Role of bryophyte-dominated ecosystems in the global carbon budget

O'Neill, K. P.

doi:10.1017/cbo9781139171304.012

Cited by 46 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…Perhaps worryingly though, environmental conditions are also changing in less predictable ways with anthropogenic climate change. Such climatic changes may affect nest building birds in numerous ways (Møller, 2006;Mainwaring, 2015b) and in blue and great tits, may alter the distribution and abundance of bryophytes (O'Neil, 2000;Jägerbrand et al, 2003) which constitute the main nesting material. Whilst the evidence suggests that both species can adaptively adjust their nest building behaviors to changes in environmental conditions, long-term studies that monitor nest composition (e.g., 18 years: Lambrechts et al, 2016a,b) may be useful.…”

Section: Environmental Adjustmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Mainwaring

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Nest building is an important and yet under-studied stage of the reproductive cycle in many taxa, including birds, and whilst we have a decent understanding of interspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors, our understanding of intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors is much less developed. This is largely because an insufficient number of studies have been performed on any one species to draw robust conclusions. Fortunately, though, the amount of research on the nesting behaviors of nestbox-breeding blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) has increased dramatically in recent years and their nesting behaviors are now sufficiently well-studied to offer useful insights into intraspecific variation in avian nesting behaviors. Studies show that individuals of both species select nest sites based on the presence and/or absence of conspecifics and heterospecifics and whilst neighbors were assumed to adversely affect focal individuals by competing for resources, they are now considered beneficial as they provide information about habitat quality and contribute to anti-predator defenses. Nest-building females accurately gauge local weather conditions and respond to predictable variation in environmental conditions by building nests with variable amounts of cup lining material to create suitable nest microclimates for nestlings. Meanwhile, both species vary the amount of aromatic plant materials in their nests in relation to the abundance of nest-dwelling parasites and pathogens and as aromatic plant materials also play a role in sexual selection then nest materials can have multiple functions. The height of nests is negatively correlated with the local risk of predation but whilst predator avoidance favors lower nests, sexual selection favors taller nests. In fact, higher quality females build taller nests that contain more green plant material which in turn influences the amount of care provided by males. This suggests there is considerable intraspecific variation in nesting behaviors in blue and great tits, and in birds generally, and highlights that birds are adept at adaptively varying their nesting behaviors in response to multiple factors. There is, however, a paucity of evidence directly linking such variation in nest building behaviors to reproductive success or fitness more broadly and so further studies could usefully examine such links because trade-offs between competing selection pressures may constrain adaptive nesting behaviors.

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Section: Environmental Adjustmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Mainwaring

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…Because much of the boreal forest is poorly drained, with high rates of primary production (Vitt et al, 2001;Camill et al, 2001b), slow decomposition rates and bryophyte-dominated successional pathways (O'Neill, 2000;Turetsky, 2003), mosses form a significant part of these ecosystems' carbon, nitrogen and water cycles 27 (Skre and Oechel, 1981;Longton, 1992;Heijmans et al, 2004b;Suzuki et al, 2007). These areas sequester large amounts of C in peat, and their vulnerability to changes in climate, hydrology and fire will influence regional biogeochemical cycles (Camill et al, 2001a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement and modelling of bryophyte evaporation in a boreal forest chronosequence

et al. 2011

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The effects of changing climate and disturbance on forest water cycling are not well understood. In particular, bryophytes contribute significantly to forest evapotranspiration in poorly drained boreal forests, but few studies have directly measured this flux and how it changes with stand age and soil drainage. We measured bryophyte evaporation (E) in the field (in Canadian Picea mariana forests of varying ages and soil drainages) and under controlled laboratory conditions, and modelled daily E using site-specific meteorological data to drive a Penman-Monteith-based model. Field measurements of E averaged 0Ð37 mm day 1 and ranged from 0Ð03 (Pleurozium schreberii in a 77-year-old dry stand) to 1Ð43 mm day 1 (Sphagnum riparium in a 43-year-old bog). In the laboratory, moss canopy resistance (which ranged from ¾0 to 1500 s m 1 ) was constant until a moss water content of ¾6 g g 1 and then climbed sharply with further drying; unexpectedly, no difference was observed between the three moss groups (feather mosses, hollow mosses and hummock mosses) tested. Modelled annual E ranged from 0Ð4 mm day 1 , in the well-drained stands, to ¾1 mm day 1 in the 43-year-old bog. The Penman-Monteith modelling approach used was relatively insensitive to most parameters but only explained 35% of the variability in field measurements. Bryophyte E was greater in bogs than in upland stands, was driven by low-lying mosses and varied with stand age only in the poorly drained stands; this suggests that bryophytes may provide a buffering effect to fire-driven changes in tree transpiration.

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“…Bryophytes dominate the carbon and nitrogen cycling of many poorly drained terrestrial ecosystems (Turetsky 2003;Vitt et al 2001), particularly in the boreal region, but on a global scale as well (Longton 1992;O'Neill 2000). Such ecosystems-peatlands and to a lesser degree forested wetlands-cover at least 2.5 £ 10 8 ha globally (Gorham 1991;Lugo et al 1990;Matthews and Fung 1987), store approximately 455 Pg C, mostly in peat, and sequester nearly a third of global soil C (Gorham 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such ecosystems-peatlands and to a lesser degree forested wetlands-cover at least 2.5 £ 10 8 ha globally (Gorham 1991;Lugo et al 1990;Matthews and Fung 1987), store approximately 455 Pg C, mostly in peat, and sequester nearly a third of global soil C (Gorham 1991). Much of the boreal forest is poorly drained, with poorly drained areas exhibiting high rates of primary production (Camill et al 2001;Vitt et al 2001), slow decomposition rates and bryophyte-dominated successional pathways (O'Neill 2000;Turetsky 2003). Bryophytes are increasingly recognized to play important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of well-drained boreal forests as well (DeLuca et al 2002;O'Connell et al 2003a) and inXuence the vegetation-atmosphere exchange in many ecosystems (LaXeur and Rouse 1988;Shimoyama et al 2004;Williams and Flanagan 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of stand-level leaf area for boreal bryophytes

Bond‐Lamberty

Gower

2006

Oecologia

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Bryophytes dominate the carbon and nitrogen cycling of many poorly drained terrestrial ecosystems and are important in the vegetation-atmosphere exchange of carbon and water, yet few studies have estimated their leaf area at the stand scale. This study quantified the bryophyte-specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI) in a group of different-aged boreal forest stands in well and poorly drained soils. Species-specific SLA (for three feather mosses, four Sphagnum spp. and Aulacomnium palustre mixed with Tomentypnum nitens) was assessed by determining the projected area using a flatbed scanner and cross-sectional geometry using a dissecting microscope. The hemisurface leaf area was computed as the product of SLA and live biomass and was scaled by coverage data collected at all stands. Pleurozium schreberi dominated the spatial coverage, biomass and leaf area in the well-drained stands, particularly the oldest, while S. fuscum and A. palustre were important in the poorly drained stands. Live moss biomass ranged from 47 to 230 g m(-2) in the well-drained stands dominated by feather mosses and from 102 to 228 g m(-2) in the poorly drained stands. Bryophyte SLA varied between 135 and 473 cm(2) g(-1), for A. palustre and S. capillifolium, respectively. SLA was strongly and significantly affected by bryophyte species, but did not vary between stands; in general, there was no significant difference between the SLA of non-Sphagnum mosses. Bryophyte LAI increased with stand age, peaking at 3.1 and 3.7 in the well and poorly drained stands, respectively; this represented approximately 40% of the overstory LAI in the well-drained stands and 100-1,000% in the poorly drained stands, underscoring the important role bryophytes play in the water and carbon budgets of these boreal forests.

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Role of bryophyte-dominated ecosystems in the global carbon budget

Cited by 46 publications

References 0 publications

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Causes and Consequences of Intraspecific Variation in Nesting Behaviors: Insights from Blue Tits and Great Tits

Measurement and modelling of bryophyte evaporation in a boreal forest chronosequence

Estimation of stand-level leaf area for boreal bryophytes

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