scholarly journals Springtail community structure is influenced by functional traits but not biogeographic origin of leaf litter in soils of novel forest ecosystems

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1879) ◽  
pp. 20180647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Raymond-Léonard ◽  
Dominique Gravel ◽  
Peter B. Reich ◽  
I. Tanya Handa
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Tree Communities ◽  
Springtail Community

With ongoing global change, shifts in the ranges of non-native species and resulting novel communities can modify biotic interactions and ecosystem processes. We hypothesized that traits and not biogeographic origin of novel plant communities will determine community structure of organisms that depend on plants for habitat or as a food resource. We tested the functional redundancy of novel tree communities by verifying if six pairs of congeneric European and North American tree species bearing similar leaf litter traits resulted in similar ecological filters influencing the assembly of springtail (Collembola) communities at two sites. Litter biogeographic origin (native versus non-native) did not influence springtail community structure, but litter genus, which generally reflected trait differences, did. Our empirical evidence suggests that a functional trait approach may be indeed as relevant as, and complementary to, studying biogeographic origin to understand the ecological consequences of non-native tree species in soils of novel forest ecosystems.

scholarly journals Allelopathic tension of biotopes in forest ecosystems of wet subtropics

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
V.G. Scherbina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Synergistic Effect ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Soil Mass ◽  
Antagonistic Effect ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Black Sea Region ◽  
Adventive Species ◽  
Species Completeness

In the absence of a pronounced anthropogenic impact, allelopathic tension in forest ecosystems of the main formations of the Sochi Black Sea region and its influence on the saturation of phytocenoses with an adventive plant group are analyzed. The studies were carried out in 38 forest ecosystems of 7 formations at 13 stationary sites in the foothill zone. The absence of anthropogenic load was determined by the average bulk soil mass and the class of atmospheric air pollution. The аllelopathy environment of individual trees was assessed according to the activity of the forest floor of 21 tree species recorded in the analyzed forest communities. The tension of biotopes in ecosystems was assessed with the joint growth of 1 to 5 tree species in the main canopy. The activity of water-soluble colins was determined by biotesting of water extracts from forest litter according to A.M. Grodzinsky. The activity of the solutions was assessed by the index of allelopathic activity. It is shown that the magnitude of the contribution of the influence of phytocenosis to the allelopathic background of the biotope depends on the species-specific features of the stand and the manifestation of a synergistic or antagonistic effect of аllelopathy related to the level of species completeness of communities. An increase in species completeness to 0,4-0,6 is accompanied by an increase in the synergistic effect, a decrease in the intensity of the аllelopathic background and saturation with adventive species, with their proportion increasing by 11,9-21,5%. An increase in the species completeness by more than 0, 6 is statistically reliably accompanied by a decrease in the synergistic effect and a transition to antagonism, with an increase in allelopathic tension in the community, increasing the proportion of native species, reducing the number of free niches for adventive species and the level of vulnerability of communities to their introduction and distribution.

scholarly journals Adaptive capacity in the foundation tree species Populus fremontii: implications for resilience to climate change and non-native species invasion in the American Southwest

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R Hultine ◽  
Gerard J Allan ◽  
Davis Blasini ◽  
Helen M Bothwell ◽  
Abraham Cadmus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Populus Fremontii ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
Southwestern Usa

Abstract Populus fremontii (Fremont cottonwood) is recognized as one of the most important foundation tree species in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico because of its ability to structure communities across multiple trophic levels, drive ecosystem processes and influence biodiversity via genetic-based functional trait variation. However, the areal extent of P. fremontii cover has declined dramatically over the last century due to the effects of surface water diversions, non-native species invasions and more recently climate change. Consequently, P. fremontii gallery forests are considered amongst the most threatened forest types in North America. In this paper, we unify four conceptual areas of genes to ecosystems research related to P. fremontii’s capacity to survive or even thrive under current and future environmental conditions: (i) hydraulic function related to canopy thermal regulation during heat waves; (ii) mycorrhizal mutualists in relation to resiliency to climate change and invasion by the non-native tree/shrub, Tamarix; (iii) phenotypic plasticity as a mechanism for coping with rapid changes in climate; and (iv) hybridization between P. fremontii and other closely related Populus species where enhanced vigour of hybrids may preserve the foundational capacity of Populus in the face of environmental change. We also discuss opportunities to scale these conceptual areas from genes to the ecosystem level via remote sensing. We anticipate that the exploration of these conceptual areas of research will facilitate solutions to climate change with a foundation species that is recognized as being critically important for biodiversity conservation and could serve as a model for adaptive management of arid regions in the southwestern USA and around the world.

Floristic Variation of Tree Communities and Their Association with Soil Properties in Pulau Jerejak, Penang, Peninsular Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Faezah Pardi
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Endangered Tree ◽  
Endangered Tree Species ◽  
Tree Communities ◽  
Floristic Variation

This study was conducted at Pulau Jerejak, Penang to determine the floristic variation of its tree communities. A 0.5-hectare study plot was established and divided into 11 subplots. A total of 587 trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) of 5 cm and above were measured, identified and recorded. The tree communities comprised of 84 species, 63 genera and 32 families. The Myrtaceae was the most speciose family with 10 recorded species while Syzgium glaucum (Myrtaceae) was the most frequent species. The Myrtaceae recorded the highest density of 306 individuals while Syzgium glaucum (Myrtaceae) had the highest species density of 182 individuals. Total tree basal area (BA) was 21.47 m2/ha and family with the highest BA was Myrtaceae with 5.81 m2/ha while at species level, Syzgium glaucum (Myrtaceae) was the species with the highest total BA in the plot with value of 4.95 m2/ha. The Shannon˗Weiner Diversity Index of tree communities showed a value of 3.60 (H'max = 4.43) and Evenness Index of 0.81 which indicates high uniformity of tree species. The Margalef Richness Index (R') revealed that the tree species richness was 13.02. Myrtaceae had the highest Importance Value of 20.4%. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that Diospyros buxifolia (Ebenaceae) and Pouteria malaccensis (Sapotaceae) were strongly correlated to low pH. Dysoxylum cauliflorum (Meliaceae) and Eriobotrya bengalensis (Rosaceae) were correlated to phosphorus (P) and calcium ion (Ca2+), respectively. Therefore, the trees species composition at Pulau Jerejak showed that the biodiversity is high and conservation action should be implemented to protect endangered tree species. Keywords: Floristic variation; Tree communities; Trees composition; Pulau Jerejak; Species diversity

LEAF LITTER COMPOSITION AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE: TRANSLATING REGIONAL SPECIES CHANGES INTO LOCAL DYNAMICS

Ecology ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 2519-2525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Rubbo ◽  
Joseph M. Kiesecker
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Local Dynamics

An inter-dependence of flood and drought: disentangling amphibian beta diversity in seasonal floodplains

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo F. B. Moreira ◽  
Tainá F. Dorado-Rodrigues ◽  
Vanda L. Ferreira ◽  
Christine Strüssmann
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Explanatory Variable ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Role ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Amphibian Community ◽  
Dry Seasons

Species composition in floodplains is often affected by different structuring factors. Although floods play a key ecological role, habitat selection in the dry periods may blur patterns of biodiversity distribution. Here, we employed a partitioning framework to investigate the contribution of turnover and nestedness to β-diversity patterns in non-arboreal amphibians from southern Pantanal ecoregion. We investigated whether components of β-diversity change by spatial and environmental factors. We sampled grasslands and dense arboreal savannas distributed in 12 sampling sites across rainy and dry seasons, and analysed species dissimilarities using quantitative data. In the savannas, both turnover and nestedness contributed similarly to β diversity. However, we found that β diversity is driven essentially by turnover, in the grasslands. In the rainy season, balanced variation in abundance was more related to altitude and factors that induce spatial patterns, whereas dissimilarities were not related to any explanatory variable during dry season. In the Pantanal ecoregion, amphibian assemblages are influenced by a variety of seasonal constraints on terrestrial movements and biotic interactions. Our findings highlighted the role of guild-specific patterns and indicated that mass effects are important mechanisms creating amphibian community structure in the Pantanal.

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