Mixed-species tree plantings enhance structural complexity in oil palm plantations

Zemp, Delphine Clara; Ehbrecht, Martin; Seidel, Dominik; Ammer, Christian; Craven, Dylan; Erkelenz, Joshua; Irawan, Bambang; Sundawati, Leti; Hölscher, Dirk; Kreft, Holger

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.06.003

Cited by 70 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…The results highlight that plantation management practices should target to increase the stability and herbivore pest resistance of monoculture plantations in particular in oil palm. This might be achieved by both reducing fertilizer and pesticide application (Darras et al, 2019) and by increasing structural complexity in plantations (Zemp et al, 2019). Notably, changes in land use are manifested more intensively in litter than in soil, indicating that nematode communities in soil are protected from changes in land use and associated environmental changes.…”

Section: Nematode Functional Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Nematode Communities and Functional Diversity With the Conversion of Rainforest Into Rubber and Oil Palm Plantations

et al. 2019

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Focusing on nematodes and their well-developed indices of community, ecosystem structure and function, we investigated the effects of the conversion of rainforest into rubber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia. Land use did not affect the total abundance of litter-and soil-dwelling nematodes, neither in riparian nor in well-drained sites. However, the rainforest nematode community differed from communities in plantations, with differences in litter being more pronounced compared to soil. In litter, fungivores and nematodes with short generation time (c-p2) increased in monoculture plantations, while that of bacterivores, herbivores, and nematodes with longer generation time and higher sensitivity to disturbances (c-p3) decreased. This indicates higher environmental pressure on nematodes in monoculture plantations than in rainforest. In soil of monoculture plantations, bacterivores, and c-p3 nematodes decreased while herbivores increased. This suggests that the damage of plants by nematodes in oil palm plantations exceeds that in rainforest. Overall, nematode functional diversity indices suggest that the stability of the decomposer community is higher in rainforest compared to monoculture plantations. Importantly, functional diversity indices were much more meaningful than nematode abundance. Further, changes with land use manifested more in litter than in soil, reflecting that nematode communities in soil are buffered against changes in land use and associated environmental conditions. Therefore, to fully assess changes in the structure and functioning of decomposer systems with changes in land use, the litter layer, which often receives little attention, requires more careful consideration.

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Section: Nematode Functional Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Nematode Communities and Functional Diversity With the Conversion of Rainforest Into Rubber and Oil Palm Plantations

et al. 2019

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“…Native multipurpose tree species were planted within plots of varying sizes, tree species compositions, and diversity levels, established in a large-scale commercial oil palm plantation. Three years after establishment of the experiment, tree diversity significantly enhanced stand structural complexity [43]. The fastest growing tree species reached a height of approximately 6 m with a stem basal area of more than 20 cm 2 , while slow-growing species were well below the canopy with heights of 2.3 m and stem basal areas of only 2.7 cm 2 [44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Legacy Effects Overshadow Tree Diversity Effects on Soil Fungal Communities in Oil Palm-Enrichment Plantations

et al. 2020

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Financially profitable large-scale cultivation of oil palm monocultures in previously diverse tropical rain forest areas constitutes a major ecological crisis today. Not only is a large proportion of the aboveground diversity lost, but the belowground soil microbiome, which is important for the sustainability of soil function, is massively altered. Intermixing oil palms with native tree species promotes vegetation biodiversity and stand structural complexity in plantations, but the impact on soil fungi remains unknown. Here, we analyzed the diversity and community composition of soil fungi three years after tree diversity enrichment in an oil palm plantation in Sumatra (Indonesia). We tested the effects of tree diversity, stand structural complexity indices, and soil abiotic conditions on the diversity and community composition of soil fungi. We hypothesized that the enrichment experiment alters the taxonomic and functional community composition, promoting soil fungal diversity. Fungal community composition was affected by soil abiotic conditions (pH, N, and P), but not by tree diversity and stand structural complexity indices. These results suggest that intensive land use and abiotic filters are a legacy to fungal communities, overshadowing the structuring effects of the vegetation, at least in the initial years after enrichment plantings.

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“…In combination with methods for quantifying complexity, such as fractal analysis [28], the structural complexity of forests can be assessed mathematically. The approach can also be utilized to quantify the complexity of tree foliage [29], tree crowns [30][31][32], entire tree architecture [33,34] and stand structure [35,36] by using three-dimensional (3D) point clouds derived from TLS. Several studies used this approach to characterize and compare the structural complexity of European temperate forests along a management gradient [37][38][39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Patterns of Structural Complexity in Differently Managed and Unmanaged Beech-Dominated Forests in Central Europe

et al. 2020

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One of the main goals of modern silviculture is to emulate the structural complexity of old-growth forests. In this context, it is of advantage to identify a target state of structural complexity at the stand level and to analyze the spatial characteristics that led to the desired complexity of forest structures in primary forest references. In this study, we used 3D forest scenes captured by terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to identify spatial patterns of structural complexity of differently managed and unmanaged European forests dominated by beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). We scanned in managed even-aged and uneven-aged stands, as well as in formerly managed forests (National Parks) and primary forests. For three different forest strata, representing the understory, the midstory, and the overstory of a forest stand, we determined the structural complexity mathematically using fractal analysis. Beyond that, we analyzed the density, as well as the horizontal and vertical distribution of plant material. For all three forest strata, we observed differences in structural complexity between the different forest types. Within the lower and middle strata, the investigated primary forests showed a random to regular distribution of plant material, as well as a complex understory structure as a result of pronounced natural decay. Compared to the primary forests, the managed uneven-aged stands showed quite similar spatial patterns of distribution of plant material, but on average a higher space occupation in the lower and middle forest stratum. Our results suggest that single tree or group selection cutting is a useful management tool to imitate old-growth structures of undisturbed beech-dominated forests.

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Mixed-species tree plantings enhance structural complexity in oil palm plantations

Cited by 70 publications

References 85 publications

Changes in Nematode Communities and Functional Diversity With the Conversion of Rainforest Into Rubber and Oil Palm Plantations

Changes in Nematode Communities and Functional Diversity With the Conversion of Rainforest Into Rubber and Oil Palm Plantations

Legacy Effects Overshadow Tree Diversity Effects on Soil Fungal Communities in Oil Palm-Enrichment Plantations

Spatial Patterns of Structural Complexity in Differently Managed and Unmanaged Beech-Dominated Forests in Central Europe

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