Life-form adaptations and substrate availability explain a 100-year post-grazing succession of bryophyte species in the Moricsala Strict Nature Reserve, Latvia

Abstract

AS 'Latvijas valsts meži', Riga, LatviaBryophyte species composition, richness and life-form distributions were studied in a succession after termination of land-use as meadows and pasture in the Moricsala Strict Nature Reserve. Detailed lists of bryophyte species in various vegetation types, which were produced in the early 1900s by Karl Reinhold Kupffer, were compared with those prepared from 2006 to 2010 to determine changes in species composition. Colonisations and extinctions of bryophyte species and life forms could be explained by increases in available substrates (living trees, dead wood, ground layer disturbance patches), and increasingly shaded conditions. In each forest type, the species diversity (alpha diversity) increased, but the differences (beta diversity) between the types decreased. The total number of bryophyte species recorded in the studied forest area increased from 110 to 134 and that of rare (including Woodland Key Habitat indicator species) and protected species from 14 to 21 species. Twenty species were lost during the forest succession, but most of these species still occur within the reserve in open habitats. Life forms such as small compact cushions and short turfs tended to be lost during the forest succession, while smooth and rough mat life forms were better adapted to the new conditions and increased in richness.

Relevance of Broad-Leaved Forest Stands for Maintaining Epiphytic Bryophyte Species and Functional Trait Diversity in Forest Landscape in Latvia

“…Higher representation of species with more complex life-forms (such as smooth mat, rough mat, tall turf) and long-term life-strategies (like perennial stayer) are consistent with previous studies about bryophyte adaptation to moist microclimate and shadier conditions within unmanaged forest habitats (Strazdiòa et al, 2013). Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia cordata, and Quercus robur forest stands provided more suitable environment for life-form and life-strategy richness than other stands, most probably due to more diverse tree layer structure and composition, presence of phorophytes of different size and age, as well as stand continuity.…”

“…Studies of species functional traits like life-strategies or life-forms in Latvia (Strazdiòa et al, 2013;Meþaka and Kirillova, 2019;Ievinsh et al, 2020) and in other countries from the boreal region (Darell and Cronberg, 2011;Michel et al, 2012) have shown that there is different specificity to host tree characteristics and habitat conditions. Some species, especially rare species and indicators of pristine forests, are dependent on large areas of long forest continuity with specific niche abundance (Hedderson, 1992;Söderström, 2006).…”

Do plant traits influence primary succession patterns for bryophytes and vascular plants? Evidence from a 33‐year chronosequence on bare chalk

“…As with vascular plants, plant traits can provide useful insights into the abilities of species within these life strategies and the associated succession stage; however, relevant trait data are not always available for bryophytes (Cruz de Carvalho et al., 2019; During, 1979). Life form is an important plant trait for succession and has been utilised in several studies (Cruz de Carvalho et al., 2019; Ezer et al., 2019; Strazdiņa et al., 2013). Although there are several classification systems available for bryophytes (Bates, 1998; Magdefrau, 1982), During (1979) suggested that the bryophyte life forms of dendroids, cushions and wefts are restricted to ‘perennial stayers’, therefore arising later in succession, whilst short turfs are usually found amongst ‘short‐lived shuttle species’.…”

Relationship Between Functional Traits, Functional Types, and Habitat in Boreonemoral Bryophytes

“…It is generally accepted that short turfs and cushions are typical for sunny, dry and xeric habitats, while bryophytes forming mats, wefts, tails and fans dominate humid and shady habitats (Bates, 1998;Kürschner, 2004). Recently, life forms have been used to explain a 100-year-long succession of bryophytes in forest habitat, which was associated with increase of available substrates as well as habitat shading (Strazdiòa et al, 2013). In particular, these changes led to disappearance of compact cushions and short turfs, while smooth and rough mats increased in richness.…”