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Lorer E, Landuyt D, Blondeel H, De Frenne P, Verheyen K. Forest floor environment overrules global change treatment effects on understorey communities in a mesocosm experiment. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17443. [PMID: 39054811 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17443] [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: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Light availability profoundly influences plant communities, especially below dense tree canopies in forests. Canopy disturbances, altering forest floor light conditions, together with other environmental changes such as climate change, nitrogen deposition and legacy effects from previous land-use will simultaneously impact forest understorey communities. Yet, knowledge on the individual effects of these drivers and their potential interactions remains scarce. Here we performed a forest mesocosm experiment to assess the influence of warming, illumination (simulating canopy opening), nitrogen deposition and soil land-use history (comparing ancient and post-agricultural forest soil) on understorey community composition trajectories over a 7-year period. Strikingly, understorey communities primarily evolved in response to the deeply shaded ambient forest conditions, with experimental treatments exerting only secondary influences. The overruling trajectory steered all mesocosms towards slow-colonizing forest specialist communities dominated by spring geophytes with lower nutrient-demand. The illumination treatment and, to a lesser extent, warming and agricultural land-use legacy slowed down this trend by advancing fast-growing resource-acquisitive generalist species. Warm ambient temperatures induced thermophilization of plant communities in all treatments, including control plots, towards higher dominance of warm-adapted species. Nitrogen addition accelerated this thermophilization process and increased the community light-demand signature. Land-use legacy effects were limited in our study. Our findings underscore the essential role of limited light availability in preserving forest specialists in understorey communities and highlight the importance of maintaining a dense canopy cover to attenuate global change impacts. It is crucial to integrate this knowledge in forest management adaptation to global change, particularly in the face of increasing demands for wood and wood products and intensified natural canopy disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Lorer
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Dries Landuyt
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Haben Blondeel
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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Rauschkolb R, Bucher SF, Hensen I, Ahrends A, Fernández-Pascual E, Heubach K, Jakubka D, Jiménez-Alfaro B, König A, Koubek T, Kehl A, Khuroo AA, Lindstädter A, Shafee F, Mašková T, Platonova E, Panico P, Plos C, Primack R, Rosche C, Shah MA, Sporbert M, Stevens AD, Tarquini F, Tielbörger K, Träger S, Vange V, Weigelt P, Bonn A, Freiberg M, Knickmann B, Nordt B, Wirth C, Römermann C. Spatial variability in herbaceous plant phenology is mostly explained by variability in temperature but also by photoperiod and functional traits. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2024; 68:761-775. [PMID: 38285109 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-024-02621-9] [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: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
Whereas temporal variability of plant phenology in response to climate change has already been well studied, the spatial variability of phenology is not well understood. Given that phenological shifts may affect biotic interactions, there is a need to investigate how the variability in environmental factors relates to the spatial variability in herbaceous species' phenology by at the same time considering their functional traits to predict their general and species-specific responses to future climate change. In this project, we analysed phenology records of 148 herbaceous species, which were observed for a single year by the PhenObs network in 15 botanical gardens. For each species, we characterised the spatial variability in six different phenological stages across gardens. We used boosted regression trees to link these variabilities in phenology to the variability in environmental parameters (temperature, latitude and local habitat conditions) as well as species traits (seed mass, vegetative height, specific leaf area and temporal niche) hypothesised to be related to phenology variability. We found that spatial variability in the phenology of herbaceous species was mainly driven by the variability in temperature but also photoperiod was an important driving factor for some phenological stages. In addition, we found that early-flowering and less competitive species characterised by small specific leaf area and vegetative height were more variable in their phenology. Our findings contribute to the field of phenology by showing that besides temperature, photoperiod and functional traits are important to be included when spatial variability of herbaceous species is investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Rauschkolb
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
| | - Solveig Franziska Bucher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Isabell Hensen
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | | | - Katja Heubach
- Palmengarten and Botanical Garden Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Desiree Jakubka
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Borja Jiménez-Alfaro
- Biodiversity Research Institute, IMIB (Univ.Oviedo-CSIC-Princ.Asturias), Mieres, Spain
| | - Andreas König
- Palmengarten and Botanical Garden Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Tomáš Koubek
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Alexandra Kehl
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anzar A Khuroo
- Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Anja Lindstädter
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Department of Biodiversity Research/Systematic Botany with Botanical Garden, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Faizan Shafee
- Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Tereza Mašková
- Institute of Plant Sciences, Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | | | - Patrizia Panico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Carolin Plos
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Christoph Rosche
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Manzoor A Shah
- Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Maria Sporbert
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Flavio Tarquini
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Katja Tielbörger
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sabrina Träger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Vibekke Vange
- Ringve Botanical Garden, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Patrick Weigelt
- Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Campus Institute Data Science, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Aletta Bonn
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Freiberg
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Birgit Nordt
- Botanic Garden Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Wirth
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Christine Römermann
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution with Herbarium Haussknecht and Botanical Garden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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Lorer E, Verheyen K, Blondeel H, De Pauw K, Sanczuk P, De Frenne P, Landuyt D. Forest understorey flowering phenology responses to experimental warming and illumination. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 241:1476-1491. [PMID: 38031641 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19425] [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: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Species are altering their phenology to track warming temperatures. In forests, understorey plants experience tree canopy shading resulting in light and temperature conditions, which strongly deviate from open habitats. Yet, little is known about understorey phenology responses to forest microclimates. We recorded flowering onset, peak, end and duration of 10 temperate forest understorey plant species in two mesocosm experiments to understand how phenology is affected by sub-canopy warming and how this response is modulated by illumination, which is related to canopy change. Furthermore, we investigated whether phenological sensitivities can be explained by species' characteristics, such as thermal niche. We found a mean advance of flowering onset of 7.1 d per 1°C warming, more than previously reported in studies not accounting for microclimatic buffering. Warm-adapted species exhibited greater advances. Temperature sensitivity did not differ between early- and later-flowering species. Experimental illumination did not significantly affect species' phenological temperature sensitivities, but slightly delayed flowering phenology independent from warming. Our study suggests that integrating sub-canopy temperature and light availability will help us better understand future understorey phenology responses. Climate warming together with intensifying canopy disturbances will continue to drive phenological shifts and potentially disrupt understorey communities, thereby affecting forest biodiversity and functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Lorer
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Haben Blondeel
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Karen De Pauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter Sanczuk
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Dries Landuyt
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, BE-9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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Møller C, March-Salas M, Kuppler J, De Frenne P, Scheepens JF. Intra-individual variation in Galium odoratum is affected by experimental drought and shading. ANNALS OF BOTANY 2023; 131:411-422. [PMID: 36546703 PMCID: PMC10072115 DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcac148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Climate-change induced warmer spring temperatures advance tree leaf-out and result in earlier shading of the forest floor. Climate change also leads to more frequent droughts. Forest understorey herbs may respond to these environmental changes by varying traits at different hierarchical levels of organization. While trait mean variation at the inter-individual level in response to environmental changes is well-studied, little is known about how variation at the intra-individual level responds. METHODS We sampled genets of the forest understorey herb Galium odoratum from 21 populations in three regions in Germany, varying in microclimatic conditions. The genets were transplanted into a common garden, where we applied shading and drought treatments. We measured plant height and leaf length and width, and calculated the coefficient of variation (CV) at different hierarchical levels: intra-population, intra-genet, intra-ramet and intra-shoot. KEY RESULTS Variance partitioning showed that intra-shoot CV represented most of the total variation, followed by intra-ramet CV. We found significant variation in CV of plant height and leaf width among populations of origin, indicating that CV is at least partly genetically based. The soil temperature at populations' origins correlated negatively with CV in plant height, suggesting adaptation to local conditions. Furthermore, we observed that early shade led to increased intra-ramet CV in leaf length, while drought reduced intra-shoot CV in leaf width. Finally, intra-shoot leaf width mean and CV were independent under control conditions but correlated under drought. CONCLUSIONS Our experimental results reveal correlations of intra-individual variation with soil temperature, indicating that intra-individual variation can evolve and may be adaptive. Intra-individual variation responded plastically to drought and shading, suggesting functional changes to improve light capture and reduce evapotranspiration. In conclusion, intra-individual variation makes up the majority of total trait variation in this species and can play a key role in plant adaptation to climatic change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Møller
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Martí March-Salas
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Jonas Kuppler
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090 Gontrode, Belgium
| | - J F Scheepens
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Willems FM, Scheepens JF, Bossdorf O. Forest wildflowers bloom earlier as Europe warms: lessons from herbaria and spatial modelling. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 235:52-65. [PMID: 35478407 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Today plants often flower earlier due to climate warming. Herbarium specimens are excellent witnesses of such long-term changes. However, the magnitude of phenological shifts may vary geographically, and the data are often clustered. Therefore, large-scale analyses of herbarium data are prone to pseudoreplication and geographical biases. We studied over 6000 herbarium specimens of 20 spring-flowering forest understory herbs from Europe to understand how their phenology had changed during the last century. We estimated phenology trends with or without taking spatial autocorrelation into account. On average plants now flowered over 6 d earlier than at the beginning of the last century. These changes were strongly associated with warmer spring temperatures. Flowering time advanced 3.6 d per 1°C warming. Spatial modelling showed that, in some parts of Europe, plants flowered earlier or later than expected. Without accounting for this, the estimates of phenological shifts were biased and model fits were poor. Our study indicates that forest wildflowers in Europe strongly advanced their phenology in response to climate change. However, these phenological shifts differ geographically. This shows that it is crucial to combine the analysis of herbarium data with spatial modelling when testing for long-term phenology trends across large spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska M Willems
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, 35032, Marburg, Germany
| | - J F Scheepens
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Oliver Bossdorf
- Plant Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
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Fogelström E, Zacchello G, Guasconi D, Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J. Spring and autumn phenology in an understory herb are uncorrelated and driven by different factors. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:226-236. [PMID: 34655472 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1789] [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: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Climate warming has altered the start and end of growing seasons in temperate regions. Ultimately, these changes occur at the individual level, but little is known about how previous seasonal life-history events, temperature, and plant-resource state simultaneously influence the spring and autumn phenology of plant individuals. METHODS We studied the relationships between the timing of leaf-out and shoot senescence over 3 years in a natural population of the long-lived understory herb Lathyrus vernus and investigated the effects of spring temperature, plant size, reproductive status, and grazing on spring and autumn phenology. RESULTS The timing of leaf-out and senescence were consistent within individuals among years. Leaf-out and senescence were not correlated with each other within years. Larger plants leafed out and senesced later, and size had no effect on growing season length. Reproductive plants leafed out earlier and had longer growing seasons than nonreproductive plants. Grazing had no detectable effects on phenology. Colder spring temperatures delayed senescence in two of three study years. CONCLUSIONS The timing of seasonal events, such as leaf-out and senescence in plants can be expressed largely independently within and among seasons and are influenced by different factors. Growing season start and length can often be dependent on plant condition and reproductive status. Knowledge about the drivers of growing season length of individuals is essential to more accurately predict species and community responses to environmental variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fogelström
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Giulia Zacchello
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Plant Ecology and Evolution, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 752 36, Sweden
| | - Daniela Guasconi
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Johan P Dahlgren
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5230, Denmark
- Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Johan Ehrlén
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
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Effect of Selected Meteorological Variables on Full Flowering of Some Forest Herbs in the Western Carpathians. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13020195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
At present, temperate forest ecosystems are endangered by both abiotic and biotic factors. The effects of abiotic components, e.g., meteorological variables, are constantly studied. However, the detailed mechanisms affecting the phenology of plants are still unknown. Two meteorological variables (air temperature and cumulative precipitation) were analysed for the period from 1995 to 2020 in order to determine which factor which has a more significant effect on onset of the full-flowering (FF) phenophase. A set of nine forest herbs, representing different phenological groups from the viewpoint of flowering, was examined (early spring: Petasites albus and Pulmonaria officinalis; mid-spring: Carex pilosa and Dentaria bulbifera; late spring: Fragaria visa and Galium odoratum; early summer: Veronica officinalis; mid-summer: Mycelis muralis; and late summer: Campanula trachelium). Temperature-sum requirements and temporal trends in the onset of FF were also studied. The research conducted at the Ecological Experimental Station in the Kremnické vrchy Mountains (central Slovakia) at an altitude of 500 m asl. Our results show that the air temperature correlated more significantly with the date of onset of FF (r > 0.6, p < 0.001) than with precipitation. On average, the air-temperature sums, calculated for the threshold temperatures of 0 °C and 5 °C, increased from 142.9 °C (Petasites albus) to 1732.9 °C (Campanula trachelium) and from 223.4 °C (Petasites albus) to 1820.8 °C (Campanula trachelium), respectively. Temporal trends in the onset of FF over the last 26 years confirm shifts to earlier dates for most species (excepting early spring Petasites albus). In spring flowering species, shifts ranged from 2 days (0.07 day/year) for Pulmonaria officinalis to 8 days (0.30 day/year) for Carex pilosa. As for summer species, the onset of flowering shifted more significantly to earlier dates—from 7 days (0.27 day/year) for Campanula trachelium to 12 days (0.46 day/year) for Veronica officinalis. The observed trends were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for five examined species (Carex pilosa, Dentaria bulbifera, Fragaria vesca, Veronica officinalis and Mycelis muralis).
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De Pauw K, Sanczuk P, Meeussen C, Depauw L, De Lombaerde E, Govaert S, Vanneste T, Brunet J, Cousins SAO, Gasperini C, Hedwall PO, Iacopetti G, Lenoir J, Plue J, Selvi F, Spicher F, Uria-Diez J, Verheyen K, Vangansbeke P, De Frenne P. Forest understorey communities respond strongly to light in interaction with forest structure, but not to microclimate warming. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:219-235. [PMID: 34664731 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Forests harbour large spatiotemporal heterogeneity in canopy structure. This variation drives the microclimate and light availability at the forest floor. So far, we do not know how light availability and sub-canopy temperature interactively mediate the impact of macroclimate warming on understorey communities. We therefore assessed the functional response of understorey plant communities to warming and light addition in a full factorial experiment installed in temperate deciduous forests across Europe along natural microclimate, light and macroclimate gradients. Furthermore, we related these functional responses to the species' life-history syndromes and thermal niches. We found no significant community responses to the warming treatment. The light treatment, however, had a stronger impact on communities, mainly due to responses by fast-colonizing generalists and not by slow-colonizing forest specialists. The forest structure strongly mediated the response to light addition and also had a clear impact on functional traits and total plant cover. The effects of short-term experimental warming were small and suggest a time-lag in the response of understorey species to climate change. Canopy disturbance, for instance due to drought, pests or logging, has a strong and immediate impact and particularly favours generalists in the understorey in structurally complex forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen De Pauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter Sanczuk
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Camille Meeussen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Leen Depauw
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Emiel De Lombaerde
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Sanne Govaert
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Thomas Vanneste
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Jörg Brunet
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 190, 234 22, Lomma, Sweden
| | - Sara A O Cousins
- Landscapes, Environment and Geomatics, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 8, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Cristina Gasperini
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, P. le Cascine 28, 50144, Florence, Italy
| | - Per-Ola Hedwall
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 190, 234 22, Lomma, Sweden
| | - Giovanni Iacopetti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, P. le Cascine 28, 50144, Florence, Italy
| | - Jonathan Lenoir
- UMR CNRS 7058 'Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés' (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 Rue des Louvels, 80000, Amiens, France
| | - Jan Plue
- IVL Swedish Environmental Institute, Valhallavägen 81, 114 28, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Federico Selvi
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, P. le Cascine 28, 50144, Florence, Italy
| | - Fabien Spicher
- UMR CNRS 7058 'Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés' (EDYSAN), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 1 Rue des Louvels, 80000, Amiens, France
| | - Jaime Uria-Diez
- Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 190, 234 22, Lomma, Sweden
| | - Kris Verheyen
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter Vangansbeke
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
| | - Pieter De Frenne
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Geraardsbergsesteenweg 267, 9090, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium
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