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Rungwattana K, Kasemsap P, Phumichai T, Rattanawong R, Hietz P. Testing intra-species variation in allocation to growth and defense in rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis). PeerJ 2024; 12:e17877. [PMID: 39131614 PMCID: PMC11317040 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17877] [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: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Plants allocate resources to growth, defense, and stress resistance, and resource availability can affect the balance between these allocations. Allocation patterns are well-known to differ among species, but what controls possible intra-specific trade-offs and if variation in growth vs. defense potentially evolves in adaptation to resource availability. Methods We measured growth and defense in a provenance trial of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) with clones originating from the Amazon basin. To test hypotheses on the allocation to growth vs. defense, we relate biomass growth and latex production to wood and leaf traits, to climate and soil variables from the location of origin, and to the genetic relatedness of the Hevea clones. Results Contrary to expectations, there was no trade-off between growth and defense, but latex yield and biomass growth were positively correlated, and both increased with tree size. The absence of a trade-off may be attributed to the high resource availability in a plantation, allowing trees to allocate resources to both growth and defense. Growth was weakly correlated with leaf traits, such as leaf mass per area, intrinsic water use efficiency, and leaf nitrogen content, but the relative investment in growth vs. defense was not associated with specific traits or environmental variables. Wood and leaf traits showed clinal correlations to the rainfall and soil variables of the places of origin. These traits exhibited strong phylogenetic signals, highlighting the role of genetic factors in trait variation and adaptation. The study provides insights into the interplay between resource allocation, environmental adaptations, and genetic factors in trees. However, the underlying drivers for the high variation of latex production in one of the commercially most important tree species remains unexplained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanin Rungwattana
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Poonpipope Kasemsap
- Hevea Research Platform in Partnership, DORAS Center, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | | | - Peter Hietz
- Institute of Botany, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Vienna, Austria
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2
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Zhang H, Gao Y, Zheng X, Hu Y, Zhou X, Fang Y, Li Y, Xie L, Ding H. Neighborhood Diversity Promotes Tree Growth in a Secondary Forest: The Interplay of Intraspecific Competition, Interspecific Competition, and Spatial Scale. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:1994. [PMID: 39065520 PMCID: PMC11280550 DOI: 10.3390/plants13141994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is crucial for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management. While it is known that diversity enhances forest productivity, the underlying mechanisms at the local neighborhood level remain poorly understood. We established a 9.6 ha dynamic forest plot to study how neighborhood diversity, intraspecific competition, and interspecific competition influence tree growth across spatial scales using linear mixed-effects models. Our analysis reveals a significant positive correlation between neighborhood species richness (NSR) and relative growth rate (RGR). Notably, intraspecific competition, measured by conspecific neighborhood density and resource competition, negatively impacts RGR at finer scales, indicating intense competition among conspecifics for limited resources. In contrast, interspecific competition, measured by heterospecific density and resource competition, has a negligible impact on RGR. The relative importance of diversity and intra/interspecific competition in influencing tree growth varies with scale. At fine scales, intraspecific competition dominates negatively, while at larger scales, the positive effect of NSR on RGR increases, contributing to a positive BPR. These findings highlight the intricate interplay between local interactions and spatial scale in modulating tree growth, emphasizing the importance of considering biotic interactions and spatial variability in studying BPR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haonan Zhang
- Innovative Research Team for Forest Restoration Mechanisms, Chishui National Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Stations, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
- Research Center for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi Mountains, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Yuanyun Gao
- Innovative Research Team for Forest Restoration Mechanisms, Chishui National Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Stations, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Xiao Zheng
- Research Center for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi Mountains, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Yaping Hu
- Research Center for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi Mountains, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Xu Zhou
- Research Center for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi Mountains, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
| | - Yanming Fang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Yao Li
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Lei Xie
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
| | - Hui Ding
- Research Center for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity, State Environmental Protection Scientific Observation and Research Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi Mountains, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory on Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Nanjing 210042, China
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3
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Xiao Y, Liu X, Song Z, Lu Y, Zhang L, Huang M, Cheng Y, Chen S, Zhao Y, Zhang Z, Zhou S. Plant size-dependent influence of foliar fungal pathogens promotes diversity through allometric growth. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:687-699. [PMID: 38396376 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19600] [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: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
The effect of pathogens on host diversity has attracted much attention in recent years, yet how the influence of pathogens on individual plants scales up to affect community-level host diversity remains unclear. Here, we assessed the effects of foliar fungal pathogens on plant growth and species richness using allometric growth theory in population-level and community-level foliar fungal pathogen exclusion experiments. We calculated growth scaling exponents of 24 species to reveal the intraspecific size-dependent effects of foliar fungal pathogens on plant growth. We also calculated the intercepts to infer the growth rates of relatively larger conspecific individuals. We found that foliar fungal pathogens inhibited the growth of small conspecific individuals more than large individuals, resulting in a positive allometric growth. After foliar fungal pathogen exclusion, species-specific growth scaling exponents and intercepts decreased, but became positively related to species' relative abundance, providing a growth advantage for individuals of abundant species with a higher growth scaling exponent and intercept compared with rare species, and thus reduced species diversity. By adopting allometric growth theory, we elucidate the size-dependent mechanisms through which pathogens regulate species diversity and provide a powerful framework to incorporate antagonistic size-dependent processes in understanding species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Xiao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Xiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Zhiping Song
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yawen Lu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, 159 Longpan Road, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Mengjiao Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yikang Cheng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Shiliang Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary, Institute of Biodiversity Science, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yimin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Zhenhua Zhang
- Qinghai Haibei National Field Research Station of Alpine Grassland Ecosystem, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, China
| | - Shurong Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
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4
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Hülsmann L, Chisholm RA, Comita L, Visser MD, de Souza Leite M, Aguilar S, Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Bourg NA, Brockelman WY, Bunyavejchewin S, Castaño N, Chang-Yang CH, Chuyong GB, Clay K, Davies SJ, Duque A, Ediriweera S, Ewango C, Gilbert GS, Holík J, Howe RW, Hubbell SP, Itoh A, Johnson DJ, Kenfack D, Král K, Larson AJ, Lutz JA, Makana JR, Malhi Y, McMahon SM, McShea WJ, Mohamad M, Nasardin M, Nathalang A, Norden N, Oliveira AA, Parmigiani R, Perez R, Phillips RP, Pongpattananurak N, Sun IF, Swanson ME, Tan S, Thomas D, Thompson J, Uriarte M, Wolf AT, Yao TL, Zimmerman JK, Zuleta D, Hartig F. Latitudinal patterns in stabilizing density dependence of forest communities. Nature 2024; 627:564-571. [PMID: 38418889 PMCID: PMC10954553 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07118-4] [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: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown reduced performance in plants that are surrounded by neighbours of the same species1,2, a phenomenon known as conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD)3. A long-held ecological hypothesis posits that CNDD is more pronounced in tropical than in temperate forests4,5, which increases community stabilization, species coexistence and the diversity of local tree species6,7. Previous analyses supporting such a latitudinal gradient in CNDD8,9 have suffered from methodological limitations related to the use of static data10-12. Here we present a comprehensive assessment of latitudinal CNDD patterns using dynamic mortality data to estimate species-site-specific CNDD across 23 sites. Averaged across species, we found that stabilizing CNDD was present at all except one site, but that average stabilizing CNDD was not stronger toward the tropics. However, in tropical tree communities, rare and intermediate abundant species experienced stronger stabilizing CNDD than did common species. This pattern was absent in temperate forests, which suggests that CNDD influences species abundances more strongly in tropical forests than it does in temperate ones13. We also found that interspecific variation in CNDD, which might attenuate its stabilizing effect on species diversity14,15, was high but not significantly different across latitudes. Although the consequences of these patterns for latitudinal diversity gradients are difficult to evaluate, we speculate that a more effective regulation of population abundances could translate into greater stabilization of tropical tree communities and thus contribute to the high local diversity of tropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hülsmann
- Ecosystem Analysis and Simulation (EASI) Lab, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
- Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Ryan A Chisholm
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Liza Comita
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Marco D Visser
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Salomon Aguilar
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | - Kristina J Anderson-Teixeira
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Norman A Bourg
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Warren Y Brockelman
- National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), National Science and Technology Development Agency, Bangkok, 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
| | - Nicolas Castaño
- Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Chia-Hao Chang-Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | | | - Keith Clay
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Stuart J Davies
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alvaro 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
| | | | - Gregory S Gilbert
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Jan Holík
- Department of Forest Ecology, Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Robert W Howe
- Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, USA
| | - Stephen P Hubbell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Akira Itoh
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Daniel J Johnson
- School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - David Kenfack
- Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Kamil Král
- Department of Forest Ecology, Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Andrew J Larson
- Department of Forest Management, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
- Wilderness Institute, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - James A Lutz
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | | | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - William J McShea
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | | | | | - Anuttara Nathalang
- National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), National Science and Technology Development Agency, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Natalia Norden
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Renan Parmigiani
- Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rolando Perez
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | | | | | - I-Fang Sun
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, National Donghwa University, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Mark E Swanson
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | | | - Duncan Thomas
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Jill Thompson
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Maria Uriarte
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amy T Wolf
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, USA
| | - Tze Leong Yao
- Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, Malaysia
| | - Jess K Zimmerman
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, USA
| | - Daniel Zuleta
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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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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6
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Dahle IJ, Gya R, Töpper JP, Vandvik V. Are sub-alpine species' seedling emergence and establishment in the alpine limited by climate or biotic interactions? Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11009. [PMID: 38352204 PMCID: PMC10862170 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11009] [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: 06/06/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
One of the ways in which plants are responding to climate change is by shifting their ranges to higher elevations. Early life-history stages are major bottlenecks for species' range shifts, and variation in seedling emergence and establishment success can therefore be important determinants of species' ability to establish at higher elevations. Previous studies have found that warming per se tends to not only increase seedling establishment in alpine climates but it also increases plant productivity, which could limit establishment success through increased competition for light. Here we disentangle the relative importance of several climate-related abiotic and biotic factors on sub-alpine species' seedling emergence and survival in the alpine. Specifically, we test how temperature, precipitation and competition from neighbouring vegetation impacts establishment, and also whether species' functional traits, or strategies impact their ability to colonise alpine locations. We found that our six sub-alpine study species were all able to recruit from seed in alpine locations under the extant alpine climate, but their emergence was limited by competition from neighbouring vegetation. This indicates that biotic interactions can hinder the range shifts expected as a result of climate warming. Species with a resource conservative strategy had higher emergence in the extant alpine climate than species with a resource acquisitive strategy, and they were largely unaffected by changes in temperature. The resource acquisitive species, in contrast, had faster emergence under warming, especially when they were released from competition from neighbouring vegetation. Our results indicate that competition from the established vegetation is limiting the spread of lowland species into the alpine, and as the climate continues to warm, species with resource acquisitive traits might gain an advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingrid J. Dahle
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
| | - Ragnhild Gya
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Bjerknes Centre for Climate ResearchUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
| | | | - Vigdis Vandvik
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
- Bjerknes Centre for Climate ResearchUniversity of BergenBergenNorway
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7
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González-Melo A, Posada JM, Beauchêne J, Lehnebach R, Levionnois S, Derroire G, Clair B. The links between wood traits and species demography change during tree development in a lowland tropical rainforest. AOB PLANTS 2024; 16:plad090. [PMID: 38249523 PMCID: PMC10799319 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plad090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
One foundational assumption of trait-based ecology is that traits can predict species demography. However, the links between traits and demographic rates are, in general, not as strong as expected. These weak associations may be due to the use of traits that are distantly related to performance, and/or the lack of consideration of size-related variations in both traits and demographic rates. Here, we examined how wood traits were related to demographic rates in 19 tree species from a lowland forest in eastern Amazonia. We measured 11 wood traits (i.e. structural, anatomical and chemical traits) in sapling, juvenile and adult wood; and related them to growth and mortality rates (MR) at different ontogenetic stages. The links between wood traits and demographic rates changed during tree development. At the sapling stage, relative growth rates (RGR) were negatively related to wood specific gravity (WSG) and total parenchyma fractions, while MR decreased with radial parenchyma fractions, but increased with vessel lumen area (VA). Juvenile RGR were unrelated to wood traits, whereas juvenile MR were negatively related to WSG and axial parenchyma fractions. At the adult stage, RGR scaled with VA and wood potassium concentrations. Adult MR were not predicted by any trait. Overall, the strength of the trait-demography associations decreased at later ontogenetic stages. Our results indicate that the associations between traits and demographic rates can change as trees age. Also, wood chemical or anatomical traits may be better predictors of growth and MR than WSG. Our findings are important to expand our knowledge on tree life-history variations and community dynamics in tropical forests, by broadening our understanding on the links between wood traits and demography during tree development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés González-Melo
- Biology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Avenida carrera 24 # 63C-69. Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Juan Manuel Posada
- Biology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Avenida carrera 24 # 63C-69. Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Jacques Beauchêne
- CIRAD, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97337, France
| | - Romain Lehnebach
- CNRS, Laboratory of Botany and Modeling of Plant Architecture and Vegetation (UMR AMAP), 34398 Montpellier, France
| | - Sébastian Levionnois
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Universite de Guyane, Kourou, 97310France
| | - Géraldine Derroire
- CIRAD, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97337, France
| | - Bruno Clair
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Universite de Guyane, Kourou, 97310France
- Laboratoire de Mécanique de Génie Civil (LMGC), CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 34000, France
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8
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Bruijning M, Metcalf CJE, Visser MD. Closing the gap in the Janzen-Connell hypothesis: What determines pathogen diversity? Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14316. [PMID: 37787147 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
The high tree diversity in tropical forests has long been a puzzle to ecologists. In the 1970s, Janzen and Connell proposed that tree species (hosts) coexist due to the stabilizing actions of specialized enemies. This Janzen-Connell hypothesis was subsequently supported by theoretical studies. Yet, such studies have taken the presence of specialized pathogens for granted, overlooking that pathogen coexistence also requires an explanation. Moreover, stable ecological coexistence does not necessarily imply evolutionary stability. What are the conditions that allow Janzen-Connell effects to evolve? We link theory from community ecology, evolutionary biology and epidemiology to tackle this question, structuring our approach around five theoretical frameworks. Phenomenological Lotka-Volterra competition models provide the most basic framework, which can be restructured to include (single- or multi-)pathogen dynamics. This ecological foundation can be extended to include pathogen evolution. Hosts, of course, may also evolve, and we introduce a coevolutionary model, showing that host-pathogen coevolution can lead to highly diverse systems. Our work unpacks the assumptions underpinning Janzen-Connell and places theoretical bounds on pathogen and host ecology and evolution. The five theoretical frameworks taken together provide a stronger theoretical basis for Janzen-Connell, delivering a wider lens that can yield important insights into the maintenance of diversity in these increasingly threatened systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjolein Bruijning
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - C Jessica E Metcalf
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Marco D Visser
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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9
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Lebrija-Trejos E, Hernández A, Wright SJ. Effects of moisture and density-dependent interactions on tropical tree diversity. Nature 2023; 615:100-104. [PMID: 36792827 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05717-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Tropical tree diversity increases with rainfall1,2. Direct physiological effects of moisture availability and indirect effects mediated by biotic interactions are hypothesized to contribute to this pantropical increase in diversity with rainfall2-6. Previous studies have demonstrated direct physiological effects of variation in moisture availability on tree survival and diversity5,7-10, but the indirect effects of variation in moisture availability on diversity mediated by biotic interactions have not been shown11. Here we evaluate the relationships between interannual variation in moisture availability, the strength of density-dependent interactions, and seedling diversity in central Panama. Diversity increased with soil moisture over the first year of life across 20 annual cohorts. These first-year changes in diversity persisted for at least 15 years. Differential survival of moisture-sensitive species did not contribute to the observed changes in diversity. Rather, negative density-dependent interactions among conspecifics were stronger and increased diversity in wetter years. This suggests that moisture availability enhances diversity indirectly through moisture-sensitive, density-dependent conspecific interactions. Pathogens and phytophagous insects mediate interactions among seedlings in tropical forests12-18, and many of these plant enemies are themselves moisture-sensitive19-27. Changes in moisture availability caused by climate change and habitat degradation may alter these interactions and tropical tree diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edwin Lebrija-Trejos
- Department of Biology and Environment, University of Haifa-Oranim, Kiryat Tiv'on, Israel.
| | | | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Ancón, Panama
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10
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Zhao W, Wang X, Howard MM, Kou Y, Liu Q. Functional shifts in soil fungal communities regulate differential tree species establishment during subalpine forest succession. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 861:160616. [PMID: 36462659 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160616] [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: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Soil fungi can differentially affect plant performance and community dynamics. While fungi play key roles in driving the plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) that promote grassland succession, it remains unclear how the fungi-mediated PSFs affect tree species establishment during forest succession. We inoculated pioneer broadleaf (Betula platyphylla and Betula albosinensis) and nonpioneer coniferous tree seedlings (Picea asperata and Abies faxoniana) with fungal-dominated rooting zone soils collected from dominant plant species of early-, mid- and late-successional stages in a subalpine forest, and compared their biomass and fungal communities. All tree species accumulated abundant pathogenic fungi in early-successional inoculated soil, which generated negative biotic feedbacks and lowered seedling biomass. High levels of soil ectomycorrhizal fungi from mid- and late-successional stages resulted in positive biotic PSFs and strongly facilitated slow-growing coniferous seedling performance to favour successional development. B. albosinensis also grew better in mid- and late-successional soils with fewer pathogenic fungi than in early-successional soil, indicating its large susceptibility to pathogen attack. In contrast, the growth of another pioneer tree, B. platyphylla, was significantly suppressed in late-successional soil and was mostly driven by saprotrophic fungi, despite the unchanged pathogenic fungal community traits between the two fast-growing species. This unexpected result suggested a host specificity-dependent mechanism involved in the different impacts of fungal pathogens on host trees. Our findings reveal a critical role of functional shifts in soil fungal communities in mediating differential PSFs of tree species across successional stages, which should be considered to improve the prediction and management of community development following forest disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqiang Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xiaohu Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Mia M Howard
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Yongping Kou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Qing Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
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11
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He Q, Queenborough SA, Zhang Y, Wang W, Li B, Zhao K, Luo W, Tang H, Lin W, Chu C. Effects of tree sex, maturity, local abiotic, and biotic neighborhoods on the growth of a subtropical dioecious tree species Diospyros morrisiana. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16124. [PMID: 36652334 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16124] [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: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Understanding the drivers of the growth in long-lived woody trees is the key to predicting their responses to and maintaining their populations under global change. However, the role of tree sex and differential investment to reproduction are often not considered in models of individual tree growth, despite many gymnosperm and angiosperm species having separate male and female sexes. Thus, better models of tree growth should include tree sex and life stage along with the abiotic and biotic neighborhoods. METHODS We used a sex-specific molecular marker to determine the sex of 2188 individual trees >1 cm DBH of the dioecious tree species Diospyros morrisiana in a 50-ha subtropical forest plot in China. We used long-term census data from about 300,000 trees, together with 625 soil samples and 2352 hemispherical photographs to characterize the spatially explicit biotic and abiotic neighborhoods. RESULTS We found a male-biased effective sex ratio and a female-biased overall population sex ratio of D. morrisiana. No sex spatial segregation was detected for the overall population, mature, or immature trees. Immature trees grew faster than mature trees and females grew slower than males. Further, conspecific neighbors significantly decreased tree growth, while the abiotic neighborhood showed no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that variation in resource allocation patterns within and across individual trees of different sexes and life-history stages should be more widely accounted for in models of tree growth. In addition, our study highlights the importance of sex-specific molecular markers for studying populations of long-lived dioecious tree species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Simon A Queenborough
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Yonghua Zhang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325000, China
| | - Weitao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Buhang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Kangning Zhao
- School of Architecture, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China
| | - Wenqi Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Hui Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Wei Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Chengjin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences and School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
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12
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Kulikowski AJ, Zahawi RA, Werden LK, Zhu K, Holl KD. Restoration interventions mediate tropical tree recruitment dynamics over time. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210077. [PMID: 36373915 PMCID: PMC9661957 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Forest restoration is increasingly heralded as a global strategy to conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change, yet long-term studies that compare the effects of different restoration strategies on tree recruit demographics are lacking. We measured tree recruit survival and growth annually in three restoration treatments-natural regeneration, applied nucleation and tree plantations-replicated at 13 sites in southern Costa Rica-and evaluated the changes over a decade. Early-successional seedlings had 14% higher survival probability in the applied nucleation than natural regeneration treatments. Early-successional sapling growth rates were initially 227% faster in natural regeneration and 127% faster in applied nucleation than plantation plots but converged across restoration treatments over time. Later-successional seedling and sapling survival were similar across treatments but later-successional sapling growth rates were 39% faster in applied nucleation than in plantation treatments. Results indicate that applied nucleation was equally or more effective in enhancing survival and growth of naturally recruited trees than the more resource-intensive plantation treatment, highlighting its promise as a restoration strategy. Finally, tree recruit dynamics changed quickly over the 10-year period, underscoring the importance of multi-year studies to compare restoration interventions and guide ambitious forest restoration efforts planned for the coming decades. 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)
- Andy J. Kulikowski
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Rakan A. Zahawi
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
- Lyon Arboretum and School of Life Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Leland K. Werden
- Lyon Arboretum and School of Life Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Kai Zhu
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Karen D. Holl
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
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13
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Helmer EH, Kay S, Marcano-Vega H, Powers JS, Wood TE, Zhu X, Gwenzi D, Ruzycki TS. Multiscale predictors of small tree survival across a heterogeneous tropical landscape. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0280322. [PMID: 36920898 PMCID: PMC10016699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Uncertainties about controls on tree mortality make forest responses to land-use and climate change difficult to predict. We tracked biomass of tree functional groups in tropical forest inventories across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and with random forests we ranked 86 potential predictors of small tree survival (young or mature stems 2.5-12.6 cm diameter at breast height). Forests span dry to cloud forests, range in age, geology and past land use and experienced severe drought and storms. When excluding species as a predictor, top predictors are tree crown ratio and height, two to three species traits and stand to regional factors reflecting local disturbance and the system state (widespread recovery, drought, hurricanes). Native species, and species with denser wood, taller maximum height, or medium typical height survive longer, but short trees and species survive hurricanes better. Trees survive longer in older stands and with less disturbed canopies, harsher geoclimates (dry, edaphically dry, e.g., serpentine substrates, and highest-elevation cloud forest), or in intervals removed from hurricanes. Satellite image phenology and bands, even from past decades, are top predictors, being sensitive to vegetation type and disturbance. Covariation between stand-level species traits and geoclimate, disturbance and neighboring species types may explain why most neighbor variables, including introduced vs. native species, had low or no importance, despite univariate correlations with survival. As forests recovered from a hurricane in 1998 and earlier deforestation, small trees of introduced species, which on average have lighter wood, died at twice the rate of natives. After hurricanes in 2017, the total biomass of trees ≥12.7 cm dbh of the introduced species Spathodea campanulata spiked, suggesting that more frequent hurricanes might perpetuate this light-wooded species commonness. If hurricane recovery favors light-wooded species while drought favors others, climate change influences on forest composition and ecosystem services may depend on the frequency and severity of extreme climate events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen H. Helmer
- USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Shannon Kay
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Fort Collins, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Humfredo Marcano-Vega
- USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, United States of America
- USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC, United States of America
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Tana E. Wood
- USDA Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, United States of America
| | - Xiaolin Zhu
- Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
| | - David Gwenzi
- Department of Environmental Science & Management, Cal Poly Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, United States of America
| | - Thomas S. Ruzycki
- Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
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14
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Abiem I, Dickie I, Kenfack D, Chapman HM. Factors limiting plant recruitment in a tropical Afromontane Forest. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Iveren Abiem
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
- Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology University of Jos Jos Nigeria
- Nigerian Montane Forest Project Yelwa Village Nigeria
| | - Ian Dickie
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
| | - David Kenfack
- Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Washington District of Columbia USA
| | - Hazel M. Chapman
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
- Nigerian Montane Forest Project Yelwa Village Nigeria
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15
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da Silva DA, Pfeifer M, Vibrans AC. Conspecific density plays a pivotal role in shaping sapling community in highly fragmented subtropical forests. AUSTRAL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Augusto da Silva
- Environmental Engineering Graduate Program Regional University of Blumenau Blumenau São Paulo Brazil
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Modelling, Evidence and Policy Group Newcastle University Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
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16
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Wei B, Zhong L, Liu J, Zheng F, Jin Y, Xie Y, Lei Z, Shen G, Yu M. Differences in Density Dependence among Tree Mycorrhizal Types Affect Tree Species Diversity and Relative Growth Rates. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11182340. [PMID: 36145742 PMCID: PMC9505969 DOI: 10.3390/plants11182340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) may vary by tree mycorrhizal type. However, whether arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)-associated tree species suffer from stronger CNDD than ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM)-associated tree species at different tree life stages, and whether EcM tree species can promote AM and ErM saplings and adults growth, remain to be studied. Based on the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest data in eastern China, the generalized linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the effects of the conspecific density and heterospecific density grouped by symbiont mycorrhizal type on different tree life stages of different tree mycorrhizal types. The results showed that compared to other tree mycorrhizal types at the same growth stage, EcM saplings and AM adults experienced stronger CNDD. Heterospecific EcM density had a stronger positive effect on AM and ErM individuals. Species diversity and average relative growth rate (RGR) first increased and then decreased with increasing basal area (BA) ratios of EcM to AM tree species. These results suggested that the stronger CNDD of EcM saplings and AM adults favored local species diversity over other tree mycorrhizal types. The EcM tree species better facilitated the growth of AM and ErM tree species in the neighborhood, increasing the forest carbon sink rate. Interestingly, species diversity and average RGR decreased when EcM or AM tree species predominated. Therefore, our study highlights that manipulating the BA ratio of EcM to AM tree species will play a nonnegligible role in maintaining biodiversity and increasing forest carbon sink rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boliang Wei
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Lei Zhong
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Wuyanling National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, Taishun 325500, China
| | - Jinliang Liu
- College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Fangdong Zheng
- Zhejiang Wuyanling National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, Taishun 325500, China
| | - Yi Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Development in Guizhou Province, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Yuchu Xie
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zupei Lei
- Zhejiang Wuyanling National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, Taishun 325500, China
| | - Guochun Shen
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Center for Global Change and Ecological Forecasting, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Mingjian Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-0571-88206469
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17
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O'Brien MJ, Hector A, Kellenberger RT, Maycock CR, Ong R, Philipson CD, Powers JS, Reynolds G, Burslem DFRP. Demographic consequences of heterogeneity in conspecific density dependence among mast-fruiting tropical trees. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220739. [PMID: 35703055 PMCID: PMC9198787 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of conspecific density dependence (CDD) in the maintenance of species richness is a central focus of tropical forest ecology. However, tests of CDD often ignore the integrated effects of CDD over multiple life stages and their long-term impacts on population demography. We combined a 10-year time series of seed production, seedling recruitment and sapling and tree demography of three dominant Southeast Asian tree species that adopt a mast-fruiting phenology. We used these data to construct individual-based models that examine the effects of CDD on population growth rates (λ) across life-history stages. Recruitment was driven by positive CDD for all species, supporting the predator satiation hypothesis, while negative CDD affected seedling and sapling growth of two species, significantly reducing λ. This negative CDD on juvenile growth overshadowed the positive CDD of recruitment, suggesting the cumulative effects of CDD during seedling and sapling development has greater importance than the positive CDD during infrequent masting events. Overall, CDD varied among positive, neutral and negative effects across life-history stages for all species, suggesting that assessments of CDD on transitions between just two stages (e.g. seeds seedlings or juveniles mature trees) probably misrepresent the importance of CDD on population growth and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. O'Brien
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andy Hector
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Colin R. Maycock
- Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
| | - Robert Ong
- Forest Research Centre, Sepilok, 90715 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | | | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA,Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Glen Reynolds
- Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
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18
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Smith DJB. The functional form of specialised predation affects whether Janzen-Connell effects can prevent competitive exclusion. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1458-1470. [PMID: 35474601 PMCID: PMC9324109 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14014] [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: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Janzen–Connell effects (JCEs), specialised predation of seeds and seedlings near conspecific trees, are hypothesised to maintain species richness. While previous studies show JCEs can maintain high richness relative to neutral communities, recent theoretical work indicates JCEs may weakly inhibit competitive exclusion when species exhibit interspecific fitness variation. However, recent models make somewhat restrictive assumptions about the functional form of specialised predation—that JCEs occur at a fixed rate when offspring are within a fixed distance of a conspecific tree. Using a theoretical model, I show that the functional form of JCEs largely impacts their ability to maintain coexistence. If predation pressure increases additively with adult tree density and decays exponentially with distance, JCEs maintain considerably higher species richness than predicted by recent models. Loosely parameterising the model with data from a Panamanian tree community, I elucidate the conditions under which JCEs are capable of maintaining high species richness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J B Smith
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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19
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Britton TG, Brodribb TJ, Richards SA, Ridley C, Hovenden MJ. Canopy damage during a natural drought depends on species identity, physiology and stand composition. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 233:2058-2070. [PMID: 34850394 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Vulnerability to xylem cavitation is a strong predictor of drought-induced damage in forest communities. However, biotic features of the community itself can influence water availability at the individual tree-level, thereby modifying patterns of drought damage. Using an experimental forest in Tasmania, Australia, we determined the vulnerability to cavitation (leaf P50 ) of four tree species and assessed the drought-induced canopy damage of 2944 6-yr-old trees after an extreme natural drought episode. We examined how individual damage was related to their size and the density and species identity of neighbouring trees. The two co-occurring dominant tree species, Eucalyptus delegatensis and Eucalyptus regnans, were the most vulnerable to drought-induced xylem cavitation and both species suffered significantly greater damage than neighbouring, subdominant species Pomaderris apetala and Acacia dealbata. While the two eucalypts had similar leaf P50 values, E. delegatensis suffered significantly greater damage, which was strongly related to the density of neighbouring P. apetala. Damage in E. regnans was less impacted by neighbouring plants and smaller trees of both eucalypts sustained significantly more damage than larger trees. Our findings demonstrate that natural drought damage is influenced by individual plant physiology as well as the composition, physiology and density of the surrounding stand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis G Britton
- Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
- ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
| | - Timothy J Brodribb
- Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
| | - Shane A Richards
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
| | - Chantelle Ridley
- Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
| | - Mark J Hovenden
- Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
- ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas., 7001, Australia
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20
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Yang B, Liang Y, Schmid B, Baruffol M, Li Y, He L, Salmon Y, Tian Q, Niklaus PA, Ma K. Soil Fungi Promote Biodiversity–Productivity Relationships in Experimental Communities of Young Trees. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-021-00689-7] [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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21
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Sims CA, Sampayo EM, Mayfield MM, Staples TL, Dalton SJ, Gutierrez‐Isaza N, Pandolfi JM. Janzen–Connell effects partially supported in reef‐building corals: adult presence interacts with settler density to limit establishment. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carrie A. Sims
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Eugenia M. Sampayo
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Margaret M. Mayfield
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Timothy L. Staples
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Steven J. Dalton
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross Univ. Bay Drive Coffs Harbour New South Wales Australia
| | - Nataly Gutierrez‐Isaza
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - John M. Pandolfi
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
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22
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Liang M, Shi L, Burslem DFRP, Johnson D, Fang M, Zhang X, Yu S. Soil fungal networks moderate density-dependent survival and growth of seedlings. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:2061-2071. [PMID: 33506513 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Pathogenic and mutualistic fungi have contrasting effects on seedling establishment, but it remains unclear whether density-dependent survival and growth are regulated by access to different types of mycorrhizal fungal networks supported by neighbouring adult trees. Here, we conducted an extensive field survey to test how mycorrhizal and pathogenic fungal colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) seedlings in a subtropical forest respond to density of neighbouring adult trees. In addition, we undertook a hyphal exclusion experiment to explicitly test the role of soil fungal networks in driving density-dependent effects on seedling growth and survival. Conspecific adult density was a strong predictor for the relative abundance of putative pathogens, which was greater in roots of AM than of ECM seedlings, while mycorrhizal fungal abundance and colonization were not consistently affected by conspecific adult density. Both ECM and AM fungal networks counteracted conspecific density-dependent mortality, but ECM fungi were more effective at weakening the negative effects of high seedling density than AM fungi. Our findings reveal a critical role of common fungal networks in mitigating negative density-dependent effects of pathogenic fungi on seedling establishment, which provides mechanistic insights into how soil fungal diversity shapes plant community structure in subtropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minxia Liang
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Liuqing Shi
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - David F R P Burslem
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK
| | - David Johnson
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Miao Fang
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Xinyi Zhang
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Shixiao Yu
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
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23
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Nagel R, Stainfield C, Fox-Clarke C, Toscani C, Forcada J, Hoffman JI. Evidence for an Allee effect in a declining fur seal population. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202882. [PMID: 33757358 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Allee effects play an important role in the dynamics of many populations and can increase the risk of local extinction. However, some authors have questioned the weight of evidence for Allee effects in wild populations. We therefore exploited a natural experiment provided by two adjacent breeding colonies of contrasting density to investigate the potential for Allee effects in an Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) population that is declining in response to climate change-induced reductions in food availability. Biometric time-series data were collected from 25 pups per colony during two consecutive breeding seasons, the first of which was among the worst on record in terms of breeding female numbers, pup birth weights and foraging trip durations. In previous decades when population densities were higher, pup mortality was consistently negatively density dependent, with rates of trauma and starvation scaling positively with density. However, we found the opposite, with higher pup mortality at low density and the majority of deaths attributable to predation. In parallel, body condition was depressed at low density, particularly in the poor-quality season. Our findings shed light on Allee effects in wild populations and highlight a potential emerging role of predators in the ongoing decline of a pinniped species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Nagel
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Claire Stainfield
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK
| | - Cameron Fox-Clarke
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK
| | - Camille Toscani
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK
| | - Jaume Forcada
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK
| | - Joseph I Hoffman
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany.,British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OET, UK
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24
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Factors affecting survival of seedling of Afzelia africana, a threatened tropical timber species in West Africa. Trop Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42965-021-00160-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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25
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Brown AJ, White PS, Peet RK. Environmental context alters the magnitude of conspecific negative density dependence in a temperate forest. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alissa J. Brown
- Department of Biology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 120 South Road Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
| | - Peter S. White
- Department of Biology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 120 South Road Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
- Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
| | - Robert K. Peet
- Department of Biology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 120 South Road Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
- Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina27599USA
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26
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Zang L, Xu H, Li Y, Zang R. Conspecific negative density dependence of trees varies with plant functional traits and environmental conditions across scales in a 60‐ha tropical rainforest dynamics plot. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lipeng Zang
- Center of Forest Ecology College of Forestry Guizhou University Guiyang China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of 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
| | - Han Xu
- Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry Guangzhou China
| | - Yide Li
- Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry Guangzhou China
| | - Runguo Zang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of 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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27
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Jiang F, Lutz JA, Guo Q, Hao Z, Wang X, Gilbert GS, Mao Z, Orwig DA, Parker GG, Sang W, Liu Y, Tian S, Cadotte MW, Jin G. Mycorrhizal type influences plant density dependence and species richness across 15 temperate forests. Ecology 2020; 102:e03259. [PMID: 33226634 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that the mycorrhizal type associated with tree species is an important trait influencing ecological processes such as response to environmental conditions and conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). However, we lack a general understanding of how tree mycorrhizal type influences CNDD strength and the resulting patterns of species abundance and richness at larger spatial scales. We assessed 305 species across 15 large, stem-mapped, temperate forest dynamics plots in Northeastern China and North America to explore the relationships between tree mycorrhizal type and CNDD, species abundance, and species richness at a regional scale. Tree species associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi showed a stronger CNDD and a more positive relationship with species abundance than did tree species associated with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. For each plot, both basal area and stem abundance of AM tree species was lower than that of ECM tree species, suggesting that AM tree species were rarer than ECM tree species. Finally, ECM tree dominance showed a negative effect on plant richness across plots. These results provide evidence that tree mycorrhizal type plays an important role in influencing CNDD and species richness, highlighting this trait as an important factor in structuring plant communities in temperate forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Jiang
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - James A Lutz
- Wildland Resources Department, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, UT 84322, USA
| | - Qingxi Guo
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.,Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Zhanqing Hao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Xugao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China
| | - Gregory S Gilbert
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California, 95064, USA
| | - Zikun Mao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - David A Orwig
- Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts, MA 01366, USA
| | - Geoffrey G Parker
- Forest Ecology Group, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, MD 21037, USA
| | - Weiguo Sang
- Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yankun Liu
- Heilongjiang Forestry Engineering and Environment Institute, Harbin, 150040, China.,Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Forestry Ecological Engineering of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150040, China
| | - Songyan Tian
- Heilongjiang Forestry Engineering and Environment Institute, Harbin, 150040, China.,National Positioning observation Station of Mudanjiang Forest Ecosystem in Heilongjiang Province, Mudanjiang, Muling, 157500, China
| | - Marc W Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, M1C 1A4, Canada.,Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A1, Canada
| | - Guangze Jin
- Center for Ecological Research, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.,Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
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28
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Esquivel-Muelbert A, Phillips OL, Brienen RJW, Fauset S, Sullivan MJP, Baker TR, Chao KJ, Feldpausch TR, Gloor E, Higuchi N, Houwing-Duistermaat J, Lloyd J, Liu H, Malhi Y, Marimon B, Marimon Junior BH, Monteagudo-Mendoza A, Poorter L, Silveira M, Torre EV, Dávila EA, Del Aguila Pasquel J, Almeida E, Loayza PA, Andrade A, Aragão LEOC, Araujo-Murakami A, Arets E, Arroyo L, Aymard C GA, Baisie M, Baraloto C, Camargo PB, Barroso J, Blanc L, Bonal D, Bongers F, Boot R, Brown F, Burban B, Camargo JL, Castro W, Moscoso VC, Chave J, Comiskey J, Valverde FC, da Costa AL, Cardozo ND, Di Fiore A, Dourdain A, Erwin T, Llampazo GF, Vieira ICG, Herrera R, Honorio Coronado E, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Jimenez-Rojas E, Killeen T, Laurance S, Laurance W, Levesley A, Lewis SL, Ladvocat KLLM, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Lovejoy T, Meir P, Mendoza C, Morandi P, Neill D, Nogueira Lima AJ, Vargas PN, de Oliveira EA, Camacho NP, Pardo G, Peacock J, Peña-Claros M, Peñuela-Mora MC, Pickavance G, Pipoly J, Pitman N, Prieto A, Pugh TAM, Quesada C, Ramirez-Angulo H, de Almeida Reis SM, Rejou-Machain M, Correa ZR, Bayona LR, Rudas A, Salomão R, Serrano J, Espejo JS, Silva N, Singh J, Stahl C, Stropp J, Swamy V, Talbot J, Ter Steege H, Terborgh J, Thomas R, Toledo M, Torres-Lezama A, Gamarra LV, van der Heijden G, van der Meer P, van der Hout P, Martinez RV, Vieira SA, Cayo JV, Vos V, Zagt R, Zuidema P, Galbraith D. Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5515. [PMID: 33168823 PMCID: PMC7652827 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The carbon sink capacity of tropical forests is substantially affected by tree mortality. However, the main drivers of tropical tree death remain largely unknown. Here we present a pan-Amazonian assessment of how and why trees die, analysing over 120,000 trees representing > 3800 species from 189 long-term RAINFOR forest plots. While tree mortality rates vary greatly Amazon-wide, on average trees are as likely to die standing as they are broken or uprooted-modes of death with different ecological consequences. Species-level growth rate is the single most important predictor of tree death in Amazonia, with faster-growing species being at higher risk. Within species, however, the slowest-growing trees are at greatest risk while the effect of tree size varies across the basin. In the driest Amazonian region species-level bioclimatic distributional patterns also predict the risk of death, suggesting that these forests are experiencing climatic conditions beyond their adaptative limits. These results provide not only a holistic pan-Amazonian picture of tree death but large-scale evidence for the overarching importance of the growth-survival trade-off in driving tropical tree mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert
- School of Geography, Earth and Enviornmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | | | | | - Sophie Fauset
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Martin J P Sullivan
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Kuo-Jung Chao
- International Master Program of Agriculture, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Ted R Feldpausch
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Niro Higuchi
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | | | - Jon Lloyd
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life, Imperial College London Sciences, London, UK
| | - Haiyan Liu
- School of Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Beatriz Marimon
- UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso PPG-Ecologia e Conservação, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil
| | - Ben Hur Marimon Junior
- UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso PPG-Ecologia e Conservação, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil
| | | | - Lourens Poorter
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Marcos Silveira
- Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil
| | - Emilio Vilanova Torre
- Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal (INDEFOR), Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
- University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Esteban Alvarez Dávila
- Escuela de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Ambientales, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Boyacá, Colombia
- Fundación ConVida, Medellín, Colombia
| | | | - Everton Almeida
- Instituto de Biodiversidade e Florestas, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Santarém, Brazil
| | - Patricia Alvarez Loayza
- Center for Tropical Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, University in Durham, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ana Andrade
- Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia Florestais, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Luiz E O C Aragão
- National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil
| | - Alejandro Araujo-Murakami
- Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
| | - Eric Arets
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Luzmila Arroyo
- Dirección de la Carrera de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
| | - Gerardo A Aymard C
- UNELLEZ-Guanare, Herbario Universitario (PORT), Portuguesa, Venezuela Compensation International Progress S.A. Ciprogress-Greenlife, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
| | - Michel Baisie
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Christopher Baraloto
- Department of Biological Sciences, International Center for Tropical Botany, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Jorcely Barroso
- Universidade Federal do Acre, Campus Floresta, Cruzeiro do Sul, Brazil
| | - Lilian Blanc
- UR Forest & Societies, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Damien Bonal
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Frans Bongers
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - René Boot
- Department of Biology, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | | | - Benoit Burban
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - José Luís Camargo
- Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia Florestais, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Wendeson Castro
- Laboratório de Botânica e Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil
| | | | - Jerome Chave
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversite Biologique, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - James Comiskey
- Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Antonio Lola da Costa
- Instituto de Geociências, Faculdade de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal do Para, Belém, Brazil
| | | | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Department of Anthropology and Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Aurélie Dourdain
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Terry Erwin
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | | | - Rafael Herrera
- Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela
- IIAMA, Universitat Politécnica de València, València, Spain
| | | | | | - Eliana Jimenez-Rojas
- Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Imani, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Amazonia, Leticia, Colombia
| | | | - Susan Laurance
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
| | - William Laurance
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia
| | | | - Simon L Lewis
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Thomas Lovejoy
- Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Patrick Meir
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Casimiro Mendoza
- Escuela de Ciencias Forestales, Unidad Académica del Trópico, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba, Bolivia
| | - Paulo Morandi
- UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso PPG-Ecologia e Conservação, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil
| | - David Neill
- Facultad de Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Puyo, Ecuador
| | | | | | - Edmar Almeida de Oliveira
- UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso PPG-Ecologia e Conservação, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil
| | - Nadir Pallqui Camacho
- School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Perú
| | - Guido Pardo
- Universidad Autónoma del Beni José Ballivián, Trinidad, Bolivia
| | | | - Marielos Peña-Claros
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | | | - John Pipoly
- Broward County Parks Recreation, Oakland Park, FL, USA
| | - Nigel Pitman
- Keller Science Action Center, Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Adriana Prieto
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Thomas A M Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Enviornmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Carlos Quesada
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Hirma Ramirez-Angulo
- Institute of Research for Forestry Development (INDEFOR), Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Simone Matias de Almeida Reis
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- UNEMAT - Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso PPG-Ecologia e Conservação, Campus de Nova Xavantina, Nova Xavantina, MT, Brazil
| | - Maxime Rejou-Machain
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | | | - Lily Rodriguez Bayona
- Centro de Conservacion, Investigacion y Manejo de Areas Naturales, CIMA Cordillera Azul, Lima, Peru
| | - Agustín Rudas
- Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Rafael Salomão
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil
- Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, Brazil
| | - Julio Serrano
- Instituto de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo Forestal (INDEFOR), Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Javier Silva Espejo
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Perú
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile
| | | | - James Singh
- Guyana Forestry Commission, Georgetown, Guyana
| | - Clement Stahl
- INRAE, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Cirad, AgroParisTech, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | | | - Varun Swamy
- Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA, USA
| | - Joey Talbot
- Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Hans Ter Steege
- Biodiversity Dynamics, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Systems Ecology, Free University, De Boelelaan 1087, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - John Terborgh
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Raquel Thomas
- Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development, Georgetown, Guyana
| | - Marisol Toledo
- Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel Rene Moreno, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
| | | | | | | | - Peter van der Meer
- Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Simone Aparecida Vieira
- Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
| | | | - Vincent Vos
- Universidad Autónoma del Beni José Ballivián, Trinidad, Bolivia
| | | | - Pieter Zuidema
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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29
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Zheng Y, Huang F, Liang M, Liu X, Yu S. The effects of density dependence and habitat preference on species coexistence and relative abundance. Oecologia 2020; 194:673-684. [PMID: 33094381 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04788-5] [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: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In plant communities, some mechanisms maintain differences in species' abundances, while other mechanisms promote coexistence. Asymmetry in conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) and/or habitat preference is hypothesized to shape relative species abundance, whereas community compensatory trends (CCTs) induced by community-level CNDD and heterospecific facilitation are hypothesized to promote coexistence. We use survey data from three 1-ha permanent dynamic plots in a subtropical forest over the course of a decade to find out which of these processes are important and at which life-history stages (the seedling, sapling, and juvenile stages) they exert their effects. CNDD was not related to abundance in any of the life-history stages. Suitable habitats positively influenced plant abundance at all tested life stages, but especially so for juveniles. Community-level CNDD of seedling neighbors was detected at the seedling stage, while heterospecific facilitation was detected across all tested life-history stages. A CCT in seedling survival was detected, but there was no evidence for such trends across the other life-history stages. Altogether, our results suggest that habitat specificity increases the rarity of species, whereas a CCT at the seedling stage, which is likely to be induced by CNDD and heterospecific facilitation, enables such species to maintain their populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zheng
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Fengmin Huang
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Minxia Liang
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Xubing Liu
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China
| | - Shixiao Yu
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China.
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30
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Hülsmann L, Chisholm RA, Hartig F. Is Variation in Conspecific Negative Density Dependence Driving Tree Diversity Patterns at Large Scales? Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 36:151-163. [PMID: 33589047 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Half a century ago, Janzen and Connell hypothesized that the high tree species diversity in tropical forests is maintained by specialized natural enemies. Along with other mechanisms, these can cause conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) and thus maintain species diversity. Numerous studies have measured proxies of CNDD worldwide, but doubt about its relative importance remains. We find ample evidence for CNDD in local populations, but methodological limitations make it difficult to assess if CNDD scales up to control community diversity and thereby local and global biodiversity patterns. A combination of more robust statistical methods, new study designs, and eco-evolutionary models are needed to provide a more definite evaluation of the importance of CNDD for geographic variation in plant species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hülsmann
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Ryan A Chisholm
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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31
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Song X, Zhang W, Johnson DJ, Yang J, Asefa M, Deng X, Yang X, Cao M. Conspecific negative density dependence in rainy season enhanced seedling diversity across habitats in a tropical forest. Oecologia 2020; 193:949-957. [PMID: 32851493 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04729-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) could be one of the most important local-scale mechanisms shaping plant species coexistence. However, the spatial and temporal changes in the strength CNDD and the implications for the plant diversity remain unknown. We used 10 years of seedling data, in a seasonal tropical rainforest, to discover how CNDD influences tree seedling survival across habitats and seasons. We also evaluated the relation between CNDD and species diversity. We found the strength of CNDD in the valley habitat was significantly stronger than in ridge habitat in rainy season, but not significantly different in dry season. Corresponding to expectations of CNDD as mechanism of diversity maintenance, seedling species diversity was significantly higher in valley habitat than in ridge habitat and significantly correlated with CNDD. Additionally, conspecific and heterospecific seedling neighbour densities positively affected the survival of tree seedlings, but heterospecific adult neighbour density had a weak effect. Our study finds that CNDD varied significantly across habitats and was correlated with local seedling diversity. Our results highlight the importance of CNDD in driving species diversity at the local scale. Recognizing the spatial and temporal variation in the strength of CNDD will aid efforts to model and understand species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China
| | - Wenfu Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Daniel J Johnson
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - 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, China.
| | - Mengesha Asefa
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaobao Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaofei Yang
- 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
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32
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Differences among species in seed dispersal and conspecific neighbor effects can interact to influence coexistence. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-020-00468-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Chen Y, Shao Y, Xi J, Yuan Z, Ye Y, Wang T. Community Preferences of Woody Plant Species in a Heterogeneous Temperate Forest, China. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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34
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Cheng K, Yu S. Neighboring trees regulate the root-associated pathogenic fungi on the host plant in a subtropical forest. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:3932-3943. [PMID: 32489621 PMCID: PMC7244890 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Root-associated fungi and host-specific pathogens are major determinants of species coexistence in forests. Phylogenetically related neighboring trees can strongly affect the fungal community structure of the host plant, which, in turn, will affect the ecological processes. Unfortunately, our understanding of the factors influencing fungal community composition in forests is still limited. In particular, investigation of the relationship between the phytopathogenic fungal community and neighboring trees is incomplete. In the current study, we tested the host specificity of members of the root-associated fungal community collected from seven tree species and determined the influence of neighboring trees and habitat variation on the composition of the phytopathogenic fungal community of the focal plant in a subtropical evergreen forest. Using high-throughput sequencing data with respect to the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, we characterized the community composition of the root-associated fungi and found significant differences with respect to fungal groups among the seven tree species. The density of conspecific neighboring trees had a significantly positive influence on the relative abundance of phytopathogens, especially host-specific pathogens, while the heterospecific neighbor density had a significant negative impact on the species richness of host-specific pathogens, as well as phytopathogens. Our work provides evidence that the root-associated phytopathogenic fungi of a host plant depend greatly on the tree neighbors of the host plant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keke Cheng
- Department of EcologySchool of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of BiocontrolSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Shixiao Yu
- Department of EcologySchool of Life Sciences/State Key Laboratory of BiocontrolSun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
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35
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Malizia A, Blundo C, Carilla J, Osinaga Acosta O, Cuesta F, Duque A, Aguirre N, Aguirre Z, Ataroff M, Baez S, Calderón-Loor M, Cayola L, Cayuela L, Ceballos S, Cedillo H, Farfán Ríos W, Feeley KJ, Fuentes AF, Gámez Álvarez LE, Grau R, Homeier J, Jadan O, Llambi LD, Loza Rivera MI, Macía MJ, Malhi Y, Malizia L, Peralvo M, Pinto E, Tello S, Silman M, Young KR. Elevation and latitude drives structure and tree species composition in Andean forests: Results from a large-scale plot network. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231553. [PMID: 32311701 PMCID: PMC7170706 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Our knowledge about the structure and function of Andean forests at regional scales remains limited. Current initiatives to study forests over continental or global scales still have important geographical gaps, particularly in regions such as the tropical and subtropical Andes. In this study, we assessed patterns of structure and tree species diversity along ~ 4000 km of latitude and ~ 4000 m of elevation range in Andean forests. We used the Andean Forest Network (Red de Bosques Andinos, https://redbosques.condesan.org/) database which, at present, includes 491 forest plots (totaling 156.3 ha, ranging from 0.01 to 6 ha) representing a total of 86,964 identified tree stems ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height belonging to 2341 identified species, 584 genera and 133 botanical families. Tree stem density and basal area increases with elevation while species richness decreases. Stem density and species richness both decrease with latitude. Subtropical forests have distinct tree species composition compared to those in the tropical region. In addition, floristic similarity of subtropical plots is between 13 to 16% while similarity between tropical forest plots is between 3% to 9%. Overall, plots ~ 0.5-ha or larger may be preferred for describing patterns at regional scales in order to avoid plot size effects. We highlight the need to promote collaboration and capacity building among researchers in the Andean region (i.e., South-South cooperation) in order to generate and synthesize information at regional scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina Malizia
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Cecilia Blundo
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Julieta Carilla
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Oriana Osinaga Acosta
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Francisco Cuesta
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA), Quito, Ecuador
- Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecorregión Andina (CONDESAN), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Alvaro Duque
- Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Nikolay Aguirre
- Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales del Ambiente y la Biodiversidad, Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Zhofre Aguirre
- Herbario Reinaldo Espinoza, Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
| | - Michele Ataroff
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Ecológicas (ICAE), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Selene Baez
- Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Marco Calderón-Loor
- Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Américas (UDLA), Quito, Ecuador
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Leslie Cayola
- Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB), La Paz, Bolivia
- Missouri Botanical Garden, St, Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Luis Cayuela
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, España
| | - Sergio Ceballos
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Hugo Cedillo
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - William Farfán Ríos
- Herbario Vargas (CUZ), Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco, Perú
| | - Kenneth J. Feeley
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Alfredo Fernando Fuentes
- Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB), La Paz, Bolivia
- Missouri Botanical Garden, St, Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Luis E. Gámez Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Dendrología, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Ricardo Grau
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Juergen Homeier
- Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, University of Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany
| | - Oswaldo Jadan
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | | | - María Isabel Loza Rivera
- Herbario Nacional de Bolivia (LPB), La Paz, Bolivia
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St, Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Manuel J. Macía
- Departamento de Biología, Área de Botánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, España
| | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | - Lucio Malizia
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina
| | - Manuel Peralvo
- Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecorregión Andina (CONDESAN), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Esteban Pinto
- Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de la Ecorregión Andina (CONDESAN), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Sebastián Tello
- Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St, Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Miles Silman
- Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Kenneth R. Young
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Austin Texas, Texas, United States of America
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36
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Cristóbal-Pérez EJ, Fuchs EJ, Olivares-Pinto U, Quesada M. Janzen-Connell effects shape gene flow patterns and realized fitness in the tropical dioecious tree Spondias purpurea (ANACARDIACEAE). Sci Rep 2020; 10:4584. [PMID: 32165645 PMCID: PMC7067871 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61394-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Pollination and seed dispersal patterns determine gene flow within plant populations. In tropical forests, a high proportion of trees are dioecious, insect pollinated and dispersed by vertebrates. Dispersal vectors and density dependent factors may modulate realized gene flow and influence the magnitude of Fine Scale Genetic Structure (FSGS), affecting individual fitness. Spondias purpurea is a vertebrate-dispersed, insect-pollinated dioecious tropical tree. We assessed the influence of sex ratio, effective and realized gene flow on genetic diversity, FSGS and individual fitness within a 30 ha plot in the tropical dry forest reserve of Chamela-Cuixmala, Mexico. All individuals within the plot were tagged, geo-referenced and sampled for genetic analysis. We measured dbh and monitored sex expression during two reproductive seasons for all individuals. We collected seeds directly from maternal trees for effective pollen dispersal analysis, and analyzed established seedlings to assess realized pollen and seed dispersal. Nine microsatellite loci were used to describe genetic diversity parameters, FSGS and gene flow patterns among different size classes. A total of 354 individuals were located and classified into three size classes based on their dbh (<10, 10–20, and >20 cm). Population sex ratios were male biased and diametric size distributions differed among sexes, these differences may be the result of precocious male reproduction at early stages. Autocorrelation analyses indicate low FSGS (Fj <0.07) across all size classes. Long realized pollen and seed dispersal and differences among effective and realized gene flow were detected. In our study site low FSGS is associated with high gene flow levels. Effective and realized gene flow indicate a population recruitment curve indicating Janzen-Connell effects and suggesting fitness advantages for long-distance pollen and seed dispersal events.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Jacob Cristóbal-Pérez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.,Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Eric J Fuchs
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.,Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | - Ulises Olivares-Pinto
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.,Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México. .,Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México.
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37
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Tree species traits affect which natural enemies drive the Janzen-Connell effect in a temperate forest. Nat Commun 2020; 11:286. [PMID: 31941904 PMCID: PMC6962457 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14140-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A prominent tree species coexistence mechanism suggests host-specific natural enemies inhibit seedling recruitment at high conspecific density (negative conspecific density dependence). Natural-enemy-mediated conspecific density dependence affects numerous tree populations, but its strength varies substantially among species. Understanding how conspecific density dependence varies with species’ traits and influences the dynamics of whole communities remains a challenge. Using a three-year manipulative community-scale experiment in a temperate forest, we show that plant-associated fungi, and to a lesser extent insect herbivores, reduce seedling recruitment and survival at high adult conspecific density. Plant-associated fungi are primarily responsible for reducing seedling recruitment near conspecific adults in ectomycorrhizal and shade-tolerant species. Insects, in contrast, primarily inhibit seedling recruitment of shade-intolerant species near conspecific adults. Our results suggest that natural enemies drive conspecific density dependence in this temperate forest and that which natural enemies are responsible depends on the mycorrhizal association and shade tolerance of tree species. The Janzen-Connell hypothesis posits that seedlings may be less likely to establish near conspecifics due to shared natural enemies. Here, Jia et al. show that tree species traits determine whether fungal pathogens or insect herbivores inhibit seedling recruitment and survival in a temperate forest.
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38
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Kupers SJ, Wirth C, Engelbrecht BMJ, Hernández A, Condit R, Wright SJ, Rüger N. Performance of tropical forest seedlings under shade and drought: an interspecific trade-off in demographic responses. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18784. [PMID: 31827158 PMCID: PMC6906455 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55256-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Seedlings in moist tropical forests must cope with deep shade and seasonal drought. However, the interspecific relationship between seedling performance in shade and drought remains unsettled. We quantified spatiotemporal variation in shade and drought in the seasonal moist tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, and estimated responses of naturally regenerating seedlings as the slope of the relationship between performance and shade or drought intensity. Our performance metrics were relative height growth and first-year survival. We investigated the relationship between shade and drought responses for up to 63 species. There was an interspecific trade-off in species responses to shade versus species responses to dry season intensity; species that performed worse in the shade did not suffer during severe dry seasons and vice versa. This trade-off emerged in part from the absence of species that performed particularly well or poorly in both drought and shade. If drought stress in tropical forests increases with climate change and as solar radiation is higher during droughts, the trade-off may reinforce a shift towards species that resist drought but perform poorly in the shade by releasing them from deep shade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan J Kupers
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Christian Wirth
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Bettina M J Engelbrecht
- Department of Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Andrés Hernández
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Richard Condit
- Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60605, USA
- Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, 60532-1293, USA
| | - S Joseph Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Nadja Rüger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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Martini F, Zou C, Goodale UM. Intrinsic biotic factors and microsite conditions drive seedling survival in a species with masting reproduction. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14261-14272. [PMID: 31938517 PMCID: PMC6953690 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Seedling recruitment following a masting event, where more fruits are produced in synchrony and intermittently compared with other species, plays a crucial role in determining species diversity and community structure. Such seedling recruitment can be superabundant, but followed by high mortality shortly thereafter. Differences in biotic factors such as seedling characteristics, competition, and herbivory, and microsite-specific abiotic factors could determine seedling fate in space and time.In a subtropical forest in south China, for 2 years using censuses conducted every 1-2 months, we monitored 40 seed traps and 120, 1 m2 quadrats in five 1-ha plots located from 1,400 to 1,850 m asl for the masting maple species, Acer campbellii subsp. sinense (Pax) P.C.DeJong. We measured biotic-conspecific and heterospecific seedling density, species richness, herbivory, seedling height, and leaf number-and abiotic-canopy openness, slope, and aspect-factors to assess drivers of seedling survival and evaluated A. campbellii subsp. sinense presence in the soil seed bank (SSB).The masting seed dispersal peak and seedling emergence peak occurred between October 2017 and January 2018, and May 2018, respectively. Of 688 selected seedlings, mortality was 92.7% within one year. No seeds were observed in the SSB. Seedling height and leaf number positively affected seedling survival, while seed placement as measured by aspect also showed effects on survival. Conspecific and heterospecific density and herbivory did not show any clear effect. Higher probabilities of seedling survival were found in areas with larger canopy openness (≥12% canopy gap size) and in steeper microsites (≥35°). Synthesis. Masting is mainly studied as a population-level phenomenon from the fruiting tree perspective. Our study of individual seedling fate revealed that intrinsic biotic factors and seed placement were key drivers of survival. Although biotic determinants such as competition from conspecifics or heterospecifics or herbivory did not determine survival, their ubiquitous presence may be an underlying equalizer in community dynamics where seedlings that overcome biotic pressures, if placed at the right microsite, are at better odds at being recruited to the next life history stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Martini
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro‐bioresourcesCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
| | - Chaobo Zou
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro‐bioresourcesCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
| | - Uromi Manage Goodale
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and ConservationCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro‐bioresourcesCollege of ForestryGuangxi UniversityNanningChina
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40
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Calderón‐Sanou I, Ríos LD, Cascante‐Marín A, Barrantes G, Fuchs EJ. The effect of conspecific density, herbivory, and bamboo on seedling dynamics of a dominant oak in a Neotropical highland forest. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Luis Diego Ríos
- Escuela de Biología Universidad de Costa Rica San José Costa Rica
| | | | | | - Eric J. Fuchs
- Escuela de Biología Universidad de Costa Rica San José Costa Rica
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41
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Detto M, Visser MD, Wright SJ, Pacala SW. Bias in the detection of negative density dependence in plant communities. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1923-1939. [PMID: 31523913 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Regression dilution is a statistical inference bias that causes underestimation of the strength of dependency between two variables when the predictors are error-prone proxies (EPPs). EPPs are widely used in plant community studies focused on negative density-dependence (NDD) to quantify competitive interactions. Because of the nature of the bias, conspecific NDD is often overestimated in recruitment analyses, and in some cases, can be erroneously detected when absent. In contrast, for survival analyses, EPPs typically cause NDD to be underestimated, but underestimation is more severe for abundant species and for heterospecific effects, thereby generating spurious negative relationships between the strength of NDD and the abundances of con- and heterospecifics. This can explain why many studies observed rare species to suffer more severely from conspecific NDD, and heterospecific effects to be disproportionally smaller than conspecific effects. In general, such species-dependent bias is often related to traits associated with likely mechanisms of NDD, which creates false patterns and complicates the ecological interpretation of the analyses. Classic examples taken from literature and simulations demonstrate that this bias has been pervasive, which calls into question the emerging paradigm that intraspecific competition has been demonstrated by direct field measurements to be generally stronger than interspecific competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Detto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - Marco D Visser
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Stephen W Pacala
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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42
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Broekman MJE, Muller-Landau HC, Visser MD, Jongejans E, Wright SJ, de Kroon H. Signs of stabilisation and stable coexistence. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:1957-1975. [PMID: 31328414 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Many empirical studies motivated by an interest in stable coexistence have quantified negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, or negative plant-soil feedback, but the links between these empirical results and ecological theory are not straightforward. Here, we relate these analyses to theoretical conditions for stabilisation and stable coexistence in classical competition models. By stabilisation, we mean an excess of intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition that inherently slows or even prevents competitive exclusion. We show that most, though not all, tests demonstrating negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, and negative plant-soil feedback constitute sufficient conditions for stabilisation of two-species interactions if applied to data for per capita population growth rates of pairs of species, but none are necessary or sufficient conditions for stable coexistence of two species. Potential inferences are even more limited when communities involve more than two species, and when performance is measured at a single life stage or vital rate. We then discuss two approaches that enable stronger tests for stable coexistence-invasibility experiments and model parameterisation. The model parameterisation approach can be applied to typical density-dependence, frequency-dependence, and plant-soil feedback data sets, and generally enables better links with mechanisms and greater insights, as demonstrated by recent studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten J E Broekman
- Department of Plant Ecology and Physiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Helene C Muller-Landau
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
| | - Marco D Visser
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Eelke Jongejans
- Department of Animal Ecology and Physiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - S J Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
| | - Hans de Kroon
- Department of Plant Ecology and Physiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Krishnadas M, Beckman NG, Zuluaga JCP, Zhu Y, Whitacre J, Wenzel JW, Queenborough SA, Comita LS. Environment and past land use together predict functional diversity in a temperate forest. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 28:2142-2152. [PMID: 30198191 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Environment and human land use both shape forest composition. Abiotic conditions sift tree species from a regional pool via functional traits that influence species' suitability to the local environment. In addition, human land use can modify species distributions and change functional diversity of forests. However, it is unclear how environment and land use simultaneously shape functional diversity of tree communities. Land-use legacies are especially prominent in temperate forest landscapes that have been extensively modified by humans in the last few centuries. Across a 900-ha temperate deciduous forest in the northeastern United States, comprising a mosaic of different-aged stands due to past human land use, we used four key functional traits-maximum height, rooting depth, wood density, and seed mass-to examine how multiple environmental and land-use variables influenced species distributions and functional diversity. We sampled ~40,000 trees >8 cm DBH within 485 plots totaling 137 ha. Species within plots were more functionally similar than expected by chance when we estimated functional diversity using all traits together (multi-trait), and to a lesser degree, with each trait separately. Multi-trait functional diversity was most strongly correlated with distance from the perennial stream, elevation, slope, and forest age. Environmental and land-use predictors varied in their correlation with functional diversities of the four individual traits. Landscape-wide change in abundances of individual species also correlated with both environment and land-use variables, but magnitudes of trait-environment interactions were generally stronger than trait interactions with land use. These findings can be applied for restoration and assisted regeneration of human-modified temperate forests by using traits to predict which tree species would establish well in relation to land-use history, topography, and soil conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghna Krishnadas
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Noelle G Beckman
- Department of Biology and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah, 84322, USA
| | - Juan Carlos Peñagos Zuluaga
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Yan Zhu
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - James Whitacre
- Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 1847 Route 381, Rector, Pennsylvania, 15677, USA
| | - John W Wenzel
- Powdermill Nature Reserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 1847 Route 381, Rector, Pennsylvania, 15677, USA
| | - Simon A Queenborough
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Liza S Comita
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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Sugiyama A, Comita LS, Masaki T, Condit R, Hubbell SP. Resolving the paradox of clumped seed dispersal: positive density and distance dependence in a bat-dispersed species. Ecology 2018; 99:2583-2591. [PMID: 30182375 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
One of the hypothesized benefits of seed dispersal is to escape density- and distance-responsive, host-specific, natural enemies near maternal plants where conspecific seed and seedling densities are high. Such high conspecific neighbor densities typically result in lower offspring growth and survival (i.e., negative density-dependent effects), yet many dispersal modes result in clumped seed distributions. New World leaf-nosed bats transport fruits to their feeding roosts and deposit seeds, thereby creating high-density seed/seedling patches beneath feeding roosts in heterospecific trees away from maternal trees, which seemingly nullifies a key benefit of seed dispersal. Such dispersal may still be adaptive if negative density-dependent effects are reduced under feeding roosts or if the benefit of being dispersed away from maternal trees outweighs negative effects of conspecific seed/seedling density below roosts. We mapped the entire post-germination population of a bat-dispersed tree species Calophyllum longifolium (Calophyllaceae) in a 50-ha plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama in each of three successive years. We tested two hypotheses: (1) distance-dependent effects are stronger than density-dependent effects on seedling performance because seedlings far from conspecific adults are more likely to escape natural enemies even when at high densities and (2) negative density-dependent effects will be reduced far from vs. near conspecific adults. Density and distance were naturally decoupled, as expected. However, in contrast to our expectation, we found positive density effects on seedling survival and density-dependent effects did not differ with distance from conspecific adults. Both density and distance had positive effects on seedling survival when considered together, while only year had a significant effect on seedling growth. Thus, both being dispersed under bat feeding roosts and escaping the vicinity of conspecific adults were beneficial for C. longifolium seedling survival, supporting the directed dispersal and escape hypotheses, respectively. Despite resulting in high densities of conspecific seedlings, favorable habitat under bat feeding roosts and lack of negative density-dependent effects appear to provide evolutionary advantages in C. longifolium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Sugiyama
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA.,Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan.,Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
| | - Liza S Comita
- Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, Panama City, Panama
| | - Takashi Masaki
- Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan
| | - Richard Condit
- Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, 60605, USA.,Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, 60532, USA
| | - Stephen P Hubbell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90095, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, Panama City, Panama
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45
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Stump SM, Comita LS. Interspecific variation in conspecific negative density dependence can make species less likely to coexist. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1541-1551. [PMID: 30129216 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) is thought to promote plant species diversity. Theoretical studies showing the importance of CNDD often assumed that all species are equally susceptible to CNDD; however, recent empirical studies have shown species can differ greatly in their susceptibility to CNDD. Using a theoretical model, we show that interspecific variation in CNDD can dramatically alter its impact on diversity. First, if the most common species are the least regulated by CNDD, then the stabilising benefit of CNDD is reduced. Second, when seed dispersal is limited, seedlings that are susceptible to CNDD are at a competitive disadvantage. When parameterised with estimates of CNDD from a tropical tree community in Panama, our model suggests that the competitive inequalities caused by interspecific variation in CNDD may undermine many species' ability to persist. Thus, our model suggests that variable CNDD may make communities less stable, rather than more stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Maccracken Stump
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Liza S Comita
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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46
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Rüger N, Comita LS, Condit R, Purves D, Rosenbaum B, Visser MD, Wright S, Wirth C. Beyond the fast–slow continuum: demographic dimensions structuring a tropical tree community. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1075-1084. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 11/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Rüger
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Deutscher Platz 5e 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado0843‐03092 Ancón Panama
| | - Liza S. Comita
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado0843‐03092 Ancón Panama
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven CT06511 USA
| | - Richard Condit
- Field Museum of Natural History 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr. Chicago IL60605 USA
- Morton Arboretum 4100 Illinois Rte. 53 Lisle IL60532 USA
| | | | - Benjamin Rosenbaum
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Deutscher Platz 5e 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity Friedrich Schiller University Jena Dornburger Str. 159 07743 Jena Germany
| | - Marco D. Visser
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton NJ08544 USA
| | - S.J Wright
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Apartado0843‐03092 Ancón Panama
| | - Christian Wirth
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Deutscher Platz 5e 04103 Leipzig Germany
- AG Spezielle Botanik und Funktionelle Biodiversität Universität Leipzig Johannisallee 21 04103 Leipzig Germany
- Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry Hans‐Knöll‐Str. 10 07743 Jena Germany
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