Five decades of ground flora changes in a temperate forest: The good, the bad and the ambiguous in biodiversity terms

Divergent roles of herbivory in eutrophying forests

“…Shifts towards a "high forest" management system over the last century have led to average increases in the biomass of tree and/or shrub layers across many temperate European forests 40,44,45 . This increase is hypothesized to attenuate the impact of N-deposition by reducing light availability to the understorey, generating time lags in vegetation responses 7,[46][47][48] . The slow but pervasive effects of N-deposition have led some to label this threat a "N time bomb" 40 .…”

Canopy Gaps are Less Susceptible to Disturbance-Related and Invasive Herbs than Clear-Cuts: Temporal Changes in the Understorey after Experimental Silvicultural Treatments

“…Forest management has an impact on all groups of forest-dwelling organisms (Paillet et al, 2010, Chaudhary et al, 2016, Elek et al, 2018, Muys et al, 2022 and alterations in its type or intensity induce significant changes in forest communities, e.g., in the understorey vegetation (Halpern et al, 2005, Kelemen et al, 2012, Duguid and Ashton, 2013, Klynge et al, 2020, Kirby et al, 2022. The composition and density of the canopy control light availability and affect microclimate and soil conditions (Craig and MacDonald, 2009, Von Arx et al, 2013, Kermavnar et al, 2019, Kermavnar et al, 2020, Hukić et al, 2021.…”

“…In most cases, after an initial increase, the cover of the understorey starts to decrease with canopy redevelopment after a few years (Moore and Vankat, 1996, Klynge et al, 2020, Beese et al, 2022. Changes over time after management interventions can be highly variable regarding species number, cover, and composition (Kirby et al, 2022). Hence, studies based on well-designed permanent-plot observations and experiments are essential in assessing long-term vegetation development (Bakker et al, 1996, Bakker et al, 2002, Tinya et al, 2023.…”

“…The relationship between silvicultural practices and the understorey of temperate forests has been the subject of many earlier studies (Godefroid et al, 2005b, Duguid and Ashton, 2013, Kutnar et al, 2015, de Groot et al, 2016, Kermavnar et al, 2018, Kirby et al, 2022, Beese et al, 2022. However, only few studies have investigated the relationship between forest management and understorey vegetation in European oak-dominated habitats (Brunet et al, 1996, Götmark et al, 2005.…”

Divergent roles of herbivory in eutrophying forests

“…Shifts towards a "high forest" management system over the last century have led to average increases in the biomass of tree and/or shrub layers across many temperate European forests 43,47,48 . The buffering capacity of canopies, accentuated by such a biomass increase, is hypothesized to attenuate the impact of N-deposition by reducing light availability to the understorey, generating time lags in vegetation responses 7,[49][50][51] . The slow but pervasive effects of N-deposition have led some to label this threat a "N time bomb" 43 .…”