Strong gradients in nitrogen and carbon stocks at temperate forest edges

Remy, Elyn; Wuyts, Karen; Boeckx, Pascal; Ginzburg, Shimon; Gundersen, Per; Demey, Andreas; Bulcke, Jan Van den; Acker, Joris Van; Verheyen, Kris

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.040

Cited by 65 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…; Remy et al . ). Overall, increased incident solar radiation is perhaps the key factor differentiating the edge's microenvironment from that of the interior forest (Matlack ).…”

Section: Trade‐offs At the Forest Edgementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Nitrogen deposition and availability can be elevated at the forest edge due to a combination of inputs from nearby vehicle emissions, fertilizer applications, and altered canopy roughness characteristics (Weathers et al . 2001 ;Remy et al . 2016 ).…”

Section: Trade-offs At the Forest Edgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…2001 ;Pohlman et al . 2009 ;Remy et al . 2016 ); and forest productivity and structure (Chen et al .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Piecing together the fragments: elucidating edge effects on forest carbon dynamics

Smith

Hutyra

Reinmann

et al. 2018

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Forest fragmentation is pervasive throughout the world's forests, impacting growing conditions and carbon (C) dynamics through edge effects that produce gradients in microclimate, biogeochemistry, and stand structure. Despite the majority of global forests being <1 km from an edge, our understanding of forest C dynamics is largely derived from intact forest systems. Edge effects on the C cycle vary by biome in their direction and magnitude, but current forest C accounting methods and ecosystem models generally fail to include edge effects. In the mesic northeastern US, large increases in C stocks and productivity are found near the temperate forest edge, with over 23% of the forest area within 30 m of an edge. Changes in the wind, fire, and moisture regimes near tropical forest edges result in decreases in C stocks and productivity. This review explores differences in C dynamics observed across biomes through a trade‐offs framework that considers edge microenvironmental changes and limiting factors to productivity.

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“…; Remy et al . ). Overall, increased incident solar radiation is perhaps the key factor differentiating the edge's microenvironment from that of the interior forest (Matlack ).…”

Section: Trade‐offs At the Forest Edgementioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Trade-offs At the Forest Edgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Piecing together the fragments: elucidating edge effects on forest carbon dynamics

Smith

Hutyra

Reinmann

et al. 2018

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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“…Compared with forest interiors, forest edges experience more solar radiation, higher wind speeds and faster air mixing, resulting in higher light availability, decreased soil moisture, higher maximum and lower minimum temperatures, and increased diurnal and seasonal variability in temperatures (Chen et al, 1999;Gehlhausen, Schwartz, & Augspurger, 2000;Matlack, 1993;Schmidt, Lischeid, & Nendel, 2019;Tuff, Tuff, & Davies, 2016). In addition to altered microclimatic conditions, forest edges, as opposed to forest interiors, are also characterized by a higher seed influx of non-forest species (Devlaeminck, Bossuyt, & Hermy, 2005), differences in disturbance regimes, and higher nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) stocks (Remy et al, 2016). These biotic and abiotic factors all influence understorey plant communities, which contain more than 80% of total plant species' richness in temperate forests and are essential for several ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, carbon dynamics and tree regeneration (Gilliam, 2007;Landuyt et al, 2019;Whigham, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge influence on understorey plant communities depends on forest management

Govaert

Meeussen

Vanneste

et al. 2020

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Does the influence of forest edges on plant species richness and composition depend on forest management? Do forest specialists and generalists show contrasting patterns? Location Mesic, deciduous forests across Europe. Methods Vegetation surveys were performed in forests with three management types (unthinned, thinned 5–10 years ago and recently thinned) along a macroclimatic gradient from Italy to Norway. In each of 45 forests, we established five vegetation plots along a south‐facing edge‐to‐interior gradient (n = 225). Forest specialist, generalist and total species richness, as well as evenness and proportion of specialists, were tested as a function of the management type and distance to the edge while accounting for several environmental variables (e.g. landscape composition and soil characteristics). Magnitude and distance of edge influence were estimated for species richness per management type. Results Greatest total species richness was found in thinned forests. Edge influence on generalist plant species richness was contingent on the management type, with the smallest decrease in species richness from the edge‐to‐interior in unthinned forests. In addition, generalist richness increased with the proportion of forests in the surrounding landscape and decreased in forests dominated by tree species that cast more shade. Forest specialist species richness, however, was not affected by management type or distance to the edge, and only increased with pH and increasing proportion of forests in the landscape. Conclusions Forest thinning affects the plant community composition along edge‐to‐interior transects of European forests, with richness of forest specialists and generalists responding differently. Therefore, future studies should take the forest management into account when interpreting edge‐to‐interior because both modify the microclimate, soil processes and deposition of polluting aerosols. This interaction is key to predict the effects of global change on forest plants in landscapes characterized by the mosaic of forest patches and agricultural land that is typical for Europe.

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“…These changes in land cover and land use have also resulted in widespread landscape fragmentation, with 20% of the world's remaining forest within 100 m of a forest's edge (6). Compared with the forest interior, forest edges often experience altered growing conditions because of novel microenvironment conditions that typically include higher temperatures, vapor pressure deficit, wind, and availability of resources, such as light and nutrients (7)(8)(9)(10). Consequently, the effects of deforestation on the terrestrial C cycle extend into adjacent forest fragments (10)(11)(12), with a growing body of research from tropical rainforests (10), temperate rainforests (11), and boreal forests (12) showing widespread increases in tree mortality and reductions in biomass near the forest's edge.…”

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confidence: 99%

Edge effects enhance carbon uptake and its vulnerability to climate change in temperate broadleaf forests

Reinmann

Hutyra

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

109

103

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Forest fragmentation is a ubiquitous, ongoing global phenomenon with profound impacts on the growing conditions of the world's remaining forest. The temperate broadleaf forest makes a large contribution to the global terrestrial carbon sink but is also the most heavily fragmented forest biome in the world. We use field measurements and geospatial analyses to characterize carbon dynamics in temperate broadleaf forest fragments. We show that forest growth and biomass increase by 89 ± 17% and 64 ± 12%, respectively, from the forest interior to edge, but ecosystem edge enhancements are not currently captured by models or approaches to quantifying regional C balance. To the extent that the findings from our research represent the forest of southern New England in the United States, we provide a preliminary estimate that edge growth enhancement could increase estimates of the region's carbon uptake and storage by 13 ± 3% and 10 ± 1%, respectively. However, we also find that forest growth near the edge declines three times faster than that in the interior in response to heat stress during the growing season. Using climate projections, we show that future heat stress could reduce the forest edge growth enhancement by one-third by the end of the century. These findings contrast studies of edge effects in the world's other major forest biomes and indicate that the strength of the temperate broadleaf forest carbon sink and its capacity to mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions may be stronger, but also more sensitive to climate change than previous estimates suggest.climate change | forest fragmentation | land cover change | terrestrial carbon cycle | tree growth D espite advances in measurement and remote sensing methods for carbon (C) accounting, considerable uncertainty remains in estimates of the global forest C sink and the C implications of deforestation (1-4). Expansion of agricultural and developed land has reduced global forest cover by one-third (5) and led to emissions of up to 146 Pg C to the atmosphere since 1850 (3). These changes in land cover and land use have also resulted in widespread landscape fragmentation, with 20% of the world's remaining forest within 100 m of a forest's edge (6). Compared with the forest interior, forest edges often experience altered growing conditions because of novel microenvironment conditions that typically include higher temperatures, vapor pressure deficit, wind, and availability of resources, such as light and nutrients (7-10). Consequently, the effects of deforestation on the terrestrial C cycle extend into adjacent forest fragments (10-12), with a growing body of research from tropical rainforests (10), temperate rainforests (11), and boreal forests (12) showing widespread increases in tree mortality and reductions in biomass near the forest's edge. Edges were recently associated with a 10% reduction in tropical forest C density (13), which highlights the importance of considering landscape fragmentation when quantifying regional C balance (14). Furthermore, the potentia...

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Strong gradients in nitrogen and carbon stocks at temperate forest edges

Cited by 65 publications

References 67 publications

Piecing together the fragments: elucidating edge effects on forest carbon dynamics

Piecing together the fragments: elucidating edge effects on forest carbon dynamics

Edge influence on understorey plant communities depends on forest management

Edge effects enhance carbon uptake and its vulnerability to climate change in temperate broadleaf forests

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