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Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites

Continuity in forest habitats is crucial for species diversity and richness. Ancient Scots pine forests are usually under forest management, which disturbs vegetation and causes differentiation in terms of tree stand age. To date, vegetation variability in ancient Scots pine forests has not been exa...

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Autores principales: Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa, Staniaszek-Kik, Monika, Szczepańska, Katarzyna, Szymura, Tomasz H.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6622550/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31295314
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219620
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author Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa
Staniaszek-Kik, Monika
Szczepańska, Katarzyna
Szymura, Tomasz H.
author_facet Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa
Staniaszek-Kik, Monika
Szczepańska, Katarzyna
Szymura, Tomasz H.
author_sort Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa
collection PubMed
description Continuity in forest habitats is crucial for species diversity and richness. Ancient Scots pine forests are usually under forest management, which disturbs vegetation and causes differentiation in terms of tree stand age. To date, vegetation variability in ancient Scots pine forests has not been examined based on tree stand age classes. In the present study the continuity of a large Scots pine forest complex was investigated, and a system of sampling plots established in five tree stand age classes: initiation stands (4–10 years), young stands (20–35 years), middle-aged stands (45–60 years), pre-mature stands (70–85 years) and mature stands (95–110 years). Species composition, including vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, on soil, tree trunks, and coarse woody debris, was analyzed. Based on existing classifications systems, forest species and ancient forest species groups were distinguished. In the studied ancient Scots pine forests the species pool and richness were relatively low, and the vegetation consisted mostly of generalist species. Cryptogams, which can grow on diverse substrates, were the most abundant species. Moreover, most species could tolerate both forest and non-forest conditions. Age class forests provided different environmental niches for species. Initiation stands were optimal for terrestrial light-demanding species, and in terms of species composition, initiation stands were most specific. Young stands were most preferred by species on coarse woody debris, and at this stage of stand maturation epiphytic species re-appeared. The oldest stands were not rich in forest specialists, i.e. species of closed forest and ancient forest species. Cryptogams of closed forests inhabited different substrates, and they were not associated only with the oldest stands. The low number of forest specialists in the oldest stands may be a general feature of acidophilus pine forests. However, it may also be a result of the lack of species sources in the vicinity of maturing pine stands. In managed forests a frequent diversity pattern is an increase in a species pool and richness after clear-cut logging. In the present study we obtained higher species pools in initiation and young stands, but richness was similar in all tree stand age classes. This resulted from taking into account species of different substrates (terrestrial, epixylous and epiphytic species) which changed their participation in the vegetation of subsequent stages of tree stand development.
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spelling pubmed-66225502019-07-25 Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa Staniaszek-Kik, Monika Szczepańska, Katarzyna Szymura, Tomasz H. PLoS One Research Article Continuity in forest habitats is crucial for species diversity and richness. Ancient Scots pine forests are usually under forest management, which disturbs vegetation and causes differentiation in terms of tree stand age. To date, vegetation variability in ancient Scots pine forests has not been examined based on tree stand age classes. In the present study the continuity of a large Scots pine forest complex was investigated, and a system of sampling plots established in five tree stand age classes: initiation stands (4–10 years), young stands (20–35 years), middle-aged stands (45–60 years), pre-mature stands (70–85 years) and mature stands (95–110 years). Species composition, including vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, on soil, tree trunks, and coarse woody debris, was analyzed. Based on existing classifications systems, forest species and ancient forest species groups were distinguished. In the studied ancient Scots pine forests the species pool and richness were relatively low, and the vegetation consisted mostly of generalist species. Cryptogams, which can grow on diverse substrates, were the most abundant species. Moreover, most species could tolerate both forest and non-forest conditions. Age class forests provided different environmental niches for species. Initiation stands were optimal for terrestrial light-demanding species, and in terms of species composition, initiation stands were most specific. Young stands were most preferred by species on coarse woody debris, and at this stage of stand maturation epiphytic species re-appeared. The oldest stands were not rich in forest specialists, i.e. species of closed forest and ancient forest species. Cryptogams of closed forests inhabited different substrates, and they were not associated only with the oldest stands. The low number of forest specialists in the oldest stands may be a general feature of acidophilus pine forests. However, it may also be a result of the lack of species sources in the vicinity of maturing pine stands. In managed forests a frequent diversity pattern is an increase in a species pool and richness after clear-cut logging. In the present study we obtained higher species pools in initiation and young stands, but richness was similar in all tree stand age classes. This resulted from taking into account species of different substrates (terrestrial, epixylous and epiphytic species) which changed their participation in the vegetation of subsequent stages of tree stand development. Public Library of Science 2019-07-11 /pmc/articles/PMC6622550/ /pubmed/31295314 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219620 Text en © 2019 Stefańska-Krzaczek et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Stefańska-Krzaczek, Ewa
Staniaszek-Kik, Monika
Szczepańska, Katarzyna
Szymura, Tomasz H.
Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title_full Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title_fullStr Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title_full_unstemmed Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title_short Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
title_sort species diversity patterns in managed scots pine stands in ancient forest sites
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6622550/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31295314
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219620
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