Dataset Information

Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps.

ABSTRACT: The role of competition for light among plants has long been recognised at local scales, but its importance for plant species distributions at larger spatial scales has generally been ignored. Tree cover modifies the local abiotic conditions below the canopy, notably by reducing light availability, and thus, also the performance of species that are not adapted to low-light conditions. However, this local effect may propagate to coarser spatial grains, by affecting colonisation probabilities and local extinction risks of herbs and shrubs. To assess the effect of tree cover at both the plot- and landscape-grain sizes (approximately 10-m and 1-km), we fit Generalised Linear Models (GLMs) for the plot-level distributions of 960 species of herbs and shrubs using 6,935 vegetation plots across the European Alps. We ran four models with different combinations of variables (climate, soil and tree cover) at both spatial grains for each species. We used partial regressions to evaluate the independent effects of plot- and landscape-grain tree cover on plot-level plant communities. Finally, the effects on species-specific elevational range limits were assessed by simulating a removal experiment comparing the species distributions under high and low tree cover. Accounting for tree cover improved the model performance, with the probability of the presence of shade-tolerant species increasing with increasing tree cover, whereas shade-intolerant species showed the opposite pattern. The tree cover effect occurred consistently at both the plot and landscape spatial grains, albeit most strongly at the former. Importantly, tree cover at the two grain sizes had partially independent effects on plot-level plant communities. With high tree cover, shade-intolerant species exhibited narrower elevational ranges than with low tree cover whereas shade-tolerant species showed wider elevational ranges at both limits. These findings suggest that forecasts of climate-related range shifts for herb and shrub species may be modified by tree cover dynamics.

SUBMITTER: Nieto-Lugilde D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4538783 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps.

Nieto-Lugilde Diego D Lenoir Jonathan J Abdulhak Sylvain S Aeschimann David D Dullinger Stefan S Gégout Jean-Claude JC Guisan Antoine A Pauli Harald H Renaud Julien J Theurillat Jean-Paul JP Thuiller Wilfried W Van Es Jérémie J Vittoz Pascal P Willner Wolfgang W Wohlgemuth Thomas T Zimmermann Niklaus E NE Svenning Jens-Christian JC

Ecography 20150601 6

The role of competition for light among plants has long been recognised at local scales, but its importance for plant species distributions at larger spatial scales has generally been ignored. Tree cover modifies the local abiotic conditions below the canopy, notably by reducing light availability, and thus, also the performance of species that are not adapted to low-light conditions. However, this local effect may propagate to coarser spatial grains, by affecting colonisation probabilities and ...[more]

PMID: 26290621

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Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding the factors that shape the distribution of tropical tree species at large scales is a central issue in ecology, conservation and forest management. The aims of this study were to (i) assess the importance of environmental factors relative to historical factors for tree species distributions in the semi-evergreen forests of the northern Congo basin; and to (ii) identify potential mechanisms explaining distribution patterns through a trait-based approach.Methodology/principal findingsWe analyzed the distribution patterns of 31 common tree species in an area of more than 700,000 km(2) spanning the borders of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo using forest inventory data from 56,445 0.5-ha plots. Spatial variation of environmental (climate, topography and geology) and historical factors (human disturbance) were quantified from maps and satellite records. Four key functional traits (leaf phenology, shade tolerance, wood density, and maximum growth rate) were extracted from the literature. The geological substrate was of major importance for the distribution of the focal species, while climate and past human disturbances had a significant but lesser impact. Species distribution patterns were significantly related to functional traits. Species associated with sandy soils typical of sandstone and alluvium were characterized by slow growth rates, shade tolerance, evergreen leaves, and high wood density, traits allowing persistence on resource-poor soils. In contrast, fast-growing pioneer species rarely occurred on sandy soils, except for Lophira alata.Conclusions/significanceThe results indicate strong environmental filtering due to differential soil resource availability across geological substrates. Additionally, long-term human disturbances in resource-rich areas may have accentuated the observed patterns of species and trait distributions. Trait differences across geological substrates imply pronounced differences in population and ecosystem processes, and call for different conservation and management strategies.

Dataset Information

Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps.

Publications

Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps.

Similar Datasets

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