Patterns of Clonal Growth Modes Along a Chronosequence of Post-Coppice Forest Regeneration in Beech Forests of Central Italy

Abstract

Forest coppicing leads to changes in composition of the herbaceous understory through soil disturbance and alteration of the light regime. While the role of seed dispersal traits at the start of succession after coppicing has been extensively studied, the role of persistence traits such as clonal growth and bud banks is not yet sufficiently understood. To gain better understanding of this role, we studied the patterns of clonal growth organs and related clonal traits of species in a series of coppiced beech forests of the Central Apennines (Marches region, Italy) in various stages of recovery after the last coppicing event. We conducted stratified random sampling and established a chronosequence of recovery stages based on stand age (reflecting the number of years since the last coppicing). The beech stands Folia Geobot (2011) 46:271-288 were classified into three age groups (Post-logged, Recovering, and Old-coppice stands) according to the characteristic stages of beech coppice dynamics. Clonal growth organs and the corresponding clonal traits of plants in the forest understory vegetation were assessed with the help of a CLO-PLA1 database. We found no significant change in the proportion of clonal species along the studied chronosequence. In contrast, most of the traits and about the half of the clonal growth organs showed correlation with stand age or preference for a certain habitat (i.e., stage of regeneration). Clonal and bud bank traits proved to play an important role in the persistence of species subjected to forest coppicing cycles in the studied area.

Searching for the Relevance of Clonal and Bud Bank Traits Across Floras and Communities

“…Johansson et al (2011) recognized clonality as a principal trait for persistence of grassland species in remnant populations after abandonment of meadows, while Latzel et al (2011) andCanullo et al (2011) did not find an increasing proportion of clonal species during succession. This discrepancy might depend on whether woody species were included in data analysis.…”

Relationships between understory specialist species and local management practices in coppiced forests – Evidence from the Italian Apennines

“…According to Canullo et al (2011) and three age groups have been distinguished in the same chronosequence, namely:…”

“…Now, after ten years of ecological research in the same study area we investigated changes that have occurred in understory species composition, particularly of beech specialist species, because this specific pool of understory plants has proven to be a good indicator of the functional state of the forest (Bartha et al, 2008;Canullo et al, 2011;Campetella et al, , 2016Canullo et al, in press). …”

“…Some ecological studies report a remarkable level of plant diversity in coppiced forests (15% of the Marche Region flora, according to Bartha et al, 2008, or 10%, according to Campetella et al, 2016 including beech forest specialist species of considerable conservation interest, and point to a certain relationship between plant diversity and management. While these studies indicate that the main factor influencing diversity seems to be the number of years since the last coppicing (Bartha et al, 2008;Canullo et al, 2011;Campetella et al, 2016;Mattioli et al, 2016), there is no clear understanding of how other management factors affect plant diversity, and in particular the contingent of beech specialist species which have been shown to be a good indicator of the functional state of the forest (Bartha et al, 2008;Garadnai et al, 2010;Campetella et al, 2016). There is also a lack of information on how other management factors relate to this critical rotational timeframe.…”

“…This study builds on previous research conducted on the ecological dimension of the coppicing system in the Marche Region (Bartha et al, 2008;Garadnai et al, 2010;Canullo et al, 2011;Campetella et al, 2016; in press) by adding a follow up survey of 57 plots to characterize temporal changes in vegetation and forest structure, a review of the administrative prescriptions regulating logging in the region and the way they are applied and enforced, as well as a semistructured social survey focusing on the economic/logistical and ecological variables affecting this system.…”