Abstract
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 176-186 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Forest Ecology and Management |
Volume | 259 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
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Explaining conifer dominance in Afrotemperate forests : Shade tolerance favours Podocarpus latifolius over angiosperm species. / ADIE, H; Lawes, Michael.
In: Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 259, No. 2, 2009, p. 176-186.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Explaining conifer dominance in Afrotemperate forests
T2 - Shade tolerance favours Podocarpus latifolius over angiosperm species
AU - ADIE, H
AU - Lawes, Michael
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - We contrasted the regeneration success of angiosperm canopy species with that of Podocarpus latifolius to test whether this conifer was sufficiently shade tolerant to be favoured on infrequently disturbed and well-shaded sites. Seedling and sapling population structures were measured in several habitats representing a light gradient in warm temperate forest in the Drakenberg mountains of South Africa. The angiosperm-dominated forest was well-shaded (?5.5% PAR) and lacked ground vegetation. Seedlings of angiosperm canopy species were abundant but the absence of saplings indicated regeneration failure. In contrast, P. latifolius was represented by all size classes beneath the intact canopy indicating continuous regeneration in angiosperm-dominated forest. Angiosperm regeneration was similarly poor in forest gaps, which were dominated by grasses, ferns and vines. P. latifolius entered the advanced regeneration in gaps by establishing in shade before gap formation. The floor of the Podocarpus-dominated forest was less shaded (?7.5% PAR) than angiosperm-dominated forest and dominated by grass, which suppressed most conifer regeneration. Gaps in Podocarpus forest were more than double the size of gaps in angiosperm forest and dominated by vines and understorey shrubs. There was no clear winner of the angiosperm-conifer contest in Podocarpus forest gaps. Consequently, gaps maintain limited angiosperm diversity in Podocarpus forest. Angiosperm canopy species regenerated continuously in the high light (?11.5% PAR) thicket environment. Few seedlings of P. latifolius were recorded in the thicket environment. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that shaded and infrequently disturbed forest sites favour shade-tolerant conifers over relatively light-demanding angiosperm species. The outcome of the competitive interaction between angiosperm and conifer at the regeneration phase depends on the relative shade-tolerance of associated species. Crown Copyright � 2009.
AB - We contrasted the regeneration success of angiosperm canopy species with that of Podocarpus latifolius to test whether this conifer was sufficiently shade tolerant to be favoured on infrequently disturbed and well-shaded sites. Seedling and sapling population structures were measured in several habitats representing a light gradient in warm temperate forest in the Drakenberg mountains of South Africa. The angiosperm-dominated forest was well-shaded (?5.5% PAR) and lacked ground vegetation. Seedlings of angiosperm canopy species were abundant but the absence of saplings indicated regeneration failure. In contrast, P. latifolius was represented by all size classes beneath the intact canopy indicating continuous regeneration in angiosperm-dominated forest. Angiosperm regeneration was similarly poor in forest gaps, which were dominated by grasses, ferns and vines. P. latifolius entered the advanced regeneration in gaps by establishing in shade before gap formation. The floor of the Podocarpus-dominated forest was less shaded (?7.5% PAR) than angiosperm-dominated forest and dominated by grass, which suppressed most conifer regeneration. Gaps in Podocarpus forest were more than double the size of gaps in angiosperm forest and dominated by vines and understorey shrubs. There was no clear winner of the angiosperm-conifer contest in Podocarpus forest gaps. Consequently, gaps maintain limited angiosperm diversity in Podocarpus forest. Angiosperm canopy species regenerated continuously in the high light (?11.5% PAR) thicket environment. Few seedlings of P. latifolius were recorded in the thicket environment. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that shaded and infrequently disturbed forest sites favour shade-tolerant conifers over relatively light-demanding angiosperm species. The outcome of the competitive interaction between angiosperm and conifer at the regeneration phase depends on the relative shade-tolerance of associated species. Crown Copyright � 2009.
KW - Advanced regeneration
KW - Angiosperm species
KW - Canopy species
KW - Competitive interactions
KW - Forest gaps
KW - Forest sites
KW - Gap formation
KW - Ground vegetation
KW - Light gradients
KW - Podocarpus
KW - Population structures
KW - Regeneration failure
KW - Shade tolerance
KW - Size class
KW - South Africa
KW - Temperate forests
KW - Understorey
KW - Light transmission
KW - Transparency
KW - Reforestation
KW - angiosperm
KW - competition (ecology)
KW - coniferous forest
KW - dominance
KW - forest canopy
KW - gap dynamics
KW - habitat structure
KW - light effect
KW - regeneration
KW - shade tolerance
KW - species diversity
KW - Forestry
KW - Softwoods
KW - Transmittance
KW - Transparence
KW - Coniferophyta
KW - Filicophyta
KW - Magnoliophyta
KW - Poaceae
KW - Podocarpus latifolius
M3 - Article
VL - 259
SP - 176
EP - 186
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
SN - 0378-1127
IS - 2
ER -