Lei Xie , Yang Ou , Yuheng Chen , Hui Ding , Yanming Fang
{"title":"Parallel yet asymmetric community assembly patterns of phyllosphere fungi and bacteria in subtropical forests","authors":"Lei Xie , Yang Ou , Yuheng Chen , Hui Ding , Yanming Fang","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123222","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123222","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an important component of forest biodiversity, the phyllosphere microbiome plays an essential role in maintaining forest health, nutrient cycling, and plant resilience. However, the assembly and maintenance of its high community diversity remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed high-throughput sequencing to investigate the microbial communities associated with 61 phyllosphere samples from 12 dominant tree species and 25 samples from rare and occasional species in the subtropical forests of Mt. Huangshan, a key biodiversity hotspot in China. We first assessed the diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and explored their relationships with surrounding plant diversity, host functional traits, and topographic factors. We then quantified the ecological processes shaping phyllosphere microbial community assembly and identified biotic and abiotic factors that potentially regulate these dynamics. The results indicate that bacterial and fungal communities are governed predominantly by homogeneous selection. Specifically, the maintenance of bacterial diversity is driven mainly by plant community diversity, whereas fungal diversity responds more strongly to host traits (e.g., leaf C:N and pH). Moreover, fungal assembly is further constrained by dispersal limitation; accordingly, environmental selection accounts for a much smaller variation explanation rate in fungal diversity than in bacterial diversity. These results suggest that phyllosphere microbial diversity and its assembly processes are tightly linked to forest structural complexity and landscape heterogeneity. Finally, Mantel test results suggest that the homogeneous selection acting on bacterial communities assembly may be weaker through the mediating effects of fungal diversity, topographic factors, and host chemical traits. In contrast, bacterial diversity can directly reverse fungal community assembly from being controlled by selection to a neutral process. This study provides new insight into phyllosphere fungi-bacteria interactions, contributing to a deeper understanding of aboveground biodiversity maintenance mechanisms in subtropical forests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123222"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do human-modified landscapes influence composition and diversity of foraging guilds in mixed-species bird flocks in Wayanad, southern Western Ghats, India?","authors":"Karthika Chandran , K.P. Rajkumar , Roshin Tom , Nithin Divakar , Habeebrehman Hameed","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foraging guild composition of mixed-species flocks were studied and compared between old-growth forests and selected human-modified landscapes with different intensities of modifications. We compared diversity and composition of foraging guilds of mixed-species flock participants across old-growth forests, coffee, cardamom and tea plantations in a high altitude, fragmented landscape of Wayanad District, situated in southern Western Ghats. Birds recorded from a total of 124 mixed-species flocks in the study area were classified into 19 foraging guilds based on the criteria of major food preference, foraging substrate and foraging manoeuvre. Foraging guild richness was the highest in coffee plantation sites, and leaf-gleaning insectivores were the most common and species-rich guild across the four habitats. Flocks of tea plantations had lower foraging guild diversity than that of forests, and flocks of cardamom plantations had lower foraging guild diversity than that of coffee plantations. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed moderate differences in foraging guild composition across forest and plantation flocks. The study suggests the importance of habitat structural complexity in supporting birds of many foraging guilds and highlights the necessity of biodiversity-friendly management practices that preserve native tree cover to ensure long term conservation of birds in fragile human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123206"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do human-modified landscapes influence composition and diversity of foraging guilds in mixed-species bird flocks in Wayanad, southern Western Ghats, India?","authors":"Karthika Chandran , K.P. Rajkumar , Roshin Tom , Nithin Divakar , Habeebrehman Hameed","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123206","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123206","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foraging guild composition of mixed-species flocks were studied and compared between old-growth forests and selected human-modified landscapes with different intensities of modifications. We compared diversity and composition of foraging guilds of mixed-species flock participants across old-growth forests, coffee, cardamom and tea plantations in a high altitude, fragmented landscape of Wayanad District, situated in southern Western Ghats. Birds recorded from a total of 124 mixed-species flocks in the study area were classified into 19 foraging guilds based on the criteria of major food preference, foraging substrate and foraging manoeuvre. Foraging guild richness was the highest in coffee plantation sites, and leaf-gleaning insectivores were the most common and species-rich guild across the four habitats. Flocks of tea plantations had lower foraging guild diversity than that of forests, and flocks of cardamom plantations had lower foraging guild diversity than that of coffee plantations. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed moderate differences in foraging guild composition across forest and plantation flocks. The study suggests the importance of habitat structural complexity in supporting birds of many foraging guilds and highlights the necessity of biodiversity-friendly management practices that preserve native tree cover to ensure long term conservation of birds in fragile human-modified landscapes in the Western Ghats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123206"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lei Xie , Yang Ou , Yuheng Chen , Hui Ding , Yanming Fang
{"title":"Parallel yet asymmetric community assembly patterns of phyllosphere fungi and bacteria in subtropical forests","authors":"Lei Xie , Yang Ou , Yuheng Chen , Hui Ding , Yanming Fang","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123222","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123222","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an important component of forest biodiversity, the phyllosphere microbiome plays an essential role in maintaining forest health, nutrient cycling, and plant resilience. However, the assembly and maintenance of its high community diversity remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed high-throughput sequencing to investigate the microbial communities associated with 61 phyllosphere samples from 12 dominant tree species and 25 samples from rare and occasional species in the subtropical forests of Mt. Huangshan, a key biodiversity hotspot in China. We first assessed the diversity of bacterial and fungal communities and explored their relationships with surrounding plant diversity, host functional traits, and topographic factors. We then quantified the ecological processes shaping phyllosphere microbial community assembly and identified biotic and abiotic factors that potentially regulate these dynamics. The results indicate that bacterial and fungal communities are governed predominantly by homogeneous selection. Specifically, the maintenance of bacterial diversity is driven mainly by plant community diversity, whereas fungal diversity responds more strongly to host traits (e.g., leaf C:N and pH). Moreover, fungal assembly is further constrained by dispersal limitation; accordingly, environmental selection accounts for a much smaller variation explanation rate in fungal diversity than in bacterial diversity. These results suggest that phyllosphere microbial diversity and its assembly processes are tightly linked to forest structural complexity and landscape heterogeneity. Finally, Mantel test results suggest that the homogeneous selection acting on bacterial communities assembly may be weaker through the mediating effects of fungal diversity, topographic factors, and host chemical traits. In contrast, bacterial diversity can directly reverse fungal community assembly from being controlled by selection to a neutral process. This study provides new insight into phyllosphere fungi-bacteria interactions, contributing to a deeper understanding of aboveground biodiversity maintenance mechanisms in subtropical forests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123222"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Courtney L. Giebink , Kelly A. Heilman , Sean M.P. Cahoon , Grant M. Domke
{"title":"An assessment of the selection criteria, roles, and representativeness of indicator trees in the nationwide forest inventory of the United States","authors":"Courtney L. Giebink , Kelly A. Heilman , Sean M.P. Cahoon , Grant M. Domke","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123200","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123200","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In forest inventories, trees are often singled out to represent forest attributes and other environmental conditions. These “indicator” trees may be selected to estimate site level attributes, including site productivity, stand age, climate history, and growth rates. Here, we use data from the nationwide forest inventory (NFI) in the United States (US) to assess how indicator tree attributes compare to tally tree attributes across space and through time. First, we use contemporary field guides and NFI data to describe indicator tree selection criteria across regions of the US. Second, we compare indicator tree diameter, height, and species to two subsets of associated tally trees: a) all live tally trees and b) tally trees conforming to indicator tree selection criteria. Finally, we use annual ring width information from indicator trees to compare growth rates, as well as diameter and species to compare site trees and tally trees from historic inventories in the northeastern US. Contemporary and historic indicator tree attributes are rarely equivalent to either subset of tally tree attributes, but the differences are smaller when comparing to tally trees with consistent selection criteria. Across regions of the US, the differences between indicator tree and tally tree attributes are often close to or centered around zero, suggesting they may represent population-level tree attributes. With the increasing use of NFI data, it is important to understand the original intent for data collection, how the data were collected, and potential limits that might impact the efficacy of the data in new contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123200"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rubia Tatiana Secco , Luana Meister , Elivane Salete Capellesso , Raissa Iana Leite Jardim , Elielson Lucas Ferreira , José Carlos Ricardo Molina , Darcy Maria da Conceição Laura dos Santos , Alessandra da Cunha Pessoa , Camila Naomi Lermen , Josué Barbi Araldi , Julia Caroline Prade de Souza Cabral , Alessandro Camargo Angelo , Márcia C.M. Marques
{"title":"Exploring multiple restoration strategies to recover the Atlantic Forest landscape","authors":"Rubia Tatiana Secco , Luana Meister , Elivane Salete Capellesso , Raissa Iana Leite Jardim , Elielson Lucas Ferreira , José Carlos Ricardo Molina , Darcy Maria da Conceição Laura dos Santos , Alessandra da Cunha Pessoa , Camila Naomi Lermen , Josué Barbi Araldi , Julia Caroline Prade de Souza Cabral , Alessandro Camargo Angelo , Márcia C.M. Marques","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecological restoration is a promising activity that restores degraded ecosystems and conserves the biodiversity of tropical landscapes. Hoping to achieve better results on a large scale, various strategies and techniques have been used, including passive and active restoration that can impact community structure and landscape characteristics differently. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of passive and active restoration in recovering native tree regenerating communities in a degraded area of the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. We evaluated the species composition and community structure between passive (natural regeneration) and active (mixed and pure plantations techniques) restoration strategies in young (∼20 years) restoration areas in comparison to the reference ecosystem (old-growth forest). We found similarities between restoration treatments and the reference area, despite the latter being composed of a more diverse community and shade-tolerant species. The three restoration strategies (mixed plantation, <em>Inga edulis</em> plantation, and natural regeneration) converged in terms of the abundance of individuals and tree species composition. Still, they diverged in terms of species richness and diversity, as the areas of natural regeneration were, in general, less species-rich and diverse than the others. Our results show that active restoration of <em>Inga edulis</em>, was more effective in restoring mainly humid soils. These results indicate that diversification of restoration strategies can yield positive outcomes at the landscape scale, and combining multiple forms of restoration is a less costly and more efficient restoration in the context of tropical forest landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123207"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rubia Tatiana Secco , Luana Meister , Elivane Salete Capellesso , Raissa Iana Leite Jardim , Elielson Lucas Ferreira , José Carlos Ricardo Molina , Darcy Maria da Conceição Laura dos Santos , Alessandra da Cunha Pessoa , Camila Naomi Lermen , Josué Barbi Araldi , Julia Caroline Prade de Souza Cabral , Alessandro Camargo Angelo , Márcia C.M. Marques
{"title":"Exploring multiple restoration strategies to recover the Atlantic Forest landscape","authors":"Rubia Tatiana Secco , Luana Meister , Elivane Salete Capellesso , Raissa Iana Leite Jardim , Elielson Lucas Ferreira , José Carlos Ricardo Molina , Darcy Maria da Conceição Laura dos Santos , Alessandra da Cunha Pessoa , Camila Naomi Lermen , Josué Barbi Araldi , Julia Caroline Prade de Souza Cabral , Alessandro Camargo Angelo , Márcia C.M. Marques","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecological restoration is a promising activity that restores degraded ecosystems and conserves the biodiversity of tropical landscapes. Hoping to achieve better results on a large scale, various strategies and techniques have been used, including passive and active restoration that can impact community structure and landscape characteristics differently. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of passive and active restoration in recovering native tree regenerating communities in a degraded area of the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. We evaluated the species composition and community structure between passive (natural regeneration) and active (mixed and pure plantations techniques) restoration strategies in young (∼20 years) restoration areas in comparison to the reference ecosystem (old-growth forest). We found similarities between restoration treatments and the reference area, despite the latter being composed of a more diverse community and shade-tolerant species. The three restoration strategies (mixed plantation, <em>Inga edulis</em> plantation, and natural regeneration) converged in terms of the abundance of individuals and tree species composition. Still, they diverged in terms of species richness and diversity, as the areas of natural regeneration were, in general, less species-rich and diverse than the others. Our results show that active restoration of <em>Inga edulis</em>, was more effective in restoring mainly humid soils. These results indicate that diversification of restoration strategies can yield positive outcomes at the landscape scale, and combining multiple forms of restoration is a less costly and more efficient restoration in the context of tropical forest landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123207"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verónica Cruz-Alonso , Paloma Ruiz-Benito , Enrique Andivia , José María Rey-Benayas , Pedro Villar-Salvador
{"title":"The effect of shrubs on tree recruitment differs between planted and secondary forests","authors":"Verónica Cruz-Alonso , Paloma Ruiz-Benito , Enrique Andivia , José María Rey-Benayas , Pedro Villar-Salvador","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123199","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123199","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recruitment of tree species is a bottleneck for forest regeneration, particularly in water-limited environments, such as Mediterranean forests. Despite nurse shrubs facilitating tree recruitment in adverse environments, we lack information on the facilitative role of functionally different shrubs while considering previous land uses. This study evaluates the effect of shrubs on tree recruitment in planted and secondary forests along environmental gradients, assessing how recruitment depends on the identity of shrub functional types and the beneficiary tree species. We used the Spanish Forest Inventory database to calculate tree recruitment for main tree species (pines or oaks) and shrub abundance in forests of central Spain. We fitted generalised linear mixed models of tree juvenile abundance and seedling occurrence to test the effect of shrub crown volume and forest type, considering all shrub species and the main families. Forest type (planted or secondary) modulated the relationship between shrub volume and tree juvenile abundance per species, but had a more limited effect on seedling occurrence. In some cases, planted forests reduced the effects of shrub volume on recruitment compared to secondary forests or promoted hump-shaped responses, with a peak at moderate shrub volumes. In general, juvenile abundance was less affected by shrubs than by forest type, being higher in secondary forests, especially for oak species. We also found species-specific relationships of shrub volume with tree recruitment. Occurrence of <em>Q. ilex</em> seedlings was strongly associated with various shrub families, while only one shrub family at most was related to the recruitment of the rest of tree species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123199"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Courtney L. Giebink , Kelly A. Heilman , Sean M.P. Cahoon , Grant M. Domke
{"title":"An assessment of the selection criteria, roles, and representativeness of indicator trees in the nationwide forest inventory of the United States","authors":"Courtney L. Giebink , Kelly A. Heilman , Sean M.P. Cahoon , Grant M. Domke","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123200","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123200","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In forest inventories, trees are often singled out to represent forest attributes and other environmental conditions. These “indicator” trees may be selected to estimate site level attributes, including site productivity, stand age, climate history, and growth rates. Here, we use data from the nationwide forest inventory (NFI) in the United States (US) to assess how indicator tree attributes compare to tally tree attributes across space and through time. First, we use contemporary field guides and NFI data to describe indicator tree selection criteria across regions of the US. Second, we compare indicator tree diameter, height, and species to two subsets of associated tally trees: a) all live tally trees and b) tally trees conforming to indicator tree selection criteria. Finally, we use annual ring width information from indicator trees to compare growth rates, as well as diameter and species to compare site trees and tally trees from historic inventories in the northeastern US. Contemporary and historic indicator tree attributes are rarely equivalent to either subset of tally tree attributes, but the differences are smaller when comparing to tally trees with consistent selection criteria. Across regions of the US, the differences between indicator tree and tally tree attributes are often close to or centered around zero, suggesting they may represent population-level tree attributes. With the increasing use of NFI data, it is important to understand the original intent for data collection, how the data were collected, and potential limits that might impact the efficacy of the data in new contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123200"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Verónica Cruz-Alonso , Paloma Ruiz-Benito , Enrique Andivia , José María Rey-Benayas , Pedro Villar-Salvador
{"title":"The effect of shrubs on tree recruitment differs between planted and secondary forests","authors":"Verónica Cruz-Alonso , Paloma Ruiz-Benito , Enrique Andivia , José María Rey-Benayas , Pedro Villar-Salvador","doi":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123199","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123199","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recruitment of tree species is a bottleneck for forest regeneration, particularly in water-limited environments, such as Mediterranean forests. Despite nurse shrubs facilitating tree recruitment in adverse environments, we lack information on the facilitative role of functionally different shrubs while considering previous land uses. This study evaluates the effect of shrubs on tree recruitment in planted and secondary forests along environmental gradients, assessing how recruitment depends on the identity of shrub functional types and the beneficiary tree species. We used the Spanish Forest Inventory database to calculate tree recruitment for main tree species (pines or oaks) and shrub abundance in forests of central Spain. We fitted generalised linear mixed models of tree juvenile abundance and seedling occurrence to test the effect of shrub crown volume and forest type, considering all shrub species and the main families. Forest type (planted or secondary) modulated the relationship between shrub volume and tree juvenile abundance per species, but had a more limited effect on seedling occurrence. In some cases, planted forests reduced the effects of shrub volume on recruitment compared to secondary forests or promoted hump-shaped responses, with a peak at moderate shrub volumes. In general, juvenile abundance was less affected by shrubs than by forest type, being higher in secondary forests, especially for oak species. We also found species-specific relationships of shrub volume with tree recruitment. Occurrence of <em>Q. ilex</em> seedlings was strongly associated with various shrub families, while only one shrub family at most was related to the recruitment of the rest of tree species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12350,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecology and Management","volume":"598 ","pages":"Article 123199"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145218480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}