Stability of species and provenance performance when translocated into different community assemblages

Abstract

The stability of species and provenance performance across diverse environments is a major issue in restoration, particularly for assisted migration and climate‐adjusted provenancing strategies. This study examines how differences in species and provenance performance are affected by plant community composition in a dry sclerophyll forest restoration experiment. Five indices were measured over 6 years post‐establishment to evaluate the relative performance of community composition using 10 provenances of two focal eucalypts (Eucalyptus pauciflora and Eucalyptus tenuiramis) under six community treatments for E. pauciflora and five for E. tenuiramis. Community treatments varied according to the species planted as the immediate neighbor to the focal species, and included same species, same genus, or one of three different genera. Significant species and provenance differences were observed for all measured performance indices, with no evidence of interaction effects with community treatments. E. tenuiramis was more susceptible to insects and frost, and had poorer establishment but greater growth of the survivors than E. pauciflora. Generally, nonlocal provenances were more susceptible to insect herbivory and frost damage and had higher mortality than local provenances. At this early life‐stage there was no evidence that co‐planted species affected the relative performance of focal species or provenances, arguing transfer functions are likely stable across different planted communities. While species and provenance performance was not affected by community context, focal species differed in their response to upslope migration and any climate‐adjusted provenancing may require staged transfers to avoid maladaptation under contemporary growing conditions.

Handheld Laser Scanning Detects Spatiotemporal Differences in the Development of Structural Traits among Species in Restoration Plantings

“…The species differences were mainly associated with differences in productivity among species. While survival of E. pauciflora was three-fold that of the other three species across the whole restoration area [21], the surviving trees of E. tenuiramis and E. nitens in the studied plots far exceeded E. pauciflora and A. dealbata in productivity at the individual tree-level. This height and biomass difference, however, was somewhat countered by the more productive species having sparser crowns.…”

“…E. nitens is an Australian mainland species introduced onto the island for use in industrial plantations for pulpwood and solid wood production [41]. It is also often planted in smaller lots on Tasmanian farms, and in the present case, was tested as a nurse crop for E. pauciflora in the restoration plantings [21]. While E. nitens has previously shown reduced survival compared to E. pauciflora in coplantings in the dry Midlands environment [42], the superior height growth of survivors was only evident on one of the two sites tested [43].…”

“…This height and biomass difference, however, was somewhat countered by the more productive species having sparser crowns. E. tenuiramis is a local species endemic to Tasmania and was represented in the plantings by provenances predominantly from lower altitude sources, which had been translocated up slope to compare with the local provenance and multiple provenances of E. pauciflora from higher and lower altitude than the planting site [21]. E. nitens is an Australian mainland species introduced onto the island for use in industrial plantations for pulpwood and solid wood production [41].…”

“…As part of the experiment, eight replicates with twelve community treatments of 120 trees each, have been planted across the landscape. These treatments differed according to the species planted as immediate neighbor to the focal eucalypt (i.e., E. pauciflora and E. tenuiramis), and comprised of monocultures and mixed species plots [21].…”

Assisted Migration Field Tests in Canada and Mexico: Lessons, Limitations, and Challenges

“…Empirical evidence on this issue is accumulating. Camarretta et al [104] concluded in a study of species and provenance translocation into different community assemblages that performance was not affected by community context. Additionally, experimental evidence has suggested that migrating plants with the soil biota of the site of origin increases plant performance in the target site [105], and that assisted migration outside of range is possible along elevation gradients for some rare species [106].…”