Individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests

Abstract

Questions What drives individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests? Location Two 25.6‐ha forest plots on the Pacific Slope of North America, one in California, and one in Washington State. Methods We mapped all trees ≥1 cm in diameter and examined tree species diversity of their local neighbourhoods by calculating the individual species–area relationship for each species and for each of three diameter classes (saplings, mature trees and large‐diameter trees). Results In the California plot, small trees in four of the five major species occurred in neighbourhoods with higher levels of diversity than would be expected at random. In the Washington plot, small trees for four of five abundant species had neighbourhoods with lower than expected diversity at distances ≤5 m for small trees. However, at distances >5 m, all five species showed higher than expected diversity in their neighbourhoods. Larger trees at both plots tended to occur in neighbourhoods with lower than expected diversity, and no large‐diameter focal species had neighbourhoods with higher than expected diversity. Conclusion Diversity and co‐existence in temperate conifer‐dominated forests do not appear to be the result of random processes. Competitive interactions appear to dominate for the largest trees of most species, resulting in neighbourhoods with lower diversity. For smaller trees, we suggest that a positive response to environmental heterogeneity is the likely driver of neighbourhoods with higher than expected diversity, although we cannot rule out the possibility that facilitation or conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) also play a role.

Patterns of local species richness and their associations with functional traits in a 60‐ha tropical forest dynamics plot

“…In this study, we analyzed the patterns of local species richness and their associations with functional trait syndromes in the Jianfengling FDP, the largest FDP worldwide. In contrast with other researches (Wiegand et al 2007, Yang et al 2013, Das et al 2018, we found that facilitation played an important role in maintaining local species richness patterns. In addition, another important contribution of the study was to determine the associations between local species richness and plant functional trait syndromes.…”

“…, Das et al. ), we found that facilitation played an important role in maintaining local species richness patterns. In addition, another important contribution of the study was to determine the associations between local species richness and plant functional trait syndromes.…”

“…, Das et al. ). However, few studies have linked local species richness to plant functional trait syndromes.…”

“…Normally, a conservative functional trait syndrome is generally related to relatively high LDMC and WD and relatively low H max , SLA, and leaf nutrient contents, while an acquisitive functional trait syndrome is usually correlated with relatively high H max , SLA, and leaf nutrient contents and relatively low LDMC and WD. Several researches have examined the patterns of local species richness in other tropical forests or other types of communities (Wiegand et al 2007, Yang et al 2013, Tsai et al 2015, Chac on-Labella et al 2016, Das et al 2018. However, few studies have linked local species richness to plant functional trait syndromes.…”

Advancing Fire Science with Large Forest Plots and a Long-Term Multidisciplinary Approach

“…Fine-scale spatial pattern plays an important role in mediating post-fire effects, either through density-dependent mortality or aggregated post-fire forest development [20,21]. The importance of spatial heterogeneity to the correct calculation of landscape carbon [22][23][24] and remnant forest patches (e.g., refugia [25][26][27][28]) has been well established, but the spatial distribution of fire-caused mortality remains understudied.…”