TY - JOUR
T1 - Distance to seed sources and land-use history affect forest development over a long-termheathland to forest succession
AU - Kepfer Rojas, Sebastian
AU - Schmidt, Inger Kappel
AU - Ransijn, Johannes
AU - Riis-Nielsen, Torben
AU - Verheyen, Kris
PY - 2014/11/1
Y1 - 2014/11/1
N2 - Questions: Is there a spatial pattern in the community structure (stem densities, species richness and species composition) of trees and shrubs during more than 100 yr of heathland to forest succession? To what extent is community structure influenced by land-use history and distance to seed sources? Do these effects change in time? Location: A 350-ha heathland (Nørholm) in southwest Denmark was abandoned in 1895 and left for free succession. Prior to abandonment the heathland was under traditionalmanagement for centuries. Method: Trees and shrubs were recorded andmeasured in ten surveys spanning 91 yr (1921-2012). In the first nine surveys, complete censuses were used, whereas 116 randomly placed plots (10-m radius) were used in the most recent survey. We usedmixedmodels and different multivariate techniques (non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational multivariate ANOVA) to analyse spatio-temporal patterns in stem densities, species richness and species composition and the effects of land-use history and distance to seed sources. Results: Tree and shrub densities increased exponentially over time and were consistently lower at longer distance from seed sources. Land-use history affected the rate of increase in tree densities, with lower encroachment rates at previously cultivated soils. Initially, species richness increased rapidly but leveled off in later successional stages. Richness wasmarginally higher at areas closer to seed sources, whereas it was not affected by land-use history. The succession showed a shift from early to mid-successional species over time; but distance to seed source determined which species were colonizing at early stages. Conclusion: Distance to seed source and land-use history can differentially affect the structure and spatial patterns of developing forest communities. Although both factors had long-lasting effects on rates of colonization, the spatial patterns of colonization and species composition weremainly determined by distance to seed sources. The importance of distance to seed sources became less over time, suggesting that dispersal is a stronger driver at early stages. Aftermore than a century since abandonment, forest covers <30% of the area, indicating that lack of heathland management did not strongly promote tree colonization at this site.
AB - Questions: Is there a spatial pattern in the community structure (stem densities, species richness and species composition) of trees and shrubs during more than 100 yr of heathland to forest succession? To what extent is community structure influenced by land-use history and distance to seed sources? Do these effects change in time? Location: A 350-ha heathland (Nørholm) in southwest Denmark was abandoned in 1895 and left for free succession. Prior to abandonment the heathland was under traditionalmanagement for centuries. Method: Trees and shrubs were recorded andmeasured in ten surveys spanning 91 yr (1921-2012). In the first nine surveys, complete censuses were used, whereas 116 randomly placed plots (10-m radius) were used in the most recent survey. We usedmixedmodels and different multivariate techniques (non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational multivariate ANOVA) to analyse spatio-temporal patterns in stem densities, species richness and species composition and the effects of land-use history and distance to seed sources. Results: Tree and shrub densities increased exponentially over time and were consistently lower at longer distance from seed sources. Land-use history affected the rate of increase in tree densities, with lower encroachment rates at previously cultivated soils. Initially, species richness increased rapidly but leveled off in later successional stages. Richness wasmarginally higher at areas closer to seed sources, whereas it was not affected by land-use history. The succession showed a shift from early to mid-successional species over time; but distance to seed source determined which species were colonizing at early stages. Conclusion: Distance to seed source and land-use history can differentially affect the structure and spatial patterns of developing forest communities. Although both factors had long-lasting effects on rates of colonization, the spatial patterns of colonization and species composition weremainly determined by distance to seed sources. The importance of distance to seed sources became less over time, suggesting that dispersal is a stronger driver at early stages. Aftermore than a century since abandonment, forest covers <30% of the area, indicating that lack of heathland management did not strongly promote tree colonization at this site.
U2 - 10.1111/jvs.12203
DO - 10.1111/jvs.12203
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1100-9233
VL - 25(6)
SP - 1493
EP - 1503
JO - Journal of Vegetation Science
JF - Journal of Vegetation Science
ER -
