr-1 , 50 kg P.ha-1 .yr-1 and 50 kg K.ha-1 .yr-1 , split into four equal applications, and measured stem growth of more than 15,000 trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 1 cm. After two years, the response of tree stem growth to nutrient additions was dependent on tree sizes, species and leaf habit but not community-wide. First, tree stem growth increased under N additions, primarily among medium-sized trees (10-30 cm DBH), and in trees of Lasiodiscus mildbraedii in the second year of the experiment. Second, K limitation was evident in semi-deciduous trees, which increased stem growth by 46% in +K than -K treatments, following a strong, prolonged dry season during the first year of the experiment. This highlights the key role of K in stomatal regulation and maintenance of water balance in trees, particularly under water-stressed conditions. Third, the role of P in promoting tree growth and carbon accumulation rates in this forest on highly weathered soils was rather not pronounced; nonetheless, mortality among saplings (1-5 cm DBH) was reduced by 30% in +P than in -P treatments. Although stem growth responses to nutrient interaction effects were positive or negative (likely depending on nutrient combinations and climate variability), our results underscore the fact that, in a highly diverse forest ecosystem, multiple nutrients and not one single nutrient regulate tree growth and aboveground carbon uptake due to varying nutrient requirements and acquisition strategies of different tree sizes, species and leaf habits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Manu
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Marife D Corre
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Alfred Aleeje
- Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Majaliwa J G Mwanjalolo
- Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Climate Sciences, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.,Regional FORUM for capacity building in Agriculture-RUFORUM, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Fred Babweteera
- Department of Forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda.,Budongo Conservation Field Station, P.O. Box 362, Masindi, Uganda
| | - Edzo Veldkamp
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Oliver van Straaten
- Department of Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Georg-August University of Goettingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.,Johann Heinrich von Thuenen Institute, Institute for Forest Ecosystems, Alfred-Möller-Straße 1, Eberswalde, Germany
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Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region. Fungal Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-12994-0_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
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Martini F, Zou C, Song X, Goodale UM. Abiotic Drivers of Seedling Bank Diversity in Subtropical Forests of Southern China. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.784036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abiotic factors are important to shape plant community composition and diversity through processes described as environmental filtering. Most studies on plant diversity in forests focus on adult trees, while the abiotic drivers of forest seedling community characteristics are less understood. Here, we studied seedling banks’ composition, richness, diversity, and abundance, and investigated their relationships with microsite abiotic conditions along a wide elevational gradient. We sampled seedling communities in 312 1-m2 quadrats, distributed in 13 one-ha plots in four subtropical forests in south China, covering an elevation gradient of 1500 m, for 2 years. We measured light availability, slope, and 11 soil nutrients for each seedling quadrat. We used analysis of similarities and multivariate analysis of variance to compare the composition and abiotic drivers of the four forests’ seedling communities. We then used mixed models and structural equation modeling to test the direct and indirect effects of abiotic factors on seedling species richness, diversity, and abundance. The differences in seedling community composition among these forests were mostly explained by differences in elevations and soil nutrients. Seedling diversity as Shannon and Simpson diversity index decreased with increasing elevation and increased with increasing slope, but seedling abundance and species richness did not. Elevation had an indirect effect on Simpson’s diversity index through modulating the direct effects of soil properties. Our findings show that soil properties play a prominent role in favoring differentiation in species composition among the four forests we studied and provide additional evidence to decreasing species diversity with elevation. However, this was reflected in decreasing Shannon and Simpson indices rather than species richness, which is more commonly studied. Whether and to what extent future environmental changes in climate and soil acidification will alter future forest composition and diversity needs to be investigated.
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Luambua NK, Hubau W, Salako KV, Amani C, Bonyoma B, Musepena D, Rousseau M, Bourland N, Nshimba HS, Ewango C, Beeckman H, Hardy OJ. Spatial patterns of light-demanding tree species in the Yangambi rainforest (Democratic Republic of Congo). Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18691-18707. [PMID: 35003702 PMCID: PMC8717288 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 07/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Most Central African rainforests are characterized by a remarkable abundance of light-demanding canopy species: long-lived pioneers (LLP) and non-pioneer light demanders (NPLD). A popular explanation is that these forests are still recovering from intense slash-and-burn farming activities, which abruptly ended in the 19th century. This "human disturbance" hypothesis has never been tested against spatial distribution patterns of these light demanders. Here, we focus on the 28 most abundant LLP and NPLD from 250 one-ha plots distributed along eight parallel transects (~50 km) in the Yangambi forest. Four species of short-lived pioneers (SLP) and a single abundant shade-tolerant species (Gilbertiodendron dewevrei) were used as reference because they are known to be strongly aggregated in recently disturbed patches (SLP) or along watercourses (G. dewevrei). Results show that SLP species are strongly aggregated with clear spatial autocorrelation of their diameter. This confirms that they colonized the patch following a one-time disturbance event. In contrast, LLP and NPLD species have random or weakly aggregated distribution, mostly without spatial autocorrelation of their diameter. This does not unambiguously confirm the "human disturbance" hypothesis. Alternatively, their abundance might be explained by their deciduousness, which gave them a competitive advantage during long-term drying of the late Holocene. Additionally, a canonical correspondence analysis showed that the observed LLP and NPLD distributions are not explained by environmental variables, strongly contrasting with the results for the reference species G. dewevrei, which is clearly aggregated along watercourses. We conclude that the abundance of LLP and NPLD species in Yangambi cannot be unambiguously attributed to past human disturbances or environmental variables. An alternative explanation is that present-day forest composition is a result of adaptation to late-Holocene drying. However, results are inconclusive and additional data are needed to confirm this alternative hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nestor K. Luambua
- Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources ManagementUniversity of KisanganiKisanganiDemocratic Republic of Congo
- Service of Wood BiologyRoyal Museum for Central AfricaTervurenBelgium
- Faculté des sciences AgronomiquesUniversité Officielle de MbujimayiMbujimayiDemocratic Republic of Congo
| | - Wannes Hubau
- Service of Wood BiologyRoyal Museum for Central AfricaTervurenBelgium
- Department of EnvironmentLaboratory of Wood TechnologyFaculty of Bioscience EngineeringGhent UniversityGhentBelgium
- School of GeographyUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Kolawolé Valère Salako
- Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations ForestièresFaculty of Agronomic SciencesUniversity of Abomey‐CalaviCotonouBenin
- Service d'Évolution Biologique et ÉcologieUniversité Libre de BruxellesBrusselsBelgium
| | - Christian Amani
- Faculty of Sciences and Applied SciencesUniversité Officielle de Bukavu Departement de la BiologieBukavuDemocratic Republic of Congo
- Center for International Forestry ResearchBogor (Barat)Indonesia
| | - Bernard Bonyoma
- Section de la ForesterieInstitut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche AgronomiqueYangambiDemocratic Republic of Congo
| | - Donatien Musepena
- Section de la ForesterieInstitut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche AgronomiqueYangambiDemocratic Republic of Congo
| | - Mélissa Rousseau
- Service of Wood BiologyRoyal Museum for Central AfricaTervurenBelgium
| | - Nils Bourland
- Service of Wood BiologyRoyal Museum for Central AfricaTervurenBelgium
- Center for International Forestry ResearchBogor (Barat)Indonesia
- Resources & Synergies Development Pte LtdSingaporeSingapore
| | - Hippolyte S.M. Nshimba
- Department of Ecology and Flora Resources ManagementFaculty of SciencesUniversity of KisanganiKisanganiDemocratic Republic of Congo
| | - Corneille Ewango
- Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources ManagementUniversity of KisanganiKisanganiDemocratic Republic of Congo
| | - Hans Beeckman
- Service of Wood BiologyRoyal Museum for Central AfricaTervurenBelgium
| | - Olivier J. Hardy
- Service d'Évolution Biologique et ÉcologieUniversité Libre de BruxellesBrusselsBelgium
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Cowan JA, Gehring CA, Ilstedt U, Grady KC. Host identity and neighborhood trees affect belowground microbial communities in a tropical rainforest. Trop Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42965-021-00203-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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41
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Using Airborne Laser Scanning to Characterize Land-Use Systems in a Tropical Landscape Based on Vegetation Structural Metrics. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13234794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Many Indonesian forests have been cleared and replaced by fast-growing cash crops (e.g., oil palm and rubber plantations), altering the vegetation structure of entire regions. Complex vegetation structure provides habitat niches to a large number of native species. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) can provide detailed three-dimensional information on vegetation structure. Here, we investigate the potential of ALS metrics to highlight differences across a gradient of land-use management intensities in Sumatra, Indonesia. We focused on tropical rainforests, jungle rubber, rubber plantations, oil palm plantations and transitional lands. Twenty-two ALS metrics were extracted from 183 plots. Analysis included a principal component analysis (PCA), analysis of variance (ANOVAs) and random forest (RF) characterization of the land use/land cover (LULC). Results from the PCA indicated that a greater number of canopy gaps are associated with oil palm plantations, while a taller stand height and higher vegetation structural metrics were linked with rainforest and jungle rubber. A clear separation in metrics performance between forest (including rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm was evident from the metrics pairwise comparison, with rubber plantations and transitional land behaving similar to forests (rainforest and jungle rubber) and oil palm plantations, according to different metrics. Lastly, two RF models were carried out: one using all five land uses (5LU), and one using four, merging jungle rubber with rainforest (4LU). The 5LU model resulted in a lower overall accuracy (51.1%) due to mismatches between jungle rubber and forest, while the 4LU model resulted in a higher accuracy (72.2%). Our results show the potential of ALS metrics to characterize different LULCs, which can be used to track changes in land use and their effect on ecosystem functioning, biodiversity and climate.
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42
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Peguero G, Ferrín M, Sardans J, Verbruggen E, Ramírez-Rojas I, Van Langenhove L, Verryckt LT, Murienne J, Iribar A, Zinger L, Grau O, Orivel J, Stahl C, Courtois EA, Asensio D, Gargallo-Garriga A, Llusià J, Margalef O, Ogaya R, Richter A, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Decay of similarity across tropical forest communities: integrating spatial distance with soil nutrients. Ecology 2021; 103:e03599. [PMID: 34816429 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms that drive the change of biotic assemblages over space and time is the main quest of community ecology. Assessing the relative importance of dispersal and environmental species selection in a range of organismic sizes and motilities has been a fruitful strategy. A consensus for whether spatial and environmental distances operate similarly across spatial scales and taxa, however, has yet to emerge. We used censuses of four major groups of organisms (soil bacteria, fungi, ground insects, and trees) at two observation scales (1-m2 sampling point vs. 2,500-m2 plots) in a topographically standardized sampling design replicated in two tropical rainforests with contrasting relationships between spatial distance and nutrient availability. We modeled the decay of assemblage similarity for each taxon set and site to assess the relative contributions of spatial distance and nutrient availability distance. Then, we evaluated the potentially structuring effect of tree composition over all other taxa. The similarity of nutrient content in the litter and topsoil had a stronger and more consistent selective effect than did dispersal limitation, particularly for bacteria, fungi, and trees at the plot level. Ground insects, the only group assessed with the capacity of active dispersal, had the highest species turnover and the flattest nonsignificant distance-decay relationship, suggesting that neither dispersal limitation nor nutrient availability were fundamental drivers of their community assembly at this scale of analysis. Only the fungal communities at one of our study sites were clearly coordinated with tree composition. The spatial distance at the smallest scale was more important than nutrient selection for the bacteria, fungi, and insects. The lower initial similarity and the moderate variation in composition identified by these distance-decay models, however, suggested that the effects of stochastic sampling were important at this smaller spatial scale. Our results highlight the importance of nutrients as one of the main environmental drivers of rainforest communities irrespective of organismic or propagule size and how the overriding effect of the analytical scale influences the interpretation, leading to the perception of greater importance of dispersal limitation and ecological drift over selection associated with environmental niches at decreasing observation scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guille Peguero
- Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.,CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Miquel Ferrín
- Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain.,CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Erik Verbruggen
- Department of Biology, Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Irene Ramírez-Rojas
- Department of Biology, Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Leandro Van Langenhove
- Department of Biology, Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Lore T Verryckt
- Department of Biology, Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Jerome Murienne
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (UMR5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Amaia Iribar
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (UMR5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Lucie Zinger
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Université Paris, Paris, France
| | - Oriol Grau
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.,UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310, Kourou, France
| | - Jerome Orivel
- UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310, Kourou, France
| | - Clément Stahl
- UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310, Kourou, France
| | - Elodie A Courtois
- Laboratoire Ecologie, évolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens (LEEISA), Université de Guyane, CNRS, IFREMER, 97300, Cayenne, France
| | - Dolores Asensio
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Joan Llusià
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Olga Margalef
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Romà Ogaya
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Andreas Richter
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- Department of Biology, Centre of Excellence PLECO (Plants and Ecosystems), University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, 08913, Bellaterra, Spain.,CREAF, 08913, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
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43
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Pulla S, Suresh H, Dattaraja H, Sukumar R. Plant dynamics in a tropical dry forest are strongly associated with climate and fire and weakly associated with stabilizing neighborhood effects. Oecologia 2021; 197:699-713. [PMID: 34713303 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05066-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Studies comparing the relative strengths of multiple key drivers of forest dynamics are rare, but can inform both our fundamental understanding of plant communities as well as community-ecology theory. We studied the dynamics of a woody plant community in a southern Indian seasonally-dry tropical forest (SDTF) in relation to environmental factors (precipitation, temperature, fire, soil nutrients, and topography) and conspecific and heterospecific plant neighborhoods to identify which of these best predicted recruitment, survival and growth of dominant species over a 24-year study period. We also assessed the relative prevalence of density-independent and density-dependent responses in the community. Climate and fire were more important than plant neighborhoods and topographic and edaphic variables in explaining variation in plant performance. Recruitment, survival and growth were lower during periods of low precipitation and immediately following fires. Recruitment increased, and growth and survival largely decreased, with increasing temperatures. Smaller-sized individuals were disproportionately strongly affected by the vagaries of climate and fire. Conspecific negative density-dependence, a population-fluctuation stabilizing process, was relatively unimportant. Density-dependent effects decayed rapidly with distance from the focal plant (growth, survival) or quadrat (recruitment); positive density-dependence was frequently found in recruitment, possibly resulting from limited dispersal and/or facilitation. Woody plant dynamics in this SDTF appear to be responding largely to fluctuations in environmental conditions, particularly precipitation, temperature, and fire. In contrast to wetter forests, population-fluctuation stabilizing processes in this ecosystem appear to be relatively weak. Changes in climatic or fire regimes are likely to result in large compositional shifts in this SDTF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep Pulla
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India
- Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India
| | - Hebbalalu Suresh
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India
- Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India
| | - Handanakere Dattaraja
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India
| | - Raman Sukumar
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India.
- Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, 560012, India.
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44
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Gargallo-Garriga A, Sardans J, Alrefaei AF, Klem K, Fuchslueger L, Ramírez-Rojas I, Donald J, Leroy C, Langenhove LV, Verbruggen E, Janssens IA, Urban O, Peñuelas J. Tree Species and Epiphyte Taxa Determine the " Metabolomic niche" of Canopy Suspended Soils in a Species-Rich Lowland Tropical Rainforest. Metabolites 2021; 11:718. [PMID: 34822376 PMCID: PMC8621298 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11110718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical forests are biodiversity hotspots, but it is not well understood how this diversity is structured and maintained. One hypothesis rests on the generation of a range of metabolic niches, with varied composition, supporting a high species diversity. Characterizing soil metabolomes can reveal fine-scale differences in composition and potentially help explain variation across these habitats. In particular, little is known about canopy soils, which are unique habitats that are likely to be sources of additional biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling in tropical forests. We studied the effects of diverse tree species and epiphytes on soil metabolomic profiles of forest floor and canopy suspended soils in a French Guianese rainforest. We found that the metabolomic profiles of canopy suspended soils were distinct from those of forest floor soils, differing between epiphyte-associated and non-epiphyte suspended soils, and the metabolomic profiles of suspended soils varied with host tree species, regardless of association with epiphyte. Thus, tree species is a key driver of rainforest suspended soil metabolomics. We found greater abundance of metabolites in suspended soils, particularly in groups associated with plants, such as phenolic compounds, and with metabolic pathways related to amino acids, nucleotides, and energy metabolism, due to the greater relative proportion of tree and epiphyte organic material derived from litter and root exudates, indicating a strong legacy of parent biological material. Our study provides evidence for the role of tree and epiphyte species in canopy soil metabolomic composition and in maintaining the high levels of soil metabolome diversity in this tropical rainforest. It is likely that a wide array of canopy microsite-level environmental conditions, which reflect interactions between trees and epiphytes, increase the microscale diversity in suspended soil metabolomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Gargallo-Garriga
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (J.S.); (K.K.); (O.U.)
- Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Bellaterra, 08193 Catalonia, Spain;
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (J.S.); (K.K.); (O.U.)
- Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Bellaterra, 08193 Catalonia, Spain;
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain
| | - Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Karel Klem
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (J.S.); (K.K.); (O.U.)
| | - Lucia Fuchslueger
- Centre of Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria;
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, BE-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; (I.R.-R.); (L.V.L.); (E.V.); (I.A.J.)
| | - Irene Ramírez-Rojas
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, BE-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; (I.R.-R.); (L.V.L.); (E.V.); (I.A.J.)
| | - Julian Donald
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK;
| | - Celine Leroy
- AMAP, University Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, 34000 Montpellier, France;
- ECOFOG, CNRS, CIRAD, AgroParisTech, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310 Kourou, France
| | - Leandro Van Langenhove
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, BE-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; (I.R.-R.); (L.V.L.); (E.V.); (I.A.J.)
| | - Erik Verbruggen
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, BE-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; (I.R.-R.); (L.V.L.); (E.V.); (I.A.J.)
| | - Ivan A. Janssens
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, BE-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; (I.R.-R.); (L.V.L.); (E.V.); (I.A.J.)
| | - Otmar Urban
- Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, CZ-60300 Brno, Czech Republic; (J.S.); (K.K.); (O.U.)
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Bellaterra, 08193 Catalonia, Spain;
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain
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45
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Schmitt S, Tysklind N, Hérault B, Heuertz M. Topography drives microgeographic adaptations of closely related species in two tropical tree species complexes. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:5080-5093. [PMID: 34387001 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Closely related tree species that grow in sympatry are abundant in rainforests. However, little is known of the eco-evolutionary processes that govern their niches and local coexistence. We assessed genetic species delimitation in closely related sympatric species belonging to two Neotropical tree species complexes and investigated their genomic adaptation to a fine-scale topographic gradient with associated edaphic and hydrologic features. Combining LiDAR-derived topography, tree inventories, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from gene capture experiments, we explored genome-wide population genetic structure, covariation of environmental variables, and genotype-environment association to assess microgeographic adaptations to topography within the species complexes Symphonia (Clusiaceae), and Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) with three species per complex and 385 and 257 individuals genotyped, respectively. Within species complexes, closely related tree species had different realized optima for topographic niches defined through the topographic wetness index or the relative elevation, and species displayed genetic signatures of adaptations to these niches. Symphonia species were genetically differentiated along water and nutrient distribution particularly in genes responding to water deprivation, whereas Eschweilera species were genetically differentiated according to soil chemistry. Our results suggest that varied topography represents a powerful driver of processes modulating tropical forest biodiversity with differential adaptations that stabilize local coexistence of closely related tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Schmitt
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, Cirad, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, 97310, Kourou, French Guiana, France.,Univ. Bordeaux, INRAE, BIOGECO, 69 route d'Arcachon, 33610, Cestas, France
| | - Niklas Tysklind
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG (Agroparistech, CNRS, Cirad, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, 97310, Kourou, French Guiana, France
| | - Bruno Hérault
- CIRAD, UR Forêts et Sociétés, Yamoussoukro Côte d'Ivoire, France.,Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France.,Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny, INP-HB, Yamoussoukro Côte d'Ivoire, France
| | - Myriam Heuertz
- Univ. Bordeaux, INRAE, BIOGECO, 69 route d'Arcachon, 33610, Cestas, France
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46
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Oliveira GDC, Arruda DM, Fernandes Filho EI, Veloso GV, Francelino MR, Schaefer CEGR. Soil predictors are crucial for modelling vegetation distribution and its responses to climate change. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 780:146680. [PMID: 34030320 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Bioclimatic envelope models have been extensively used to predict the vegetation dynamics in response to climate changes. However, they are prone to the uncertainties arising from General Circulation Models (GCMs), classification algorithms and predictors, with low-resolution results and little detail at the regional level. Novel research has focused on the improvement of these models through a combination of climate and soil predictors to enhance ecological consistency. In this framework, we aimed to apply a joint edaphoclimatic envelope to predict the current and future vegetation distribution in the semiarid region of Brazil, which encompasses several classes of vegetation in response to the significant environmental heterogeneity. We employed a variety of machine learning algorithms and GCMs under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), in 1 km resolution. The combination of climate and soil predictors resulted in higher detail at landscape-scale and better distinction of vegetations with overlapping climatic niches. In forecasts, soil predictors imposed a buffer effect on vegetation dynamics as they reduced shifts driven solely by climatic drift. Our results with the edaphoclimatic approach pointed to an expansion of the dry Caatinga vegetation, ranging from an average of 16% to 24% on RCP 4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively. The shift in environmental suitability from forest to open and dry vegetation implies a major loss to biodiversity, as well as compromising the provision of ecosystem services important for maintaining the economy and livelihoods of the world's largest semiarid population. Predicting the most susceptible regions to future climate change is the first step in developing strategies to mitigate impacts in these areas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Meira Arruda
- Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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47
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Quebbeman AW, Menge DNL, Zimmerman J, Uriarte M. Topography and Tree Species Improve Estimates of Spatial Variation in Soil Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in a Subtropical Forest. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00677-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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48
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Lourenço J, Newman EA, Ventura JA, Milanez CRD, Thomaz LD, Wandekoken DT, Enquist BJ. Soil‐associated drivers of plant traits and functional composition in Atlantic Forest coastal tree communities. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jehová Lourenço
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biologia Vegetal Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- Département des Sciences Biologiques Centre d’étude de la forêt Université du Québec à Montréal 141 Avenue du Président‐Kennedy Montreal Quebec H2X 1Y4 Canada
| | - Erica A. Newman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- Arizona Institutes for Resilience University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
| | - José A. Ventura
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biologia Vegetal Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
- Instituto Capixaba de Pesquisa Assistência Técnica e Extensão Rural Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
| | - Camilla Rozindo Dias Milanez
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biologia Vegetal Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
| | - Luciana Dias Thomaz
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Herbário VIES Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
| | - Douglas Tinoco Wandekoken
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Programa de Pós‐graduação em Biologia Vegetal Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Vitória Espírito Santo Brasil
| | - Brian J. Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona 85721 USA
- The Santa Fe Institute Santa Fe New Mexico 87501 USA
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49
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Waring BG, De Guzman ME, Du DV, Dupuy JM, Gei M, Gutknecht J, Hulshof C, Jelinski N, Margenot AJ, Medvigy D, Pizano C, Salgado‐Negret B, Schwartz NB, Trierweiler AM, Van Bloem SJ, Vargas G. G, Powers JS. Soil biogeochemistry across Central and South American tropical dry forests. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie G. Waring
- Department of Biology and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah 84321 USA
| | - Mark E. De Guzman
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Dan V. Du
- Department of Soil & Water Systems University of Idaho Moscow Idaho 83844 USA
| | - Juan M. Dupuy
- Unidad de Recursos Naturales Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. (CICY) Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34, Col. Chuburná de Hidalgo Mérida Yucatán C.P. 97205 México
| | - Maga Gei
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Jessica Gutknecht
- Department of Soil, Water, and Climate University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Catherine Hulshof
- Department of Biology Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia 23284 USA
| | - Nicolas Jelinski
- Department of Soil, Water, and Climate University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Andrew J. Margenot
- Department of Crop Sciences University of Illinois Urbana‐Champaign Urbana Illinois 61801 USA
| | - David Medvigy
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Notre Dame Notre Dame Indiana 46556 USA
| | - Camila Pizano
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Icesi Calle 18 # 122‐135 Cali Colombia
| | - Beatriz Salgado‐Negret
- Departamento de Biología Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Bogotá Carrera 30 Calle 45 Bogotá Colombia
| | - Naomi B. Schwartz
- Department of Geography University of British Columbia 1984 West Mall Vancouver British Columbia V6T 1Z2 Canada
| | | | - Skip J. Van Bloem
- Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science Clemson University Georgetown South Carolina 29634 USA
| | - German Vargas G.
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
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50
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Feng G, Huang J, Xu Y, Li J, Zang R. Disentangling Environmental Effects on the Tree Species Abundance Distribution and Richness in a Subtropical Forest. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:622043. [PMID: 33828571 PMCID: PMC8020568 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.622043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
As a transitional vegetation type between evergreen broadleaved forest and deciduous broadleaved forest, evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forest is composed of diverse plant species. This distinctive forest is generally distributed in mountainous areas with complex landforms and heterogeneous microenvironments. However, little is known about the roles of environmental conditions in driving the species diversity patterns of this forest. Here, based on a 15-ha plot in central China, we aimed to understand how and to what extent topographical characteristics and soil nutrients regulate the number and relative abundance of tree species in this forest. We measured environmental factors (terrain convexity, slope, soil total nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations) and species diversity (species abundance distribution and species richness) in 20 m × 20 m subplots. Species abundance distribution was characterized by skewness, Berger-Parker index, and the proportion of singletons. The generalized additive model was used to examine the variations in diversity patterns caused by environmental factors. The structural equation model was used to assess whether and how topographical characteristics regulate species diversity via soil nutrients. We found that soil nutrients had significant negative effects on species richness and positive effects on all metrics of species abundance distribution. Convexity had significant positive effects on species richness and negative effects on all metrics of species abundance distribution, but these effects were mostly mediated by soil nutrients. Slope had significant negative effects on skewness and the Berger-Parker index, and these effects were almost independent of soil nutrients. Soil nutrients and topographical characteristics together accounted for 9.5-17.1% of variations in diversity patterns and, respectively, accounted for 8.9-13.9% and 3.3-10.7% of the variations. We concluded that soil nutrients were more important than topographical factors in regulating species diversity. Increased soil nutrient concentration led to decreased taxonomic diversity and increased species dominance and rarity. Convexity could be a better proxy for soil nutrients than slope. Moreover, these abiotic factors played limited roles in regulating diversity patterns, and it is possible that the observed patterns are also driven by some biotic and abiotic factors not considered here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang Feng
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
- College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Jihong Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yue Xu
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
| | - Junqing Li
- College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
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