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Butz EM, Schmitt LM, Parker JD, Burghardt KT. Positive tree diversity effects on arboreal spider abundance are tied to canopy cover in a forest experiment. Ecology 2023; 104:e4116. [PMID: 37263980 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Human actions are decreasing the diversity and complexity of forests, and a mechanistic understanding of how these changes affect predators is needed to maintain ecosystem services, including pest regulation. Using a large-scale tree diversity experiment, we investigate how spiders respond to trees growing in plots of single or mixed species combinations (4 or 12) by repeatedly sampling 540 trees spanning 15 species. In 2019 (6 years post-establishment), spider responses to tree diversity varied by tree species. By 2021, diversity had a more consistently positive effect, with trees in 4- or 12-species plots supporting 23% or 50% more spiders, respectively, compared to conspecifics in monocultures. Spiders showed stronger tree species preferences in late summer, and the positive impact of plot diversity doubled. In early summer, the positive diversity effect was tied to higher canopy cover in diverse plots, leading to higher spider densities. This indirect path strengthened in late summer, with an additional direct effect of plot diversity on spiders. Prey availability was higher in diverse plots but was not tied to spider density. Overall, diverse plots supported more predators, partly by increasing available habitat. Adopting planting strategies focused on species mixtures may better maintain higher trophic levels and ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Butz
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Lauren M Schmitt
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - John D Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
| | - Karin T Burghardt
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
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Wang Y, Wu Z, Wang Z, Chang S, Qian Y, Chu J, Jia Z, Zhou Q, Hou F. Ecosystem Coupling and Ecosystem Multifunctionality May Evaluate the Plant Succession Induced by Grazing in Alpine Meadow. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:839920. [PMID: 35317014 PMCID: PMC8934431 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.839920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Most alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau are at different stages of community succession induced by grazing practices. Quantifying the succession sequence and assessing the dynamics of plant composition, ecosystem coupling, and multifunctionality across successional stages are essential for reasonable restoration of degraded alpine meadow. Here, we selected areas with different grazing disturbance histories and used them as a space series (i.e., space-for-time substitution) to study the community succession. Our work quantified the plant succession sequence of alpine meadow induced by grazing with plant functional group approach. The plant succession sequence is from the tall sedge community with erect growth to the short undesirable toxic forbs community with prostrate growth. Ecosystem coupling, ecosystem multifunctionality and their relationships were all the lowest in Stage 4. Compared to Stage 4, the ecosystem multifunctionality index increased in Stages 1, 2, and 3 by 102.6, 89.8, and 207.6%, respectively; the extent of ecosystem coupling increased by 20.0, 16.8, and 21.2%, respectively. Our results indicated that the driving factors of ecosystem coupling and ecosystem multifunctionality were soil factor individual in early successional stage to plant-soil simultaneously in late successional stage. Our results also highlighted the importance of toxic weeds during the late stage of degraded succession and suggest that the expansion of toxic plants is a consequence of their greater suitability from a successional perspective. The findings of this study would provide valuable guidance for optimizing the management and restoration practice of alpine meadow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingxin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Grassland Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Ecological Protection and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Zhe Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhaofeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Shenghua Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yongqiang Qian
- Grassland Research Center of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Ecological Protection and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Jianmin Chu
- Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiqing Jia
- Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
| | - Qingping Zhou
- College of Qinghai Tibet Plateau Research, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fujiang Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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Hagen R, Suchant R. Evidence of a spatial auto-correlation in the browsing level of four major European tree species. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:8517-8527. [PMID: 32788997 PMCID: PMC7417255 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The contribution of spatial processes to the spatial patterns of ecological systems is widely recognized, but spatial patterns in the ecology of plant-herbivore interactions have rarely been investigated quantitatively owing to limited budget and time associated with ecological research. Studies of the level of browsing on various tree species reported either no spatial auto-correlation or a small effect size. Further, the effects of disturbance events, such as hurricanes, which create large forest openings on spatial patterns of herbivory are not well understood.In this study, we used forest inventory data obtained from the federal state of Baden-Württemberg (Southern Germany) between 2001 and 2009 (grid size: 100 × 200 m) and thus, after hurricane Lothar struck Southern Germany in 1999. We investigated whether the browsing level of trees (height ≤ 130 cm) in one location is independent of that of the neighborhood.Our analyses of 1,758,622 saplings (187.632 sampling units) of oak (Quercus), fir (Abies), spruce (Picea), and beech (Fagus) revealed that the browsing level is characterized by a short distance spatial auto-correlation.The application of indicator variables based on browsed saplings should account for the spatial pattern as the latter may affect the results and therefore also the conclusions of the analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Hagen
- Forest Research Institute of Baden‐Württemberg (FVA)FreiburgGermany
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife ResearchBerlinGermany
| | - Rudi Suchant
- Forest Research Institute of Baden‐Württemberg (FVA)FreiburgGermany
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