Climate and Net Carbon Availability Determine Temporal Patterns of Seed Production by Nothofagus

Richardson, Sarah J.; Allen, Robert B.; Whitehead, David; Carswell, Fiona E.; Ruscoe, Wendy A.; Platt, Kevin H.

doi:10.1890/04-0863

Cited by 100 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This limited dispersal may act to promote coexistence among late successional tree species (Pacala et al 1996). There is also ample evidence of considerable temporal variation in seed production by tree species (Norton and Kelly 1988, Allen and Platt 1990, Richardson et al 2005. The synchronous but intermittent mass production of seed by a given species (i.e., masting) at a regional scale is often invoked as a strategy evolved to overwhelm consumption by seed predators (Janzen 1971, Silvertown 1980, Kelly and Sork 2002, or to increase the effectiveness of pollination (Herrera et al 1998, Kelly et al 2001.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation in tree seed production and dispersal in a New Zealand temperate rainforest

Canham

Ruscoe

Wright³

et al. 2014

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Spatial and temporal variation in tree seed production is an important driver of the population dynamics of trees and of mammalian and avian seed consumers. Many studies have documented strong synchrony in production of intermittent large tree seed crops (masting), with cascading effects on the food webs of seed consumers and their predators. We used inverse modeling to characterize spatial and temporal variation in seed production and dispersal by four dominant tree species (two angiosperms and two conifers) over 8 years in southern temperate rainforests of New Zealand. In contrast to expectations from masting theory, there was little evidence of synchrony across species in years of high seed production, and only weak evidence in support of the expectation that temporal variation in seed production within species was strongly bimodal. Contrary to expectation from allometric scaling rules, there was no increase in reproductive effort once tree size (DBH) exceeded a minimum threshold (22-29 cm DBH) in the two angiosperm species. In the conifers, the minimum estimated size threshold for seed production was much higher (42-56 cm DBH), and in one of the species increased faster than linearly with biomass above the threshold size, indicating that the very largest trees in the conifer populations dominated seed production. Of the two species that occurred commonly on both fertile alluvial sites and less fertile uplifted marine terraces, the angiosperm species had higher per capita seed production on the fertile sites, while the conifer had higher per capita seed production (during seed years) on the less fertile sites. Local seed rain from all four species declined steeply with increasing distance from a parent, with peak local dispersal within 6 m of parent trees. This is not surprising given that the species are predominately gravity or animal dispersed with poor adaptations for wind dispersal. A substantial fraction of the input of seeds of all four species could not be attributed to local parent trees, consistent with longer distance dispersal by animals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation in tree seed production and dispersal in a New Zealand temperate rainforest

Canham

Ruscoe

Wright³

et al. 2014

Ecosphere

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“…Seasonal peaks in ship rat upper range limits in summer and autumn also coincide with peak invertebrate activity (Moeed & Meads 1985, 1986. Furthermore, beech seed production is an important driver of ship rat capture patterns and is also temperature linked, with warmer temperatures linked to increased beech seed production frequency and volume at higher elevations (Schauber et al 2002;Richardson et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there was no evidence for elevation specific effects of beech seed production in our analysis, this may have been because the beech seed production data for Mt Misery were not classified by elevation. However, a relationship between ship rats, beech seed and elevation is not surprising since the frequency and magnitude of beech seed production (Wardle 1984;Richardson et al 2005), and invertebrate diversity decrease with elevation (Moeed & Meads 1985;Beggs 1991). Beech seed and invertebrates are both important food items for ship rats (Innes 1979;Blackwell et al 2001;Sweetapple & Nugent 2007;Murphy & Maddigan 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temperature also indirectly influences food availability in beech forest as beech seed production and invertebrate activity are both temperature linked (e.g. Wardle 1984;Schauber et al 2002;Richardson et al 2005). Years of high intensity beech seed production, known as a mast, significantly increase the available food for ship rats, resulting in a substantial increase in their numbers (King 1983;King & Moller 1997;Dilks et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How elevation affects ship rat (Rattus rattus) capture patterns, Mt Misery, New Zealand

Christie¹,

Wilson²,

Taylor³

et al. 2017

NZ J Ecol

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Abstract:There is a lack of information about how elevation affects the distribution of ship rats in New Zealand. In this study, ship rats (Rattus rattus) were captured in traps set along a 2 km elevational transect (455-1585 m a.s.l.) in beech (Nothofagaceae) forest and adjacent alpine tussock at Mt Misery, in Nelson Lakes National Park, from 1974 to 1993. A total of 118 rats were captured. In years with beech seed fall, upper range limits corresponded with the red beech forest (Fuscospora fusca) limit (~1030 m a.s.l.), with no rats caught above this line in the silver (Lophozonia menziesii) and mountain (F. cliffortioides) beech forest (1050-1408 m a.s.l.) or alpine zone (1425-1585 m a.s.l.). Binary generalised linear models indicated there is an indirect relationship between ship rat capture and temperature, as beech seed production, as well as decreasing elevation, were important predictors of rat capture. There was some evidence to suggest decreasing winter temperature and increasing annual precipitation also influenced ship rat capture and warrants further investigation. Our analyses provide an important insight into the drivers of ship rat elevational distribution, as well as providing a benchmark for comparing both current and future ship rat elevational distributions. Interrogation of more recent rat monitoring data from a range of beech forest types and sites is needed to test hypotheses around how warming temperatures, as predicted with climate change, will both directly and indirectly effect ship rat distribution.

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“…comm. 2004) which, like Chionochloa (Mark 1965;Connor 1966;Kelly et al 2000), Nothofagus (Wardle 1984;Richardson et al 2005), Phormium tenax (Brockie 1986), and other native genera known for their mast seeding (Schauber et al 2002), is prolific in some years and sparse in others. The factors causing mast flowering are not yet fully understood, although Schauber et al (2002) provided strong evidence that anomalously high temperatures in summers before flowering act as a trigger for several of the species that have mast flowering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotypic variation of the flowering phenology ofCordyline australis(Laxmanniaceae) grown at three locations in New Zealand

Harris

Beever

Parkes

et al. 2006

New Zealand Journal of Botany

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Progeny of 28 wild populations of Cordyline australis (cabbage tree, ti kouka) from a 12° latitudinal range in New Zealand grown under uniform garden conditions at Mt Albert, Auckland (36°53 S, 174°43 E), Lincoln, Canterbury (43°38 S, 172°29 E), and Invermay, Otago (45°51 S, 170°23 E), differed in the number of years they took to flower for the first time (years to first flowering, YFF) and in the date their flowers first opened each season (first flowering date, FFD). At Auckland population YFF was unrelated to latitude of origin, but at Lincoln and, especially, Invermay, there was a well-defined increase

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Climate and Net Carbon Availability Determine Temporal Patterns of Seed Production by Nothofagus

Cited by 100 publications

References 33 publications

Spatial and temporal variation in tree seed production and dispersal in a New Zealand temperate rainforest

Spatial and temporal variation in tree seed production and dispersal in a New Zealand temperate rainforest

How elevation affects ship rat (Rattus rattus) capture patterns, Mt Misery, New Zealand

Genotypic variation of the flowering phenology ofCordyline australis(Laxmanniaceae) grown at three locations in New Zealand

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