Mistletoes via input of nutrient-rich litter increases nutrient supply and enhance plant species composition and growth in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Ndagurwa, Hilton G.T.; Ndarevani, Primrose; Muvengwi, Justice; Maponga, Tsitsi S.

doi:10.1007/s11258-016-0635-4

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…This study is the first to show that the impact of a parasitic plant can simultaneously affect colonization, recruitment, and growth of long‐lived woody plants (even long after host death), fostering the establishment of a diverse coterie of zoochorous species replacing a dead pine tree. This expands on former reports of mistletoes driving the heterogeneity in vegetation communities, being important structuring elements in forest ecosystems from all continents—including fir and pine forests of North America (Mathiasen, Hawksworth, & Edminster, ), rain forests of South America (Candia et al., ), African savanna (Ndagurwa, Ndarevani, Muvengwi, & Maponga, ), and Australian eucalypt forests (March & Watson, ). The structuring role of V. album austriacum goes beyond gap creation in the forest landscape, as it simultaneously drives a nucleation process within the pine matrix similar to that described for isolated fleshy‐fruited shrubs (Verdú & García‐Fayos, ) and trees (Herrera & García, ) within non‐forest matrices, in which solitary plants facilitate later colonists by attracting seed‐dispersing birds and by ameliorating environmental conditions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Parasites structuring ecological communities: The mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests

Mellado

Zamora

2017

Functional Ecology

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The capacity of parasitic plants in structuring natural communities is increasingly recognized. These plants can affect the structure, composition and productivity of plant communities by modifying the competitive balance between hosts and non‐host species and by altering the quantity and quality of resources entering the soil. Despite the progress made in this field, there is still a lack of integrative studies showing the structuring capacity of parasitic plants in forest ecosystems, where their effect may be less detectable due to the long life span of the system. In this study we evaluate the long‐term impact of Viscum album subsp. austriacum on the woody‐plant community of a Mediterranean pineland. This mistletoe remains several years on the same host, exerting long‐lasting, spatially concentrated effects on community and ecosystem characteristics. Mistletoe concentrates zoochorous seeds and induces changes in the soil fertility and light availability beneath the canopy of parasitized trees, which have the potential to facilitate zoochorous–plant colonization, recruitment, and growth at the same time as it weakens the host. Here, we analyse whether mistletoe‐driven changes could result in a nucleus of zoochorous woody plants nourished by the abundant organic detritus accumulated under the host. We also analyse whether mistletoe effects can expand after host death. We selected unparasitized, parasitized, and dead parasitized Pinus nigra trees, in which we studied the joint effect of mistletoe‐mediated changes in soil nutrient and light availability, with the seed rain, seed predation, seedling establishment, plant recruitment, and plant growth. Light‐ and soil‐nutrient resources were greater under parasitized trees, and intensified after host death. The seed rain was maximum under parasitized trees, where seedling recruitment proved more likely. Sapling density, richness, and growth increased with the development of parasitism. Our findings show that V. album exerts a strong and lasting impact on the structure and dynamics of Mediterranean pinelands, with parasitized trees acting as centres for the establishment and growth of colonizing fleshy‐fruited woody species, which, over the long term, promote vegetation shifts by limiting dominant pine trees and facilitating less represented fleshy‐fruited shrubs. A http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12907/suppinfo is available for this article.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Parasites structuring ecological communities: The mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests

Mellado

Zamora

2017

Functional Ecology

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“…As a result, the spaces beneath parasitized pines became an enriched hotspot. Parasitized pines show a higher NPK soil availability than did control pines (Mellado et al 2016; see also Ndagurwa et al 2016), and this fertilization stimulates the development of Poaceae more than, for example, Fabaceae (Grünzweig and Körner 2003). Moreover, N-fixing species such as Fabaceae are more responsive to an exclusive increase in P (Stöcklin and Körner 1999;Stöcklin et al 1998) than NPK together (Grünzweig and Körner 2003), and even a unique increase of N does not benefit their growth (Xia and Wan 2008;Huang et al 2015) or can lower abundance and richness of N 2 -fixing species in a herbaceous community (Suding et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…First, we were interested in herbaceous vegetation, which in Mediterranean ecosystems shows its growing peak during early spring, becoming dry later due to summer drought (Archibold 1995). Second, litterfall (leaves and fruits) from mistletoe falls to the soil mostly during winter, thus being available for consumption by herbivores and contributing to the nutrient return (Mellado et al 2016;Ndagurwa et al 2016). Finally, as a consequence of the previous points, most mammalian herbivores graze on herbs and grasses while available, shifting to a shrub-based diet when dry (summer) or unavailable (mid-winter) (Martínez 2009).…”

Section: Sampling Herbaceous Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mistletoes draw water and mineral resources from host plants, attaining higher concentrations of foliar nutrients than their hosts (Ehleringer and Marshall 1995;Bowie and Ward 2004), and they produce nutrient-enriched litter due to scant reabsorption prior to abscission (Pate et al 1991;Quested et al 2002) and the input of bird-derived debris (Mellado et al 2016). Mistletoe litter often contributes large amounts of biomass to the forest floor, including leaves, flowers, and fruits (March and Watson 2007), which are rich in nutrients and have a high decomposition rate, enhancing soil-nutrient cycling (March and Watson 2010;Ndagurwa et al 2016;Muvengwi et al 2015). It has been shown that the volume of litter beneath a tree crown amasses with mistletoe infestation, increasing the overall litterfall Watson 2007, 2010;Mellado et al 2016), and thus the parasite may contribute to higher nutrient returns beneath host trees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beneath the mistletoe: parasitized trees host a more diverse herbaceous vegetation and are more visited by rabbits

Hódar

Lázaro‐González

Zamora

2018

Annals of Forest Science

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& Key message Parasitism by mistletoe increases the cover and diversity of herbaceous vegetation under the host tree and attracts the activity of rabbits in comparison to control trees. Thus, the effects on forest community go beyond the parasitized tree. & Context Mistletoes are a diverse group of aerial hemiparasitic plants and are considered keystone species in forest ecosystems around the world. They produce nutrient-enriched litter, which exerts a substantial effect on soil-nutrient concentration, and the enriched nutrient patch alters the vegetation at the site as well as the associated fauna. & Aims Our goal is to ascertain whether mistletoe (Viscum album) parasitism of pine forest of a Mediterranean mountain favors herbaceous vegetation and attracts mammalian herbivores. & Methods We recorded in Sierra de Baza (SE Spain) the composition of the herbaceous vegetation under pines with and without mistletoe parasitism, and estimated the rabbit activity at the same sites by collecting their excrements. & Results An effect on herbaceous vegetation, especially in grasses belonging to the family Poaceae, was reflected in a notable increase in soil cover, species richness, and species diversity beneath parasitized pines with respect to unparasitized ones. As a consequence, parasitized pines attract the activity of rabbits, as shown by a fivefold quantity of excrement with respect to control ones. & Conclusion Parasitism by mistletoe, by creating patches of greater nutrient availability under the host canopy, extends its effects beyond the host tree to other members of the forest community, such as herbaceous plants and associated herbivorous animals, which in turn contribute to environmental heterogeneity with their activity.

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“…Mistletoes have a major influence on community composition and ecosystem processes in many woodland and forest ecosystems worldwide. Indeed, recent research work has demonstrated that effects of mistletoes extend beyond their hosts to higher trophic levels altering the species richness, abundance and distribution of plants and animals in their immediate vicinity and beyond (March & Watson 2007Watson 2009;Fisher et al 2013;Ndagurwa et al 2014aNdagurwa et al , 2016Ndagurwa et al , 2018Mellado et al 2016). These effects are greater than expected given the biomass of mistletoes and have resulted in the formal proposal that mistletoes and generally parasitic plants act as keystone species and ecosystem engineers (Press 1998;Watson 2001;Press & Phoenix 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mistletoe litter accelerates the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter in a semi‐arid savanna, south‐west Zimbabwe

2020

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Litter mixing plays an important role in enhancing carbon and nutrient cycling, but little is known about the effects of nutrient-rich mistletoe litter on the decomposition of slow-decaying litter in nutrient-poor environments. We investigated the effects of mistletoe litter on the decomposition and nutrient release of host Vachellia karroo litter in semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe. Mass loss and nutrient release was quantified in litter of each single species, two-species, three-species and four-species mixtures of mistletoe, Erianthemum ngamicum, Plicosepalus kalachariensis and Viscum verrucosum, and the host V. karroo in 30 × 30 cm nylon-mesh litterbags under field conditions at 2-month intervals for one year. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test the effects of litter type, incubation time and their interaction on mass loss and nutrient release. The effects of initial litter quality, incubation time and litter mixture on decomposition rate were also tested. Litter mixtures of mistletoes and V. karroo decomposed three times faster than V. karroo decomposing alone, and decomposition of litter mixtures was influenced by initial litter quality and incubation time. Further, non-additive effects are reported, with synergistic interactions being greater after 12 months and common regarding mass loss, phosphorus and carbon, whereas antagonistic interactions were common in nitrogen release. These effects varied both in magnitude and direction between litter-mixing treatments and with incubation time (P < 0.05). Our findings show that mistletoe litter enhance the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter consistent with findings in other ecosystems that contain hemiparasites, suggesting that hemiparasite litter plays an important role in carbon and nutrient flux in this system. Further, by enhancing the decomposition and nutrient release rate of recalcitrant host litter, mistletoes increase nutrient availability to other organisms within the ecosystem lending support to the premise that parasitic plants function as keystone species in environments where they occur.

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Mistletoes via input of nutrient-rich litter increases nutrient supply and enhance plant species composition and growth in a semi-arid savanna, southwest Zimbabwe

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Parasites structuring ecological communities: The mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests

Parasites structuring ecological communities: The mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests

Beneath the mistletoe: parasitized trees host a more diverse herbaceous vegetation and are more visited by rabbits

Mistletoe litter accelerates the decomposition of recalcitrant host litter in a semi‐arid savanna, south‐west Zimbabwe

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