Repeatability of Community Data: Species Richness versus Gradient Scores in Large-Scale Lichen Studies

McCune, Bruce; Dey, Jonathan P.; Peck, JeriLynn E.; Cassell, David L.; Heiman, Karin; Will‐Wolf, Susan; Neitlich, Peter

doi:10.1639/0007-2745(1997)100[40:rocdsr]2.0.co;2

Cited by 122 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In line with previous studies (e.g. McCune et al ., ; Nielsen & Bascompte, ) we found the data most robust for addressing questions related to community structure (i.e. modularity).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Citizen science data reveal ecological, historical and evolutionary factors shaping interactions between woody hosts and wood‐inhabiting fungi

et al. 2016

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Woody plants host diverse communities of associated organisms, including wood-inhabiting fungi. In this group, host effects on species richness and interaction network structure are not well understood, especially not at large geographical scales. We investigated ecological, historical and evolutionary determinants of fungal species richness and network modularity, that is, subcommunity structure, across woody hosts in Denmark, using a citizen science data set comprising > 80 000 records of > 1000 fungal species on 91 genera of woody plants. Fungal species richness was positively related to host size, wood pH, and the number of species in the host genus, with limited influence of host frequency and host history, that is, time since host establishment in the area. Modularity patterns were unaffected by host history, but largely reflected host phylogeny. Notably, fungal communities differed substantially between angiosperm and gymnosperm hosts. Host traits and evolutionary history appear to be more important than host frequency and recent history in structuring interactions between hosts and wood-inhabiting fungi. High wood acidity appears to act as a stress factor reducing fungal species richness, while large host size, providing increased niche diversity, enhances it. In some fungal groups that are known to interact with live host cells in the establishment phase, host selectivity is common, causing a modular community structure.

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“…In line with previous studies (e.g. McCune et al ., ; Nielsen & Bascompte, ) we found the data most robust for addressing questions related to community structure (i.e. modularity).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Citizen science data reveal ecological, historical and evolutionary factors shaping interactions between woody hosts and wood‐inhabiting fungi

et al. 2016

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“…Nonetheless, because observer performance changes over time and shows inter‐ and intra‐daily variation (Smith ), and because increased observer experience does not necessarily exclude bias (since even experienced botanists do overlook species), the effect of observer experience on record quality remains difficult to quantify (McCune et al. ; Scott & Hallam ; Milberg et al. ; Chen et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation bias and its causes in botanical surveys on high‐alpine summits

Burg

Rixen

Stöckli

et al. 2014

J Vegetation Science

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Question To determine long‐term vegetation changes in revisitation studies, it is crucial to know how much of measured species turnover over time can be attributed to pseudo‐turnover (i.e. turnover caused by imperfect data acquisition), and which factors contribute to observation bias and pseudo‐turnover. Independent simultaneous surveys provide a powerful tool to quantify pseudo‐turnover and to indentify factors causing it, which may vary strongly between lowland and mountain areas. Location Alpine mountain summits (2616 m to 3418 m a.s.l.) in the southeastern Swiss Alps. Methods Plant inventories of 48 summits were collected by two independent observers simultaneously. Pseudo‐turnover between observers was compared to species turnover over one century based on historical species lists of the same summits. Variables linked to observer characteristics and external (observer‐independent) factors were tested for their influence on pseudo‐turnover and number of species missed by one of the observers, and plant characteristics were tested for their effect on species detection probability. Results Mean pseudo‐turnover between observers (13.6%) was almost three times smaller than species turnover over one century (41.4%). Pseudo‐turnover and the number of species missed increased with difference in botanizing time between observers and with a longer ascent to the summit, especially in combination with a high species richness on the summit. Species had a higher probability to be missed if occurring on many summits but with a low abundance, if small in stature and if belonging to certain taxonomic plant groups (e.g. Asteraceae). Conclusions Our critical evaluation of turnover over time vs pseudo‐turnover confirms that floristic changes on alpine summits over time represent an ecological pattern. In mountainous terrain, factors related to observer characteristics play a major role, as we found the best correspondence between simultaneous records when the difference in botanizing time was small and the ascent was short. Our results help to improve data quality in mountainous terrain by pointing out possible causes for observation bias. Long‐term vegetation studies in alpine ecosystems should make a strong effort to identify and minimize such causes in advance, for instance by reducing between‐observer differences in botanical skills, fitness and time management through appropriate training.

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“…1) in the third and fourth summer post‐fire. Bryoid layer species and the total bryoid layer across taxa were assigned cover classes adapted from McCune et al (1997). Cover classes were coded as follows: (1) <3 shoots present; (2) 4–10 shoots present; (3) >10 shoots present but <25% cover; (4) 25–50% cover; (5) 51–80% cover; and (6) 81–100% cover.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term bryoid and vascular vegetation response to reforestation alternatives following wildfire in conifer plantations

Kayes

Puettmann

Anderson

2011

Applied Vegetation Science

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Question: How are dynamics of early‐seral post‐fire vascular plant and bryoid (terrestrial mosses, lichens, and fungi) vegetation impacted by reforestation activities, particularly manual vegetation removal and planting density? Does the relationship between vegetation dynamics and vegetation removal differ between harsh (west‐facing) and moderate (east‐facing) aspects? Location: Five high‐severity burn plantation forests of Pseudotsuga menziesii in southwestern Oregon, USA. Methods: Plantations severely burned in a recent wildfire were planted with conifer seedlings as a four‐species mixture or a monoculture, at two different densities, with and without manual vegetation removal. A subset of plots was also planted on a contrasting aspect within each plantation. The contrasting aspects differed in potential solar insolation and were indicative of moderate (eastern exposure) and harsh (western exposure) site conditions. Covers of shrub, herbaceous and bryoid vegetation layers were measured during reforestation activities 2–4 yr after the fire. Dynamics of structural layer cover and community composition were compared among treatments with analysis of variance and multivariate analyses (non‐metric multidimensional scaling and blocked multi‐response permutation procedure). Results: Structural layer cover and community composition differed between areas that received reforestation treatments and untreated areas. However, variability within treatments in a plantation was greater than variability within treatments across plantations. Effects of vegetation removal on composition and structure were more evident than effects of planting or altering planting density. Vegetation removal decreased cover of tall and low shrub and the bryoid layer, and increased herbaceous layer cover. Bryoid community and low shrub structural layer responses were more pronounced on moderate aspects than on harsh aspects. Vegetation removal shifted vascular plant community composition towards exotic and annual species. Conclusions: These reforestation treatments may be implemented without substantially altering early‐seral vegetation community composition dynamics, especially in areas with harsh site conditions. Site conditions, such as aspect, should be evaluated to determine need and potential effects of reforestation before implementation. Monitoring for exotic species establishment should follow reforestation activities.

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Repeatability of Community Data: Species Richness versus Gradient Scores in Large-Scale Lichen Studies

Cited by 122 publications

References 13 publications

Citizen science data reveal ecological, historical and evolutionary factors shaping interactions between woody hosts and wood‐inhabiting fungi

Citizen science data reveal ecological, historical and evolutionary factors shaping interactions between woody hosts and wood‐inhabiting fungi

Observation bias and its causes in botanical surveys on high‐alpine summits

Short-term bryoid and vascular vegetation response to reforestation alternatives following wildfire in conifer plantations

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