Summer Ground Layer Biomass and Nutrient Contribution to Above-ground Litter in an Indiana Temperate Deciduous Forest

Welch, Nicole Turrill; Belmont, Jonathon M.; Randolph, J. C.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2007)157[11:sglban]2.0.co;2

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Based on our review of the literature, the contribution of the understorey to the yearly carbon flux to the soil ranges between 1% and 42% ( Figure 1a). This estimated range slightly exceeds the one reported by Welch et al (2007) (0.4%-28.8%). The high variability of values found in the literature can be partially attributed to differences in understorey definitions.…”

Section: Overview Of Values Published In the Literaturecontrasting

confidence: 62%

“…The concentrations of all nutrients in all four studies were higher in herbaceous vegetation compared to tree leaves (except for Ca concentration in one study performed by Gosz et al, ). After omitting one outlier (around 30 times higher concentration of K in understorey leaves compared to overstorey leaves; Welch et al, ), nutrient concentrations in the understorey were on average between 1.5 and 5 times higher than those found in overstorey leaves, depending on the nutrient considered. Average nutrient specific understorey:overstorey concentration ratios were 103% for Ca, 236% for N, 289% for P, 308% for Mg and 210% for K. The overall mean ratio was 231% across all nutrients (Figure b; Table S3).…”

Section: Quantification Of the Functional Importance Of The Understoreymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

Landuyt

Lombaerde

Perring

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

195

129

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Temperate forests cover 16% of the global forest area. Within these forests, the understorey is an important biodiversity reservoir that can influence ecosystem processes and functions in multiple ways. However, we still lack a thorough understanding of the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning. As a result, understoreys are often ignored during assessments of forest functioning and changes thereof under global change. We here compiled studies that quantify the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning, focussing on litter production, nutrient cycling, evapotranspiration, tree regeneration, pollination and pathogen dynamics. We describe the mechanisms driving understorey functioning and develop a conceptual framework synthesizing possible effects of multiple global change drivers on understorey‐mediated forest ecosystem functioning. Our review illustrates that the understorey's contribution to temperate forest functioning is significant but varies depending on the ecosystem function and the environmental context, and more importantly, the characteristics of the overstorey. To predict changes in understorey functioning and its relative importance for temperate forest functioning under global change, we argue that a simultaneous investigation of both overstorey and understorey functional responses to global change will be crucial. Our review shows that such studies are still very scarce, only available for a limited set of ecosystem functions and limited to quantification, providing little data to forecast functional responses to global change.

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Section: Overview Of Values Published In the Literaturecontrasting

confidence: 62%

Section: Quantification Of the Functional Importance Of The Understoreymentioning

confidence: 99%

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

Landuyt

Lombaerde

Perring

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

195

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even though the herbaceous plants account for a small fraction (often <1%) of stand biomass, they represent a considerably higher fraction of forest net primary productivity and litter production (Gilliam, 2007). Herbaceous plants in forests thus are important regulators of nutrient cycling and overall ecosystem functioning (Welch, Belmont, & Randolph, 2007). Moreover, the concept that herbaceous communities in the understory of temperate forests are only influenced by the woody plants but do not influence them in turn has been challenged in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitation between woody and herbaceous plants that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in temperate European forests

Veresoglou

Wulf

Rillig

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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In late‐successional environments, low in available nutrient such as the forest understory, herbaceous plant individuals depend strongly on their mycorrhizal associates for survival. We tested whether in temperate European forests arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) woody plants might facilitate the establishment of AM herbaceous plants in agreement with the mycorrhizal mediation hypothesis. We used a dataset spanning over 400 vegetation plots in the Weser‐Elbe region (northwest Germany). Mycorrhizal status information was obtained from published resources, and Ellenberg indicator values were used to infer environmental data. We carried out tests for both relative richness and relative abundance of herbaceous plants. We found that the subset of herbaceous individuals that associated with AM profited when there was a high cover of AM woody plants. These relationships were retained when we accounted for environmental filtering effects using path analysis. Our findings build on the existing literature highlighting the prominent role of mycorrhiza as a coexistence mechanism in plant communities. From a nature conservation point of view, it may be possible to promote functional diversity in the forest understory through introducing AM woody trees in stands when absent.

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“…Van der Heijden et al 1998), biogeochemical and nutrient cycles (e.g. Zak et al 1990;Tessier and Raynal 2003;Mueller et al 2012;Neufeld and Young 2014;Welch et al 2007; van der Heijden and Horton 2009; but see Rothstein 2000), and ecosystem services (reviewed in Gilliam 2007). Understory herbaceous species also provide critical food resources, physical structure, and habitat heterogeneity (Roberts and Gilliam 2003;Roberts 2004) that support biodiversity of other ecologically important plant groups and in other trophic levels including insects, birds and mammals (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbaceous invaders in temperate forests: a systematic review of their ecology and proposed mechanisms of invasion

et al. 2017

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We present a systematic literature review of exotic understory forest herbaceous invasions with a focus on the forests of East Asia (EAS) and Eastern North America (ENA), two dominant regions of the north temperate deciduous forest biome. We examined the biogeographic origins of herbaceous invaders in EAS and ENA forests, summarized their life histories and ecology, and compiled the relevant literature on the 10 leading mechanistic hypotheses proposed for these invasions. We asked whether invasions of EAS and ENA forests by herbs are shared between regions, and whether a common suite of ecological traits unite these invaders into a functionally distinct group. In a focused summary of the empirical literature, we investigated if leading hypothesized mechanisms for biological invasions at large are also invoked and supported for this ecologically important, but relatively understudied, group of species. In contrast to ENA, forest invaders in EAS are overwhelmingly herbaceous (78% of forest invasions vs. 34% for ENA) and originate from different regions. Plant families represented and species traits between regions differed. Within a single species, multiple invasion mechanisms were often supported, highlighting the need for future research that simultaneously investigates multiple mechanistic hypotheses. Further, because results for a single invader often differed across space and time, a shift in focus to incorporate the complex dynamics across temporal and spatial scales with the consideration of spatial heterogeneity and the interplays among natural and anthropogenic factors to study exotic invasions is needed.

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Summer Ground Layer Biomass and Nutrient Contribution to Above-ground Litter in an Indiana Temperate Deciduous Forest

Cited by 31 publications

References 6 publications

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

Facilitation between woody and herbaceous plants that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in temperate European forests

Herbaceous invaders in temperate forests: a systematic review of their ecology and proposed mechanisms of invasion

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