Species Diversity Associated with Foundation Species in Temperate and Tropical Forests

Ellison, Aaron M.; Buckley, Hannah; Case, Bradley S.; Duque, Álvaro; Lutz, James A.; Myers, Jonathan A.; Orwig, David A.; Zimmerman, Jess K.

doi:10.3390/f10020128

Cited by 25 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The plot harbors around 1,200 tree species, which makes of it one of the most diverse places on Earth (Duque et al, ). Eschweilera coriacea , Eschweilera itayensis , Eschweilera rufifolia , Otoba glycicarpa , Guarea pubescens and Rinorea lindeniana are important species in terms of basal area and abundance within the plot (Ellison et al, ). Soils in Amacayacu are acid (pH = 3.9 ± 0.1), with low contents of phosphorous ( p = 8.9 ± 0.1), and low total exchangeable bases (TEB = 1.2 ± 0.5) (Zuleta et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene increases in palm abundances in north‐western Amazonia

Heijink

McMichael

Piperno

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim In Amazonia, 227 of c. 16,000 tree species account for half the individual trees (termed ‘hyperdominant’ species), and a disproportionate number of these species are palms. Our objectives are to show how and whether palm abundance has changed through the Holocene. Here, we reconstruct a detailed fire and vegetation history from north‐western Amazonia, with a focus on changes in palm abundances, and compare our results with regional data. Location Amacayacu, Colombia. Taxon Amazonian palms. Methods We performed charcoal and phytolith analysis on soil cores, and obtained ages of past fires using 14C dating. We measured charcoal abundances and the relative abundances of phytoliths (silica‐based microfossils) for all samples. We used these data to reconstruct changes in fire and vegetation, and compared these data with the species composition of palms in the modern forest. Results Seven 14C dates from charcoal in three cores provided fire ages ranging from 1630 to 2450 calibrated years before present. Charcoal was absent from one‐third of the cores. Palm phytoliths from genera such as Iriartea, Socratea, and Astrocaryum have increased through time, while genera such as Euterpe, Hyospathe, and Oenocarpus have remained relatively stable and similar to modern levels. Overall, palm abundances were negatively correlated with charcoal measurements. Decorated sphere phytoliths, produced from unknown arboreal taxa were positively correlated with charcoal presence and abundance. Main conclusions Palms have increased at Amacayacu and other forest plots through time, but the increases are largest in north‐western Amazonia. The presence of fire, however, dampens the increase in palms through time. When compared with reconstructions from other Amazon regions, our results suggest that increases in palm abundances in the late Holocene occurred both in the presence and absence of direct pre‐Columbian human influence, and that response was strongest in north‐western Amazonia when human influence was minimal.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene increases in palm abundances in north‐western Amazonia

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McMichael

Piperno

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Identifying foundation species is difficult because it can take many years—often decades— to collect enough data to distinguish foundation species from other species that also are common, abundant, or dominant ( sensu Grime, 1987) but lack “foundational” characteristics (Baiser et al, 2013; Ellison, 2014, 2019). Rather than investigating one common or dominant species at a time in myriad ecosystems, Ellison and his colleagues have worked with data from individual and multiple large forest dynamics plots within the ForestGEO network 1 to develop statistical criteria that can suggest which tree species might merit further attention as candidate foundation species in forests (Buckley et al, 2016 a , b ; Case et al, 2016; Ellison et al, 2019). Specifically, Ellison et al (2019) proposed two statistical criteria for candidate foundation tree species based on their size-frequency and abundance-diameter distributions, and on their spatial effects of on the alpha diversity (as Hill numbers: Chao et al, 2014) and beta diversity (e.g., Bray-Curtis dissimilarity) of co-occurring species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When these foundation species decline or are selectively harvested, the landscape is homogenized and beta diversity declines. Indeed, Ellison et al (2019) suggested that the preservation of landscape diversity may be the most important reason to protect and manage foundation tree species before they decline or disappear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, we derived these two statistical criteria after more than a decade of observational and experimental studies of Tsuga canadensis -dominated forests in New England, USA that lend strong support for the hypothesis that T. canadensis is a foundation species (Orwig et al, 2013; Ellison, 2014). These criteria subsequently were applied to five additional forest dynamics plots in the western hemisphere (Buckley et al, 2016 b ; Ellison et al, 2019) with encouraging results. Here, we apply these criteria to 12 large forest dynamics plots in China that range from cold-temperate boreal forests to tropical rain forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, we test the hypothesis that foundation tree species should be uncommon or absent in subtropical and tropical forests. Empirical support for particular trees having foundational roles in forests is strongest for temperate forests (Schweitzer et al, 2004; Whitham et al, 2006; Ellison, 2014; Tomback et al, 2016) and low-diversity tropical forests (Ellison et al, 2005), and Ellison et al (2005) hypothesized that foundation tree species would be less likely in species-rich tropical forests (Ellison et al, 2019). Second, the application of our statistical criteria yield new insights into ecological patterns and processes not only for China, but also concerning similarities between the floras of East Asia and Eastern North America (Tiffney, 1985; Pennington et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foundation Species Across a Latitudinal Gradient in China

Qiao

Zhang

et al. 2020

Preprint

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40Foundation species play important roles in structuring forest communities and 41 ecosystems. Foundation species are difficult to identify without long-term observa-42 tions or experiments and their foundational roles rarely are identified before they are 43 declining or threatened. We used new statistical criteria based on size-frequency dis-44 tributions, species diversity, and spatial codispersion among woody plants to identify 45 potential ("candidate") foundation species in 12 large forest dynamics plots spanning 46 26 degrees of latitude in China. We used these data to identify a suite of candidate 47 foundation species in Chinese forests; test the hypothesis that foundation woody plant 48 species are more frequent in the temperate zone than in the tropics; and compare these 49 results with comparable data from the Americas to suggest candidate foundation gen-50 era in Northern Hemisphere forests. We identified more candidate foundation species 51 in temperate plots than in subtropical or tropical plots, and this relationship was in-52 dependent of the latitudinal gradient in overall species richness. Two species of Acer, 53 the canopy tree Acer ukurunduense and the shrubby treelet Acer barbinerve were the 54 only two species that met both criteria in full to be considered as candidate founda-55 tion species. When we relaxed the diversity criteria, Acer, Tilia, and Juglans spp., 56 and Corlyus mandshurica were frequently identified as candidate foundation species. 57In tropical plots, the tree Mezzettiopsis creaghii and the shrubs or treelets Aporusa 58 yunnanensis and Ficus hispida had some characteristics associated with foundation 59 species. Species diversity of co-occurring woody species was negatively associated with 60 basal area of candidate foundation species more frequently at 5-and 10-m spatial grains 61 (scale) than at a 20-m grain. Conversely, Bray-Curtis dissimilarity was positively as-62 sociated with basal area of candidate foundation species more frequently at 5-m than 63 at 10-or 20-m grains. Our data support the hypothesis that foundation species should 64 be more common in temperate than in tropical or boreal forests, and suggest that in 65 the Northern Hemisphere that Acer be investigated further as a foundation tree genus. 66A foundation species is a single species (or a group of functionally similar taxa) that dom-70 inates an assemblage numerically and in overall size (e.g., mass or area occupied), determines 71 the diversity of associated taxa through non-trophic interactions, and modulates fluxes of 72 nutrients and energy at multiple control points in the ecosystem it defines (Ellison, 2019). 73Because foundation species are common and abundant, they generally receive less attention 74 from conservation biologists, conservation professionals, and natural-resource managers who 75 emphasize the study, management or protection of rare, threatened, or endangered species 76 (Gaston and Fuller, 2007, 2008). However, protecting foundation species before they decline 77 to non-func...

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Trends of forest and ecosystem services changes in the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands

Tarancón

Meador

Padilla

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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Forests are critically important for the provision of ecosystem services. The Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, USA, are a hotspot for conservation management and the Mescalero Apache Tribe's homeland. The multiple ecosystem services and functions and its high vulnerability to changes in climate conditions make their forests of ecological, cultural, and social importance. We used data from the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands (MATL) Continuous Forest Inventory over 30 yr to analyze changes in the structure and composition of ecosystems as well as trends in ecosystem services. Many provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services were shared among the MATL ecosystems and were tied to foundational species dominance, which could serve as a reliable indicator of ecosystem functioning. Our analysis indicates that the MATL are in an ongoing transition from conifer forests to woodlands with declines in two foundation species, quaking aspen and ponderosa pine, linked to past forest management and changing climate. In addition, we detected a decrease in species richness and tree size variability, amplifying the risk of forest loss in a rapid climatic change. Continuous permanent plots located on a dense grid (1 × 1 km) such as the ones monitored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are the most detailed data available to estimate forests multiresource transitions over time. Native lands across the USA could serve as the leading edge of detecting decadal‐scale forest changes and tracking climate impacts.

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Species Diversity Associated with Foundation Species in Temperate and Tropical Forests

Cited by 25 publications

References 65 publications

Holocene increases in palm abundances in north‐western Amazonia

Holocene increases in palm abundances in north‐western Amazonia

Foundation Species Across a Latitudinal Gradient in China

Trends of forest and ecosystem services changes in the Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands

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