Tree encroachment impacts on seed predator selection and seedling establishment in degraded pine woodlands

Willis, John; Schnake, David K.; DePerno, Christopher S.; Lashley, Marcus A.; Wetzstein, Branson; Yow, Justin

doi:10.1111/avsc.12570

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For substrate data collected during 2019, we only found a significant positive effect of fine woody debris on seed predation. Overall, these findings were surprising given the abundant evidence that these extrinsic drivers and their interactions can influence rodent granivory [64,117,118] and abundance [65] in our study system and more broadly in longleaf pine ecosystems. We estimated mean TSLF and understory cover within a 30 m radius of depot locations, which may have been too coarse of a resolution to identify relationships for small rodent granivores despite successful application elsewhere [e.g.…”

Section: Post-dispersal Predationmentioning

confidence: 65%

Multiple intrinsic and extrinsic drivers influence the quantity and quality components of seed dispersal effectiveness in the rare shrub Lindera subcoriacea

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Information about seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) for plant species of conservation concern is rarely available to inform management strategies and actions. For Lindera subcoriacea (bog spicebush, Lauraceae), a rare endemic dioecious shrub of the southeastern United States, we examined the influence of two intrinsic and five extrinsic drivers on the number and proportion of seeds either dispersed, or predated pre- and post-dispersal. The number of seeds dispersed characterizes the quantitative component of SDE, while pre- and post-dispersal seed predation can affect the qualitative component of SDE. Using fruit counts, seed traps, and seed removal depots over multiple years, we estimated that approximately 28% of L. subcoriacea seeds are lost to pre-dispersal predation, 69% of seeds are dispersed, 3% of seeds fail to disperse, and 65% of dispersed seeds are predated post-dispersal. We observed substantial variation in these three processes among individuals. We also found that both intrinsic (plant height, crop size) and extrinsic (understory cover, time since last fire, conspecific fruiting neighborhood, substrate) drivers differentially influenced the three processes. We identified four generalist, seasonally frugivorous, avian visitors at fruiting individuals that likely act as variably effective dispersers, while the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis L.) is a seed predator. Rodent granivores were important pre- and post-dispersal seed predators. The magnitude of our pre-dispersal and post-dispersal seed predation estimates suggest that, given the low fecundity of L. subcoriacea, conservation strategies should emphasize facilitating dispersal and reducing the effects of seed predation.

show abstract

Section: Post-dispersal Predationmentioning

confidence: 65%

Multiple intrinsic and extrinsic drivers influence the quantity and quality components of seed dispersal effectiveness in the rare shrub Lindera subcoriacea

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Abscessed leaves, bark, and fine woody debris provide organic material that supports nutrient cycling and influences understory flammability (Scarff and Westoby 2006;Hobbie 2015). Decaying coarse wood provides an important habitat for amphibians and reptiles (Owens et al 2008) and favorable germination sites for light-seeded species (Marx and Walters 2008;Bolton and D' Amato 2011); dispersed seed is an important food resource for various vertebrate and invertebrate communities (Perkins and Conner 2004;Willis et al 2021). However, the effects of organic material input can also be species-dependent, as interspecific differences in abscessed material quantity and quality can affect forest floor processes (Cornelissen et al 2017;Lyu et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cone and fruit impacts on understory flammability depend on traits and forest floor coverage

Willis,

Milton,

Alexander

2024

fire ecol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Understory flammability is affected by abscised plant tissue. Extensive research has shown how interspecific differences in leaf litter traits affect flammability; however, leaves represent only one component of the litter layer. Cones and fruit are also common constituents of the forest floor, yet surprisingly little is known about how flammability is affected by their presence. In this study, we ask how flammability is affected by cones and fruit trait differences, coverage differences, and varying species and coverage combinations. To address these questions, we compared cone and fruit morphological and chemical traits among longleaf pine, loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, sweetgum, post oak, and water oak. We also used burn trials to compare fire behavior of single and mixed-species treatments at three coverage levels (10% of plot area (low), 30% (medium), and 50% (high)) integrated within a common mixed-litter layer under field conditions in central Alabama, USA. Results Like other plant tissues, cone/fruit dry matter, carbon, and lignin content promote fuel consumption and flame height, while nitrogen suppresses flammability. Single-species treatments produced distinct patterns in fire behavior, with longleaf pine cones consistently showing higher percent fuel consumption, flame height, and maximum smoldering temperature than sweetgum capsular heads. Mixed-species treatment results were less consistent; however, at high coverage, a representative upland three-way mixture (longleaf pine + sweetgum + post oak) showed significantly greater fuel consumption and flame height relative to a bottomland three-way mixture (loblolly pine + sweetgum + water oak) at high coverage. Medium cone/fruit coverage maximized flammability in most single and multi-species treatments and produced non-additive fuel consumption in mixtures containing longleaf pine and sweetgum. Conclusion Our results confirm that individual species’ cone and fruit flammability often parallels that of litter. Fire behavior in mixture is generally driven by the most flammable constituent species, but this result changes with cone and fruit coverage. Collectively, these results indicate that cones/fruit identity and coverage play an important role in understory flammability and should be integrated into fire behavior modeling efforts in monocultures and mixtures.

show abstract

Plant species-specific responses and community associations with fire season

Resop

Demarais

Strickland

et al. 2023

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tree encroachment impacts on seed predator selection and seedling establishment in degraded pine woodlands

Cited by 6 publications

References 64 publications

Multiple intrinsic and extrinsic drivers influence the quantity and quality components of seed dispersal effectiveness in the rare shrub Lindera subcoriacea

Multiple intrinsic and extrinsic drivers influence the quantity and quality components of seed dispersal effectiveness in the rare shrub Lindera subcoriacea

Cone and fruit impacts on understory flammability depend on traits and forest floor coverage

Plant species-specific responses and community associations with fire season

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About