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Cuff JP, Windsor FM, Gilmartin EC, Boddy L, Jones TH. Influence of European Beech (Fagales: Fagaceae) Rot Hole Habitat Characteristics on Invertebrate Community Structure and Diversity. JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2021; 21:6374214. [PMID: 34553221 PMCID: PMC8458099 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieab071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Hollows of veteran trees (i.e., rot holes) provide habitat for many rare and threatened saproxylic invertebrates. Rot holes are highly heterogeneous, particularly in terms of substrate and microclimate conditions. There is, however, a dearth of information regarding the differences in biological communities inhabiting rot holes with different environmental conditions. Invertebrates were sampled from European beech (Fagus sylvatica) rot holes in Windsor, Savernake, and Epping Forests (United Kingdom). For each rot hole, physical and environmental conditions were measured, including tree diameter, rot hole dimensions, rot hole height, substrate density, water content, and water potential. These parameters were used to assess the influence of environmental conditions and habitat characteristics on invertebrate communities. Rot hole invertebrate communities were extremely diverse, containing both woodland generalist and saproxylic specialist taxa. Large variation in community structure was observed between rot holes and across woodlands; all sites supported threatened and endangered taxa. Environmental conditions in rot holes were highly variable within and between woodland sites, and communities were predominantly structured by these environmental conditions. In particular, turnover between invertebrate communities was linked to high β-diversity. The linked heterogeneity of environmental conditions and invertebrate communities in rot holes suggests that management of deadwood habitats in woodlands should strive to generate environmental heterogeneity to promote invertebrate diversity. Additional research is required to define how management and conservation activities can further promote enhanced biodiversity across rot holes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan P Cuff
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Fredric M Windsor
- School of Natural and Environmental Science, Newcastle University, Agriculture Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Emma C Gilmartin
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
- Woodland Trust, Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL, UK
| | - Lynne Boddy
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - T Hefin Jones
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
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Morsing J, Kepfer-Rojas S, Baastrup-Spohr L, López Rodríguez A, Raulund-Rasmussen K. Litter legacy after spruce plantation removal hampers initial vegetation establishment. Basic Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2019.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Halpern CB, Antos JA, Kothari S, Olson AM. Past tree influence and prescribed fire exert strong controls on reassembly of mountain grasslands after tree removal. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 29:e01860. [PMID: 30703273 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Woody-plant encroachment represents a global threat to grasslands. Although the causes and consequences of this regime shift have received substantial attention, the processes that constrain reassembly of the grassland state remain poorly understood. We experimentally tested two potentially important controls on reassembly, the past influence of trees and the effects of fire, in conifer-invaded grasslands (mountain meadows) of western Oregon. Previously, we had reconstructed the history of tree invasion at fine spatial and temporal resolution. Using small subplots (10 × 10 m) nested within larger (1-ha) experimental plots, we characterized the fine-scale mosaic of encroachment states, ranging from remnant meadow openings (minimally altered by trees) to century-old forests (lacking meadow species). Subsequently, we removed trees from six plots, of which three were broadcast burned and three remained unburned (except for localized burn piles). Within each plot, subplots were sampled before and periodically after tree removal to quantify the individual and interactive effects of past tree influence and fire on grassland community reassembly. Adjacent, uninvaded meadows served as reference sites. "Past tree influence" was defined as the multivariate (structural or compositional) distance of subplots to reference meadows prior to tree removal. "Reassembly" was defined as the distance, or change in distance, to reference meadows at final sampling. Consistent with theory, we observed greater reassembly of plant community structure than of composition, as loss of meadow specialists was offset by establishment of disturbance-adapted meadow generalists of similar growth form. Nevertheless, eight years after tree removal, most subplots remained structurally and compositionally distinct from reference meadows. Furthermore, fire had both destabilizing and inhibitory effects: it reduced survival of meadow specialists across the range of encroachment states and, where past tree influence was greater, it stalled reassembly by promoting expansion of a highly competitive native meadow sedge. The slow pace of reassembly, despite abundant open space, suggests strong seed limitation: a condition exacerbated by burning. We present a novel test of the importance of past tree influence and fire for restoration of tree-invaded grasslands, offering insights into how constraints on community reassembly vary along a continuum of tree-altered states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles B Halpern
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Box 352100, Seattle, Washington, 98195-2100, USA
| | - Joseph A Antos
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3N5, Canada
| | - Shan Kothari
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - Annette M Olson
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA
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Davis FW, Tyler CM, Mahall BE. Demography of evergreen and deciduous oaks in a mixed oak savanna: insights from a long‐term experiment. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Frank W. Davis
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management University of California Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
| | - Claudia M. Tyler
- Earth Research Institute University of California Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
| | - Bruce E. Mahall
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara California 93106 USA
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Coffey V, Otfinowski R. Legacy effects of afforestation on prairie plant and seed bank communities in a northern Canadian prairie. Basic Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Mellado A, Zamora R. Parasites structuring ecological communities: The mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Mellado
- Department of EcologyTerrestrial Ecology Research GroupUniversity of Granada Granada Spain
| | - Regino Zamora
- Department of EcologyTerrestrial Ecology Research GroupUniversity of Granada Granada Spain
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Root-Bernstein M, Valenzuela R, Huerta M, Armesto J, Jaksic F. Acacia cavennurses endemic sclerophyllous trees along a successional pathway from silvopastoral savanna to forest. Ecosphere 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Meredith Root-Bernstein
- Bioscience Department; Aarhus University; Aarhus Denmark
- Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity; Santiago Chile
| | | | | | - Juan Armesto
- Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity; Santiago Chile
| | - Fabián Jaksic
- CAPES; Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; Santiago Chile
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Mellado A, Morillas L, Gallardo A, Zamora R. Temporal dynamic of parasite-mediated linkages between the forest canopy and soil processes and the microbial community. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2016; 211:1382-1392. [PMID: 27105275 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Parasitic plants are important drivers of community and ecosystem properties. In this study, we identify different mechanisms by which mistletoe (Viscum album subsp. austriacum) can affect soil chemical and biological properties at different temporal stages of parasitism. We quantified the effect of parasitism on host growth and the number of frugivorous mutualists visiting the host canopy. Then we collected, identified, and weighed the organic matter input underneath tree canopies and analyzed its nutrient content. Simultaneously, we analyzed soil samples under tree canopies and examined the chemical properties, microbial abundance, and functional evenness of heterotrophic microbial communities. Mistletoe increased the amount, quality, and diversity of organic matter input beneath the host canopy, directly through its nutrient-rich litter and indirectly through a reduction in host litterfall and an increase in bird-derived debris. All these effects gave rise to enriched hotspots able to support larger and more functionally even soil microbial communities beneath parasitized hosts, the effects of which were accentuated after host death. We conclude that mistletoe, together with the biotic interactions it mediates, plays a key role in intensifying soil resource availability, regulating the functional evenness, abundance, and spatial distribution of soil microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Mellado
- Department of Ecology, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, University of Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, E-18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Lourdes Morillas
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Crta. Utrera Km. 1, 41013, Sevilla, Spain
- Department of Sciences for Nature and Environmental Resources, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Crta. Utrera Km. 1, 41013, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Regino Zamora
- Department of Ecology, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, University of Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, E-18071, Granada, Spain
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Lindenmayer DB, Laurance WF. The ecology, distribution, conservation and management of large old trees. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1434-1458. [PMID: 27383287 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Large old trees are some of the most iconic biota on earth and are integral parts of many terrestrial ecosystems including those in tropical, temperate and boreal forests, deserts, savannas, agro-ecological areas, and urban environments. In this review, we provide new insights into the ecology, function, evolution and management of large old trees through broad cross-disciplinary perspectives from literatures in plant physiology, growth and development, evolution, habitat value for fauna and flora, and conservation management. Our review reveals that the diameter, height and longevity of large old trees varies greatly on an inter-specific basis, thereby creating serious challenges in defining large old trees and demanding an ecosystem- and species-specific definition that will only rarely be readily transferable to other species or ecosystems. Such variation is also manifested by marked inter-specific differences in the key attributes of large old trees (beyond diameter and height) such as the extent of buttressing, canopy architecture, the extent of bark micro-environments and the prevalence of cavities. We found that large old trees play an extraordinary range of critical ecological roles including in hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles and numerous ecosystem processes. Large old trees strongly influence the spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of individuals of the same species and populations of numerous other plant and animal species. We suggest many key characteristics of large old trees such as extreme height, prolonged lifespans, and the presence of cavities - which confer competitive and evolutionary advantages in undisturbed environments - can render such trees highly susceptible to a range of human influences. Large old trees are vulnerable to threats ranging from droughts, fire, pests and pathogens, to logging, land clearing, landscape fragmentation and climate change. Tackling such diverse threats is challenging because they often interact and manifest in different ways in different ecosystems, demanding targeted species- or ecosystem-specific responses. We argue that novel management actions will often be required to protect existing large old trees and ensure the recruitment of new cohorts of such trees. For example, fine-scale tree-level conservation such as buffering individual stems will be required in many environments such as in agricultural areas and urban environments. Landscape-level approaches like protecting places where large old trees are most likely to occur will be needed. However, this brings challenges associated with likely changes in tree distributions associated with climate change, because long-lived trees may presently exist in places unsuitable for the development of new cohorts of the same species. Appropriate future environmental domains for a species could exist in new locations where it has never previously occurred. The future distribution and persistence of large old trees may require controversial responses including assisted migration via seed or seedling establishment in new locales. However, the effectiveness of such approaches may be limited where key ecological features of large old trees (such as cavity presence) depend on other species such as termites, fungi and bacteria. Unless other species with similar ecological roles are present to fulfil these functions, these taxa might need to be moved concurrently with the target tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- David B Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, Australia
| | - William F Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) & College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, 4878, Australia
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