Prediction of forest soil nutrient status using vegetation

Gégout, Jean‐Claude; Hervé, Jean-Christophe; Houllier, François; Pierrat, Jean-Claude

doi:10.1658/1100-9233(2003)014[0055:pofsns]2.0.co;2

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Gégout et al. ). Such an approach will have to choose the most meaningful soil chemical variable(s), which is not easy given the complexity of nutrient availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving meaning to Ellenberg nutrient values: National Forest Soil Inventory yields frequency‐based scaling

Ewald

Ziche²

2016

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions Ellenberg nutrient values based on indicator plant species composition of vegetation plots (mN) are widely used to measure temporal and spatial patterns of nutrient deficiency and eutrophication. The widespread use is in contrast to the lack of direct calibration against soil chemical proxies of nutrient availability. Lack of calibration and range contraction due to averaging of a bounded ordinal scale hinder the interpretation of mN across studies. Based on a large set of concomitant vegetation–soil data we asked: (1) which is the best single soil predictor of mN, (2) which combination of soil variables best explains mN; and (3) can a meaningful relative scale of mN be provided for comparative purposes? Location Forests in Germany, sampled in a systematic 8 km × 8 km grid. Methods The German National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI) provides a large, representative sample of joint soil and vegetation plots, which were additionally intersected with modelled background N deposition. Values of mN of vegetation plots were related to measured 36 soil and three deposition variables by correlation and multiple regression. The distribution of mN was partitioned based on quantiles. Results In NFSI mN was most closely related to the C/N ratio of the topsoil (r² = 0.31). Multiple analysis regression showed that soil acidity, soil P and K, humus quality and deposition were complementary predictors (multiple r² = 0.47) of mN. Conclusions Values of mN are moderately, but consistently, related to measurable chemical properties of forest soils. The 10, 30, 70 and 90% quantiles of the frequency distribution of mN in the NFSI data are proposed to define a relative scale of macronutrient availability in forest soils, distinguishing very oligotrophic (mN < 3.38), oligotrophic (3.38–4.8), mesotrophic (4.80–5.75), eutrophic (5.75–6.21) and highly eutrophic (>6.21) sites, which broadly correspond to conventional classes of C/N ratio used in forest site mapping. This proposed five‐class trophic scale can be used to compare mN and its trends across studies in forest vegetation of Central Europe.

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“…Gégout et al. ). Such an approach will have to choose the most meaningful soil chemical variable(s), which is not easy given the complexity of nutrient availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving meaning to Ellenberg nutrient values: National Forest Soil Inventory yields frequency‐based scaling

Ewald

Ziche²

2016

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…The IFN sampling strategy is based on a 500 × 500 m grid map of France, within which sampled plots are chosen randomly in forest areas. Bioindicated pH and C:N values were obtained from the average of the ecological optima of all plant species present on each of the 103,864 plots (Ellenberg et al ., 1992; Gégout et al ., 2003). The species optima, derived from curves of species response to environmental factors, were extracted from an unpublished catalogue of edaphic and climatic indicator values for 700 forest plant species in France (Gégout et al ., 2002).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of soil nutrients in the distribution of forest communities on a large geographical scale

Marage¹,

Gégout²

2008

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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Aim Soil nutrient content plays a key role in plant growth through mineral nutrition and toxicity. Its impact on plant species and community distribution is studied on a large geographical scale through surrogates like topography or geology. We investigated the importance of soil pH and C:N ratio, as direct nutritional gradients, to determine, with climatic factors, the spatial distribution of plant communities over large territories. Location We studied the distribution of six beech habitats of the NATURA 2000 network throughout France (550,000 km2). Methods Models were calibrated with 2108 floristic plots classified in the NATURA 2000 system and including climatic and topographic variables and soil nutritional measurements carried out in a laboratory. Logistic regression was used to model habitat distribution according to environmental variables. Climatic layers, a digital elevation model and maps of soil pH and nitrogen content, created using plant indicator values and large floristic databases, were used to map the sites suitable for beech communities. Distribution models were evaluated with an independent set of 2091 phytosociological plots. Results pH and nitrogen supply were the key distribution drivers for four of the six beech communities on a national scale. Their use in the distribution models distinguished within homogeneous climatic territories a gradient of nutritional conditions from acidic areas, suitable for nutrient‐poor beech communities, to calcareous areas suitable for nutrient‐rich ones. Predicted maps of beech habitats fit the spatial distribution of validation plots. Main conclusions Soil pH and nitrogen supply strongly improve predictions of forest community distribution carried out with climatic variables on a broad geographical scale. They allow delineation of areas with nutritional conditions suitable for each community, as well as the realization of predictive high‐resolution maps over large areas useful for sustainable and conservation management. Nomenclature Tutin & Heywood (2001) Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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“…Biological indication can be defined as making use of specific reactions of organisms to their environment (Diekmann 2003). The EIVs for Central European flora (Ellenberg 1974;Ellenberg et al 1992) are widely used in vegetation assessment, both to estimate soil variables from floristic data and to predict vegetation composition from given soil properties (Ertsen et al 1998;van Dobben et al 1999;Schaffers & Sýkora 2000;Wilson et al 2001;Wamelink et al 2002;Gégout 2003;Lawesson et al 2003;Seidling 2005;Bergès et al 2006;Petřik & Wild 2006;Feldmeyer-Christe et al 2007;Crosti et al 2010;Angiolini et al 2011;Balkovič et al 2012). The wide success of Ellenberg's system is probably associated with the fact that for a majority of species autecology and life history in general do not differ considerably throughout Europe (Lawesson et al 2003), at least in nemoral and boreal regions (Godefroid & Dana 2007;Seidling & Fischer 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The moisture regime also correlates with organic matter/humus content, or widely with the soil nutrient regime, particularly nitrogen supply (Wilson et al 2001;Seidling & Fischer 2008). According to Ellenberg et al (1992), the 'nitrogen figure' (N) may be interpreted as an indicator of general nutrient status and that is why, it is widely used in habitat calibration (Ertsen et al 1998;Wamelink et al 1998;van Dobben et al 1999;Schaffers & Sýkora 2000;Gégout et al 2003;Bergès et al 2006). Schaffers & Sýkora (2000) even stressed that Ellenberg's N-values are strongly correlated with biomass production, suggesting that they could be replaced by 'productivity values'.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The system of ecological indicator values (EIVs) provides a very valuable tool for habitat calibration and, in spite of many critical comments and limitations (cf. Diekmann 2003 and literature cited therein), it is still applied for modelling plant distribution at various spatial scales in different regions of Europe (Ertsen et al 1998;Wamelink et al 1998Wamelink et al , 2002van Dobben et al 1999;Schaffers & Sýkora 2000;Wilson et al 2001;Gégout 2003;Lawesson et al 2003;Seidling 2005;Bergès et al 2006;Petřik & Wild 2006;Feldmeyer-Christe et al 2007;Seidling & Fischer 2008;Crosti et al 2010;Angiolini et al 2011;Balkovič et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Topographic attributes and ecological indicator values in assessing the ground-floor vegetation patterns

Czarnecka

Rysiak

Chabudziński

2017

Biodiversity Research and Conservation

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The paper discusses the question whether geographical information systems (GIS) and digital elevation models (DEM) are useful tools for studying correlations between topographic attributes of a given area, and vascular flora requirements reflected by ecological indicator values (EIVs). The model object was a 4-km-long gorge section of the Sopot river valley (80.5 ha), the Central Roztocze Highlands, South-East Poland. Species lists for 40 ca. 200-m-long and 100-350-m-wide sections, according to the river course, separately for the left and right riverbanks, were made. The analysis of the area was based on a 3-meter resolution DEM. We applied primary topographic attributes: slope, and planar, vertical, and total curvatures and also secondary topographic attributes: solar radiation (SRAD) and topographic wetness index (TWI), as well as other terrain characters: denivelation, total, flat and upslope area of each section. Using the multivariate analyses, we analysed relationships between weighted averages of EIVs for each species and topographic attributes. The GIS and DEM became useful tools for the detection of patterns of species with different habitat requirements. The species number correlated positively with the total and flat area of a section and the TWI, while the denivelation, mean slope and upslope area had a reverse vector. Among the most frequent and abundant herb species, we found several spatial patterns of distribution, namely those of: Maianthemum bifolium, Carex remota, C. acutiformis, Filipendula ulmaria, Dryopteris filixmas, and Urtica dioica. The rarest species represented Ajuga genevensis, Scorzonera humilis, and Stachys palustris patterns.

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Prediction of forest soil nutrient status using vegetation

Cited by 15 publications

References 28 publications

Giving meaning to Ellenberg nutrient values: National Forest Soil Inventory yields frequency‐based scaling

Giving meaning to Ellenberg nutrient values: National Forest Soil Inventory yields frequency‐based scaling

Importance of soil nutrients in the distribution of forest communities on a large geographical scale

Topographic attributes and ecological indicator values in assessing the ground-floor vegetation patterns

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