Forest Ecosystems最新文献

{"title":"A compartmentation approach to deconstruct ecosystem carbon fluxes of a Moso bamboo forest in subtropical China","authors":"Jianhua Lv ,&nbsp;Quan Li ,&nbsp;Tingting Cao ,&nbsp;Man Shi ,&nbsp;Changhui Peng ,&nbsp;Lei Deng ,&nbsp;Xinzhang Song","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Moso bamboo (<em>Phyllostachys edulis</em>) forests are a vital resource in subtropical China, known for their high carbon (C) sequestration capacity. However, the dynamic processes of C fluxes within each component (canopy, culm, and soil) and their individual contributions, particularly during on- and off-years, remain unclear. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the dynamics of C fluxes from the canopy, culm, and soil (partitioned into heterotrophic, rhizome, and stump respiration) and their contributions to net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in a representative Moso bamboo forest in the subtropical region of China. The average annual NEP of the Moso bamboo forest was 7.31 ​± ​2.76 ​t ​C·ha⁻¹. Specifically, the canopy's annual net C uptake was 17.30 ​± ​3.23 t C·ha⁻¹, accounting for 237% of NEP. In contrast, C emissions from heterotrophs, culms, rhizomes, and stumps were 5.37 ​± ​1.20, 2.18 ​± ​1.05, 1.29 ​± ​0.04, and 1.15 ​± ​0.33 ​t ​C·ha⁻¹, accounting for −73%, −30%, −18%, and −16% of NEP, respectively. The NEP, net cumulative C uptake in the canopy, and C emissions from the respiration of heterotrophs and stumps were all significantly higher during on-years when compared to off-years, whereas C emissions from bamboo culms displayed opposite trends. These findings offer a new approach for quantifying the C budgets of Moso bamboo forests and provide valuable insights into the C cycling processes in forest ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100286"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143104352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Classification and clustering analysis of standing dead trees and associated park asset wildfire vulnerability in Yellowstone National Park","authors":"Carolyn Prescott ,&nbsp;Mehmet Ozdes ,&nbsp;Di Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100284","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100284","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States, forests include extensive portions of standing dead trees. These regions showcase an intriguing phenomenon where the combined biomass of standing dead trees surpasses that of fallen and decomposing woody debris. This stems from a suite of factors including pest disturbances, management decisions, and a changing climate. With increasingly dry and hot conditions, dead timber on a landscape increases the probability that a fire will occur. Identifying and characterizing the presence of standing dead trees on a landscape helps with forest management efforts including reductions in the wildfire hazard presented by the trees, and vulnerability of nearby park assets should the trees burn. Using forest-based classification, exploratory data analysis, and cluster vulnerability analysis, this study characterized the occurrence and implications of standing dead trees within Yellowstone National Park. The findings show standing dead trees across the entire study area with varying densities. These clusters were cross-referenced with vulnerability parameters of distance to roads, distance to trails, distance to water, distance to buildings, and slope. These parameters inform fire ignition, propagation, and impact. The weighted sum of these parameters was used to determine the vulnerability incurred on the park assets by the clusters and showed the highest values nearest to park entrances and points of interest. High vulnerability clusters warrant priority management to reduce wildfire impact. The framework of this study can be applied to other sites and incorporate additional vulnerability variables to assess forest fuel and impact. This can provide a reference for management to prioritize areas for resource conservation and improve fire prevention and suppression efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100284"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143104293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Restoration of natural herbaceous vegetation and spatial variability of forest structure by gradual removal of Scots pine from former plantations","authors":"Remigiusz Pielech ,&nbsp;Adrian Wysocki ,&nbsp;Kacper Foremnik ,&nbsp;Marek Malicki ,&nbsp;Bartłomiej Surmacz ,&nbsp;Jerzy Szwagrzyk ,&nbsp;Zbigniew Maciejewski","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100285","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100285","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We tested the effectiveness of the gradual removal of Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em> L.) in former plantations of this species in Roztocze National Park (SE Poland) to support the restoration of natural herbaceous flora and forest structure. We compared 0.5-ha study plots subjected to selective removal of pine trees with control plots excluded from any kind of human intervention for half a century. The observed changes in forest floor vegetation in the converted plots showed naturalization towards habitat-specific species. However, differences in the spatial distribution of trees between the treatment and control plots showed no universal pattern and revealed subtle but positive shifts from regular to random or clustered patterns. The mean tree diameters were higher in plots subjected to Scots pine removal, which resulted from the vigorous growth of tree species, consistent with habitat types. We conclude that forest restoration through the removal of planted trees can support the naturalization of former Scots pine plantations in protected areas. However, the selection of an appropriate method and its intensity are of vital importance. Methods that resemble typical management practices, such as selection thinning, are not always the best approach, as they may preserve or even increase the regular distribution of trees. Therefore, for restoration purposes, we recommend testing other methods that increase spatial heterogeneity, including systematic cutting or emulating natural disturbances. In addition, low-intensity thinning may not be sufficient to support the restoration of natural forest floor vegetation and the variability in forest stand structure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100285"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143171738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of forest communities on the basis of small plots (microplots) within the geomorphologically diverse landscape of the Kras plateau (Italy, Slovenia)","authors":"Aljaž Jakob ,&nbsp;Mateja Breg Valjavec ,&nbsp;Andraž Čarni","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100283","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100283","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The article deals with forest communities that develop on small surfaces on steep gradients of the geomorphologically diverse landscape of the Kras plateau. They appear in small depressions called dolines, where a steep gradient of ecological conditions appears over a small spatial scale. We tried to detect the turnover of forest communities on this small scale and steep gradient with small plots (microplots) of 4 ​m² arranged in a continuous transect. We sampled only the ground layer and estimated the cover of each vascular plant species. The main problem was that we could not sample vegetation plots in standard sizes, which would allow a standard classification procedure. We built an expert system based on all of the relevant standard vegetation plots from the region and applied this system on a microplot matrix. We classified one third of microplots in this way, but the remainder were classified by semi-supervised <em>k</em>-means clustering. We thus established 8 communities that appear in dolines and compared their characteristics and ecological conditions by Ellenberg indicator values. Our results show that oak-hornbeam forests can be found in the bottom of dolines. Towards the bottom of deeper dolines, mesophilous ravine forests dominated by sycamore on rocky places, and sessile oak forests on deeper soils appear. On lower slopes, thermophilous ravine forests dominated by limes appear on rocky places. Upper slopes are dominated by Turkey oak, hophornbeam-pubescent oak forests and shrub formations. Turkey oak forests can be found on rather deeper soils than hophornbeam-pubescent oak forests. At the top, hophornbeam-pubescent oak forests can be found that build the zonal vegetation of the region. On rock walls vegetation of rock crevices can be found. The high biodiversity of the region supports the idea that diverse karstic features might have the potential for formation of refugia in future foreseen climate change, related to the potential of karstic relief to create diverse climatic conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100283"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143171737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors shaping the distribution of old-growthness attributes in the forests of Spain","authors":"Adrià Cos ,&nbsp;Javier Retana ,&nbsp;Jordi Vayreda","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100281","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100281","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conservation and enhancement of old-growth forests are key in forest planning and policies. In order to do so, more knowledge is needed on how the attributes traditionally associated with old-growth forests are distributed in space, what differences exist across distinct forest types and what natural or anthropic conditions are affecting the distribution of these old-growthness attributes. Using data from the Third Spanish National Forest Inventory (1997–2007), we calculated six indicators commonly associated with forest old-growthness for the plots in the territory of Peninsular Spain and Balearic Islands, and then combined them into an aggregated index. We then assessed their spatial distribution and the differences across five forest functional types, as well as the effects of ten climate, topographic, landscape, and anthropic variables in their distribution. Relevant geographical patterns were apparent, with climate factors, namely temperature and precipitation, playing a crucial role in the distribution of these attributes. The distribution of the indicators also varied across different forest types, while the effects of recent anthropic impacts were weaker but still relevant. Aridity seemed to be one of the main impediments for the development of old-growthness attributes, coupled with a negative impact of recent human pressure. However, these effects seemed to be mediated by other factors, specially the legacies imposed by the complex history of forest management practices, land use changes and natural disturbances that have shaped the forests of Spain. The results of this exploratory analysis highlight on one hand the importance of climate in the dynamic of forests towards old-growthness, which is relevant in a context of Climate Change, and on the other hand, the need for more insights on the history of our forests in order to understand their present and future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100281"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143104278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early field performance of three planted inland northwest conifer species: Effects of root growth potential, morphology, and environmental conditions","authors":"Cen Chen ,&nbsp;Jacob A. Reely ,&nbsp;Andrew S. Nelson","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100280","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100280","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A common concern to planting for reforestation is seedling failure that is directly measurable by seedling early field performance of growth and survival. Root growth potential (RGP) is a commonly used metric of seedling quality and has been considered indicative of seedling field performance. The effect of RGP is thought to be dependent on planting site and underlining environmental conditions. Moisture stress often is considered the primary cause of seedling failure in addition to other environmental factors such as soil physicochemical properties in regions such as the Inland Northwest of the United States that is prone to growing season drought. In addition, it is interesting to test whether seedling early field performance is related to their morphological attributes and whether the morphological attributes are related to RGP. A comprehensive evaluation on early field performance of three planted conifer species of interior Douglas-fir (<em>Pseudotsuga menziesii</em> (Mirb.) Franco var. <em>g</em><em>lauca</em> (Beissn.) Franco), grand fir (<em>Abies grandis</em> (Douglas ex D. Don) Lindl.), and western larch (<em>Larix occidentalis</em> Nutt.) was conducted in this study. It was found that RGP did not show clear correlation with early field performance across species. RGP also was not significantly correlated with seedling morphological measures such as below- and above-ground biomass and root-to-shoot ratio (R:S, by mass). Early field performance of growth and survival varied greatly across individuals of seedlings. The most influential predictors of early seedling growth and survival were their initial size (indicative of energy reserve) and soil temperature that likely interacted with soil moisture. Our findings suggest that seed stock selection for reforestation probably should favor species and genotypes with greatest heat tolerance that may be better adapted to future conditions in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100280"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143104354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climatic habitat regulates the radial growth sensitivity of two conifers in response to climate change","authors":"Ruhong Xue ,&nbsp;Liang Jiao ,&nbsp;Peng Zhang ,&nbsp;Xuge Wang ,&nbsp;Qian Li ,&nbsp;Xin Yuan ,&nbsp;Zhengdong Guo ,&nbsp;Le Zhang ,&nbsp;Yarong Qin","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The survival and mortality of conifer trees in response to climate change, particularly drought stress, have received considerable attention. However, it is crucial to explore the growth dynamics of the same conifer species in response to climate change in different climatic habitats. In this study, we aimed to quantify variations in the radial growth processes of conifer species, analyze their resilience during drought periods under different climatic habitats, and assess the impact of climate adaptation on conifer growth. We focused on two conifer species, <em>Picea crassifolia</em> (spruce) and <em>Pinus tabuliformis</em> (pine), which are distributed in both a humid habitat and a dry habitat in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Growth and resilience dynamics were identified across both climatic habitats and the contributions of temperature and moisture to the growth of the two species were simulated under drought stress using the VS-oscilloscope model. Spruce growth exhibited significant variability between climatic habitats. Specifically, the spruce growth rate declined in response to drought in the dry habitat (−0.91 ​cm² per decade, <em>p</em> ​&lt; ​0.01). In contrast, pine growth remained relatively stable (humid habitat: −0.03 ​cm² per decade; dry habitat: 0.25 ​cm² per decade, <em>p</em> ​&gt; ​0.01), although it still responded to stress during the growing season (<em>p</em> ​&lt; ​0.05). Furthermore, spruce displayed reduced resistance during stress in dry habitats (−30.11%), while pine exhibited an enhanced recovery of growth rates to ensure survival (+39.62%). The climate adaptation strategies of the species were linked to the contribution of temperature and moisture to their growth rates. Moisture is critical for the growth recovery of both conifers in dry habitats when temperature-associated growth displays a ‘bimodal’ pattern during the growing season. These findings have significant ecological implications for understanding conifer forest processes in the context of global climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100282"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142790003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationships between charcoal property and post fire productivity in the boreal forest","authors":"Lei Gao ,&nbsp;David Paré ,&nbsp;Flavia Lega Braghiroli ,&nbsp;Mathieu Lamarche ,&nbsp;Yves Bergeron","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fire disturbances are increasing under global climate change and ecological transformations of forests are occurring. Specifically, shifts from productive closed-canopy feather moss forests to low-productivity open-canopy lichen (<em>Cladonia</em> spp.) woodlands have been observed in boreal forests of eastern Canada. It has been hypothesized that high severity of fires would be the cause of this change, but this is difficult to validate <em>a posteriori</em> on mature forest stands. Because charcoal properties are affected by fire severity, we have put forward the hypothesis that the amount and physicochemical properties of charcoal (C, N, H, O, ash, surface area) would be different and indicative of a greater fire severity for open-canopy forests compared to closed canopy ones. Our hypothesis was partly validated in that the amount of charcoal found on the ground of closed-canopy forests was greater than that of open-canopy forests. However, the physicochemical properties were not different, albeit a greater variability of charcoal properties for open canopy stands. These results do not allow us to fully validate or reject our hypothesis on the role of fire severity in the shift between open and closed canopy stands. However, they suggest that the variability in fire conditions as well as the amounts of charcoal produced are different between the two ecosystem types. Furthermore, considering the role that biochar may play in improving soil conditions and promoting vegetation restoration, our results suggest that charcoal may play a role in maintaining these two stable alternative ecosystem states.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100277"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142745641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating tree branch angle measurements of European beech using terrestrial laser scanning","authors":"Xi Peng,&nbsp;Kim Calders,&nbsp;Louise Terryn,&nbsp;Hans Verbeeck","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100279","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100279","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Branch angles are an important plant morphological trait affecting light interception within forest canopies. However, studies on branch angles have been limited due to the time-consuming nature of manual measurements using a protractor. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), however, provides new opportunities to measure branch angles more efficiently. Despite this potential, studies validating branch angle measurements from TLS have been limited. Here, our aim is to evaluate both manual and automatic branch angle measurements of European beech from TLS data using traditional field-measurements with a protractor as a reference. We evaluated the accuracy of branch angle measurements based on four automated algorithms (aRchiQSM, TreeQSM, Laplacian, Semantic-Laplacian) from TLS data. Additionally, we assessed different ways of manual branch angle measurements in the field. Our study was based on a dataset comprising 124 branch angles measured from six European beech in a European deciduous forest. Our results show that manual branch angle measurements from TLS data are in high agreement with the reference (root-mean-squared error, RMSE: [3.57°–4.18°], concordance correlation coefficient, CCC: [0.95−0.97]) across different branch length positions. Automated algorithms also are in high agreement with the reference although RMSE is approximately twice as large compared to manual branch angle measurements from TLS (RMSE: [9.29°–10.55°], CCC: [0.83−0.86]) with manual leaf points removal. When applying the automatic wood-leaf separation algorithm, the performance of the four methods declined significantly, with only approximately 20 branch angles successfully identified. Moreover, it is important to note that there is no influence of the measurement position (branch surface versus center) for branch angle measurements. However, for curved branches, the selection of branch measurement length significantly impacts the branch angle measurement. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of branch angle measurements in forests. We show that automated measurement methods based on TLS data of branch angles are a valuable tool to quantify branch angles at larger scales.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100279"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142745695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topographic complexity drives trait composition as well as functional and phylogenetic diversity of understory plant communities in microrefugia: New insights for conservation","authors":"Kata Frei ,&nbsp;Anna E-Vojtkó ,&nbsp;Csaba Tölgyesi ,&nbsp;András Vojtkó ,&nbsp;Tünde Farkas ,&nbsp;László Erdős ,&nbsp;Gábor Li ,&nbsp;Ádám Lőrincz ,&nbsp;Zoltán Bátori","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100278","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100278","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Topographic complexity supports the maintenance of a high diversity of microhabitats, which may act as important ‘safe havens’ – or microrefugia – for biodiversity. Microrefugia are sites with specific environmental conditions that facilitate the persistence of species during environmental changes and exhibit unique eco-evolutionary dynamics. However, our knowledge about how topographic complexity and related eco-evolutionary selective forces influence the functional and phylogenetic signatures of species assemblages in microrefugia is very limited. Although the conceptual framework on the systematic integration of plant functional traits into the study of refugia is well established, more empirical studies on functional trait composition and functional diversity in refugia are urgently needed for more effective conservation. Here we analyzed the distribution of various plant functional traits and phylogenetic patterns in microhabitats (south- and north-facing slopes, and bottoms) of 30 large topographic depressions (i.e. doline microrefugia) and microhabitats of the surrounding plateaus in two distant forested karst regions. We found that plant assemblages in the understory of dolines and their surroundings are characterized by unique functional values and combinations of traits. Doline bottoms had the highest functional diversity among doline microhabitats and supported plant assemblages with considerably different trait compositions from the plateaus. Bottoms also had the highest phylogenetic diversity. These results suggest that topographic complexity in forested dolines has a significant effect on the distribution of plant functional traits in the understory. High functional and phylogenetic diversity in doline bottoms can have important consequences for the long-term survival of plant populations, highlighting that these microhabitats may provide a higher resilience and support an adaptive community-level response to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Understanding mechanisms that drive the survival of species within microrefugia is required to determine the best conservation and management strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100278"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143104353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}