The Role of Canopy Gaps in Maintaining Vascular Plant Diversity at a Forested Wetland in New York State

Anderson, Kimberly L.; Leopold, Donald J.

doi:10.2307/3088774

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Light is clearly the most important resource of forest environmental heterogeneity in a mosaic of gaps and mature stands or between the age stages of the forest cycle (Collins et al 1985). However, at finer spatial scales of the forest community, earlier studies did not find a positive relationship between variation in light conditions and species richness (Anderson and Leopold 2002;Lenière and Houle 2006). Canham (1988) emphasised that difficulties in the measurement of light availability for plants, especially its substantial temporal variation, may explain the reported lack of a significant effect of light on species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Plant species coexistence at local scale in temperate swamp forest: test of habitat heterogeneity hypothesis

et al. 2011

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It has been suggested that a heterogeneous environment enhances species richness and allows for the coexistence of species. However, there is increasing evidence that environmental heterogeneity can have no effect or even a negative effect on plant species richness and plant coexistence at a local scale. We examined whether plant species richness increases with local heterogeneity in the water table depth, microtopography, pH and light availability in a swamp forest community at three local spatial scales (grain: 0.6, 1.2 and 11.4 m). We also used the variance partitioning approach to assess the relative contributions of niche-based and other spatial processes to species occurrence. We found that heterogeneity in microtopography and light availability positively correlated with species richness, in accordance with the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis. However, we recorded different heterogeneity-diversity relationships for particular functional species groups. An increase in the richness of bryophytes and woody plant species was generally related to habitat heterogeneity at all measured spatial scales, whereas a low impact on herbaceous species richness was recorded only at the 11.4 m scale. The distribution of herbaceous plants was primarily explained by other spatial processes, such as dispersal, in contrast to the occurrence of bryophytes, which was better explained by environmental factors. Our results suggest that both niche-based and other spatial processes are important determinants of the plant composition and species turnover at local spatial scales in swamp forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Plant species coexistence at local scale in temperate swamp forest: test of habitat heterogeneity hypothesis

et al. 2011

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“…For example, the negative impact of ivy (Hedera helix L.) on the radial growth and on some anatomical char-acteristics of black alder wood was shown by Yaman (2009). Various disturbances increase the structural diversity of the wetland forest vegetation types (Anderson & Leopold, 2002) and the variability in stand conditions, especially light and humidity conditions, for their regeneration (Battaglia & Sharitz, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural diversity and production of alder stands on former agricultural land at high altitudes

Vacek¹,

Vacek²,

Podrázský³

et al. 2016

Dendrobiology

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Abstract:The paper deals with the structural diversity and production of a less frequently studied type of alder stands originated on former agricultural lands in the 1950s, established partly by plantation and partly by natural succession in the area of the Krkonoše Mts. and the Orlické hory Mts. (Czech Republic). Four permanent research plots (PRP) were established at sites where Black alder (Alnus glutinosa L. Gaertn.) and Grey alder (Alnus incana L. Moench.) naturally occurs, each plot of 0.25 ha in size. The aim of the study was to evaluate the structure and development of the alder stands with respect to biodiversity, horizontal, vertical and species structure, diameter increment with emphasis on climate factors, and the quantity and quality of timber production. The results document low diversification of the studied stands in the PRPs. The horizontal structure is defined as random and clumped at sites at the highest altitude with high water table. The number of living trees with DBH ≥ 4 cm ranges between 556 to 828 trees ha -1 with the relative stand density index (SDI) 0.67-0.77. The stand volume ranges from 247 to 393 m 3 ha -1, and decreases with higher altitudes. Low temperatures is limiting factor for radial growth in the high mountain areas, respectively low precipitation in the middle lands. Owing to a rather specific site character, as especially the spring area, the stands exhibit only average production, but the production quality is generally high. The quality timber is suitable for industrial use; the rot-affected trunk base parts usable for fuel represent only approximately 16%.

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“…The high species diversity observed in D1 class could be attributed to the existence of open canopy gaps. The regeneration niche theory (Grubb 1977) and gap partitioning hypothesis (Ricklefs 1979) states that forest canopy gaps help the formation of microsite heterogeneity for the understorey community and provide gradient physical conditions for species partition, resulting in increased species diversity (Anderson and Leopold 2002). The other factor that is responsible for the species diversity variation could be the association of different forest types under each density class.…”

Section: Species Diversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further anthropogenic disturbance coupled with fragmentation had a stronger and more immediate effect in reducing native species richness and increasing exotic species richness (Karen et al 2002). Light acts as one of the potential determinants of species response and distribution in an ecosystem (Anderson and Leopold 2002). Disturbances in forest modifies the niche by creating gaps that favour the growth of stranger species surviving under open canopy gaps, i.e.…”

Section: Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing forest canopy closure in a geospatial medium to address management concerns for tropical islands—Southeast Asia

Prasad

Nagabhatla

Reddy³

et al. 2009

Environ Monit Assess

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The present study outlines an approach to classify forest density and to estimate canopy closure of the forest of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. The vector layers generated for the study area using satellite data was validated with the field knowledge of the surveyed ground control points. The methodology adopted in this present analysis is three-tiered. First, the density stratification into five zones using visual interpretation for the complete archipelago. In the second step, we identified two island groups from the Andaman to investigate and compare the forest strata density. The third and final step involved more of a localised phytosociological module that focused on the North Andaman Islands. The results based on the analysis of the high-resolution satellite data show that more than 75% of the mangroves are under high- to very high-density canopy class. The framework developed would serve as a significant measure to forest health and evaluate management concerns whilst addressing issues such as gap identification, conservation prioritisation and disaster management--principally to the post-tsunami assessment and analysis.

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The Role of Canopy Gaps in Maintaining Vascular Plant Diversity at a Forested Wetland in New York State

Cited by 43 publications

References 37 publications

Plant species coexistence at local scale in temperate swamp forest: test of habitat heterogeneity hypothesis

Plant species coexistence at local scale in temperate swamp forest: test of habitat heterogeneity hypothesis

Structural diversity and production of alder stands on former agricultural land at high altitudes

Assessing forest canopy closure in a geospatial medium to address management concerns for tropical islands—Southeast Asia

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