TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Blondeel, H.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Caron, M. M.
A1  - Chabrerie, O.
A1  - Cougnon, M.
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - Decocq, G.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Graae, B. J.
A1  - Hanley, M. E.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, M.
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Lenoir, J.
A1  - Liira, J.
A1  - Orczewska, A.
A1  - Shevtsova, A.
A1  - Vanneste, T.
A1  - Verheyen, K.
T1  - Atmospheric nitrogen deposition on petals enhances seed quality of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa
JF  - Plant biology
N2  - Elevated atmospheric input of nitrogen (N) is currently affecting plant biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The growth and survival of numerous plant species is known to respond strongly to N fertilisation. Yet, few studies have assessed the effects of N deposition on seed quality and reproductive performance, which is an important life-history stage of plants. Here we address this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of atmospheric N deposition on seed quality of the ancient forest herb Anemone nemorosa using two complementary approaches. By taking advantage of the wide spatiotemporal variation in N deposition rates in pan-European temperate and boreal forests over 2years, we detected positive effects of N deposition on the N concentration (percentage N per unit seed mass, increased from 2.8% to 4.1%) and N content (total N mass per seed more than doubled) of A.nemorosa seeds. In a complementary experiment, we applied ammonium nitrate to aboveground plant tissues and the soil surface to determine whether dissolved N sources in precipitation could be incorporated into seeds. Although the addition of N to leaves and the soil surface had no effect, a concentrated N solution applied to petals during anthesis resulted in increased seed mass, seed N concentration and N content. Our results demonstrate that N deposition on the petals enhances bioaccumulation of N in the seeds of A.nemorosa. Enhanced atmospheric inputs of N can thus not only affect growth and population dynamics via root or canopy uptake, but can also influence seed quality and reproduction via intake through the inflorescences.
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
KW  - nitrogen deposition
KW  - nutrient stoichiometry
KW  - seed provisioning
KW  - seed quality
KW  - sexual reproduction
KW  - wood anemone
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12688
SN  - 1435-8603
SN  - 1438-8677
VL  - 20
IS  - 3
SP  - 619
EP  - 626
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Midolo, Gabriele
A1  - Blondeel, Haben
A1  - Depauw, Leen
A1  - Landuyt, Dries
A1  - Maes, Sybryn L.
A1  - De Lombaerde, Emiel
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - Vellend, Mark
A1  - Brunet, Joerg
A1  - Chudomelova, Marketa
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Dirnboeck, Thomas
A1  - Doerfler, Inken
A1  - Durak, Tomasz
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Gilliam, Frank S.
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Li, Daijiang
A1  - Malis, Frantisek
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Reczynska, Kamila
A1  - Schmidt, Wolfgang
A1  - Standovar, Tibor
A1  - Swierkosz, Krzysztof
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Vild, Ondrej
A1  - Wagner, Eva Rosa
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Global environmental change effects on plant community composition trajectories depend upon management legacies
JF  - Global change biology
N2  - The contemporary state of functional traits and species richness in plant communities depends on legacy effects of past disturbances. Whether temporal responses of community properties to current environmental changes are altered by such legacies is, however, unknown. We expect global environmental changes to interact with land-use legacies given different community trajectories initiated by prior management, and subsequent responses to altered resources and conditions. We tested this expectation for species richness and functional traits using 1814 survey-resurvey plot pairs of understorey communities from 40 European temperate forest datasets, syntheses of management transitions since the year 1800, and a trait database. We also examined how plant community indicators of resources and conditions changed in response to management legacies and environmental change. Community trajectories were clearly influenced by interactions between management legacies from over 200 years ago and environmental change. Importantly, higher rates of nitrogen deposition led to increased species richness and plant height in forests managed less intensively in 1800 (i.e., high forests), and to decreases in forests with a more intensive historical management in 1800 (i.e., coppiced forests). There was evidence that these declines in community variables in formerly coppiced forests were ameliorated by increased rates of temperature change between surveys. Responses were generally apparent regardless of sites’ contemporary management classifications, although sometimes the management transition itself, rather than historic or contemporary management types, better explained understorey responses. Main effects of environmental change were rare, although higher rates of precipitation change increased plant height, accompanied by increases in fertility indicator values. Analysis of indicator values suggested the importance of directly characterising resources and conditions to better understand legacy and environmental change effects. Accounting for legacies of past disturbance can reconcile contradictory literature results and appears crucial to anticipating future responses to global environmental change.
KW  - biodiversity change
KW  - climate change
KW  - disturbance regime
KW  - forestREplot
KW  - herbaceous layer
KW  - management intensity
KW  - nitrogen deposition
KW  - plant functional traits
KW  - time lag
KW  - vegetation resurvey
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14030
SN  - 1354-1013
SN  - 1365-2486
VL  - 24
IS  - 4
SP  - 1722
EP  - 1740
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Dengler, Jürgen
A1  - Wagner, Viktoria
A1  - Dembicz, Iwona
A1  - Garcia-Mijangos, Itziar
A1  - Naqinezhad, Alireza
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Chiarucci, Alessandro
A1  - Conradi, Timo
A1  - Filibeck, Goffredo
A1  - Guarino, Riccardo
A1  - Janisova, Monika
A1  - Steinbauer, Manuel J.
A1  - Acic, Svetlana
A1  - Acosta, Alicia T. R.
A1  - Akasaka, Munemitsu
A1  - Allers, Marc-Andre
A1  - Apostolova, Iva
A1  - Axmanova, Irena
A1  - Bakan, Branko
A1  - Baranova, Alina
A1  - Bardy-Durchhalter, Manfred
A1  - Bartha, Sandor
A1  - Baumann, Esther
A1  - Becker, Thomas
A1  - Becker, Ute
A1  - Belonovskaya, Elena
A1  - Bengtsson, Karin
A1  - Benito Alonso, Jose Luis
A1  - Berastegi, Asun
A1  - Bergamini, Ariel
A1  - Bonini, Ilaria
A1  - Bruun, Hans Henrik
A1  - Budzhak, Vasyl
A1  - Bueno, Alvaro
A1  - Antonio Campos, Juan
A1  - Cancellieri, Laura
A1  - Carboni, Marta
A1  - Chocarro, Cristina
A1  - Conti, Luisa
A1  - Czarniecka-Wiera, Marta
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Deak, Balazs
A1  - Didukh, Yakiv P.
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Dolnik, Christian
A1  - Dupre, Cecilia
A1  - Ecker, Klaus
A1  - Ermakov, Nikolai
A1  - Erschbamer, Brigitta
A1  - Escudero, Adrian
A1  - Etayo, Javier
A1  - Fajmonova, Zuzana
A1  - Felde, Vivian A.
A1  - Fernandez Calzado, Maria Rosa
A1  - Finckh, Manfred
A1  - Fotiadis, Georgios
A1  - Fracchiolla, Mariano
A1  - Ganeva, Anna
A1  - Garcia-Magro, Daniel
A1  - Gavilan, Rosario G.
A1  - Germany, Markus
A1  - Giladi, Itamar
A1  - Gillet, Francois
A1  - Giusso del Galdo, Gian Pietro
A1  - Gonzalez, Jose M.
A1  - Grytnes, John-Arvid
A1  - Hajek, Michal
A1  - Hajkova, Petra
A1  - Helm, Aveliina
A1  - Herrera, Mercedes
A1  - Hettenbergerova, Eva
A1  - Hobohm, Carsten
A1  - Huellbusch, Elisabeth M.
A1  - Ingerpuu, Nele
A1  - Jandt, Ute
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
A1  - Jensen, Kai
A1  - Jentsch, Anke
A1  - Jeschke, Michael
A1  - Jimenez-Alfaro, Borja
A1  - Kacki, Zygmunt
A1  - Kakinuma, Kaoru
A1  - Kapfer, Jutta
A1  - Kavgaci, Ali
A1  - Kelemen, Andras
A1  - Kiehl, Kathrin
A1  - Koyama, Asuka
A1  - Koyanagi, Tomoyo F.
A1  - Kozub, Lukasz
A1  - Kuzemko, Anna
A1  - Kyrkjeeide, Magni Olsen
A1  - Landi, Sara
A1  - Langer, Nancy
A1  - Lastrucci, Lorenzo
A1  - Lazzaro, Lorenzo
A1  - Lelli, Chiara
A1  - Leps, Jan
A1  - Loebel, Swantje
A1  - Luzuriaga, Arantzazu L.
A1  - Maccherini, Simona
A1  - Magnes, Martin
A1  - Malicki, Marek
A1  - Marceno, Corrado
A1  - Mardari, Constantin
A1  - Mauchamp, Leslie
A1  - May, Felix
A1  - Michelsen, Ottar
A1  - Mesa, Joaquin Molero
A1  - Molnar, Zsolt
A1  - Moysiyenko, Ivan Y.
A1  - Nakaga, Yuko K.
A1  - Natcheva, Rayna
A1  - Noroozi, Jalil
A1  - Pakeman, Robin J.
A1  - Palpurina, Salza
A1  - Partel, Meelis
A1  - Paetsch, Ricarda
A1  - Pauli, Harald
A1  - Pedashenko, Hristo
A1  - Peet, Robert K.
A1  - Pielech, Remigiusz
A1  - Pipenbaher, Natasa
A1  - Pirini, Chrisoula
A1  - Pleskova, Zuzana
A1  - Polyakova, Mariya A.
A1  - Prentice, Honor C.
A1  - Reinecke, Jennifer
A1  - Reitalu, Triin
A1  - Pilar Rodriguez-Rojo, Maria
A1  - Rolecek, Jan
A1  - Ronkin, Vladimir
A1  - Rosati, Leonardo
A1  - Rosen, Ejvind
A1  - Ruprecht, Eszter
A1  - Rusina, Solvita
A1  - Sabovljevic, Marko
A1  - Maria Sanchez, Ana
A1  - Savchenko, Galina
A1  - Schuhmacher, Oliver
A1  - Skornik, Sonja
A1  - Sperandii, Marta Gaia
A1  - Staniaszek-Kik, Monika
A1  - Stevanovic-Dajic, Zora
A1  - Stock, Marin
A1  - Suchrow, Sigrid
A1  - Sutcliffe, Laura M. E.
A1  - Swacha, Grzegorz
A1  - Sykes, Martin
A1  - Szabo, Anna
A1  - Talebi, Amir
A1  - Tanase, Catalin
A1  - Terzi, Massimo
A1  - Tolgyesi, Csaba
A1  - Torca, Marta
A1  - Torok, Peter
A1  - Tothmeresz, Bela
A1  - Tsarevskaya, Nadezda
A1  - Tsiripidis, Ioannis
A1  - Tzonev, Rossen
A1  - Ushimaru, Atushi
A1  - Valko, Orsolya
A1  - van der Maarel, Eddy
A1  - Vanneste, Thomas
A1  - Vashenyak, Iuliia
A1  - Vassilev, Kiril
A1  - Viciani, Daniele
A1  - Villar, Luis
A1  - Virtanen, Risto
A1  - Kosic, Ivana Vitasovic
A1  - Wang, Yun
A1  - Weiser, Frank
A1  - Went, Julia
A1  - Wesche, Karsten
A1  - White, Hannah
A1  - Winkler, Manuela
A1  - Zaniewski, Piotr T.
A1  - Zhang, Hui
A1  - Ziv, Yaron
A1  - Znamenskiy, Sergey
A1  - Biurrun, Idoia
T1  - GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
JF  - Phytocoenologia
N2  - GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board.
KW  - biodiversity
KW  - European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
KW  - Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG)
KW  - grassland vegetation
KW  - GrassPlot
KW  - macroecology
KW  - multi-taxon
KW  - nested plot
KW  - scale-dependence
KW  - species-area relationship (SAR)
KW  - sPlot
KW  - vegetation-plot database
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1127/phyto/2018/0267
SN  - 0340-269X
VL  - 48
IS  - 3
SP  - 331
EP  - 347
PB  - Cramer
CY  - Stuttgart
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vanneste, Thomas
A1  - Valdes, Alicia
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Perring, Michael P.
A1  - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
A1  - Andrieu, Emilie
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Deconchat, Marc
A1  - De Smedt, Pallieter
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Ehrmann, Steffen
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Paal, Taavi
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
T1  - Functional trait variation of forest understorey plant communities across Europe
JF  - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie
N2  - Global environmental changes are expected to alter the functional characteristics of understorey herb-layer communities, potentially affecting forest ecosystem functioning. However, little is known about what drives the variability of functional traits in forest understories. Here, we assessed the role of different environmental drivers in shaping the functional trait distribution of understorey herbs in fragmented forests across three spatial scales. We focused on 708 small, deciduous forest patches located in 16 agricultural landscape windows, spanning a 2500-km macroclimatic gradient across the temperate forest biome in Europe. We estimated the relative effect of patch-scale, landscape-scale and macroclimatic variables on the community mean and variation of plant height, specific leaf area and seed mass. Macroclimatic variables (monthly temperature and precipitation extremes) explained the largest proportion of variation in community trait means (on average 77% of the explained variation). In contrast, patch-scale factors dominated in explaining community trait variation (on average 68% of the explained variation). Notably, patch age, size and internal heterogeneity had a positive effect on the community-level variability. Landscape-scale variables explained only a minor part of the variation in both trait distribution properties. The variation explained by shared combinations of the variable groups was generally negligible. These findings highlight the importance of considering multiple spatial scales in predictions of environmental-change effects on the functionality of forest understories. We propose that forest management sustainability could benefit from conserving larger, historically continuous and internally heterogeneous forest patches to maximise ecosystem service diversity in rural landscapes. (C) 2018 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
KW  - Agricultural landscapes
KW  - Biogeography
KW  - Community ecology
KW  - Forest understorey
KW  - Functional trait diversity
KW  - Fragmentation
KW  - Global environmental change
KW  - Landscape connectivity
KW  - Macroclimatic gradient
KW  - Multi-scale analysis
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2018.09.004
SN  - 1439-1791
SN  - 1618-0089
VL  - 34
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - Elsevier GmbH
CY  - München
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lemke, Isgard
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
T1  - Where does the community start, and where does it end?
BT  - including the seed bank to reassess forest herb layer responses to the environment
JF  - Journal of vegetation science
N2  - QuestionBelow-ground processes are key determinants of above-ground plant population and community dynamics. Still, our understanding of how environmental drivers shape plant communities is mostly based on above-ground diversity patterns, bypassing below-ground plant diversity stored in seed banks. As seed banks may shape above-ground plant communities, we question whether concurrently analysing the above- and below-ground species assemblages may potentially enhance our understanding of community responses to environmental variation. LocationTemperate deciduous forests along a 2000km latitudinal gradient in NW Europe. MethodsHerb layer, seed bank and local environmental data including soil pH, canopy cover, forest cover continuity and time since last canopy disturbance were collected in 129 temperate deciduous forest plots. We quantified herb layer and seed bank diversity per plot and evaluated how environmental variation structured community diversity in the herb layer, seed bank and the combined herb layer-seed bank community. ResultsSeed banks consistently held more plant species than the herb layer. How local plot diversity was partitioned across the herb layer and seed bank was mediated by environmental variation in drivers serving as proxies of light availability. The herb layer and seed bank contained an ever smaller and ever larger share of local diversity, respectively, as both canopy cover and time since last canopy disturbance decreased. Species richness and -diversity of the combined herb layer-seed bank community responded distinctly differently compared to the separate assemblages in response to environmental variation in, e.g. forest cover continuity and canopy cover. ConclusionsThe seed bank is a below-ground diversity reservoir of the herbaceous forest community, which interacts with the herb layer, although constrained by environmental variation in e.g. light availability. The herb layer and seed bank co-exist as a single community by means of the so-called storage effect, resulting in distinct responses to environmental variation not necessarily recorded in the individual herb layer or seed bank assemblages. Thus, concurrently analysing above- and below-ground diversity will improve our ecological understanding of how understorey plant communities respond to environmental variation.
KW  - Above-ground
KW  - Below-ground
KW  - Canopy
KW  - Disturbance
KW  - Diversity
KW  - Light availability
KW  - NWEurope
KW  - Plant community
KW  - Species co-existence
KW  - Storage effect
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12493
SN  - 1100-9233
SN  - 1654-1103
VL  - 28
IS  - 2
SP  - 424
EP  - 435
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Plue, Jan
A1  - Selvi, Federico
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Divergent regeneration responses of two closely related tree species to direct abiotic and indirect biotic effects of climate change
JF  - Forest ecology and management
N2  - Changing temperature and precipitation can strongly influence plant reproduction. However, also biotic interactions might indirectly affect the reproduction and recruitment success of plants in the context of climate change. Information about the interactive effects of changes in abiotic and biotic factors is essential, but still largely lacking, to better understand the potential effects of a changing climate on plant populations. Here we analyze the regeneration from seeds of Acer platanoides and Acer pseudoplatanus, two currently secondary forest tree species from seven regions along a 2200 km-wide latitudinal gradient in Europe. We assessed the germination, seedling survival and growth during two years in a common garden experiment where temperature, precipitation and competition with the understory vegetation were manipulated. A. platanoides was more sensitive to changes in biotic conditions while A. pseudoplatanus was affected by both abiotic and biotic changes. In general, competition reduced (in A. platanoides) and warming enhanced (in A. pseudoplatanus) germination and survival, respectively. Reduced competition strongly increased the growth of A. platanoides seedlings. Seedling responses were independent of the conditions experienced by the mother tree during seed production and maturation. Our results indicate that, due to the negative effects of competition on the regeneration of A. platanoides, it is likely that under stronger competition (projected under future climatic conditions) this species will be negatively affected in terms of germination, survival and seedling biomass. Climate-change experiments including both abiotic and biotic factors constitute a key step forward to better understand the response of tree species' regeneration to climate change. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - Acer
KW  - Regeneration
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
KW  - Temperature
KW  - Precipitation
KW  - Competition
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.01.003
SN  - 0378-1127
SN  - 1872-7042
VL  - 342
SP  - 21
EP  - 29
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Craven, Dylan
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Lenoir, Jonathan
A1  - Bert, Didier
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chudomelova, Marketa
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Dirnboeck, Thomas
A1  - Dörfler, Inken
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan
A1  - Keczynski, Andrzej
A1  - Kelly, Daniel L.
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Kopecky, Martin
A1  - Macek, Martin
A1  - Malis, Frantisek
A1  - Mirtl, Michael
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Peterken, George
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Schmidt, Wolfgang
A1  - Standovar, Tibor
A1  - Toth, Zoltan
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Verstraeten, Gorik
A1  - Vladovic, Jozef
A1  - Vild, Ondrej
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Drivers of temporal changes in temperate forest plant diversity vary across spatial scales
JF  - Global change biology
N2  - Global biodiversity is affected by numerous environmental drivers. Yet, the extent to which global environmental changes contribute to changes in local diversity is poorly understood. We investigated biodiversity changes in a meta-analysis of 39 resurvey studies in European temperate forests (3988 vegetation records in total, 17-75years between the two surveys) by assessing the importance of (i) coarse-resolution (i.e., among sites) vs. fine-resolution (i.e., within sites) environmental differences and (ii) changing environmental conditions between surveys. Our results clarify the mechanisms underlying the direction and magnitude of local-scale biodiversity changes. While not detecting any net local diversity loss, we observed considerable among-site variation, partly explained by temporal changes in light availability (a local driver) and density of large herbivores (a regional driver). Furthermore, strong evidence was found that presurvey levels of nitrogen deposition determined subsequent diversity changes. We conclude that models forecasting future biodiversity changes should consider coarse-resolution environmental changes, account for differences in baseline environmental conditions and for local changes in fine-resolution environmental conditions.
KW  - atmospheric nitrogen deposition
KW  - evenness
KW  - forestREplot
KW  - forest management
KW  - game browsing
KW  - Shannon diversity
KW  - spatiotemporal resurvey data
KW  - species richness
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12993
SN  - 1354-1013
SN  - 1365-2486
VL  - 21
IS  - 10
SP  - 3726
EP  - 3737
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lemke, Isgard H.
A1  - Kolb, Annette
A1  - Graae, Bente J.
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Acharya, Kamal P.
A1  - Blandino, Cristina
A1  - Brunet, Jorg
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, Sara A. O.
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Liira, Jaan
A1  - Schmucki, Reto
A1  - Shevtsova, Anna
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Diekmann, Martin
T1  - Patterns of phenotypic trait variation in two temperate forest herbs along a broad climatic gradient
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Phenotypic trait variation plays a major role in the response of plants to global environmental change, particularly in species with low migration capabilities and recruitment success. However, little is known about the variation of functional traits within populations and about differences in this variation on larger spatial scales. In a first approach, we therefore related trait expression to climate and local environmental conditions, studying two temperate forest herbs, Milium effusum and Stachys sylvatica, along a similar to 1800-2500 km latitudinal gradient. Within each of 9-10 regions in six European countries, we collected data from six populations of each species and recorded several variables in each region (temperature, precipitation) and population (light availability, soil parameters). For each plant, we measured height, leaf area, specific leaf area, seed mass and the number of seeds and examined environmental effects on within-population trait variation as well as on trait means. Most importantly, trait variation differed both between and within populations. Species, however, differed in their response. Intrapopulation variation in Milium was consistently positively affected by higher mean temperatures and precipitation as well as by more fertile local soil conditions, suggesting that more productive conditions may select for larger phenotypic variation. In Stachys, particularly light availability positively influenced trait variation, whereas local soil conditions had no consistent effects. Generally, our study emphasises that intra-population variation may differ considerably across larger scales-due to phenotypic plasticity and/or underlying genetic diversity-possibly affecting species response to global environmental change.
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Global environmental change
KW  - Milium effusum
KW  - Phenotypic plasticity
KW  - Intraspecific variation
KW  - Stachys sylvatica
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0534-0
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 216
IS  - 11
SP  - 1523
EP  - 1536
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - De Backer, L.
A1  - Decocq, G.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Naaf, T.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Selvi, Federico
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Interacting effects of warming and drought on regeneration and early growth of Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides
JF  - Plant biology
N2  - Climate change is acting on several aspects of plant life cycles, including the sexual reproductive stage, which is considered amongst the most sensitive life-cycle phases. In temperate forests, it is expected that climate change will lead to a compositional change in community structure due to changes in the dominance of currently more abundant forest tree species. Increasing our understanding of the effects of climate change on currently secondary tree species recruitment is therefore important to better understand and forecast population and community dynamics in forests. Here, we analyse the interactive effects of rising temperatures and soil moisture reduction on germination, seedling survival and early growth of two important secondary European tree species, Acer pseudoplatanus and A.platanoides. Additionally, we analyse the effect of the temperature experienced by the mother tree during seed production by collecting seeds of both species along a 2200-km long latitudinal gradient. For most of the responses, A.platanoides showed higher sensitivity to the treatments applied, and especially to its joint manipulation, which for some variables resulted in additive effects while for others only partial compensation. In both species, germination and survival decreased with rising temperatures and/or soil moisture reduction while early growth decreased with declining soil moisture content. We conclude that although A.platanoides germination and survival were more affected after the applied treatments, its initial higher germination and larger seedlings might allow this species to be relatively more successful than A.pseudoplatanus in the face of climate change.
KW  - Acer platanoides
KW  - Acer pseudoplatanus
KW  - climate change
KW  - drought
KW  - reproduction
KW  - seed
KW  - temperature
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12177
SN  - 1435-8603
SN  - 1438-8677
VL  - 17
IS  - 1
SP  - 52
EP  - 62
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Warton, David I.
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Verstraeten, Gorik
A1  - Bonte, Dries
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Cornelis, Johnny
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Walther, Gian-Reto
A1  - Wulf, Monica
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - A model-based approach to studying changes in compositional heterogeneity
JF  - Methods in ecology and evolution : an official journal of the British Ecological Society
Y1  - 2014
SN  - 2041-210X
SN  - 2041-2096
VL  - 5
IS  - 2
SP  - 156
EP  - 164
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -