Deadwood volumes matter in epixylic bryophyte conservation, but precipitation limits the establishment of substrate-specific communities

Kropik, Michaela; Zechmeister, Harald G.; Moser, Dietmar; Bernhardt, Karl Georg; Dullinger, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119285

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Regular flooding, which might increase the base content of the deadwood logs, seems to be a prerequisite for the target species [6]; however, very wet, permanently flooded deadwood seems unsuitable as a habitat. We observed microfilms under such conditions, which could hinder the establishment of the target species, as was also observed in deadwood communities [17].…”

Section: Distribution and Ecologysupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The study on deadwood bryophytes [49] represented Austria in terms of its climatic gradient and different available deadwood volumes of forest sites. It followed a standardized random method [17] and first brought baseline data on the distribution and ecological requirements of the target species. On the basis of these and knowledge from previous locations in Austria [6], targeted searches were carried out in further projects [46][47][48] focused on the occurrence of species listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive, including S. carinthiaca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We aimed to depict the evenness of precipitation (daysprec11) by calculating the number of days with at least one millimetre of precipitation and a mean temperature above 0 • C since bryophytes benefit more from regular (even light) rain than from isolated heavy rain events [58]. As an approximation of desiccation risk [21], we calculated the maximum number of consecutive days without precipitation whose mean daily temperature was more than 20 • C (p0cont_gt_20) since desiccation is a limiting factor for moisture-adapted forest bryophytes [23,59,60], the deadwood specialist Buxbaumia viridis [22], and species-rich deadwood communities in general [17]. We reported the decay stage of host tree logs in a five-part scale following the Swiss Forest Inventory [61,62]: Decay stage 1 describes sap-bearing fresh wood with the bark still intact; decay stage 2 stands for sapless, firm hardwood that is difficult to penetrate with a pocket knife in the direction of the grain.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New Finds and Ecology of the Rare Liverworts Scapania apiculata, Scapania carinthiaca, and Scapania scapanioides in Austria

Kropik

Zechmeister

2023

Plants

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Scapania apiculata, Scapania carinthiaca, and Scapania scapanioides are rare deadwood-dwelling liverworts threatened across Europe. Scapania carinthiaca is thus listed in the Habitats Directive. However, their distribution data are scattered, and their ecologic demands are insufficiently studied. Here, we present new locations and data on the ecology of the species, which resulted from a targeted search in selected regions of Austria. We found ten new sites each for Scapania apiculata and Scapania scapanioides and twenty for Scapania carinthiaca. Reproduction was exclusively asexual. The macroclimates of all known locations in Austria did not differ significantly between the three species. It was consistently wet, with a mean annual precipitation of 1615.3 mm, a high evenness of rainfall, and a low desiccation risk. The mean temperature averaged 7.4 °C. The habitat was shaded dead wood of Picea abies, Abies alba, and Fagus sylvatica of all decay stages at a median distance of 2.5 m from streams or springy areas in semi-natural forests of montane and submontane regions. Thus, high deadwood volumes under a suitable climate are a prerequisite for the occurrences of the species. The number of locations of new finds has more than doubled in Austria and thus in Europe.

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Section: Distribution and Ecologysupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New Finds and Ecology of the Rare Liverworts Scapania apiculata, Scapania carinthiaca, and Scapania scapanioides in Austria

Kropik

Zechmeister

2023

Plants

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“…This can be explained by a corresponding decrease of air moisture. Some species, especially true epixylics, have been reported to be drought-sensitive (Söderström, 1988b;Laaka, 1993;Proctor et al, 2007;Táborská, Kovács, Németh, and Ódor, 2020;Kropik et al, 2021). High water availability in deadwood is important for spore germination of epixylic bryophytes (Wiklund and Rydin, 2004).…”

Section: Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Epixylic diversity in an old-growth boreal forest is influenced by dynamic substrate attributes

Kushnevskaya

Borovichev

Shorohova

2022

BioComm

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Quantifying the factors influencing wood-inhabiting species in boreal forests is crucial for better understanding of their ecology and conservation needs. We estimated the influence of substrate attributes on epixylic diversity on logs of Picea abies, Betula pubescens, B. pendula, Populus tremula and Pinus sylvestris in a mixed European old-growth boreal forest with high substrate availability and continuity. The number of species of different taxonomic and substrate groups in respect of log attributes was estimated with generalized linear models. The composition of epixylic communities was analysed using non-metric multidimensional scaling with subsequent environmental fitting. Additionally, we calculated species interaction networks of log (tree) species and epixylic plants and lichens. Species richness per log decreased with the increasing height above the ground and increased with the increasing amount of accumulated litter. True epixylics were the most sensitive to a log position above the ground. Aspen and conifer logs harbored the highest richness of rare species of lichens and liverworts. Birch logs hosted mainly species with wide substrate amplitude. The whole epixylic community specialization index decreased in the order lichens, liverworts, mosses, vascular plants. Tree species identity and associated attributes (bark cover, pH etc.) as well as ‘dynamic’ attributes (accumulation of litter, wood decomposition and time since tree death) influenced the total species number, their taxonomic diversity, and the composition of epixylic communities. Our results indicate the importance of wood of various age and tree species for the conservation of epixylic diversity in boreal forests.

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“…Furthermore, bryophytes are more exposed to the effects of climate than vascular plants because their physiology is strongly linked to climatic factors, such as temperature and precipitation [8]. For example, it has been reported that bryophytes will increase, migrate, or become extinct Forests 2023, 14, 2227 2 of 17 due to climate change [9][10][11]. However, a limited number of studies have explored the response of key bryophyte taxa to climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of a Sylvan Moss Species (Didymodon validus Limpr.) with a Narrow Distribution Range to Climate Change

Wu,

Pan,

Bian

et al. 2023

Forests

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Mosses are particularly susceptible to climate change owing to their close biological and ecological associations with climatic conditions. However, there is a limited understanding of the changes in distribution patterns of the moss species in forest ecosystems under climate change, especially in mosses with narrow ranges. Therefore, we reconstructed historical, simulated present, and predicted future potential distribution patterns of Didymodon validus, a narrow-range moss species in the forest ecosystem, using the MaxEnt model. The aim of this study was to explore its unique suitable habitat preference, the key environmental factors affecting its distribution, and the distributional changes of D. validus under climate change at a long spatial-time scale. Our findings indicate that the most suitable locations for D. validus are situated in high-altitude regions of southwestern China. Elevation and mean temperature in the wettest quarter were identified as key factors influencing D. validus distribution patterns. Our predictions showed that despite the dramatic climatic and spatial changes over a long period of time, the range of D. validus was not radically altered. From the Last Interglacial (LIG) to the future, the area of the highly suitable habitat of D. validus accounted for only 15.3%–16.4% of the total area, and there were weak dynamic differences in D. validus at different climate stages. Under the same climate scenarios, the area loss of suitable habitat is mainly concentrated in the northern and eastern parts of the current habitat, while it may increase in the southern and eastern margins. In future climate scenarios, the distribution core zone of suitable habitat will shift to the southwest for a short distance. Even under the conditions of future climate warming, this species may still exist both in the arid and humid regions of the QTP in China. In summary, D. validus showed cold and drought resistance. Our study provides important insights and support for understanding the impact of climate change on the distribution of D. validus, as well as its future distribution and protection strategies.

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Deadwood volumes matter in epixylic bryophyte conservation, but precipitation limits the establishment of substrate-specific communities

Cited by 12 publications

References 49 publications

New Finds and Ecology of the Rare Liverworts Scapania apiculata, Scapania carinthiaca, and Scapania scapanioides in Austria

New Finds and Ecology of the Rare Liverworts Scapania apiculata, Scapania carinthiaca, and Scapania scapanioides in Austria

Epixylic diversity in an old-growth boreal forest is influenced by dynamic substrate attributes

Response of a Sylvan Moss Species (Didymodon validus Limpr.) with a Narrow Distribution Range to Climate Change

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