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15 results for “Alternative stable states”
The role of shade in maintaining alternative stable states between open- and closed-canopy vegetation
<p>Fire is commonly identified as strong driver of alternative stable states such as adjacent open- versus closed-canopy vegetation types. The absence of open-canopy species from closed-canopy understoreys, where light availability is low and dynamic, however, suggests shade tolerance is an integral determinant of such vegetation boundaries. While the importance of light dynamics between alternative stable states has been acknowledged, the physiological mechanisms behind sun versus shade-tolerance are unclear. Here we investigated the differences in light interception and carbon assimilation of open- and closed-canopy species, and whether this contributes to the maintenance of alternative stable states.</p> <p>Evergreen forest and fynbos species were grown under three light availability treatments (24%, 54%, 100%) in a glasshouse with their photosynthetic response to continuous and fluctuating light, dark respiration, root respiration, biomass and leaf traits quantified.<br> <br> Fynbos species displayed smaller, thicker, and tightly aggregated leaves compared to forest species. Under low light, fynbos species experienced some mortality, and showed lower light-use efficiency with fluctuating light and lower in situ photosynthetic rates under the 54% light treatment compared to forest species (0.8 versus 4 mmol CO2 m-2 s-1).<br> <br> Synthesis. Contrasting light availability in forest and fynbos selects for dissimilar traits, where fynbos species are unable to efficiently intercept light and maintain a positive carbon balance under low, dynamic light compared to forest species. This shade intolerance is exacerbated by divergent nutrient and fire regimes in forest and fynbos environments, requiring incompatible trait specializations that promote the emergence and maintenance of alternative stable states.</p>
The role of shade in maintaining alternative stable states between open- and closed-canopy vegetation
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Data from: Are forest‐shrubland mosaics of the Cape Floristic Region an example of alternate stable states?
The idea of alternate stable states (ASS) has been used to explain the juxtaposition of distinct vegetation types within the same climate regime. ASS may explain the co‐existence of relatively inflammable closed‐canopy Afrotemperate Forest patches ("Forest") within fire‐prone open‐canopy Fynbos in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) on sandstone‐derived soils. We evaluated the hypothesis that although fire and local topography and hydrology likely determined the paleogeographic boundaries of Forest, present‐day boundaries are additionally imposed by emergent edaphic properties and disturbance histories. We studied vegetation and edaphic properties of Forest‐Transition‐Fynbos vegetation at two sites within the CFR on sandstone‐derived soils and tracked historical change using aerial photography. Whereas Forest and Fynbos have changed little in extent or density since 1945, Transition vegetation increased into areas formerly occupied by Fynbos. Forest soils were ubiquitously more nutrient‐rich than Fynbos soils, with Transition soils being intermediate. These edaphic differences are not due to geological differences, but instead appear to have emerged as a consequence of different nutrient cycling within the different ecosystems. Soil nutrients are now so different that a switch from Fynbos to Forest is unlikely, in the short term (i.e. decades). Floristically and nutritionally, Transitional vegetation is more similar to Fynbos than Forest and may be less resilient to changes in exogenous drivers (e.g., fire). Our findings are consistent with the idea that geologically Forest and Fynbos are largely fire‐derived long‐term ASS, with the stability of each state reinforced by marked soil nutrient differences. In contrast, the intermediate Transitional vegetation that might switch states is unlikely to be stable.
Fire refugia facilitate forest and savanna co‐existence as alternative stable states
<p>Aim: Does complex topography facilitate the establishment and persistence of fire‐ sensitive (forest) vegetation in a fire‐prone landscape? We test the prediction that fire‐sensitive vegetation will establish and persist in areas where the fire return interval is lower due to a topographic hindrance on fire spread. Location: Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.</p> <p>Methods: Using aerial photographs from six time periods between 1937 and 2013, we mapped vegetation changes in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park (HiP). Using a general‐ ized additive model (GAM), we built a habitat suitability index (HSI) map for forest vegetation based on topographic variables related to fire behaviour and the vegeta‐ tion distribution maps from each time period. We investigated transitions between vegetation types between time periods based on the HSI map, as well as the effects of neighbourhood vegetation on transition probabilities.</p> <p>Results: Forest cover has increased overall from 1937 to 2013, however, this has not been a linear increase with a peak in extent in the early 1990s. The HSI, using topo‐ graphic predictors associated with fire behaviour, correlates with areas of expansion and contraction of forest vegetation. The patterns of expansion and contraction are, however, more nuanced, with the in situ vegetation neighbourhood playing a large role.</p> <p>Main Conclusions: Forest distributions in HiP have not remained static over time and have expanded into areas that were once savannas. This is a dynamic system where both forest and savanna boundaries can change considerably. Fire refugia are impor‐ tant for the long‐term persistence of forests in fire‐prone landscapes.</p>
Data from: Deadly competition and life-saving predation: the potential for alternative stable states in a stage-structured predator–prey system
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Data from: Are forest‐shrubland mosaics of the Cape Floristic Region an example of alternate stable states?
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Fire refugia facilitate forest and savanna co‐existence as alternative stable states
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Data from: Mechanisms of resilience: empirically quantified positive feedbacks produce alternate stable states dynamics in a model of a tropical reef
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Data from: Cannibalism and intraguild predation community dynamics: coexistence, competitive exclusion and the loss of alternative stable states
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Data from: Applied use of alternate stable state modeling in restoration ecology
<p>The concept of alternate stable states is important in ecological theory and models, but the application and implementation of these models have the potential to make significant future advances in the field of patterned landscapes. The bi-stable, ridge and slough landscape is a central feature of Everglades restoration and provides an important opportunity to test stable state theory with multistate transition models. We used these models to estimate environmental parameters associated with state changes (water depths, edaphic factors, etc.) to develop a quantitative method to measure resilience and stability. The multistate model indicates that long-term, local hydrology (15-year mean maximums and 15-year mean amplitude) and edaphic factors control the local scale shifts between ridge and slough states. We show that multistate models can provide hydrologic envelopes for managers, produce a tool to help assess future water management scenarios, and address issues of sustainability, resilience, and restoration for any bi-stable system.</p>
Resilience and alternative stable states after desert wildfires
<p>Improving models of community change is a fundamental goal in ecology and has renewed importance during global change and increasing human disturbance of the biosphere. Using the Mojave Desert (southwestern USA) as a model system, invaded by non-native plants and subject to wildfire disturbances, we examined models of resilience, alternative stable states, and convergent-divergent trajectories for 36 years of plant community change after 31 wildfires in communities dominated by the native shrubs <i>Larrea</i> <i>tridentata </i>or <i>Coleogyne</i> <i>ramosissima</i>. Perennial species richness on average was fully resilient within 23 years after disturbance in both community types. Perennial cover was fully resilient within 25 years in the <i>Larrea</i> community, but recovery was projected to require 52 years in the <i>Coleogyne</i> community. Species composition shifts were persistent, and in the <i>Coleogyne</i> community, the projected compositional recovery time of 550 years and increasing resembled a deflected trajectory toward potential alternative states. Disturbed sites contained a perennial species composition of predominately short-statured forbs, subshrubs, and grasses, contrasting with the larger-statured shrub and tree structure of undisturbed sites. Auxiliary datasets characterizing species recruitment, annual plants including non-native grasses, biocrust communities, and soils showed persistent differences between disturbed and undisturbed sites consistent with positive feedbacks potentially contributing to alternative stable states. Resprouting produced limited resilience for the large shrubs <i>Larrea tridentata</i> and <i>Yucca</i> spp. important to population persistence, but did not forestall long-term reduced abundance of the species. The non-native annual grass <i>Bromus rubens</i> increased on disturbed sites over time, suggesting persistently abundant non-native plant fuels and reburn potential. Biocrust cover on disturbed sites was half and species richness a third of amounts on undisturbed sites. Soil nitrogen was 30% greater on disturbed sites and no significant trend was evident for it to decline on even the oldest burns. Disturbed desert plant communities simultaneously supported all three models of resilience, alternative stable states, and convergent-divergent trajectories among community measures (e.g., species richness, composition), timeframes since disturbance, and spatial resolutions. Accommodating expression within ecosystems of multiple models, including those opposing each other, may help broaden theoretical models of ecosystem change.</p>
Dataset for "Alternative stable states of forest types"
<p>Source data to reproduce figures in the main manuscript</p>
Does a tradeoff between temporal stability and sampling frequency contribute to prediction accuracy of alternative stable states of soil moisture?
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Resilience and alternative stable states after desert wildfires
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Data from: Applied use of alternate stable state modeling in restoration ecology
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