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555 results for “Woody”

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dryad36/100

Coarse woody debris accelerates the decomposition of deadwood inputs across temperate forest

Wood decomposition is regulated by multiple controls, including climate and wood traits, that vary at local to regional scales. Yet decomposition rates differ dramatically when these controls do not. Fungal community dynamics are often invoked to explain these differences, suggesting that knowledge of ecosystem properties that influence fungal communities will improve understanding and projection of wood decomposition. We hypothesize that deadwood inputs decompose faster in forests with higher stocks of downed coarse woody material (CWM) because CWM is a resource from which lignocellulolytic fungi rapidly colonize new inputs. To test this hypothesis, we measure decomposition of 1,116 pieces of fine woody material (FWM) of five species, incubated for 13 to 49 months at five locations spanning 10°-latitude in eastern U.S. forest. We place FWM pieces near and far from CWM across observational transects and experimental common gardens. Soil temperature positively affects location-level mean decomposition rates, but these among-location differences are smaller than within-location variation in decomposition. Some of this variability is caused by CWM, where FWM pieces next to CWM decompose more rapidly. These effects are greater with time of incubation and lower initial wood density of FWM. The effect size of CWM is of the same relative magnitude as for the known controls of temperature, deadwood density and diameter. Abundance data for CWM is available for many forests and hence may be an ecosystem variable amenable for inclusion in decomposition models. Our findings suggest that conservation efforts to rebuild depleted CWM stocks in temperate forests may accelerate decomposition of fresh deadwood inputs.

opencc-zeroMay 2023View details →

zenodo36/100

Leaf traits of understory woody species in the Congo Basin forests changed over a 60 years period

Data collected in Yangambambi (DR Congo) and used to prepare the article accepted for publication in the journal Plant Ecology and Evolution.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Different effects of fire age and fire recurrence on grass and woody plant chemistry in Kafue National Park, Zambia

In savannas, fire and herbivores are important drivers of natural ecosystem processes. Fire is also used intensively for management purposes. However, reported fire effects differ between studies. Reasons for these differences are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of fire on leaf chemistry of grasses and woody plants in the savanna of the Busanga Flood Plain, Zambia, in relation to the time elapsed between plant sampling and the last fire (fire age) and the frequency of fires during the last 16 years (fire recurrence). We analyzed leaves for their nitrogen, carbon and fiber concentrations, and estimated their metabolizable energy content, reflecting feed quality for browsers and grazers. Grasses and woody plants differed in all chemical components and showed different responses to fire. Grass quality was higher at sites burnt in the year of sample collection than at sites burnt only in previous years, but did not change under different fire recurrences. Leaves of woody plants did not differ in relation to fire age but their quality increased with increasing fire recurrence. In woody plants, the carbon content responded to the interaction between fire age and fire recurrence, indicating changes in carbon allocation in response to fire. Thus, burning increased feed quality for grazers and browsers but on different temporal scales. The scale effects may contribute to the differences in resource allocation described by different studies. They merit more attention in management decisions as well as in future studies on fire effects in savanna systems.

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Positioning absorptive root respiration in the root economics space across woody and herbaceous species

Root respiration is essential for nutrient acquisition. The respiration rate of absorptive roots theoretically relates to the economics of carbon-nutrient exchange, but its empirical role remains largely unexplored in the trait space defining nutrient uptake strategies. Here, we measured the respiration rates of the distal, non-woody, absorptive roots of 252 woody and herbaceous species from subtropical and temperate climate zones, including both arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungal hosts. We found a consistent and positive correlation between root respiration rate and specific root length (root length per dry weight), irrespective of growth form, mycorrhizal type, and climate zone. Root respiration rate was also positively, but less strongly and less frequently correlated with root nitrogen concentration. Root morphology strongly explained the fast-slow gradient of root respiration in the root economics space. By quantifying the ratio of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal DNA copy number and root tissue DNA copy number using qPCR, we found that the morphology-driven gradient did not explain the full variation in fungal collaboration; thick roots were consistently well colonized, but medium and thin roots displayed a wide range of colonization intensity. Synthesis: These results advance our understanding of the fundamental trait relationships that underpin the root economics space. Our study also provides a physiological linkage to the frequently-measured root morphological traits and relates the root economics space to root-derived carbon-nutrient cycling processes.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Elevational range sizes of woody plants increase with climate variability in the Tropical Andes

Aim: The climate variability hypothesis proposes that species subjected to wide variation in climatic conditions will evolve wider niches, resulting in larger distributions. We test this hypothesis in tropical plants across a broad elevational gradient; specifically, we use a species-level approach to evaluate whether elevational range sizes are explained by the levels of thermal variability experienced by species. Location: Central Andes Time period: Present day Taxon: Woody plants Methods: Combining data from 479 forest plots, we determined the elevational distributions of nearly 2300 species along an elevational gradient (~209 – 3800 m). For each species, we calculated the maximum annual variation in temperature experienced across its elevational distribution. We used phylogenetic generalized least square models to evaluate the effect of thermal variability on range size. Our models included additional covariates that might affect range size: body size, local abundance, mean temperature and total precipitation. We also considered interactions between thermal variability and mean temperature or precipitation. To account for geometric constraints, we repeated our analyses with a standardized measure of range size, calculated by comparing observed range sizes with values obtained from a null model. Results: Our results supported the main prediction of the climate variability hypothesis. Thermal variability had a strong positive effect on the range size, with species exposed to higher thermal variability having broader elevational distributions. Body size and local abundance also had positive, yet weak effects, on elevational range size. Furthermore, there was a strong positive interaction between thermal variability and mean annual temperature. Main conclusions: Thermal variability had an overriding importance in driving elevational range sizes of woody plants in the Central Andes. Moreover, the relationship between thermal variability and range size might be even stronger in warmer regions, underlining the potential vulnerability of tropical montane floras to the effects of global warming.

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

dryad36/100