Journal of Ecology最新文献_第2页

Tree species identity shapes the relationship between canopy cover and herb-layer species in temperate forests

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-02-04 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14479

Clément Vallé, Isabelle Le Viol, Jean Nabias, Karine Princé, Frédéric Gosselin

<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>In forest ecosystems, the understorey layer represents a huge proportion of plant biodiversity, up to 90% (Gilliam & Roberts, 2014; Thrippleton et al., 2016), and provides a variety of ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and energy flow (Landuyt et al., 2019; Mölder et al., 2008; Muller, 2014; Wang et al., 2021). It shapes the distribution of other species by providing habitat not only for groups of species, such as mammals and insects (Fayt et al., 2006; Marshall & Hawthorne, 2012), but also for trees by regulating their regeneration through the resource competition with germinating seedlings (Coomes & Grubb, 2000; Gilliam, 2007) or facilitation processes (e.g. microclimate buffering or exchange through mycorrhizal networks; Callaway & Walker, 1997; Zilliox & Gosselin, 2014). Grasping the drivers of herb-layer distribution is thus crucial to guide sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation programmes (Köhl et al., 2020).The herb-layer community responds to various factors ranging from land-use history to abiotic and biotic factors across different scales (Barbier et al., 2008; Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010; Gilliam, 2007; Hermy & Verheyen, 2007). Climate influences its broad distribution and temporal change. At local scale, the availability of suitable micro-environment in the forest floor is a strong driver (Kelemen et al., 2014), including soil composition and condition, water and light availability or microclimate temperature (Depauw, 2020; Wei et al., 2020). Yet, these factors partly depend on forest structure and tree composition (Augusto et al., 2003). For instance, tree canopies intercept up to 99% of incoming light (Coomes & Grubb, 2000), compete strongly for below-ground resources (Coomes & Grubb, 2000; Germany et al., 2017) and modulate the microclimate (Gottschall et al., 2019; Lembrechts et al., 2019). Trees also can be associated with particular herbaceous species due to differences in their nutrient cycling, rainfall partitioning, shade-casting ability and quality of the light transmitted by their foliage (Barbier, Balandier, & Gosselin, 2009; Rawlik et al., 2018). Tree species identity can also lead to litter composition (e.g. allelopathic compounds) and accumulation, affecting germination and performance of herb-layer species (Bertin et al., 2003; Rodríguez-Calcerrada et al., 2011). Thus, various overstorey composition characteristics are well-known to impact understorey herb communities, but questions remain as to what extent t

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引用次数: 0

The hidden half of ontogeny and seasonal dynamics in perennial herbs

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-02-04 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14494

Jana Martínková, Adam Klimešová, Iveta Marešová, Jitka Klimešová

<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>While the growth and survival of adult individuals are the most influential parameters of the population dynamics of perennial plants (Silvertown et al., 1996; Salguero-Gomez et al., 2016), the establishment of individuals is a prerequisite. The establishment of juvenile plants is not only crucial for the population's long-term existence (Noble & Slatyer, 1997) but also determines the species' ability to colonize new habitats (Harper, 1977). Although juvenile plant strategies are highly important, their progression into adult strategies remains poorly understood and is rarely studied. (Barton, 2024; Silvertown et al., 1992). Moreover, predictions of vegetation changes in the future rely mostly on the traits of adult individuals (Pérez-Harguindeguy et al., 2013) and overlook the fact that the establishment strategy of a juvenile plant may differ from the life strategy of an adult individual (Grime, 2007; Grubb, 1977; Larson & Funk, 2016; Poorter, 2007). This limitation of the trait-based approach has recently been recognized, yielding studies on juvenile plant traits focused mainly on acquisitive organs—leaves and fine roots—while perennating organs and their ontogenetical development are left unexplored.Recent studies have shown that juvenile plants have more acquisitive leaf and root traits than adults (Barton, 2024; Cope et al., 2022; Garbowski et al., 2021; Havrilla et al., 2021; Westerband et al., 2021; Westoby et al., 2022). The investment into acquisition at the beginning of life is not surprising because plants need to occupy space quickly and attain a size that enables successful competition with surrounding vegetation (Damián et al., 2017; Dayrell et al., 2018; Westoby et al., 2022). However, in seasonal climates, the successful establishment of perennial herbs does not depend only on the frequently analysed acquisitive traits of leaves or fine roots but also on the development of coarse belowground organs containing storage carbohydrates and the bud bank—also called storage organs or organs of clonal growth (Ott et al., 2019). Coarse belowground organs with buds are indispensable for regrowth after unfavourable (dry or cold) seasons, yet their traits, that is, multiplication rate, lateral spread, persistence of clonal connection and bud bank size, are independent of leaf and fine root acquisitive traits (Chelli et al., 2024). Unfortunately, the ontogenetic development of coarse belowground organs is largely unknown even though it may be decisive for successful establishment.Belowground coarse organs, that is, storage and clonal growth organs such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers and storage roots, are integral p

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引用次数: 0

Lichens are more tolerant against winter warming stress than vascular and non-vascular plants: Insights from an alpine field experiment

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-02-04 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14482

Eirik A. Finne, Jarle W. Bjerke, Frode Stordal, Lena M. Tallaksen

<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>Arctic and alpine areas warm at an amplified rate and winters are changing faster than summers (AMAP, 2021; Landrum & Holland, 2020). Changes in the frequency and characteristics of climatic extremes are important for vegetation, altering carbon dynamics, species composition and overall ecosystem function faster than long-term temperature changes (Bokhorst et al., 2015; Gaines & Denny, 1993; Jentsch et al., 2007). The stimulating response of vegetation to warmer and longer summers may even be reversed or opposed by the effects of extreme weather events (Berner et al., 2020; Callaghan et al., 2022; Panchen et al., 2022).Winter warming events are short-lived climatic events, from hours to several days, where temperatures are unseasonably high (Johansson et al., 2011; Pascual & Johansson, 2022). Such events are often accompanied by winter rain, which have been found to be increasing in parts of Norway, mostly in the southwest high elevations, central mountains and northern Norway (Pall et al., 2019). This is consistent with combined effects of increased precipitation and more precipitation falling as rain in a warming climate. Moreover, warm winter events are among the most impactful extreme events for arctic-alpine ecosystems (Coulson et al., 2000; Treharne et al., 2019). The term winter warming event is here used to describe winter climatic events of up to 1 week where temperatures cross the 0°C threshold.Winter warming events induce vegetation stress through two main physical processes, although they often coincide: thaw–freeze and ice encasement. Thaw–freeze relates to snow melt and thawing of vegetation during the winter warming event, followed by vegetation refreeze after the winter warming event ends. Melting of the insulating snow layer exposes the vegetation to warm temperatures and can reduce winter dormancy and cold-hardiness, with the risk of freeze damage and frost drought when cold temperatures return (Bokhorst et al., 2011; Rixen et al., 2022). Ice encasement occurs when freezing of rain and meltwater accumulated during winter warming events encase vegetation in ice. This reduces the cells' gas exchange with the ambient air and can lead to accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2), lactic acid and ethanol (Andrews, 1996). The ability and adaption to survive in anoxic conditions during ice encasement differ between species and may deviate from the species' tolerance to thaw–freeze (Bjerke, Elvebakk, et al., 2018; Crawford et al., 1994).The effects of winter warming events on vascular plants that rely on an insulating snow cover in winter have been thoroughly investigated; their responses differ between species and phenological strategies

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引用次数: 0

Semiannual dormancy cycling results in two seedling cohorts of annual species in the cold desert of Central Asia

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-02-03 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.70000

Ruru Guo, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin, Lei Wang, Huiliang Liu, Guofang Liu, Xuehua Ye, Gideon Grafi, Xuejun Yang, Zhenying Huang

Our aim was to quantify the life‐history strategies of the cold desert annual species Alyssum linifolium and Tetracme quadricornis (Brassicaceae), with particular emphasis on the seed stage.

Freshly matured seeds were tested for germination over a range of alternating temperature regimes in light and in dark, and the effects of seed coat scarification, cold stratification, dry after‐ripening and GA3 on dormancy‐break and germination were determined. Seeds were buried in the field at 0 (surface), 2 and 5 cm and germination of exhumed seeds tested at monthly intervals for 2 years. Seedling emergence of both species was monitored in the cold desert, and survival to maturity of plants from autumn‐ and spring‐germinated cohorts was determined.

Most fresh seeds were dormant, and dormancy was broken by all four treatments tested. In the early stages of dormancy‐break, seeds germinated to low percentages over the range of temperatures, and with additional dormancy‐break germination percentages increased. Thus, seeds have Type 6 non‐deep physiological dormancy. In the buried seed study, dormancy‐break occurred in summer (June–August), and germination peaked in late summer. By late autumn (November), all non‐germinated seeds had re‐entered dormancy. During snowmelt in late winter (February–March), some dormancy‐break occurred, and low percentages of seeds of both species germinated. In the field, seeds of both species germinate in autumn and in spring, with more seeds of A. linifolium germinating in autumn than in spring and more seeds of T. quadricornis germinating in spring than in autumn. A portion of plants from both seedling cohorts of both species survived to maturity (set seeds) with more spring‐ than autumn‐germinating plants doing so for both species. Thus, both species behave as facultative winter annuals.

Synthesis. Seeds of A. linifolium and T. quadricornis have two dormancy cycles per year. In one cycle, dormancy is broken via warm temperatures in summer and in the other one via cold stratification in late winter. Semiannual dormancy cycling results in two germination cohorts in 1 year, and it may be a bet‐hedging strategy in the rainfall‐unpredictable cold desert environment.

{"title":"Semiannual dormancy cycling results in two seedling cohorts of annual species in the cold desert of Central Asia","authors":"Ruru Guo, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin, Lei Wang, Huiliang Liu, Guofang Liu, Xuehua Ye, Gideon Grafi, Xuejun Yang, Zhenying Huang","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70000","url":null,"abstract":" Our aim was to quantify the life‐history strategies of the cold desert annual species Alyssum linifolium and Tetracme quadricornis (Brassicaceae), with particular emphasis on the seed stage. Freshly matured seeds were tested for germination over a range of alternating temperature regimes in light and in dark, and the effects of seed coat scarification, cold stratification, dry after‐ripening and GA3 on dormancy‐break and germination were determined. Seeds were buried in the field at 0 (surface), 2 and 5 cm and germination of exhumed seeds tested at monthly intervals for 2 years. Seedling emergence of both species was monitored in the cold desert, and survival to maturity of plants from autumn‐ and spring‐germinated cohorts was determined. Most fresh seeds were dormant, and dormancy was broken by all four treatments tested. In the early stages of dormancy‐break, seeds germinated to low percentages over the range of temperatures, and with additional dormancy‐break germination percentages increased. Thus, seeds have Type 6 non‐deep physiological dormancy. In the buried seed study, dormancy‐break occurred in summer (June–August), and germination peaked in late summer. By late autumn (November), all non‐germinated seeds had re‐entered dormancy. During snowmelt in late winter (February–March), some dormancy‐break occurred, and low percentages of seeds of both species germinated. In the field, seeds of both species germinate in autumn and in spring, with more seeds of A. linifolium germinating in autumn than in spring and more seeds of T. quadricornis germinating in spring than in autumn. A portion of plants from both seedling cohorts of both species survived to maturity (set seeds) with more spring‐ than autumn‐germinating plants doing so for both species. Thus, both species behave as facultative winter annuals. Synthesis. Seeds of A. linifolium and T. quadricornis have two dormancy cycles per year. In one cycle, dormancy is broken via warm temperatures in summer and in the other one via cold stratification in late winter. Semiannual dormancy cycling results in two germination cohorts in 1 year, and it may be a bet‐hedging strategy in the rainfall‐unpredictable cold desert environment. ","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143083420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Decline in plant species richness with a chronic decrease of precipitation: The mediating role of the dominant species

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14483

Gábor Ónodi, Miklós Kertész, Ákos Bede‐Fazekas, Péter Batáry, György Kröel‐Dulay, Zoltán Botta‐Dukát

Despite the increased frequency and severity of droughts in many regions and declining biodiversity, existing experimental evidence for changes in plant species richness associated with altered water availability is limited. The growing extent of drylands highlights the need to predict precipitation‐related changes in species richness, which requires a better understanding of the mechanisms.

We carried out a field experiment applying a single extreme drought event and combined it with subsequent chronic alteration of summer precipitation for 7 years in a water‐limited temperate grassland. We assessed how altered precipitation regimes and a previous extreme drought affect species richness. We compared a simple analysis assuming only the net effect of precipitation on species richness to a complex approach by structural equation modelling that included both the direct effects of precipitation and indirect effects through the biomass of dominant grass species.

Using simple analysis, we found significant positive and nonsignificant precipitation–species richness relationships in the presence and absence of extreme drought, respectively. The complex analysis disentangled direct and indirect pathways between precipitation and species richness. The indirect pathway acted only in the absence of drought. In this case, increasing precipitation increased the biomass of dominant species, which, in turn, decreased species richness, acting as a mediator variable. The direct relationship was positive, independent of the presence of drought.

Synthesis. Consistent with the global relationship between water availability and species richness, we experimentally showed that decreasing precipitation decreases species richness. Furthermore, we found that increasing precipitation may also decrease plant species richness via an indirect pathway acting through the biomass of the dominant species. Our results highlight that species richness can become more sensitive to changes in precipitation after extreme drought events that eliminate or set back dominant species.

{"title":"Decline in plant species richness with a chronic decrease of precipitation: The mediating role of the dominant species","authors":"Gábor Ónodi, Miklós Kertész, Ákos Bede‐Fazekas, Péter Batáry, György Kröel‐Dulay, Zoltán Botta‐Dukát","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14483","url":null,"abstract":" Despite the increased frequency and severity of droughts in many regions and declining biodiversity, existing experimental evidence for changes in plant species richness associated with altered water availability is limited. The growing extent of drylands highlights the need to predict precipitation‐related changes in species richness, which requires a better understanding of the mechanisms. We carried out a field experiment applying a single extreme drought event and combined it with subsequent chronic alteration of summer precipitation for 7 years in a water‐limited temperate grassland. We assessed how altered precipitation regimes and a previous extreme drought affect species richness. We compared a simple analysis assuming only the net effect of precipitation on species richness to a complex approach by structural equation modelling that included both the direct effects of precipitation and indirect effects through the biomass of dominant grass species. Using simple analysis, we found significant positive and nonsignificant precipitation–species richness relationships in the presence and absence of extreme drought, respectively. The complex analysis disentangled direct and indirect pathways between precipitation and species richness. The indirect pathway acted only in the absence of drought. In this case, increasing precipitation increased the biomass of dominant species, which, in turn, decreased species richness, acting as a mediator variable. The direct relationship was positive, independent of the presence of drought. Synthesis. Consistent with the global relationship between water availability and species richness, we experimentally showed that decreasing precipitation decreases species richness. Furthermore, we found that increasing precipitation may also decrease plant species richness via an indirect pathway acting through the biomass of the dominant species. Our results highlight that species richness can become more sensitive to changes in precipitation after extreme drought events that eliminate or set back dominant species. ","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"121 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143071945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Short‐term prescribed fire frequency manipulation alters community response to subsequent fires in a southeastern pine savanna

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14492

Anita Simha, Justin P. Wright

Disturbances can have enduring impacts on ecological communities due to ‘legacy effects’, which result in community structure that varies with the history of recent disturbance. Further, such legacy effects can influence community—and population‐level responses to future disturbance.

We leveraged a landscape‐scale fire frequency experiment in a longleaf pine savanna to assess legacy effects in understory community richness, structure, and in community response to subsequent fire. Further, we investigated species‐level responses to fire based on their burn history and attempted to explain these responses using relevant functional traits.

Fire suppression for just 4 years resulted in more woody‐dominated communities. Fire suppression also resulted in more overall plant abundance. This buildup of plant material is consistent with our further finding that a greater interval between fires resulted in greater loss of cover with the next fire.

Greater fire return interval led to more vegetative cover loss immediately post‐fire, but this effect attenuated within a year of recovery time. Lowland shrub‐dominated communities also experienced greater cover loss due to fire. There was no effect of fire return interval on change in species richness.

Woody species responded more negatively to fire than herbaceous species. Intraspecific variation in specific leaf area increased resistance to fire only for shorter species, and it decreased resistance for taller species. Only some of the abundant species showed a sensitivity to fire history.

Synthesis. Overall, our findings provide evidence that short‐term changes to disturbance regimes can create alternative responses to future disturbance at the community and species level. This work suggests that short‐term pauses to longer term burn regimes can facilitate woody encroachment and have lasting impacts through altered community responses to future fires.

{"title":"Short‐term prescribed fire frequency manipulation alters community response to subsequent fires in a southeastern pine savanna","authors":"Anita Simha, Justin P. Wright","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14492","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14492","url":null,"abstract":" Disturbances can have enduring impacts on ecological communities due to ‘legacy effects’, which result in community structure that varies with the history of recent disturbance. Further, such legacy effects can influence community—and population‐level responses to future disturbance. We leveraged a landscape‐scale fire frequency experiment in a longleaf pine savanna to assess legacy effects in understory community richness, structure, and in community response to subsequent fire. Further, we investigated species‐level responses to fire based on their burn history and attempted to explain these responses using relevant functional traits. Fire suppression for just 4 years resulted in more woody‐dominated communities. Fire suppression also resulted in more overall plant abundance. This buildup of plant material is consistent with our further finding that a greater interval between fires resulted in greater loss of cover with the next fire. Greater fire return interval led to more vegetative cover loss immediately post‐fire, but this effect attenuated within a year of recovery time. Lowland shrub‐dominated communities also experienced greater cover loss due to fire. There was no effect of fire return interval on change in species richness. Woody species responded more negatively to fire than herbaceous species. Intraspecific variation in specific leaf area increased resistance to fire only for shorter species, and it decreased resistance for taller species. Only some of the abundant species showed a sensitivity to fire history. Synthesis. Overall, our findings provide evidence that short‐term changes to disturbance regimes can create alternative responses to future disturbance at the community and species level. This work suggests that short‐term pauses to longer term burn regimes can facilitate woody encroachment and have lasting impacts through altered community responses to future fires. ","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143071946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Plant diversity loss has limited effects on below-ground biomass and traits but alters community short-term root production in a species-rich grassland

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-30 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14488

Clara Gracia, Aleš Lisner, Markéta Applová, Thinles Chondol, Vojtěch Dolejšek, Eva Janíková, Yogita Karpate, Marie Konečná, Athina Papatheodoulou, Leyre Pedrós, Tereza Švancárová, Jan Lepš, Jules Segrestin

<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>The interplay between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central and long-standing question in ecology. According to biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments, frequently conducted on grassland communities, there is a general consensus about the positive association between biodiversity and productivity. The complementarity effect is one of the proposed explanations for the enhanced ecosystem functioning in diverse communities (Cardinale et al., 2007; Loreau & Hector, 2001; Tilman et al., 2001). This effect stems from the fact that, in more diverse communities, variations in species strategies are expected to optimize resource use, resulting in increased productivity. Although complementarity effects can arise from a wide range of mechanisms, in plants, they have often been linked with horizontal (von Felten & Schmid, 2008) or vertical niche differentiation (Li et al., 2018), especially below-ground, where the distribution of roots is expected to exhibit more variability in diverse plant communities (Brassard et al., 2013). The other proposed mechanism explaining the experimental BEF positive relationship is the selection effects, wherein the likelihood of a high-functioning species being present in an assemblage increases with the number of species (Cardinale et al., 2011).In the last decades, there has been a debate on whether results from BEF experiments can provide insights into the effects of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning in natural communities (Doherty & Zedler, 2018; Lepš, 2004; Wardle, 2016). Most BEF experiments rely on random selections of species from a species pool, which often does not represent realistic communities on which species loss can be simulated. Although such experimental designs offer controlled simulations that can provide important mechanistic information (Eisenhauer et al., 2016), they can be misleading in some aspects as natural species loss does not behave as a random process (Schläpfer et al., 2005; Schmid et al., 2002). Indeed, the probability of a species to be lost from a community depends on multiple factors, but primarily on its relative abundance (Genung et al., 2020; Smith & Knapp, 2003; Spehn et al., 2005). Furthermore, most BEF experiments are based on evenly sown communities, where all species are initially sown with equal abundance, which fails to represent the environmental filters and biotic factors that govern assembly processes (Diaz et al., 2003). On the other hand, removal experiments in natural communities provide a promising alternative approach. Following a realistic scenario of species loss, it has been shown that a few dominant species could compensate for the removal of rare and subordinate spe

{"title":"Plant diversity loss has limited effects on below-ground biomass and traits but alters community short-term root production in a species-rich grassland","authors":"Clara Gracia, Aleš Lisner, Markéta Applová, Thinles Chondol, Vojtěch Dolejšek, Eva Janíková, Yogita Karpate, Marie Konečná, Athina Papatheodoulou, Leyre Pedrós, Tereza Švancárová, Jan Lepš, Jules Segrestin","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14488","url":null,"abstract":"<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>\u0000The interplay between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central and long-standing question in ecology. According to biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments, frequently conducted on grassland communities, there is a general consensus about the positive association between biodiversity and productivity. The complementarity effect is one of the proposed explanations for the enhanced ecosystem functioning in diverse communities (Cardinale et al., 2007; Loreau & Hector, 2001; Tilman et al., 2001). This effect stems from the fact that, in more diverse communities, variations in species strategies are expected to optimize resource use, resulting in increased productivity. Although complementarity effects can arise from a wide range of mechanisms, in plants, they have often been linked with horizontal (von Felten & Schmid, 2008) or vertical niche differentiation (Li et al., 2018), especially below-ground, where the distribution of roots is expected to exhibit more variability in diverse plant communities (Brassard et al., 2013). The other proposed mechanism explaining the experimental BEF positive relationship is the selection effects, wherein the likelihood of a high-functioning species being present in an assemblage increases with the number of species (Cardinale et al., 2011).\u0000In the last decades, there has been a debate on whether results from BEF experiments can provide insights into the effects of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning in natural communities (Doherty & Zedler, 2018; Lepš, 2004; Wardle, 2016). Most BEF experiments rely on random selections of species from a species pool, which often does not represent realistic communities on which species loss can be simulated. Although such experimental designs offer controlled simulations that can provide important mechanistic information (Eisenhauer et al., 2016), they can be misleading in some aspects as natural species loss does not behave as a random process (Schläpfer et al., 2005; Schmid et al., 2002). Indeed, the probability of a species to be lost from a community depends on multiple factors, but primarily on its relative abundance (Genung et al., 2020; Smith & Knapp, 2003; Spehn et al., 2005). Furthermore, most BEF experiments are based on evenly sown communities, where all species are initially sown with equal abundance, which fails to represent the environmental filters and biotic factors that govern assembly processes (Diaz et al., 2003). On the other hand, removal experiments in natural communities provide a promising alternative approach. Following a realistic scenario of species loss, it has been shown that a few dominant species could compensate for the removal of rare and subordinate spe","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143056431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Population viability of the orchid Gymnadenia conopsea increases with population size but is not related to genetic diversity

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-28 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14484

Linus Söderquist, Johan P. Dahlgren, Nina Sletvold

<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>Reductions in population size, often associated with habitat fragmentation, pose challenges for plant populations from both a demographic and genetic point of view. First, demographic and environmental stochasticity is a greater threat for smaller populations. This is because failed reproduction or death of even a few individuals have a large influence on population dynamics, potentially leading to increased risk of extinction (Lande, 1993, 1998). Second, in small populations, individuals have lower chance of mutualistic interactions and fewer mating opportunities, potentially increasing inbreeding (Raijmann et al., 1994), and lowering seed output (Ågren, 1996; Brys et al., 2004). Third, in small populations, the impact of genetic drift is expected to be strong, and fixation of mildly deleterious alleles will cause reductions in individual fitness (Oakley & Winn, 2012; Reed, 2005). Reduced genetic diversity further leads to lower overall adaptive potential and resilience to, for example, diseases and changes in environmental conditions (Hoffmann & Sgrò, 2011). Thus, understanding the consequences of a population's size for both demographic and genetic properties that determine current viability and evolutionary potential is important for conservation priorities.The expected close relationship between population size and genetic and demographic processes has inspired studies that examine links between population size and genetic diversity (Honnay & Jacquemyn, 2007; Lammi et al., 1999; Leimu et al., 2006), population size and inbreeding depression (Michaels et al., 2008; Oakley & Winn, 2012), and population size and components of fitness (Menges, 1991; Morgan, 1999). However, few studies have directly examined relationships between genetic and demographic properties of plant populations, using metrics that integrate demographic effects across the whole life cycle (e.g. long-term population growth rate, extinction probability). A few existing studies document an association between genetic erosion and reduced population viability (Endels et al., 2007; Hens et al., 2017), whereas others found weak or no effect of genetic diversity on population dynamics (Carley et al., 2022; Fréville et al., 2004; Menges & Dolan, 1998). Such variation in the relationship between genetics and demography could not only reflect differences in ecological context, evolutionary history and mating system (Carley et al., 2022), but also the power to detect an association. Both a high number of populations and years will be necessary to capture a sufficient range in genetic diversity and provide a reliable estimate of population viability of perennial pl

{"title":"Population viability of the orchid Gymnadenia conopsea increases with population size but is not related to genetic diversity","authors":"Linus Söderquist, Johan P. Dahlgren, Nina Sletvold","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14484","url":null,"abstract":"<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>\u0000Reductions in population size, often associated with habitat fragmentation, pose challenges for plant populations from both a demographic and genetic point of view. First, demographic and environmental stochasticity is a greater threat for smaller populations. This is because failed reproduction or death of even a few individuals have a large influence on population dynamics, potentially leading to increased risk of extinction (Lande, 1993, 1998). Second, in small populations, individuals have lower chance of mutualistic interactions and fewer mating opportunities, potentially increasing inbreeding (Raijmann et al., 1994), and lowering seed output (Ågren, 1996; Brys et al., 2004). Third, in small populations, the impact of genetic drift is expected to be strong, and fixation of mildly deleterious alleles will cause reductions in individual fitness (Oakley & Winn, 2012; Reed, 2005). Reduced genetic diversity further leads to lower overall adaptive potential and resilience to, for example, diseases and changes in environmental conditions (Hoffmann & Sgrò, 2011). Thus, understanding the consequences of a population's size for both demographic and genetic properties that determine current viability and evolutionary potential is important for conservation priorities.\u0000The expected close relationship between population size and genetic and demographic processes has inspired studies that examine links between population size and genetic diversity (Honnay & Jacquemyn, 2007; Lammi et al., 1999; Leimu et al., 2006), population size and inbreeding depression (Michaels et al., 2008; Oakley & Winn, 2012), and population size and components of fitness (Menges, 1991; Morgan, 1999). However, few studies have directly examined relationships between genetic and demographic properties of plant populations, using metrics that integrate demographic effects across the whole life cycle (e.g. long-term population growth rate, extinction probability). A few existing studies document an association between genetic erosion and reduced population viability (Endels et al., 2007; Hens et al., 2017), whereas others found weak or no effect of genetic diversity on population dynamics (Carley et al., 2022; Fréville et al., 2004; Menges & Dolan, 1998). Such variation in the relationship between genetics and demography could not only reflect differences in ecological context, evolutionary history and mating system (Carley et al., 2022), but also the power to detect an association. Both a high number of populations and years will be necessary to capture a sufficient range in genetic diversity and provide a reliable estimate of population viability of perennial pl","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143050830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Multiple mechanisms associated with loss of seed bank diversity under nitrogen enrichment

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14486

Miaojun Ma, Anu Eskelinen, Yunpeng Zhao, Carol C. Baskin, Chunming Xin, Panhong Zhang, Zengpeng Guo, Hui Zhang, Xuejing Wang, Pengfei Zhang, Guozhen Du

The soil seed bank is a hidden community below‐ground and a crucial component of plant biodiversity. Nitrogen (N) enrichment can reduce plant species diversity both in above‐ground plant communities and seed banks. However, the mechanisms by which N enrichment affects soil seed banks are not clear.

We investigated the direct and indirect mechanisms of N enrichment in soil seed banks in an N addition experiment in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We combined above‐ground plant community and litter data, fungal diversity, seed bank surveys and seed rain monitoring, and conducted a seed burial experiment to explore seed viability.

We found that the rate of loss of species diversity was slower in seed banks than in above‐ground plant communities. N enrichment directly affected seed banks by decreasing seed viability and enhancing seed germination. Furthermore, small seeds were more prone to loss of viability and increased seed germination under N enrichment than large seeds. At the same time, N enrichment also indirectly decreased seed bank species richness and number of seeds by altering the composition of the plant community and by increasing the amount of litter and fungal diversity. N enrichment also indirectly decreased number of seeds in seed banks through decreasing number of seeds of seed rain, with increasing negative effects due to higher levels of N enrichment.

Synthesis. Our results provide novel insights into multiple direct and indirect mechanisms that can lead to loss of plant diversity in seed banks under N enrichment, with important ramifications on the maintenance of plant biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and restoration in N‐enriched systems.

{"title":"Multiple mechanisms associated with loss of seed bank diversity under nitrogen enrichment","authors":"Miaojun Ma, Anu Eskelinen, Yunpeng Zhao, Carol C. Baskin, Chunming Xin, Panhong Zhang, Zengpeng Guo, Hui Zhang, Xuejing Wang, Pengfei Zhang, Guozhen Du","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14486","url":null,"abstract":" The soil seed bank is a hidden community below‐ground and a crucial component of plant biodiversity. Nitrogen (N) enrichment can reduce plant species diversity both in above‐ground plant communities and seed banks. However, the mechanisms by which N enrichment affects soil seed banks are not clear. We investigated the direct and indirect mechanisms of N enrichment in soil seed banks in an N addition experiment in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We combined above‐ground plant community and litter data, fungal diversity, seed bank surveys and seed rain monitoring, and conducted a seed burial experiment to explore seed viability. We found that the rate of loss of species diversity was slower in seed banks than in above‐ground plant communities. N enrichment directly affected seed banks by decreasing seed viability and enhancing seed germination. Furthermore, small seeds were more prone to loss of viability and increased seed germination under N enrichment than large seeds. At the same time, N enrichment also indirectly decreased seed bank species richness and number of seeds by altering the composition of the plant community and by increasing the amount of litter and fungal diversity. N enrichment also indirectly decreased number of seeds in seed banks through decreasing number of seeds of seed rain, with increasing negative effects due to higher levels of N enrichment. Synthesis. Our results provide novel insights into multiple direct and indirect mechanisms that can lead to loss of plant diversity in seed banks under N enrichment, with important ramifications on the maintenance of plant biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and restoration in N‐enriched systems. ","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143049948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

The proportion of low abundance species is a key predictor of plant β-diversity across the latitudinal gradient

IF 5.5 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Journal of Ecology

Pub Date : 2025-01-27 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.14487

Jing Xiao, Yuantao Feng, Huixin Zhang, Chenchao Xu, Kaihang Zhang, Marc W. Cadotte, Lei Cheng

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

引用次数: 0