Diversity and distribution pattern of bryophytes and vascular plants in a boreal spruce forest

Abstract

Small scale pattern of bryophyte communities is one of the remarkable sources of diversity in species-poor boreal forests. By means of correlation and general linear model approaches, the relationships between bryophyte vegetation and upper layers, as well as the response of ground and field layer species to several environmental factors, was analyzed in a boreal spruce forest in South-East Estonia. Of the studied factors, the strongest influence on the diversity and spatial distribution of ground and field layer species was found for ʻdistance from nearest treeʼ. Species from different layers react differently to the proximity of trees. Species richness of bryophytes is higher further from trees, whereas more vascular plant species prefer to grow in the vicinity of tree trunks. For bryophyte species richness, the pH of the decay horizon is also important; fewer bryophyte species occur in more acid conditions.

Environmental patterns and gradients in the vascular plants and bryophytes of eastern Fennoscandian herb-rich forests

“…succession stage and earlier land use, were indirectly related to the vegetation though disturbance (management) and shading as found previously (Kuusipalo, 1985;Heikkinen, 1991;Vellak et al, 2003), but they did not correlate closely with environmental factors, e.g. the main fertility site factors, nature of the organic horizon or topographic factors.…”

Does cattle movement between forest pastures and fertilized grasslands affect the bryophyte and vascular plant communities in vulnerable forest pasture biotopes?

“…The same observation has also been observed earlier (Virtanen et al, 2000;Vellak et al, 2003;Virtanen and Crawley, 2010) and it implies that we cannot predict bryophyte species richness by estimating vascular plant species richness or vice versa in the forest pastures.…”

Vascular Plants and Bryophytes in Managed Forests – Analysis of the Impact of the Old Ditches on the Species Diversity (Central European Plain)

“…Vascular plants display higher species richness in managed forests unlike bryophytes, whose resultant species richness is lower. Other researchers also concluded that bryophytes are more sensitive to forest management and even small scale environment alterations (Scott, 1971;Slack, 1990;Vellak et al, 2003;Vellak and Ingerpuu, 2005 and cited).…”

“…Positive effects of topography on vascular plant and bryophyte species richness have been demonstrated on numerous occasions (eg. Löbel et al, 2006;Ulanova, 2000;Vellak at al., 2003) and ditches belong to the type of disturbances which exert the strongest influence on habitat diversity of forest complexes and which are responsible for the most significant growth of species richness (Baltzinger et al, 2011;Banach, 2009). This analysis focuses on typical drainage ditches intersecting forest phytocoenoses as well as roadside ditches.…”

“…In comparison to vascular plants, bryophytes do not so directly depend on the features of soil since they lack roots and cuticule and function in forest ecosystems in a different way (Beier et al, 1993;Hettenbergerová et al, 2013;Vellak et al, 2003). Bryophytes inhabit various substrates and numerous authors point to the fact that their diversity is closely associated with the diversity of substrate types (Cole et al, 2008;Evans et al, 2012).…”