Climate and disturbance regime effects on aspen (<i>Populus tremuloides</i>Michx.) stand structure and composition along an east–west transect in Canada's boreal forest

Nlungu-Kweta, Pierre; Leduc, Alain; Bergeron, Yves

doi:10.1093/forestry/cpw026

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…factors. In terms of abiotic factors, it is commonly accepted that the amount of rainfall is one of the essential factors for plant survival [49][50][51]. Our study supports that statement, in that the diversity and density of natural regeneration increased with rainfall.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Factors Affecting Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forests across a Precipitation Gradient in Myanmar

Khaine

Woo

Kwak

et al. 2018

Forests

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Natural regeneration is an essential component of forest dynamics and the recovery of ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding regeneration status, and how abiotic and biotic factors affect it, is important for ecological studies. This study discovered different regeneration statuses of tropical forests in response to differences in rainfall in Myanmar, and the environmental and overstory factors that had the most influence on understory regeneration. Study sites were set up in regions with 625 to 2035 mm of annual rainfall, and ecological characteristics were measured. According to the results, natural regeneration increased with rainfall, showing a good regeneration status at all sites. Forests within a range of 1411-2035 mm of annual rainfall had a significantly higher density and species diversity at specific natural regeneration stages than those with 625-1029 mm. Not only abiotic but also overstory structure affected the natural regeneration of forests. However, not all factors influenced natural regeneration status. Overstory size distribution parameters did not show a significant influence on natural regeneration. Average annual rainfall (abiotic), as well as ecosystem complexity, density, species richness, and diversity (overstory), were found to be the most influential factors for the density and diversity of natural regeneration. The results of this study will support silviculture and the management of tropical forests.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Factors Affecting Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forests across a Precipitation Gradient in Myanmar

Khaine

Woo

Kwak

et al. 2018

Forests

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“…, Nlungu‐Kweta et al. ). In the arid Great Basin, little aspen research has been conducted, but conifer competition and ungulate browsing have been found to contribute to aspen decline (e.g., Strand et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and disturbance influence self‐sustaining stand dynamics of aspen (Populus tremuloides) near its range margin

Shinneman

McIlroy

2019

Ecological Applications

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Species that are primarily seral may form stable (self‐sustaining) communities under certain disturbance regimes or environmental conditions, yet such populations may also be particularly vulnerable to ecological change. Aspen (Populus spp.) are generally considered seral throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including P. tremuloides, the most widely distributed tree species in North America. Recent declines in aspen populations have occurred, especially along drought‐sensitive margins of its range and where fire exclusion and herbivory have promoted community transition. However, aspen also forms stable stands, and examination of the mechanisms that influence persistence can offer conservation insights, especially where populations are vulnerable to changing climate or altered disturbance dynamics. We sampled tree age and stand characteristics of isolated aspen forests in the arid Great Basin (USA) to determine if (1) aspen communities are more fire‐dependent and seral or fire‐independent and stable; (2) ungulate browsing inhibits aspen stability; and (3) temporal patterns of vegetative reproduction (i.e., ramet establishment or “suckering”) are correlated with climate. Aspen size and age class densities strongly fit negative exponential distributions, whether grouped geographically or by functional type, suggesting landscape‐scale persistence. Continuous age distributions and high proportions of recruitment‐sized to overstory trees suggest stability at stand scales, with exceptions including stands with higher browsing pressure. Few stands had evidence of fire, and relationships between dead tree size and variability in live tree size suggest a lack of fire dependency. Several 5‐yr averaged climate variables and one sea surface temperature index were correlated with aspen ramet establishment densities over time, with strongest relationships occurring ~5 yr prior to establishment year, often followed by inverse relationships ~1 yr after. Indeed, aspen establishment density for a recent 41‐yr period was reliably reconstructed using antecedent climate conditions derived from a single drought index. Temporally synchronized aspen ramet establishment across the study region may be due to climate‐driven storage of nonstructural carbohydrate reserves in clonal root systems later used for regeneration. Complex regeneration dynamics of these self‐sustaining aspen stands, especially sensitivity to climate variability, suggest they may serve as harbingers of ecological change in the arid Great Basin and in other aspen populations near their range margin.

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“…Therefore, it is important that forests are constantly monitored to determine whether diversity is being maintained. However, although much attention has been given to biodiversity conservation and how biodiversity varies between different forest conditions [1,9], we still only have a limited understanding of how forest diversity and structure vary between different rainfall regions because such forests always occur in different regions with different climates [9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species Diversity, Stand Structure, and Species Distribution across a Precipitation Gradient in Tropical Forests in Myanmar

Khaine

Woo

Kang

et al. 2017

Forests

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An understanding of how species diversity, structural pattern, and species distribution vary across different environmental regions is crucially important for tropical ecology. In this study, we explored how these ecological parameters vary across various rainfall regions in the tropics with annual rainfall levels ranging from 843 to 2035 mm. Diversity, similarity, structure, and forest classification, and their correspondence with rainfall regions were tested. We found that species diversity, site class, and structural complexity increased with rainfall, with differences of 1000 mm having significant effects on diversity. The structure and heterogeneity of forests were higher in the high rainfall regions than the low rainfall regions. The forest structure was significantly correlated with rainfall, and the structure differed substantially where annual rainfall differed among sites by approximately 200 or 400 mm. Forests could be classified into two types according to whether they had high annual rainfall (1411-2035 mm) or low annual rainfall (843-1029 mm). In addition, the dominance of species changed noticeably from high-to low-rainfall regions, with Tectona hamiltoniana and Terminalia oliveri only being abundant in the low rainfall region. Species diversity and richness were significantly correlated with rainfall and average temperature. These findings will provide invaluable information for forest management and ecological phytogeography.

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Climate and disturbance regime effects on aspen (Populus tremuloidesMichx.) stand structure and composition along an east–west transect in Canada's boreal forest

Cited by 10 publications

References 37 publications

Factors Affecting Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forests across a Precipitation Gradient in Myanmar

Factors Affecting Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forests across a Precipitation Gradient in Myanmar

Climate and disturbance influence self‐sustaining stand dynamics of aspen (Populus tremuloides) near its range margin

Species Diversity, Stand Structure, and Species Distribution across a Precipitation Gradient in Tropical Forests in Myanmar

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