Determinants of bryophyte species composition and diversity on the Great Alvar of Öland, Sweden

Tyler, Torbjörn; Bengtsson, Fia; Dahlberg, C. Johan; Lönnell, Niklas; Hallingbäck, Tomas; Reitalu, Triin

doi:10.1080/03736687.2017.1412387

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Interestingly, the richness of terricolous bryophyte species was decreasing with increasing soil pH values, which is in contrast to many other studies reporting a positive bryophyte diversitysoil pH relationship (e.g. Tyler, T. 2005;Tyler et al, 2018) and contradicts the general opinion that soil acidification might be responsible for the decline of bryophyte species richness (e.g. Delgado and Ederra, 2013).…”

Section: Effects Of Forest Management and Environmental Variables On ...contrasting

confidence: 67%

Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests

Müller

Boch

Prati

et al. 2019

Forest Ecology and Management

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Section: Effects Of Forest Management and Environmental Variables On ...contrasting

confidence: 67%

Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests

Müller

Boch

Prati

et al. 2019

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…CC BY 4.0 License. particular proving to be an important positive control variable for bryophyte species richness (Oldén et al, 2016;Tyler et al, 2018;Hydbom et al, 2012). Additionally, Tyler et al (2018) discovered a significant influence of substrate type, soil depth and grazing intensity on overall bryophyte species richness, with pH remaining the most important factor in this study as well.…”

Section: Biocrust and Vascular Plant Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 50%

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

Gall

Nebel

Quandt

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Abstract. Soil erosion continues to be one of the most serious environmental problems of our time, which is exacerbated by progressive climate change. Until now, forests have been considered an ideal erosion control in this regard. However, even minor disturbances of the forest floor for example from heavy vehicle used for timber harvesting can cause substantial sediment transport. An important countermeasure is the quick restoration of the uncovered soil surface by vegetation. In this context, biological soil crusts (biocrusts) can play a vital role, as they are known for their soil-protective effect. This study examined the natural succession of pioneer vegetation in skid trails on four soil substrates in a central European temperate forest and investigated their influence on surface runoff and sediment discharge. We applied rainfall simulation experiments on small-scale runoff plots and continuously surveyed vegetation during the same period, primarily to map biocrust development. Skid trails on clayey substrates showed considerably higher biocrust cover and species richness. Biocrust cover was higher in center tracks than in wheel tracks, while there was no clear difference for biocrust species richness with regard to track position. Although biocrusts were quickly overtopped by vascular plants, they managed to coexist until their growth was restricted due to leaf litter fall. Brachythecium rutabulum and Oxyrrhynchium hians were the most important and persistent pioneer biocrust species, while Dicranella schreberiana and Pohlia lutescens were volatile and quickly disappeared after spreading in summer. Soil erosion was reduced with pioneer biocrust vegetation in summer, and again increased in winter. Total amount of sediment discharge was clearly site-dependent, indicating a high relevance of underlying substrates. Sediment discharge was 13.2 times higher in wheel tracks compared to undisturbed forest soil, and bare soil runoff plots produced 22-fold sediment discharge compared to undisturbed forest soil. Overall, bryophyte-dominated biocrusts contributed more to mitigating soil erosion than vascular plants. When soil coverage exceeded 50 %, biocrusts resulted in an average of 18 times less sediment loss compared to vascular plants.

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“…AS and LS, which showed particularly low levels of coverage and species richness, exhibited a different underlying substrate (sandstone) from the other two skid trails (claystone), which was also why we found different soil conditions there. Regional variations in species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes due to different soil conditions have also been confirmed in a variety of studies (Löbel et al, 2006;Klaus et al, 2013;Müller et al, 2013;Filibeck et al, 2019), with pH in particular proving to be an important positive control variable for bryophyte species richness (Hydbom et al, 2012;Oldén et al, 2016;Tyler et al, 2018). Additionally, Tyler et al (2018) discovered a significant influence of substrate type, soil depth, and grazing intensity on overall bryophyte species richness, with pH remaining the most important factor in this study also.…”

Section: Bryophyte and Vascular-plant Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 82%

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

Gall¹,

Nebel

Quandt

et al. 2022

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Soil erosion continues to be one of the most serious environmental problems of our time and is exacerbated by progressive climate change. Until now, forests have been considered an ideal erosion control. However, even minor disturbances of the forest floor, for example, from heavy vehicles used for timber harvesting, can cause substantial sediment transport. An important countermeasure is the quick restoration of the uncovered soil surface by vegetation. To date, very little attention has been paid to the development of nonvascular plants, such as bryophytes, in disturbed areas of temperate forests and their impact on soil erosion. This study examined the natural succession of pioneer vegetation in skid trails on four soil substrates in a central European temperate forest and investigated their influence on soil erosion. For this purpose, rainfall simulations were conducted on small-scale runoff plots, and vegetation was continuously surveyed during the same period, primarily to map the development of bryophytes and the occurrence of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). Biocrusts appeared immediately after disturbance, consisting primarily of bryophyte protonemata and cyanobacteria as well as coccoid and filamentous algae that lost their biocrust characteristics as succession progressed. They were present from April to July 2019, with a particular expression in the skid trail that was on shale clay (Psilonotenton Formation) and silty clay loam substrate. In general, skid trails on clayey substrates showed considerably higher bryophyte cover and species richness. Although bryophytes were subsequently overtopped by vascular plants, they managed to coexist until their growth was restricted due to leaf litter fall. Brachythecium rutabulum and Oxyrrhynchium hians were the most important and persistent pioneer bryophyte species, while Dicranella schreberiana and Pohlia lutescens were volatile and quickly disappeared after spreading in the summer. Sediment discharge was 22 times higher on disturbed bare soil compared with undisturbed forest soil and showed the largest sediment removal in the wheel tracks. Counteracting this, soil erosion decreased with the recovery of surface vegetation and was particularly reduced with growing pioneer biocrusts in summer, but it again increased in winter, when vascular vegetation became dominant. This leads to the conclusion that the role of bryophyte-dominated biocrusts in forests has been underestimated so far, and they can contribute more to soil conservation at specific times of succession than vascular plants.

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Determinants of bryophyte species composition and diversity on the Great Alvar of Öland, Sweden

Cited by 14 publications

References 52 publications

Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests

Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

Pioneer biocrust communities prevent soil erosion in temperate forests after disturbances

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