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- Title
Congruence between vascular plants and bryophytes in response to ecological conditions in sustainably managed temperate forests (taxonomic- and trait-based levels).
- Authors
Kutnar, Lado; Kermavnar, Janez; Sabovljević, Marko S.
- Abstract
Vascular plant species (VP) and bryophytes (B) constitute a significant portion of forest biodiversity and respond to both management intensity and natural disturbances within forests. In this study, we investigated the cross-taxa congruence between understorey VP and B at both diversity and composition levels across a wide range of sustainably managed forests in Slovenia. The taxonomic and functional characteristics of the selected plant groups were studied, with a particular emphasis on ground-dwelling species. We employed a trait-based approach to examine the functional characteristics. On average, the species richness of B in sustainably managed temperate forests increased with the corresponding number of VP. Furthermore, a moderate positive correlation in species composition between the studied groups of ground-dwelling organisms was also observed. The ground-dwelling VP and B were congruent in terms of trait-based composition, which was influenced by soil reaction and nutrients and light availability, while trait-based diversity was only slightly similar in response to moisture. A negative correlation between the composition of stress-tolerant VP and B hemeroby was found, indicating forest environments with a low level of disturbance. This is likely due to the sustainable management of Slovenian forests, where climate change and natural disturbances have intensified in recent years. A cross-taxon comparison of the two groups at four different levels, namely taxonomic-based diversity and composition and trait-based diversity and composition, revealed varying degrees of congruence. It is therefore important to monitor the status and temporal trends of both groups from different aspects to draw reliable conclusions.
- Subjects
SLOVENIA; TEMPERATE forests; CONDITIONED response; FOREST management; BRYOPHYTES; FOREST biodiversity
- Publication
Plant Ecology, 2023, Vol 224, Issue 11, p1001
- ISSN
1385-0237
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11258-023-01357-7