Assessing effects of legacy nuclear waste on plants: Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) gametophyte viability at the Chalk River site

Stuart, Marilyne; Brinkmann, Lars; Festarini, Amy; Hehn, Melanie; Bowman, Meghan; Litalien, Amélie; Lapointe, Marie-Claude; Rowan, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2020.106192

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The negative effects of silviculture on the monilophyte community may also be due to the accumulation of lignin, the reduction of nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium, and a decrease in moisture and carbon dioxide in the soil (Oro Castro et al., 2019; Purahong et al., 2014). Additionally, other human disturbances, such as tree deforestation (Marini et al., 2011; Ramírez‐Barahona et al., 2011), invasive species (Bowe et al., 2020; Dyer et al., 2018), and environmental contamination (Andreola et al., 2022; Stuart et al., 2020) can also affect ferns' identity, abundance, and diversity. However, the relationship between functional diversity of monilophytes and human disturbance is still in its early stages of investigation (Dai et al., 2020; Marini et al., 2011), particularly in silviculture systems of subtropical regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time will tell: Taxonomic and functional diversity of monilophyte ferns in native forests and abandoned silviculture systems

Martinelli,

de Souza Rezende

2023

Austral Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Different forest systems can influence the function, traits, diversity, and distribution of ferns. By comparing ferns based on their functional traits, we can explore how species loss affects functional diversity, and consequently alter the forest ecosystem. We investigated the impact of abandoned silviculture on fern diversity (taxonomic and functional) and abundance. Our hypothesis suggests a positive effect of nutrients and soil humidity in native forests, while canopy openness in silviculture has a negative effect on monilophyte diversity. This study was conducted in three sites of native forest and three sites of Pinus silviculture. Each site was subdivided into three areas, with three plots per area, resulting in 54 plots (3 sites × 3 areas × 3 plots × 2 forest types). Each plot covered an area of 100 m2 (10 m × 10 m; 5400 m2 in total). In each plot, we estimated abundance, functional attributes (richness, evenness, divergence, and dispersion) based on leaf thickness, leaf width, petiole length, stem length, leaf division, sori shape, indusium presence, and taxonomic diversity. Results indicate that native forest exhibit higher taxonomic and functional diversity (richness—Fric) compared to abandoned Pinus plantations, which may be attributed to high habitat diversity and species specialization in specific microhabitats. In silviculture, diversity homogenization leads to an increase in the redundancy of functional attributes (evenness—Feve), resulting in the filtering out of similar organisms. Abiotic factors such as light and canopy openness negatively influence plant establishment and growth, leading to a decrease in leaf division and indusium presence/absence (by CWMs), supporting niche complementarity theory in natural forest and mass ratio theory in silviculture. Our findings highlight the enduring negative impact of silviculture, even after 20 years, on both the taxonomic and functional diversity of monilophytes, underscoring the crucial role of native forests in preserving fern diversity.

show abstract