Testing the impact of community composition on the productivity of a cool temperate eucalypt forest: the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX)

Gerwin, Melissa; Brinkhoff, Rose; Britton, Travis G.; Porter, Mjr; Mallett, Ruth K.; Hovenden, Mark J.

doi:10.1071/bt19131

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Eucalypt seeds were not pretreated before sowing due to already high germination rates. Seeds were sown at a target community density of 20 potential germinants m −2 but some variation exists between the realised and sown composition of each treatment (Table S1; Gerwin et al ., 2020). Acacia dealbata is under‐represented due to lower‐than‐expected germination success and severe browsing of seedlings in the first year.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The AFEX (Gerwin et al, 2020) occupies a 5 ha site in the Styx Valley, southern Tasmania (42°46 0 49″S, 146°49 0 01″E; Fig. 1) at an altitude of 530-590 m above sea-level on a north-west facing slope.…”

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The summer was the hottest on record for south-eastern Tasmania (Bureau of Meteorology, 2020) and included the driest January on record at the closest weather station (Bushy Park, Tasmania; c. 10 km from the study site). The study was conducted in the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX; Gerwin et al, 2020); an experimental forest in south-east Tasmania, Australia, 6 yr old at the time of the study. The AFEX consists of four species, Eucalyptus regnans, Eucalyptus delegatensis, Pomaderris apetala and Acacia dealbata, sown experimentally to create a range of community compositions over a small geographical area where, unlike in natural systems, abiotic factors such as rainfall do not vary substantially.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canopy damage during a natural drought depends on species identity, physiology and stand composition

et al. 2021

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Summary Vulnerability to xylem cavitation is a strong predictor of drought‐induced damage in forest communities. However, biotic features of the community itself can influence water availability at the individual tree‐level, thereby modifying patterns of drought damage. Using an experimental forest in Tasmania, Australia, we determined the vulnerability to cavitation (leaf P50) of four tree species and assessed the drought‐induced canopy damage of 2944 6‐yr‐old trees after an extreme natural drought episode. We examined how individual damage was related to their size and the density and species identity of neighbouring trees. The two co‐occurring dominant tree species, Eucalyptus delegatensis and Eucalyptus regnans, were the most vulnerable to drought‐induced xylem cavitation and both species suffered significantly greater damage than neighbouring, subdominant species Pomaderris apetala and Acacia dealbata. While the two eucalypts had similar leaf P50 values, E. delegatensis suffered significantly greater damage, which was strongly related to the density of neighbouring P. apetala. Damage in E. regnans was less impacted by neighbouring plants and smaller trees of both eucalypts sustained significantly more damage than larger trees. Our findings demonstrate that natural drought damage is influenced by individual plant physiology as well as the composition, physiology and density of the surrounding stand.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canopy damage during a natural drought depends on species identity, physiology and stand composition

et al. 2021

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“…We used tree growth data from the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX; Gerwin et al, 2020) to demonstrate how neighbour indices can be correctly incorporated into a regression analysis of tree growth. The AFEX is a cool temperate experimental forest established in April 2013 with seeds of four locally dominant native tree species: Eucalyptus delegatensis , E. regnans , Pomaderris apetala and Acacia dealbata .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying neighbour effects on tree growth: Are common ‘competition’ indices biased?

2023

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“…Here, we explored how neighbouring plants impacted annual growth in two eucalypts, Eucalyptus delegatensis and Eucalyptus regnans , over a three‐year period in the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX; Gerwin et al., 2020) in south‐east Tasmania, Australia. Previous work in the system has shown that the two eucalypts are sensitive to drought‐induced canopy damage, and that damage is exacerbated at high densities of certain species, particularly in E. delegatensis (Britton et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The competitive effect of neighbouring plants on the growth of two eucalypts is stronger in dry conditions

Britton,

Richards,

Gerwin

et al. 2023

Journal of Ecology

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Plant growth is influenced by interactions with neighbouring plants. The strength and direction of the cumulative neighbourhood effect on growth can depend on neighbour properties, such as their abundance, size and proximity, as well as the degree of similarity between interacting plants and their traits, which can be captured by the species identity of neighbours. Such interactions are also influenced by the local environmental conditions that are largely determined by climate. Because neighbour and climatic effects are typically explored in isolation, particularly in long‐lived species such as trees, it is unclear how the impacts of neighbours on plant growth shift in response to temporal variation in climatic conditions. Here, we explored how neighbouring plants impact the annual growth of two eucalypts, Eucalyptus delegatensis and Eucalyptus regnans, over three growing seasons in an experimental forest in south‐east Tasmania, Australia. We assessed whether eucalypt growth rates could be described by the number, size, proximity, and species identity of neighbours, and how the strength of this effect was influenced by the growing season climatic conditions. We found that climate and neighbouring plants had an interactive impact on eucalypt growth. Neighbours had a consistent, competitive effect on the growth of both eucalypts in all three growing seasons which was strongly related to the cumulative neighbourhood biomass. The identity of neighbours was important in determining E. regnans growth only, whereby distinguishing neighbours according to functional group best described growth. Over all three growing seasons, we predicted that, on average, neighbours reduced E. delegatensis and E. regnans mean annual growth by 60.5% and 48.4%, respectively. However, the strength of the competitive effect of neighbours on eucalypt growth was related to growing season climate, being strongest when conditions were hot and dry and weakest in cool, wet conditions. Synthesis: Given the consistent results observed in two co‐occurring eucalypts, our findings suggest that drier and hotter climatic conditions increase the strength of competitive effects on tree growth. This has implications for future forest productivity given projected increased temperatures and variation in rainfall patterns globally.

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Testing the impact of community composition on the productivity of a cool temperate eucalypt forest: the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX)

Cited by 5 publications

References 44 publications

Canopy damage during a natural drought depends on species identity, physiology and stand composition

Canopy damage during a natural drought depends on species identity, physiology and stand composition

Quantifying neighbour effects on tree growth: Are common ‘competition’ indices biased?

The competitive effect of neighbouring plants on the growth of two eucalypts is stronger in dry conditions

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