bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Above‐ground standing biomass and tree species diversity in natural stands of Central Europe
Authors: Szwagrzyk Jerzy , Gazda Anna 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestions: 1.Is the above‐ground biomass in natural temperate forests positively correlated with tree species diversity?2. Is this biomass related to the diversity of tree functional groups?Location: We used published data from over 100 permanent plots located in natural temperate forests in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.Methods: We related the number of tree species and Simpson's index of tree species diversity to the above‐ground biomass in natural forest stands, and we repeated the same calculations for the identification of functional groups of trees using PCA analysis of functional traits.Results: Analysed sites ranged from almost pure subalpine spruce stands to mixed deciduous lowland forests with eight tree species per stand. The above‐ground biomass accumulation ranged from 169 to 536 tons of dry mass per hectare. For the analysed data set the relationship between tree species diversity and biomass accumulation was not significant but showed a negative trend. Similar results were obtained in analyses employing tree functional groups instead of tree species. A significant negative relationship was found after four stands located in the highest elevations had been removed from the data set.Conclusions: There is a weak negative relationship between tree species diversity and above‐ground biomass in natural forests of Central Europe.
Leaf trait co‐variation, response and effect in a chronosequence
Authors: Wang Guohong 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Is there any generality in terms of leaf trait correlations and the multiple role of leaf traits (response to and/or effect on) during secondary succession?Location: A secondary successional sere was sampled at four different ages since abandonment from several years to nearly 150 years on the Loess Plateau of northwestern China.Method: Specific leaf area (SLA), leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf nitrogen (Nmass, Narea), leaf phosphorus (Pmass, Parea) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) were measured for all species recorded in the successional sere. Above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) and specific rate of litter mass loss (SRLML) were measured as surrogates for ecosystem properties. Soil total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) were measured in each stage. Leaf traits were related to ecosystem properties and soil nutrient gradients, respectively.Results: LMA is correlated with Narea and Parea' and negatively with Nmass. Correlation between Narea and Parea was higher than between Nmass and Pmass. At the community level, field age, community hierarchy and their interaction explain 64.4 ‐ 93.5% of the variation in leaf traits. At the species level, field age explains 22.4 ‐ 45.5% of the variation in leaf traits (excl. Parea) while plant functional group has a significant effect only for Nmass. LDMC is correlated with ANPP and negatively with SRLML; Pmass is correlated with SRLML.Conclusions: Mean values of LMA, Nmass and Narea are close to the worldwide means, suggesting that large‐scale climate has a profound effect on leaf mass and leaf nitrogen allocation, while environmental gradients represented by succession have little influence on leaf‐trait values. Correlations between leaf traits, such as LMA‐Narea, LMA‐Parea and LMA‐Nmass shown in previous studies, are confirmed here. Although none of the leaf traits is proved to be both a response trait and an effect trait independent of time scale and community hierarchy, mass‐based leaf N is likely a sensitive response trait to soil C and N gradients. In addition, LDMC can be a marker for ANPP and SRLML, while mass‐based leaf P can be a marker for SRLML.
Tree line shifts in the Swiss Alps: Climate change or land abandonment?
Authors: Gehrig‐Fasel Jacqueline , Guisan Antoine , Zimmermann Niklaus E. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestions: Did the forest area in the Swiss Alps increase between 1985 and 1997? Does the forest expansion near the tree line represent an invasion into abandoned grasslands (ingrowth) or a true upward shift of the local tree line? What land cover / land use classes did primarily regenerate to forest, and what forest structural types did primarily regenerate? And, what are possible drivers of forest regeneration in the tree line ecotone, climate and/or land use change?Location: Swiss Alps.Methods: Forest expansion was quantified using data from the repeated Swiss land use statistics GEOSTAT. A moving window algorithm was developed to distinguish between forest ingrowth and upward shift. To test a possible climate change influence, the resulting upward shifts were compared to a potential regional tree line.Results: A significant increase of forest cover was found between 1650 m and 2450 m. Above 1650 m, 10% of the new forest areas were identified as true upward shifts whereas 90% represented ingrowth, and we identified both land use and climate change as likely drivers. Most upward shift activities were found to occur within a band of 300 m below the potential regional tree line, indicating land use as the most likely driver. Only 4% of the upward shifts were identified to rise above the potential regional tree line, thus indicating climate change.Conclusions: Land abandonment was the most dominant driver for the establishment of new forest areas, even at the tree line ecotone. However, a small fraction of upwards shift can be attributed to the recent climate warming, a fraction that is likely to increase further if climate continues to warm, and with a longer time‐span between warming and measurement of forest cover.
A metapopulation approach to the analysis of long‐term changes in the epiphyte vegetation on the host tree Annona glabra
Authors: Laube Stefan , Zotz Gerhard 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Do vascular epiphyte species have a metapopulation structure? What are the qualitative and quantitative long‐term changes of the complete vascular epiphyte vegetation in a particular host tree species?Location: Lowland forest on Barro Colorado Island (9° 10’ N, 79°51’ W), Republic of Panama.Methods: In 1994 and 2002 we conducted a census of all vascular epiphytes growing on more than 1000 Annona glabra trees (= patches). Epiphyte species abundances were recorded at the tree level in each census.Results: The number of epiphyte individuals increased from ca. 15 000 to ca. 23 700 individuals during the census interval while the species composition on Annona glabra as a whole was rather stable. There was a strong positive relationship between occurrence in patches and local abundance of the species, and between species richness and host tree stand size. The dynamics of local populations of a given species were uncorrelated to each other; small and large local populations of most species had the same probability to go extinct. The frequency distribution of species on all host trees was not bimodal, but on a subset of heavily colonized host tree stands it was. Numbers of species and individuals were correlated with tree size which was not due to a correlation of tree size and tree age.Conclusions: As far as the most abundant epiphyte species with metapopulation structures are concerned, these species belong to diverse families, e. g. Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae and Polypodiaceae. Even ca. 80 years after the initial establishment of the host tree species in the study area epiphytes are still in the stage of initial colonization and have not reached a steady state as indicated by the strong increase in individuals and the ongoing colonization of empty trees.
Flood events overrule fertiliser effects on biomass production and species richness in riverine grasslands
Authors: Beltman Boudewijn , Willems Jo H. , Güsewell Sabine 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Do severe winter flood events lift the nutrient limitation of biomass production in a river floodplain? How does this affect plant species richness? How long do the effects last?Location: Floodplain grassland on calcareous sandy loam near river Rhine in The Netherlands.Methods: Plots were fertilised with four treatments (control, N, P, N+P) for 21 years; plant species composition, vegetation biomass and tissue nutrient concentrations were determined every year between 1985 and 2005.Results: Fertilisation with N generally increased biomass production and reduced species richness, but these effects varied over time. During the first four years of the experiment, biomass production appeared to be co‐limited by N and P, while N fertilisation dramatically reduced plant species richness; these effects became weaker subsequently. Following two extreme winter floods in 1993–94 and 1994–95 and a drought in spring 1996, the effects of fertilisation disappeared between 1998 and 2001 and then appeared again. Flooding caused an overall reduction in species richness (from c. 24 to 15 species m‐2) and an increase in biomass production, which were only partly reversed after ten years.Conclusions: Long time series are necessary to understand vegetation dynamics and nutrient limitation in river floodplains, since they are influenced by occasional flood and drought events, whose effects may persist for more than ten years. A future increase in flooding frequency might be detrimental to species richness in floodplain grasslands.
Role of host identity in effects of phytogenic mounds on plant assemblages and species richness on coastal arid dunes
Authors: El‐Bana Magdy I. , Li Zhen Qing , Nijs Ivan 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Phytogenic mounds (nebkhas) ‐ the natural accumulation of wind‐blown sediments within or around the canopies of plants ‐ have been proposed as important structures for locally maintaining high species richness in coastal and arid ecosystems. Nebkhas are assumed to increase habitat heterogeneity, but what is the importance of the nebkha host species relative to other nebkha characteristics in determining the associated plant assemblages? Are some host species more effective in creating diversity hotspots, or does a single species‐area relationship apply to all nebkhas, regardless of host species? Can the influence of the host be ascribed to its indirect effects on abiotic attributes of the nebkha complex?Methods and location: We investigated plant species richness and composition on nebkhas around six psammophytic species on Mediterranean coastal dunes of the Sinai Peninsula.Results: Plant species richness was significantly related to nebkha size by the single power function according to the general prediction of island biogeography theory, but this relationship was modified ‐ though to a limited degree ‐ by nebkha host species identity. Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that nebkha host species identity and nebkha environmental and non‐environmental factors significantly explained species composition on the nebkhas, but host species identity did so to a greater extent. The latter might reflect differences in seed trapping ability or free space for colonization between host species.Conclusion: Differences in community composition and richness among nebkhas formed by different host species represent a key factor in the maintenance of plant diversity on arid coastal dunes.
Temporal and spatial patterns in fire occurrence during the establishment of mixed‐oak forests in eastern North America
Authors: McEwan Ryan W. , Hutchinson Todd F. , Long Robert P. , Ford D. Robert , McCarthy Brian C. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: What was the role of fire during the establishment of the current overstory (ca. 1870–1940) in mixed‐oak forests of eastern North America?Location: Nine sites representing a 240‐km latitudinal gradient on the Allegheny and Cumberland Plateaus of eastern North America.Methods: Basal cross‐sections were collected from 225 trees. Samples were surfaced, and fire scars were dated. Fire history diagrams were constructed and fire return intervals were calculated for each site. Geographic patterns of fire occurrence, and fire‐climate relationships were assessed.Results: Fire was a frequent and widespread occurrence during the formation of mixed‐oak forests, which initiated after large‐scale land clearing in the region ca. 1870. Fire return ranged from 1.7 to 11.1 years during a period of frequent burning from 1875 to 1936. Fires were widespread during this period, sometimes occurring across the study region in the same year. Fires occurred in a variety of climate conditions, including both drought and non‐drought years. Fires were rare from 1936 to the present.Conclusions: A variety of fire regime characteristics were discerned. First, a period of frequent fire lasted approximately 60 years during the establishment of the current oak overstory. Second, fire occurred during a variety of climate conditions, including wet climates and extreme drought. Finally, there was within‐site temporal variability in fire occurrence. These reference conditions could be mimicked in ongoing oak restoration activities, improving the likelihood of restoration success.
Geographical and ecological differentiation in Greek Fagus forest vegetation
Authors: Tsiripidis Ioannis , Bergmeier Erwin , Dimopoulos Panayotis 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Which are the gradients of floristic differentiation in Greek beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests? Which is the role of geographical and ecological factors in this differentiation?Location: Beech forests of the plant geographical regions Northeast, North Central and East Central Greece.Methods: A total of 1404 published and unpublished phytoso‐ciological relevés were used in the analyses. TWINSPAN and DCA were applied to classify and ordinate the relevés. Altitude, Indicator Values of relevés and their X and Y coordinates were used in a posteriori interpretation of the ordination axes. Kendall's correlation coefficients were calculated between DCA relevé scores and explanatory variables. Multiple linear regression was used to partition the variation explained by the first two DCA axes, between the geographical and the ecological variables.Results: Classification resulted in 14 vegetation units defined by species composition. Two types of gradients, ecological and geographical, were revealed by the DCA of all releves. The partition of the variation accounted for by the first and second DCA axis was attributed mainly to ecological and geographical variables, respectively.Conclusions: Beech forests of northeast and Central Greece show phytogeographical differences, while ecologically similar vegetation units occur in both regions. A west‐east gradient is revealed in Greek beech forest vegetation. The extent of the study area, its position along regional gradients and the comprehensiveness of the data set that is analysed determine the types of the gradients which can be revealed in a vegetation study.
Transformation of cover‐abundance values for appropriate numerical treatment ‐ Alternatives to the proposals by Podani
Authors: van der Maarel Eddy 
Published: February 2009

Abstract. Two alternatives are offered to Podani's proposals, based on the claim that Braun‐Blanquet cover‐abundance estimates cannot be properly analysed by conventional mul‐tivariate methods.1. The ordinal transform scale, based on an extended Braun‐Blanquet cover‐abundance scale, comes close to a metric cover percentage scale after (1) the abundance values r (very few individuals), + (few ind.), 1 (abundant) and 2m (very abundant, cover < 5%) are replaced by cover percentage estimates and (2) the higher Braun‐Blanquet values, notably 4 and 5, with cover intervals 50‐75% and 75‐100%, respectively, are interpreted as estimates of considerably higher cover values than the usual visual projection on the ground (because of the position of stems and leaves in several layers). I propose the equation ln C= (OTV −2) /a, where C= Cover%, OTV is the 1 to 9 Ordinal Transfer Value and a is a factor weighting the cover values. With this equation cover values in a geometric series are achieved for the nine values in the extended Braun‐Blanquet scale from 0.5 % (OTV 1) to 140% (OTV 9) for a= 1.415, and for a= 1.380 from 0.6 % to 160%.2. This makes use of an earlier developed ‘optimum‐transformation’ of cover‐abundance values. For each species a frequency distribution of cover‐abundance values is determined for a large data set, i.e. of dune slack vegetation. Tiny species have low values (OTVs 1–3) with high frequencies and hardly occur with higher OTV values; here all scores are considered ‘optimal’. In dominant species OTVs 7 to 9 have the highest frequencies and only these values are considered optimal. Species with intermediate OTV ranges have optimum ranges with low‐bound OTV = 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. No species were found in the dune slack data set with a frequency distribution justifying an optimum range with low‐bound OTV = 6.For mathematically correct numerical treatments’ optimum scores’ can be converted to 1 and sub‐optimal scores to 0 in order to approach a presence/absence situation.Both alternatives are suggested to be acceptable approximations to a metric basis for numerical analyses.
Radial growth responses to drought of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus pubescens in an inner‐Alpine dry valley
Authors: Weber Pascale , Bugmann Harald , Rigling Andreas 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion: Lower montane treeline ecotones such as the inner Alpine dry valleys are regarded as sensitive to climate change. In the dry Valais valley (Switzerland) the composition of the widespread, low altitude Pinus forests is shifting towards a mixed deciduous state. The sub‐boreal P. sylvestris shows high mortality rates, whereas the deciduous sub‐mediterranean Quercus pubescens is spreading. These species may act as early indicators of climate change. We evaluate this hypothesis by focusing on their differences in drought tolerance, which are hardly known, but are likely to be crucial in the current forest shift and also for future forest development.Methods: We used dendroecological methods to detect species‐specific patterns in the growth response to drought. The relationship between radial growth of 401 trees from 15 mixed stands and drought was analysed by calculating response functions using yearly tree‐ring indices and monthly drought indices. PCA was applied to the response ratios to discover spatial patterns of drought response.Results: A species‐specific response to moisture as well as a sub‐regional differentiation of the response patterns were found. While Quercus showed a response mainly to the conditions of the previous autumn and those of current spring, Pinus did not start responding before May, but showed responses throughout the whole summer. Quercus may restrict physiological activity to moist periods; growth of Pinus was much more dependent on prior growth.Conclusions: Given that the climate is changing towards (1) longer summer drought periods, (2) higher mean temperatures and (3) shifted seasonally of moisture availability, Quercus may benefit from adapting better to drier conditions. Pinus may increasingly face problems related to drought stress as it depends on summer moisture and has a smaller adaptive capacity due to its long‐lived photosynthetic tissue.
Afforestation causes changes in post‐fire regeneration in native shrubland communities of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina
Authors: Nuñez Martín Andrés , Raffaele Estela 
Published: February 2009

Question: What are the effects of fire in native shrubland communities and in pine plantations established in these shrublands?Location: Northern Patagonia, Argentina.Methods: We surveyed four sites in Chall‐Huaco valley, located in northwest Patagonia. Each site was a vegetation mosaic composed of an unburned Pinus ponderosa plantation, a plantation burned in 1996, and an unburned matorral and a matorral burned by the same fire. We recorded the cover of all vascular plant species. We also analysed species richness, total cover, proportion of exotic species, abundance of woody species and herb species, cover of exotic species, abundance of woody and herb species and differences in composition of species. For both shrubs and tree species we recorded the main strategy of regeneration (by resprouting or by seed).Results: We found that fire had different effects on native matorral and pine plantations. Five years after fire, plantations came to be dominated by herbs and exotic species, showing differences in floristic composition. In contrast, matorral communities remained very similar to unburned matorral in terms of species richness, proportion of woody species, and herb species and proportion of exotics. Also, pine plantations were primarily colonized by seedlings, while matorrals were primarily colonized by resprouting.Conclusions: Matorrals are highly fire resilient communities, and the practice of establishing plantations on matorrals produces a strong reduction in the capacity of matorral to return to its original state. The elimination of shrubs owing to the effect of plantations can hinder regeneration of native ecosystems. Burned plantations may slowly develop into ecosystems similar to the native ones, or they may produce a new ecosystem dominated by exotic herbs. This study shows that plantations of exotic conifers affect native vegetation even after they have been removed, as in this case by fire.
Size and heterogeneity rather than landscape context determine plant species richness in semi‐natural grasslands
Authors: Öster Mathias , Cousins Sara A.O. , Eriksson Ove 
Published: February 2009

AbstractQuestion:Is plant diversity in fragmented semi‐natural grasslands related to present and historical landscape context?Location:Southern Sweden.Methods:Plant diversity was described at 30 semi‐natural grassland sites in terms of total and specialist plant species richness at the site and species density at different scales (0.5–10 m2). These measures are commonly used to assess conservation value of semi‐natural grasslands. Landscape context was measured as contemporary connectivity to other semi‐natural grasslands, historical connectivity 50 years ago, amount of linear elements potentially suitable for dispersal (road verges, power line clearings), and amount of forest (inverse of the openness of the landscape).Results:The diversity measures were generally correlated with each other, implying that species richness in a subset of the grassland can predict the total richness. Plant species density at three scales (0.5 m2, 10 m2and total) was related to the landscape context using an information theoretic approach. Results showed that total species richness increased with increased size of grasslands, contrary to earlier diversity studies in semi‐natural grasslands. Larger grasslands were more heterogeneous than smaller grasslands, and this is a likely reason for the species‐area relationship. Heterogeneity was also of high importance at the smaller scales (0.5 m2, 10 m2). With increased amount of forest, total species richness increased but species density on 10 m2decreased. There was no influence of connectivity in either the contemporary or the historical landscape, contrary to previous studies.Conclusions:Grassland size and heterogeneity are of greater importance for plant diversity in semi‐natural grassland, than grassland connectivity in the landscape.