The ground plot counting method: A valid and reliable assessment tool for quantifying seed production in temperate oak forests?

Touzot, Laura; Bel‐Venner, Marie‐Claude; Gamelon, Marlène; Focardi, Stefano; Boulanger, Vincent; Débias, François; Delzon, Sylvain; Saı̈d, Sonia; Schermer, Éliane; Baubet, Éric; Gaillard, Jean‐Michel; Venner, Samuel

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.07.061

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…moth. While such data are potentially subject to biases caused by post‐dispersal seed predation, it proved robust and easy‐to‐implement tool in methodological studies (Tattoni et al, 2021; Touzot et al, 2018). Detailed descriptions of sites and procedures are given in Packham et al (2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate warming causes mast seeding to break down by reducing sensitivity to weather cues

Bogdziewicz

Hacket‐Pain

Kelly

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Climate change is altering patterns of seed production worldwide with consequences for population recruitment and migration potential. For the many species that regenerate through synchronized, quasiperiodic reproductive events termed masting, these changes include decreases in the synchrony and interannual variation in seed production. This breakdown in the occurrence of masting features harms reproduction by decreasing the efficiency of pollination and increasing seed predation. Changes in masting are often paralleled by warming temperatures, but the underlying proximate mechanisms are unknown. We used a unique 39‐year study of 139 European beech (Fagus sylvatica) trees that experienced masting breakdown to track the seed developmental cycle and pinpoint phases where weather effects on seed production have changed over time. A cold followed by warm summer led to large coordinated flowering efforts among plants. However, trees failed to respond to the weather signal as summers warmed and the frequency of reproductive cues changed fivefold. Less synchronous flowering resulted in less efficient pollination that further decreased the synchrony of seed maturation. As global temperatures are expected to increase this century, perennial plants that fine‐tune their reproductive schedules based on temperature cues may suffer regeneration failures.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate warming causes mast seeding to break down by reducing sensitivity to weather cues

Bogdziewicz

Hacket‐Pain

Kelly

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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“…As acorn fall begins in early autumn in temperate oak forests, hereafter, we defined year from 1st October at year t to 30th September at year t + 1. In Châteauvillain, the absence of experimental design to collect acorns directly from the oak trees (see e.g., Touzot et al 2018) or to measure growth characteristics (e.g., age of the trees, crown width, volume; see e.g., Kim et al 2016) prevented us for obtaining any direct estimates of acorn production on this site. However, acorn production was measured annually indirectly based on diet composition obtained from the analysis of stomach contents of harvested wild boars during the hunting season (see Brandt et al 2006, Servanty et al 2009, Gamelon et al 2017, Touzot et al 2020 for similar approaches).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other sites (Castelporziano and La Petite Pierre), acorn production was measured annually directly with seed traps (using the ground plot counting method, see Touzot et al 2018). Between October and February, which corresponds to the period of acorn fall (Touzot et al 2018), traps of 1 m 2 were placed under oak tree at about two‐thirds the distance between the trunk and the canopy margin, where acorn production is the highest. Up to 50 traps were distributed within the site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite its large size, wild boar exhibits a high fecundity, as they can produce up to 14 piglets per litter (Gamelon et al 2013) and reproduce in their first year of life (Servanty et al 2009). Wild boar preferentially feeds on acorns, the most common example of pulsed resources in temperate forest ecosystems (Caignard et al 2017, Touzot et al 2018, Schermer et al 2019) during autumn–winter. Previous studies have shown that the long‐term asymptotic population growth rate λ of wild boar populations and home range dynamics are dependent on the presence or absence of acorn production (Parsons 1962, Jedrzejewska et al 1997, Bieber and Ruf 2005, Zeman et al 2016, Bisi et al 2018, Touzot et al 2020, Vetter et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of pulsed resources on the dynamics of seed consumer populations: a comparative demographic study in wild boar

Gamelon

Touzot

Baubet³

et al. 2021

Ecosphere

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Mast seeding is a well-known example of pulsed resources in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the large literature available so far on the effects of mast seeding on the dynamics of seed consumer populations, it remains unknown whether heterogeneity in demographic responses to mast seeding exists both within a population of consumers and among consumer populations. Here, we fill this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of acorn production (i.e., oak mast) on all stage-specific demographic rates (i.e., survival, growth, reproduction) in several consumer populations. From long-term capture-mark-recapture data collected in three wild boar populations in Europe and detailed information on annual acorn production, we quantified the effects of acorn production on body mass-specific demographic rates in these populations. We then built a body mass-structured population model for each population and assessed the effect of acorn production on generation time-the mean age of mother at childbirth-and population growth rate using a combination of prospective and retrospective demographic analyses. Within populations, acorn production had a positive effect on reproduction (proportion of breeding females) and growth of small-sized females. Survival remained buffered against environmental variation, in accordance with the demographic buffering hypothesis. Thus, all stage-specific demographic rates were not influenced in the same way by acorn production. In turn, higher reproduction and growth probabilities involved higher population growth rates and shorter generation times. Despite these common demographic responses to mast seeding among populations, we highlighted marked among-population variation in the magnitude of these responses. Also, while populations inhabiting resource-rich environments took advantage of current acorn conditions, populations under resource-poor environments stored and allocated acorns produced the preceding year to reproduction indicating contrasting breeding tactics along the capital-income continuum. Our results suggest heterogeneity in demographic responses to mast seeding, within and among populations. This is an important finding for our understanding of the effects of mast seeding on the dynamics of seed consumer populations.

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“…Recently, a method based on counting the number of seeds after their falling on the ground was proposed by Touzot et al (2018). The method can be considered a floor-level variant of LT, but it has the further advantage of reducing the time and cost of field and laboratory working, being, therefore, more flexible, and allowing larger-scale field deployment compared with (fixed) litter traps.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of ground-based count methods for quantifying seed production in temperate broadleaved tree species

Tattoni

Chianucci

Ciolli

et al. 2021

Annals of Forest Science

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• Key message Litter trap is considered the most effective method to quantify seed production, but it is expensive and time-consuming. Counting fallen seeds using a quadrat placed on the ground yields comparable estimates to the litter traps. Ground quadrat estimates derived from either visual counting in the field or image counting from quadrat photographs are comparable, with the latter being also robust in terms of user sensitivity. • Context Accurate estimates of forest seed production are central for a wide range of ecological studies. As reference methods such as litter traps (LT) are cost- and time-consuming, there is a need of fast, reliable, and low-cost tools to quantify this variable in the field. • Aims To test two indirect methods, which consist of counting the seeds fallen in quadrats. • Methods The trial was performed in three broadleaved (beech, chestnut, and Turkey oak) tree species. Seeds are either manually counted in quadrats placed at the ground (GQ) or from images acquired in the same quadrats (IQ) and then compared against LT measurements. • Results GQ and IQ provide fast and reliable estimates of seeds in both oak and chestnut. In particular, IQ is robust in terms of user sensitivity and potentially enables automation in the process of seed monitoring. A null-mast year in beech hindered validation of quadrats in beech. • Conclusion Quadrat counting is a powerful tool to estimate forest seed production. We recommend using quadrats and LT to cross-calibrate the two methods in case of estimating seed biomass. Quadrats could then be used more routinely on account of their faster and simpler procedure to obtain measurements at more spatially extensive scales.

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The ground plot counting method: A valid and reliable assessment tool for quantifying seed production in temperate oak forests?

Cited by 13 publications

References 37 publications

Climate warming causes mast seeding to break down by reducing sensitivity to weather cues

Climate warming causes mast seeding to break down by reducing sensitivity to weather cues

Effects of pulsed resources on the dynamics of seed consumer populations: a comparative demographic study in wild boar

A comparison of ground-based count methods for quantifying seed production in temperate broadleaved tree species

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