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Parkhurst T, Prober SM, Farrell M, Standish RJ. Abiotic and biotic responses to woody debris additions in restored old fields in a multi-site Before-After-Control-Impact experiment. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9058. [PMID: 35813918 PMCID: PMC9251846 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological restoration of former agricultural land can improve soil conditions, recover native vegetation, and provide fauna habitat. However, restoration benefits are often associated with time lags, as many attributes, such as leaf litter and coarse woody debris, need time to accumulate. Here, we experimentally tested whether adding mulch and logs to restoration sites in semi-arid Western Australia can accelerate restoration benefits. All sites had been cropped and then planted with native trees and shrubs (i.e., Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, and Acacia spp.) 10 years prior to our experiment, to re-establish the original temperate eucalypt woodland vegetation community. We used a Multi-site Before-After-Control-Impact (MBACI) design to test the effects on 30 abiotic and biotic response variables over a period of 2 years. Of the 30 response variables, a significant effect was found for just four variables: volumetric water content, decomposition, native herbaceous species cover and species richness of disturbance specialist ants. Mulch addition had a positive effect on soil moisture when compared to controls but suppressed growth of native (but not exotic) herbaceous plants. On plots with log additions, decomposition rates decreased, and species richness of disturbance specialist ants increased. However, we found no effect on total species richness and abundance of other ant species groups. The benefit of mulch to soil moisture was offset by its disbenefit to native herbs in our study. Given time, logs may also provide habitat for ant species that prefer concealed habitats. Indeed, benefits to other soil biophysical properties, vegetation, and ant fauna may require longer time frames to be detected. Further research is needed to determine whether the type, quantity, and context of mulch and log additions may improve their utility for old field restoration and whether effects on native herbs are correlated with idiosyncratic climatic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina Parkhurst
- Harry Butler InstituteMurdoch UniversityMurdochWestern AustraliaAustralia
- CSIRO Land and WaterWembleyWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Suzanne M. Prober
- CSIRO Land and WaterWembleyWestern AustraliaAustralia
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Western AustraliaCrawleyWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Mark Farrell
- CSIRO Agriculture and FoodGlen OsmondWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Rachel J. Standish
- Harry Butler InstituteMurdoch UniversityMurdochWestern AustraliaAustralia
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Oberle B, Lee MR, Myers JA, Osazuwa-Peters OL, Spasojevic MJ, Walton ML, Young DF, Zanne AE. Accurate forest projections require long-term wood decay experiments because plant trait effects change through time. Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:864-875. [PMID: 31628697 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Whether global change will drive changing forests from net carbon (C) sinks to sources relates to how quickly deadwood decomposes. Because complete wood mineralization takes years, most experiments focus on how traits, environments and decomposer communities interact as wood decay begins. Few experiments last long enough to test whether drivers change with decay rates through time, with unknown consequences for scaling short-term results up to long-term forest ecosystem projections. Using a 7 year experiment that captured complete mineralization among 21 temperate tree species, we demonstrate that trait effects fade with advancing decay. However, wood density and vessel diameter, which may influence permeability, control how decay rates change through time. Denser wood loses mass more slowly at first but more quickly with advancing decay, which resolves ambiguity about the after-life consequences of this key plant functional trait by demonstrating that its effect on decay depends on experiment duration and sampling frequency. Only long-term data and a time-varying model yielded accurate predictions of both mass loss in a concurrent experiment and naturally recruited deadwood structure in a 32-year-old forest plot. Given the importance of forests in the carbon cycle, and the pivotal role for wood decay, accurate ecosystem projections are critical and they require experiments that go beyond enumerating potential mechanisms by identifying the temporal scale for their effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad Oberle
- Division of Natural Sciences, New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, USA
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Marissa R Lee
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Jonathan A Myers
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Marko J Spasojevic
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Maranda L Walton
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Darcy F Young
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Amy E Zanne
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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Perry KI, Herms DA. Dynamic Responses of Ground-Dwelling Invertebrate Communities to Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems. Insects 2019; 10:E61. [PMID: 30813524 PMCID: PMC6468525 DOI: 10.3390/insects10030061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In forest ecosystems, natural and anthropogenic disturbances alter canopy structure, understory vegetation, amount of woody debris, and the properties of litter and soil layers. The magnitude of these environmental changes is context-dependent and determined by the properties of the disturbance, such as the frequency, intensity, duration, and extent. Therefore, disturbances can dynamically impact forest communities over time, including populations of ground-dwelling invertebrates that regulate key ecosystem processes. We propose conceptual models that describe the dynamic temporal effects of canopy gap formation and coarse woody debris accumulation following disturbances caused by invasive insects, wind, and salvage logging, and their impacts on ground-dwelling invertebrate communities. Within this framework, predictions are generated, literature on ground-dwelling invertebrate communities is synthesized, and pertinent knowledge gaps identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayla I Perry
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
| | - Daniel A Herms
- Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
- The Davey Tree Expert Company, 1500 Mantua Street, Kent, OH 44240, USA.
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Cornelissen JHC, Grootemaat S, Verheijen LM, Cornwell WK, van Bodegom PM, van der Wal R, Aerts R. Are litter decomposition and fire linked through plant species traits? New Phytol 2017; 216:653-669. [PMID: 28892160 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Contents 653 I. 654 II. 657 III. 659 IV. 661 V. 662 VI. 663 VII. 665 665 References 665 SUMMARY: Biological decomposition and wildfire are connected carbon release pathways for dead plant material: slower litter decomposition leads to fuel accumulation. Are decomposition and surface fires also connected through plant community composition, via the species' traits? Our central concept involves two axes of trait variation related to decomposition and fire. The 'plant economics spectrum' (PES) links biochemistry traits to the litter decomposability of different fine organs. The 'size and shape spectrum' (SSS) includes litter particle size and shape and their consequent effect on fuel bed structure, ventilation and flammability. Our literature synthesis revealed that PES-driven decomposability is largely decoupled from predominantly SSS-driven surface litter flammability across species; this finding needs empirical testing in various environmental settings. Under certain conditions, carbon release will be dominated by decomposition, while under other conditions litter fuel will accumulate and fire may dominate carbon release. Ecosystem-level feedbacks between decomposition and fire, for example via litter amounts, litter decomposition stage, community-level biotic interactions and altered environment, will influence the trait-driven effects on decomposition and fire. Yet, our conceptual framework, explicitly comparing the effects of two plant trait spectra on litter decomposition vs fire, provides a promising new research direction for better understanding and predicting Earth surface carbon dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes H C Cornelissen
- Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Saskia Grootemaat
- Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Lieneke M Verheijen
- Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - William K Cornwell
- Ecology and Evolution Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Peter M van Bodegom
- Institute of Environmental Sciences CML, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - René van der Wal
- School of Biological Science, University of Aberdeen, 23 St Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - Rien Aerts
- Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Mazziotta A, Triviño M, Tikkanen OP, Kouki J, Strandman H, Mönkkönen M. Applying a framework for landscape planning under climate change for the conservation of biodiversity in the Finnish boreal forest. Glob Chang Biol 2015; 21:637-651. [PMID: 25044467 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Conservation strategies are often established without consideration of the impact of climate change. However, this impact is expected to threaten species and ecosystem persistence and to have dramatic effects towards the end of the 21st century. Landscape suitability for species under climate change is determined by several interacting factors including dispersal and human land use. Designing effective conservation strategies at regional scales to improve landscape suitability requires measuring the vulnerabilities of specific regions to climate change and determining their conservation capacities. Although methods for defining vulnerability categories are available, methods for doing this in a systematic, cost-effective way have not been identified. Here, we use an ecosystem model to define the potential resilience of the Finnish forest landscape by relating its current conservation capacity to its vulnerability to climate change. In applying this framework, we take into account the responses to climate change of a broad range of red-listed species with different niche requirements. This framework allowed us to identify four categories in which representation in the landscape varies among three IPCC emission scenarios (B1, low; A1B, intermediate; A2, high emissions): (i) susceptible (B1 = 24.7%, A1B = 26.4%, A2 = 26.2%), the most intact forest landscapes vulnerable to climate change, requiring management for heterogeneity and resilience; (ii) resilient (B1 = 2.2%, A1B = 0.5%, A2 = 0.6%), intact areas with low vulnerability that represent potential climate refugia and require conservation capacity maintenance; (iii) resistant (B1 = 6.7%, A1B = 0.8%, A2 = 1.1%), landscapes with low current conservation capacity and low vulnerability that are suitable for restoration projects; (iv) sensitive (B1 = 66.4%, A1B = 72.3%, A2 = 72.0%), low conservation capacity landscapes that are vulnerable and for which alternative conservation measures are required depending on the intensity of climate change. Our results indicate that the Finnish landscape is likely to be dominated by a very high proportion of sensitive and susceptible forest patches, thereby increasing uncertainty for landscape managers in the choice of conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriano Mazziotta
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
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Valentín L, Rajala T, Peltoniemi M, Heinonsalo J, Pennanen T, Mäkipää R. Loss of diversity in wood-inhabiting fungal communities affects decomposition activity in Norway spruce wood. Front Microbiol 2014; 5:230. [PMID: 24904544 PMCID: PMC4032996 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2014] [Accepted: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Hundreds of wood-inhabiting fungal species are now threatened, principally due to a lack of dead wood in intensively managed forests, but the consequences of reduced fungal diversity on ecosystem functioning are not known. Several experiments have shown that primary productivity is negatively affected by a loss of species, but the effects of microbial diversity on decomposition are less studied. We studied the relationship between fungal diversity and the in vitro decomposition rate of slightly, moderately and heavily decayed Picea abies wood with indigenous fungal communities that were diluted to examine the influence of diversity. Respiration rate, wood-degrading hydrolytic enzymes and fungal community structure were assessed during a 16-week incubation. The number of observed OTUs in DGGE was used as a measure of fungal diversity. Respiration rate increased between early- and late-decay stages. Reduced fungal diversity was associated with lower respiration rates during intermediate stages of decay, but no effects were detected at later stages. The activity of hydrolytic enzymes varied among decay stages and fungal dilutions. Our results suggest that functioning of highly diverse communities of the late-decay stage were more resistant to the loss of diversity than less diverse communities of early decomposers. This indicates the accumulation of functional redundancy during the succession of the fungal community in decomposing substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Valentín
- Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa, Finland ; Department of Chemical Engineering, Technical School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tiina Rajala
- Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa, Finland
| | - Mikko Peltoniemi
- Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa, Finland
| | - Jussi Heinonsalo
- Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland
| | - Taina Pennanen
- Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa, Finland
| | - Raisa Mäkipää
- Vantaa Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa, Finland
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Spänhoff B, Alecke C, Kaschek N, Lange J, Meyer EI. Morphological characteristics of sensilla on the female ovipositor of Lype phaeopa (Psychomyiidae; Trichoptera). J Insect Sci 2003; 3:12. [PMID: 15841228 PMCID: PMC524652 DOI: 10.1093/jis/3.1.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2003] [Accepted: 04/18/2003] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
An important aspect of the association of Lype phaeopa (Stephens) with submerged wood is the oviposition behavior of adult females, which preferably oviposit their eggs on moist emergent or submerged parts of woody debris with a structured surface. The eggs are commonly deposited in cracks and crevices using the elongated ovipositor. Ovipositor morphology and various sensilla on the tip and along the ovipositor were studied by scanning electron microscopy and their possible function discussed. Structure of these sensilla and pre-oviposition behavior of the females point to a preference for certain oviposition sites on woody debris. This may be a key factor for the distribution and development of the larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Spänhoff
- Institute for Animal Evolution and Ecolgy, Department of Limnology, University of Muenster, 48149 Muenster, Germany.
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Abstract
This paper is a review of recent (< or =10 years) information on litterfall, standing stock of benthic organic matter, breakdown rates, and fungal colonization of organic matter in streams. In some cases, recent research reinforces the findings of classic reference papers. In other cases, the additional knowledge provided by recent research introduces a higher variation in the processes analyzed. In many aspects, especially those concerning stream organic matter, the review is biased towards the temperate North American streams, reflecting the fact that most research was carried out there. However, during the 1990s European studies increased enormously, especially those related with instream processes, such as leaf litter decomposition. The first part of this review analyzes the origin of allochthonous organic matter to streams (litterfall, retention, and storage), and it provides data on the amounts estimated in different streams and on the methodology used in the studies. The second part analyzes the fate of detritus in streams: mechanisms of leaf breakdown, relative importance of fungi and bacteria, factors affecting the activity of microbial decomposers, and chemical changes of leaf litter during decomposition. A list of breakdown rates of several different leaf species is given, together with the methodology used, and the main characteristics of the incubation streams.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Abelho
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal.
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