Pine trees structure plant biodiversity patterns in savannas

Overstory trees serve multiple functions in grassy savannas. Past research has shown that understory species can vary along gradients of canopy cover and basal area in savannas. This variation is frequently associated with light availability but could also be related to other mechanisms, such as het...

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Published in:Ecology and evolution Vol. 14; no. 7; pp. e70021 - n/a
Main Authors: Crandall, Raelene M., Chew, Yingen M., Fill, Jennifer M., Kreye, Jesse K., Varner, J. Morgan, Kobziar, Leda N.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2024
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Wiley
Subjects:
Applied Ecology
Biodiversity
Canopies
canopy cover
Community composition
Composition
Evergreen trees
flatwoods (mesic)
Forbs
Functional groups
Grasslands
Heterogeneity
Indigenous species
Light
Light transmittance
longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
Luminous intensity
Observational studies
Pine
Pine trees
Plant communities
prescribed fire
sandhills (xeric)
Savannahs
spatial
Species diversity
Species richness
Trees
turnover
Understory
Variation
Florida
United States > US
North America
canopy cover
species richness
sandhills (xeric)
prescribed fire
flatwoods (mesic)
spatial
turnover
longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
ISSN:2045-7758, 2045-7758
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Overstory trees serve multiple functions in grassy savannas. Past research has shown that understory species can vary along gradients of canopy cover and basal area in savannas. This variation is frequently associated with light availability but could also be related to other mechanisms, such as heterogeneity in soil and litter depth and fire intensity. Several savanna studies have found differences in understory plant functional groups within the local environment near trees versus away from them in canopy openings. Although small‐scale variation is known to be high in southeastern U.S. pine savannas, patterns in understory species diversity have not been examined at the scale of individual overstory pine trees in this system. We conducted an observational study of the relationship between understory plant communities and proximity to individual pine trees in xeric and mesic pine savannas in frequently burned sites (1–3 year intervals). We recorded the plant community composition in plots adjacent to tree boles (basal) or outside crown driplines (open). Within each environment, raw species richness was significantly greater in open locations, where light transmittance was greater. In contrast, rarified species richness did not differ. Multivariate analyses showed that community composition differed significantly between basal and open plots. One native, woody species in each environment, Serenoa repens (W. Bartram) Small in mesic and Diospyros virginiana L. in xeric, was more abundant in basal plots. In mesic environments, eight species had greater occurrence in open plots. In xeric environments, four understory forbs were more abundant in open plots. Our results support previous research indicating that individual pine trees are associated with significant variation in understory vegetation in pine savannas. Because patterns and processes in pine savannas are scale‐dependent, individual trees could influence at small scales that are not necessarily evident at larger scales and vice versa. Overstory–understory structure shaped by frequent fires likely encourages niche selectivity and deterministic assemblage of plant communities, increasing diversity at larger scales.
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ISSN:2045-7758
2045-7758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.70021