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  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, P.
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, F.
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, M.
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Impacts of warming and changes in precipitation frequency on the regeneration of two Acer species
JF  - Flora : morphology, distribution, functional ecology of plants
KW  - Seed provenance
KW  - Germination
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Interactive effects
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2015.05.005
SN  - 0367-2530
SN  - 1618-0585
VL  - 214
SP  - 24
EP  - 33
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
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  - Caron, Maria Mercedes
A1  - De Frenne, P.
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Chabrerie, Olivier
A1  - Cousins, S. A. O.
A1  - De Backer, L.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Graae, B. J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Kolb, A.
A1  - Naaf, T.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Selvi, F.
A1  - Strimbeck, G. R.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Latitudinal variation in seeds characteristics of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus
JF  - Plant ecology : an international journal
N2  - Climate change will likely affect population dynamics of numerous plant species by modifying several aspects of the life cycle. Because plant regeneration from seeds may be particularly vulnerable, here we assess the possible effects of climate change on seed characteristics and present an integrated analysis of seven seed traits (nutrient concentrations, samara mass, seed mass, wing length, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass) of Acer platanoides and A. pseudoplatanus seeds collected along a wide latitudinal gradient from Italy to Norway. Seed traits were analyzed in relation to the environmental conditions experienced by the mother trees along the latitudinal gradient. We found that seed traits of A. platanoides were more influenced by the climatic conditions than those of A. pseudoplatanus. Additionally, seed viability, germination percentage, and seedling biomass of A. platanoides were strongly related to the seed mass and nutrient concentration. While A. platanoides seeds were more influenced by the environmental conditions (generally negatively affected by rising temperatures), compared to A. pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides still showed higher germination percentage and seedling biomass than A. pseudoplatanus. Thus, further research on subsequent life-history stages of both species is needed. The variation in seed quality observed along the climatic gradient highlights the importance of studying the possible impact of climate change on seed production and species demography.
KW  - Acer platanoides
KW  - Acer pseudoplatanus
KW  - Climate change
KW  - Seed traits
KW  - Latitudinal gradient
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0343-x
SN  - 1385-0237
SN  - 1573-5052
VL  - 215
IS  - 8
SP  - 911
EP  - 925
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Reinecke, J.
A1  - Wulf, M.
A1  - Baeten, Lander
A1  - Brunet, J.
A1  - Decocq, G.
A1  - De Frenne, G.
A1  - Diekmann, M.
A1  - Graae, B. J.
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, M.
A1  - Jamoneau, A.
A1  - Lenoir, J.
A1  - Plue, J.
A1  - Orczewska, A.
A1  - Van Calster, H.
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
A1  - Naaf, T.
T1  - Acido- and neutrophilic temperate forest plants display distinct shifts in ecological pH niche across north-western Europe
JF  - Ecography : pattern and diversity in ecology ; research papers forum
N2  - Ecological niches of organisms vary across geographical space, but niche shift patterns between regions and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. We studied shifts in the pH niche of 42 temperate forest plant species across a latitudinal gradient from northern France to boreo-nemoral Sweden. We asked 1) whether species restrict their niches with increasing latitude as they reach their northern range margin (environmental constraints); 2) whether species expand their niches with increasing latitude as regional plant species richness decreases (competitive release); and 3) whether species shift their niche position toward more acidic sites with increasing latitude as the relative proportion of acidic soils increases (local adaptation). Based on 1458 vegetation plots and corresponding soil pH values, we modelled species response curves using Huisman-Olff-Fresco models. Four niche measures (width, position, left and right border) were compared among regions by randomization tests. We found that with increasing latitude, neutrophilic species tended to retreat from acidic sites, indicating that these species retreat to more favorable sites when approaching their range margin. Alternatively, these species might benefit from enhanced nitrogen deposition on formerly nutrient-poor, acidic sites in southern regions or lag behind in post-glacial recolonization of potential habitats in northern regions. Most acidophilic species extended their niche toward more base-rich sites with increasing latitude, indicating competitive release from neutrophilic species. Alternatively, acidophilic species might benefit from optimal climatic conditions in the north where some have their core distribution area. Shifts in the niche position suggested that local adaptation is of minor importance. We conclude that shifts in the pH niche of temperate forest plants are the rule, but the directions of the niche shifts and possible explanations vary. Our study demonstrates that differentiating between acidophilic and neutrophilic species is crucial to identify general patterns and underlying mechanisms.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02051
SN  - 0906-7590
SN  - 1600-0587
VL  - 39
SP  - 1164
EP  - 1175
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
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  - 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  - De Frenne, Pieter
A1  - Rodriguez-Sanchez, Francisco
A1  - Coomes, David Anthony
A1  - Bäten, Lander
A1  - Versträten, Gorik
A1  - Vellend, Mark
A1  - Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus
A1  - Brown, Carissa D.
A1  - Brunet, Jörg
A1  - Cornelis, Johnny
A1  - Decocq, Guillaume M.
A1  - Dierschke, Hartmut
A1  - Eriksson, Ove
A1  - Gilliam, Frank S.
A1  - Hedl, Radim
A1  - Heinken, Thilo
A1  - Hermy, Martin
A1  - Hommel, Patrick
A1  - Jenkins, Michael A.
A1  - Kelly, Daniel L.
A1  - Kirby, Keith J.
A1  - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
A1  - Naaf, Tobias
A1  - Newman, Miles
A1  - Peterken, George
A1  - Petrik, Petr
A1  - Schultz, Jan
A1  - Sonnier, Gregory
A1  - Van Calster, Hans
A1  - Waller, Donald M.
A1  - Walther, Gian-Reto
A1  - White, Peter S.
A1  - Woods, Kerry D.
A1  - Wulf, Monika
A1  - Graae, Bente Jessen
A1  - Verheyen, Kris
T1  - Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming
JF  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
N2  - Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., "thermophilization" of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that "climatic lags" may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we document significant thermophilization of ground-layer plant communities. These changes reflect concurrent declines in species adapted to cooler conditions and increases in species adapted to warmer conditions. However, thermophilization, particularly the increase of warm-adapted species, is attenuated in forests whose canopies have become denser, probably reflecting cooler growing-season ground temperatures via increased shading. As standing stocks of trees have increased in many temperate forests in recent decades, local microclimatic effects may commonly be moderating the impacts of macroclimate warming on forest understories. Conversely, increases in harvesting woody biomass-e.g., for bioenergy-may open forest canopies and accelerate thermophilization of temperate forest biodiversity.
KW  - climate change
KW  - forest management
KW  - understory
KW  - climatic debt
KW  - range shifts
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1311190110
SN  - 0027-8424
VL  - 110
IS  - 46
SP  - 18561
EP  - 18565
PB  - National Acad. of Sciences
CY  - Washington
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  -