Microclimatic edge-to-interior gradients of European deciduous forests

Meeussen, Camille; Govaert, Sanne; Vanneste, Thomas; Bollmann, Kurt; Brunet, Jörg; Calders, Kim; Cousins, Sara A. O.; Pauw, Karen De; Diekmann, Martin; Gasperini, Cristina; Hedwall, Per‐Ola; Hylander, Kristoffer; Iacopetti, Giovanni; Lenoir, Jonathan; Lindmo, Sigrid; Orczewska, Anna; Ponette, Quentin; Plue, Jan; Sanczuk, Pieter; Selvi, Federico; Spicher, Fabien; Verbeeck, Hans; Zellweger, Florian; Verheyen, Kris; Vangansbeke, Pieter; Frenne, Pieter De

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108699

Cited by 43 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Forest edges differ greatly from forest interiors in terms of microclimate and are characterized by higher thermal variation, increased solar radiation and higher wind speeds; and thus, increased daily and seasonal temperatures variability, higher light availability and lower soil moisture (Meeussen et al, 2021; Schmidt et al, 2019). Such conditions favour the development of plant communities dominated by species that also occur outside forests, across a wide range of environmental gradients, defined as generalists (Marinšek et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil seed bank responses to edge effects in temperate European forests

Gasperini

Bollmann

Brunet

et al. 2022

Global Ecol. Biogeogr.

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Aim:The amount of forest edges is increasing globally due to forest fragmentation and land-use changes. However, edge effects on the soil seed bank of temperate forests are still poorly understood. Here, we assessed edge effects at contrasting spatial scales across Europe and quantified the extent to which edges can preserve the seeds of forest specialist plants.Location: Temperate European deciduous forests along a 2,300-km latitudinal gradient.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil seed bank responses to edge effects in temperate European forests

Gasperini

Bollmann

Brunet

et al. 2022

Global Ecol. Biogeogr.

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“…2019; Camille et al . 2021). Likewise, forest management interventions that lead to reductions in canopy cover, such as thinning, can create an increase in light and temperature at the forest floor (Kovács et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial oak regeneration responses to experimental warming along microclimatic and macroclimatic gradients

et al. 2022

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Quercus spp. are one of the most important tree genera in temperate deciduous forests in terms of biodiversity, economic and cultural perspectives. However, natural regeneration of oaks, depending on specific environmental conditions, is still not sufficiently understood. Oak regeneration dynamics are impacted by climate change, but these climate impacts will depend on local forest management and light and temperature conditions.• Here, we studied germination, survival and seedling performance (i.e. aboveground biomass, height, root collar diameter and specific leaf area) of four oak species (Q. cerris, Q. ilex, Q. robur and Q. petraea). Acorns were sown across a wide latitudinal gradient, from Italy to Sweden, and across several microclimatic gradients located within and beyond the species' natural ranges. Microclimatic gradients were applied in terms of forest structure, distance to the forest edge and experimental warming.• We found strong interactions between species and latitude, as well as between microclimate and latitude or species. The species thus reacted differently to local and regional changes in light and temperature ; in southern regions the temperate Q. robur and Q. petraea performed best in plots with a complex structure, whereas the Mediterranean Q. ilex and Q. cerris performed better in simply structured forests with a reduced microclimatic buffering capacity. The experimental warming treatment only enhanced height and aboveground biomass of Mediterranean species.• Our results show that local microclimatic gradients play a key role in the initial stages of oak regeneration; however, one needs to consider the species-specific responses to forest structure and the macroclimatic context.

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“…Indeed, the switch between different habitats generates transition zones with peculiar ecological properties, which are recognised as ecotones [ 29 , 30 ]. Edge effects can have serious impacts on species diversity and composition, community dynamics, ecosystem functioning, and interactions [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. In fact, in these transition areas, there are pronounced complex ecological gradients, which are characterised as both abiotic (e.g., where large differences in incoming radiation, wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity occur at short spatial scales) and biotic factors (composition and structure of biotic assemblages such as patterns of insect presence, abundance, and behaviour; [ 35 , 36 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These transition zones between forests and adjacent open land are characterised by a strong inflow of warm or cool air, depending on the season and the time of day [ 37 , 38 ]. In particular, due to abrupt changes in vegetation structure and composition [ 34 , 37 ], forest edge zones are characterised by environmental gradients that can extend up to 100 m into the forest interior [ 37 , 38 ]. For instance, during the summer, temperature and light levels decrease, whereas the relative air humidity increases from the edge towards the forest interior [ 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Altered microclimatic conditions in forest edges, from warm and dry at the edge to cool and moist in the interior, create gradients in understorey biodiversity and consequently induce the establishment of typical habitats for edge-loving vegetation and organisms [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Edge effects are posited as important mechanisms for driving the persistence, reproduction pattern, and recruitment rate of locally adapted plants, and for this reason, studying ecological responses at habitat edges is a key topic in plant ecology and conservation [ 34 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Persistence of the Strictly Endemic Plants of Forest Margins: The Case of Cirsium alpis-lunae in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

Fenu

Lazzaro

Lastrucci

et al. 2022

Plants

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Narrow endemic plants constitute a pivotal group for conservation, being often reduced to a small contingent of individuals and frequently threatened. However, effective conservation actions require reliable basic information about distribution range, ecological requirements, and population traits. Nevertheless, such knowledge results are incomplete or even completely missing for some neglected or recently described plants, such as Cirsium alpis-lunae, a thistle exclusive to the N-Apennines (Italy). To fill this gap, all sites where C. alpis-lunae grow were monitored, and data on the site and population traits were collected. Our results indicated that this plant is restricted to 16 scattered sites, varied in surface area and number of individuals. Reproductive and juvenile plants showed to be affected by roughly the same variables, in particular the surface of the site, the slope aspect, and the canopy cover. The narrow ecological niche of C. alpis-lunae was mainly determined by the canopy cover, and where coverage increases, the number of individuals decreases. The individuals only grow at forest edges, where the peculiar ecological conditions are limiting factors for the development of forestry cover; some other factors (i.e., high inclination and instability of the substrate) contribute to limiting the development of forestry vegetation and guarantee the persistence of these ecotones. Despite the great difficulties in accessing the sites where this species grows, this study presents, for the first time, a complete picture of the C. alpis-lunae population and yielded important data to identify effective conservation measures.

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Microclimatic edge-to-interior gradients of European deciduous forests

Cited by 43 publications

References 79 publications

Soil seed bank responses to edge effects in temperate European forests

Soil seed bank responses to edge effects in temperate European forests

Initial oak regeneration responses to experimental warming along microclimatic and macroclimatic gradients

Persistence of the Strictly Endemic Plants of Forest Margins: The Case of Cirsium alpis-lunae in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

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