Ecological Applications最新文献

{"title":"Non‐native prey availability and over‐compensatory density dependence drive population dynamics of a native fish predator","authors":"Madaline M. Cochrane, Timothy J. Cline, Travis S. Schmidt, James L. Dunnigan, Will G. Warnock, Clint C. Muhlfeld","doi":"10.1002/eap.70103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70103","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the factors that regulate population dynamics is crucial for conserving imperiled species. Bull trout (<jats:italic>Salvelinus confluentus</jats:italic>), a piscivorous salmonid and one of North America's most threatened cold‐water species, has declined significantly due to habitat loss, overfishing, invasive species, and climate change. While recovery efforts have primarily targeted these threats, the role of prey availability in influencing bull trout population dynamics under multiple stressors remains poorly understood. Using a stage‐based integrated population model, we quantified the effects of non‐native prey availability (kokanee; <jats:italic>Oncorhynchus nerka</jats:italic>), angling pressure, climatic variation, and density‐dependent processes on bull trout population dynamics in Lake Koocanusa, a transboundary reservoir and river system (United States and Canada), over a 40‐year period (1980–2023). Our results show that bull trout populations are regulated by density‐dependent processes, including over‐compensation in sub‐adult recruitment and reduced adult survival at high densities. Increased kokanee biomass and restricted harvest significantly enhanced bull trout survival and abundance, whereas reduced water availability had a limited negative effect on sub‐adult production. Model simulations indicate that as kokanee biomass availability increases, the number of bull trout that can be sustainably harvested also increases. In fact, a modest annual fishery (300 individuals) can be sustained, especially under moderate to high kokanee biomass conditions. These results underscore the importance of prey availability, including non‐native species, in supporting bull trout populations. Effective management of threatened apex fish predators like bull trout requires addressing the complex interplay between environmental threats, prey dynamics, and density‐dependent mechanisms across all life stages.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145254948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plant community composition and dominant species drive stability in aboveground production of biofuel agroecosystems","authors":"Karen A. Stahlheber, Katherine L. Gross","doi":"10.1002/eap.70085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70085","url":null,"abstract":"The relationship between diversity and stability remains a key question in ecology and has important consequences for understanding the sustainability (and profitability) of bioenergy cropping systems; yet to date, little work has been done to examine these relationships in agricultural systems directly. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between biodiversity (in number of planted species) and the stability of biomass production in four experimental bioenergy cropping systems established in Wisconsin and Michigan. Species composition and aboveground production were monitored at all sites for 8–10 years (2010–2019) allowing us to evaluate the temporal stability of biomass yield (defined as the temporal mean divided by the temporal SD) in these cropping systems. A major regional drought in 2012 also allowed us to evaluate resistance and resilience. Although three of the cropping systems were established with the same seed mixtures and were managed in the same way, species composition differed markedly between sites. This limited our ability to attribute differences within cropping systems across sites to the abundance of specific species. Overall, there was no clear relationship between planted species richness and yield stability in biomass production at these sites. At both sites, the lowest diversity system (switchgrass monoculture) had the highest interannual stability in production and was equivalent to that of the highest diversity treatment (prairie). Resilience to the drought was high in all treatments and did not differ among the four cropping systems; however, resistance to drought differed among systems and was highest in the switchgrass monocultures at both sites. The abundance of perennial C<jats:sub>4</jats:sub> grasses increased over time in all cropping systems, except for the successional plots. The persistence of annual species in the successional treatments at both sites likely contributed to low stability and high interannual turnover in this system. We found no evidence that increasing the diversity of planted species in bioenergy cropping systems enhances stability in aboveground biomass production; nor was there any difference in resistance or resilience to drought. The higher costs of establishing more diverse bioenergy cropping systems may be warranted if other ecosystem services, such as supporting diverse pollinator and predator insect species at the landscape scale, are desired from bioenergy crops in addition to biomass production.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"213 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145247070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of urbanization on genetic connectivity of 10 mammal species in New Jersey","authors":"Helen E. Chmura,&nbsp;Gretchen Fowles,&nbsp;Kristine L. Pilgrim,&nbsp;Jolene M. Strand,&nbsp;David M. Theobald,&nbsp;Katherine A. Zeller,&nbsp;Michael K. Schwartz","doi":"10.1002/eap.70113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70113","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Rapid human modification of landscapes around the world has made understanding how humans affect the genetic connectivity of wildlife populations urgent. The consistency of anthropogenic impact on genetic connectivity across taxa is unclear, in part because it is rare to have data representing functional connectivity for multiple taxa on the same landscape. We use microsatellite data for 10 mammalian species in New Jersey, USA, to assess cross-taxonomic patterns in the impact of urbanization on genetic connectivity. In doing so, we also evaluate the efficacy of species-specific and species-agnostic approaches for representing landscape resistance in landscape genetics analyses. We found relative consistency in the relationship between genetic connectivity and a resistance surface built using a species-agnostic index of human modification. High levels of human modification impeded genetic connectivity in 7/10 species. However, despite this relative consistency, for 7/10 species the highest performing resistance surfaces reflected a suite of variables individually tailored to each species' ecology, rather than species-agnostic representations of human infrastructure. Other land cover covariates, like forest, shrub, and herbaceous cover, consistently facilitated genetic connectivity. These results show that while human modification of the environment is important in explaining patterns of genetic connectivity across taxa, there is enough variation in how species respond to the suite of factors that define a landscape that functional connectivity is not always well represented by human modification alone.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does tidal marsh restoration lead to the recovery of trophic pathways that support estuarine fishes?","authors":"Megan D Pagliaro,Susan E W De La Cruz,Isa Woo,Jake Sousa,Natalie Rich,Lenny Grimaldo,Denise Colombano,Albert Ruhí","doi":"10.1002/eap.70110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70110","url":null,"abstract":"Evaluation of tidal marsh restoration success is typically based on the recovery of habitat size and target species. However, food-web structure may provide valuable insight into ecosystem functioning trajectories. Here, we studied restored tidal marshes of different ages (new, young, old; spanning 1-150 years) in comparison with nearby reference sites along the San Francisco Estuary. We asked: (1) How does restoration help recover energy pathways that support fishes? (2) Do fishes rely more on algal versus detrital pathways in restored sites?; and (3) How does food-web structure vary as a function of species origin and life history? To answer these questions, we sampled fish (n = 806) and basal resources (emergent vegetation and phytoplankton; n = 109) seasonally over two hydrologically contrasting years. Using stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S), we calculated fish isotopic niche volumes, food chain lengths, and the relative importance of algal versus detrital energy pathways. We found that food chains in restored sites were 8% shorter than in their paired reference sites. Additionally, the young and old restored sites had 37% smaller niche volumes than their references, but the opposite was true for the new restored site (11% larger), illustrating the characteristic trophic surge of early succession. Fishes found in restored sites relied significantly less on detrital energy (7% less) than fishes found in reference sites, and resident fishes showed 12% higher reliance on the detrital pathway than transient species. Finally, most of the native niche volume overlapped with that of introduced fish, which was in turn 38% larger, and a similar pattern was observed when comparing resident to transient fish. Our findings demonstrate that food-web structure does not immediately recover with tidal marsh restoration, even if fish assemblages are species-rich; and show that transient trophic surges may complicate restoration success assessments of newly restored marshes. We contend that incorporating recovery of energy pathways as an indicator of performance may help strengthen monitoring and design of wetland ecosystem restoration projects.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"11 1","pages":"e70110"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145261300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Native megafauna (Bison bison) act as a surprising inhibitor of cedar tree expansion in a Great Plains grassland.","authors":"Sidney Noble,Zak Ratajczak,Brynn Noble","doi":"10.1002/eap.70108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70108","url":null,"abstract":"In the Central Great Plains of North America, fire suppression is causing transitions from grasslands to shrublands and woodlands. This woody encroachment alters plant community composition, decreases grassland biodiversity, undermines key ecosystem services, and is difficult to reverse. How native grazers affect woody encroachment is largely unknown, especially compared to domesticated grazers. Bison were once the most widespread megafauna in North America and are typically categorized as grazers, with negative effects on grasses that indirectly benefit woody plants. However, bison can negatively impact woody plants through occasional browsing and mechanical disturbance. This study reports on a 30-year experiment at Konza Prairie Biological Station, a mesic grassland in the Central Great Plains of North America, under fire suppression and experimental presence/absence of bison. Based on remote sensing, deciduous tree canopy cover was lower with bison (6% grazed vs. 16% ungrazed). Shrub land cover showed no difference (42% grazed vs. 41% ungrazed), while herbaceous land cover was higher with bison (51% grazed vs. 40% ungrazed). Evergreen tree canopy cover (Juniperus virginiana L.), which decreases biodiversity and increases wildfire risk, was approximately 0% with bison compared to 4% without bison. In the survival trial of J. virginiana seedlings, we found a 40% overwinter mortality with bison, compared to 5% mortality without bison. Compared to ungrazed areas, native plant species richness was 97% and 38% higher in bison-grazed uplands and lowlands, respectively. Species evenness and Shannon's index were higher in the bison treatment in uplands, but not in lowlands. Bison affected community composition, resulting in higher cover of short grass species and lower tree cover. While grazers are generally assumed to favor woody plants, we found that bison had the opposite effect at low fire frequencies. We argue that the large size of bison and their behaviors account for this pattern, including trampling, horning, and occasional browsing. From a conservation perspective, bison might hamper tree expansion and increase plant diversity in tallgrass prairies and similar grasslands.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"1 1","pages":"e70108"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145235666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Water availability boosts multidimensional plant diversity in a temperate grassland despite anthropogenic disturbances.","authors":"Baoshuang Hu,Winira Ilghar,Huiliang Zhai,Lina Mo,Chengliang Wang,Wanling Xu,Wei Sun","doi":"10.1002/eap.70124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70124","url":null,"abstract":"Global changes present significant challenges to biodiversity. However, how plant communities respond to climate change under various anthropogenic disturbances, and how different species groups contribute to these responses, remains poorly understood. Using an 8-year dataset from a temperate grassland and a multidimensional diversity framework (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic), we explored the interactive effects of climate change and anthropogenic disturbances (grazing, fertilization, and their combination). We found that (1) increasing water availability consistently boosted multidimensional plant diversity over time across all treatments. (2) However, disturbances, particularly their combination, weakened this positive climatic effect. (3) Differentiating the contributions of rare, common, and dominant species revealed contrasting responses to climate drivers, highlighting the importance of a multidimensional assessment. Grazing also heightened the community's sensitivity to climate change. Our study reveals that anthropogenic disturbances fundamentally modify plant community responses to climate change, providing critical insights for biodiversity conservation and sustainable grassland management under future climate scenarios.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"2 1","pages":"e70124"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145261286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dendrochronology reveals the response of a riparian forest to water management in an arid river basin.","authors":"Noelle K Patterson,Xiaoli Dong,Belize A Lane,Adam Csank,Stewart B Rood,Samuel Sandoval-Solis","doi":"10.1002/eap.70098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70098","url":null,"abstract":"Riparian corridors in arid climates sustain life in otherwise inhospitable environments, creating zones of ecological and cultural importance. However, rivers in arid climates are often managed to provide water for human populations at the expense of a river's freshwater biodiversity. In this study, ecosystem response to river flow management is assessed using mature cottonwood tree-ring growth and carbon isotope composition as bio-indicator proxies for river ecosystem health. We examine the ecological impacts of flow management on the Lower Truckee River in Nevada, USA, which runs through an arid-climate basin that has been subject to decades of heavy flow diversion and management. Particular attention is given to the effects of major lawsuits in 1973 and 1982 that restored spring and summer flows to the river following progressive dewatering since 1905. Most mature trees (>30 years old) downstream of diversions responded strongly to restored flows, with average annual tree-ring growth increases of 160%. Among tested streamflow metrics, average annual flow had the strongest positive influence on cottonwood growth, and aspects of the spring snowmelt recession were also influential. Precipitation was also linked with cottonwood growth, primarily during the period of management before 1973 when dry season flows were severely limited. Not all floodplain trees responded similarly to changes in flow metrics, suggesting that individual tree attributes and heterogeneity in floodplain soils are highly important to tree growth. Results offer promising evidence that flow restoration can lead to measurable improvement in riparian forest productivity, although site-specific considerations including channel form and location on the floodplain are important in determining response to changes in flow patterns.","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"39 1","pages":"e70098"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145261543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of forest disturbances and an introduced ungulate on carbon storage in boreal forests","authors":"Rachael Moran,&nbsp;Shawn J. Leroux,&nbsp;Yolanda F. Wiersma,&nbsp;Darroch M. Whitaker","doi":"10.1002/eap.70092","DOIUrl":"10.1002/eap.70092","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Selective browsing by ungulates alters forest structure and composition, with research suggesting that these effects may be amplified in recently disturbed forests and in novel environments (i.e., introduced ungulates). Though the net effects of herbivory following disturbances on carbon storage in boreal forests are not well understood, they are likely important to inform climate-smart ecosystem management. We conducted observational and experimental (i.e., 24- to 27-year-old paired exclosure–control plots) field studies to determine the effects of non-native moose and common boreal forest disturbances (i.e., fires and insect outbreaks) on total, aboveground, and belowground carbon storage in Newfoundland, Canada. We measured carbon stocks at 46 plots in the field and used published allometric equations to estimate the carbon stored in trees, deadwood, woody shrubs, saplings, herbaceous plants, ground vegetation, and roots. We also collected samples of forest litter and organic soil layers for analysis of carbon content. We then fit a suite of generalized linear models to assess the effects of disturbances and moose herbivory on carbon storage. Using our observational data, we found that total carbon stored was highest in mature forests (198.18 ± 136.77 kg C/9 m²; mean ± SD), compared to insect-disturbed (57.47 ± 30.72 kg C/9 m²) and previously burned (42.57 ± 34.28 kg C/9 m²) areas. We found further evidence of this using our experimental data, as aboveground carbon storage was reduced in disturbed forests. Although, on average, exclosures stored more carbon (133.54 ± 134.69 kg C/9 m²; mean ± SD) than their paired controls (95.23 ± 66.94 kg C/9 m²), we did not detect a statistically significant effect of moose presence on carbon storage after 24–27 years of exclusion. We also did not find a relationship between moose density and carbon storage in our observational data. Overall, we demonstrated that forest disturbances are a key driver of carbon storage and that moose effects on carbon storage are highly variable across the landscape. We recommend that future research be done in areas having consistent ungulate management and long-term population data and that detailed plant community data be collected to better understand the roles of ungulate density and plant palatability on carbon storage.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145116553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Besides aridity, plant communities are a non-negligible factor in determining soil bacterial and fungal diversity","authors":"Nier Su,&nbsp;Qing Zhang,&nbsp;François Rineau,&nbsp;Xiaoqian Gong,&nbsp;Yong Ding,&nbsp;Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia","doi":"10.1002/eap.70094","DOIUrl":"10.1002/eap.70094","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The impact of aridity on above- and belowground biodiversity can be profound. However, it remains unclear how drought stress influences belowground biodiversity through the complex interplay of soil quality, plant communities, and the direct effects of soil moisture deficit. In this study, we randomly selected 80 sampling plots along a 1000-km natural aridity gradient from east to west of the Inner Mongolia grasslands to identify the factors that influence soil bacterial and fungal diversity in arid and semiarid regions. Our results revealed that both soil bacterial and fungal diversity decreased with increasing aridity. Structural equation models demonstrated that aridity indirectly affected regional-scale soil bacterial and fungal diversity by regulating plant diversity and biomass. Plant biomass and community composition elicited a much stronger impact on soil fungal diversity than on soil bacterial diversity. A detailed analysis revealed that soil fungal and bacterial diversity were significantly correlated with specific plant taxa biomass. However, plant traits did not explain the positive or negative correlations between soil bacterial and fungal diversity and plant species dynamics. Instead, our data suggest that plant biomass is the primary driver controlling soil microbial (mainly fungal) diversity. Our study shows that aridity reduces soil bacterial and fungal diversity on a regional scale and indicates that aridity indirectly influences soil community composition through plant communities. Our findings indicate that plant community dynamics should be considered in assessing soil bacterial and fungal diversity on a regional scale.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145116174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scale-dependent controls on forest gaps shaped by large trees and topographic heterogeneity","authors":"Jiale Chen,&nbsp;Tommaso Jucker,&nbsp;Xiaoran Wang,&nbsp;Fabian Jörg Fischer,&nbsp;Beibei Zhang,&nbsp;Zhaochen Zhang,&nbsp;Jianbo Hu,&nbsp;Qingsong Yang,&nbsp;Xihua Wang,&nbsp;Yu Liu,&nbsp;Minhua Zhang,&nbsp;Juyu Lian,&nbsp;Wanhui Ye,&nbsp;Buhang Li,&nbsp;Chengjin Chu,&nbsp;Xinlian Liang,&nbsp;Jian Zhang","doi":"10.1002/eap.70109","DOIUrl":"10.1002/eap.70109","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The size, number, and distribution of forest canopy gaps vary significantly across spatial scales, yet their relationships with underlying drivers, such as large trees, topography, and soil properties, remain insufficiently comprehended. We utilized an unmanned aerial vehicle to measure forest gap patterns (size, number, and aggregation) at seven spatial scales (20–400 m) in four subtropical forests and quantified the effect of large trees, topography, and soil in shaping gap patterns using ground inventory data. Gap size and aggregation showed significant variation across scales. Large trees and topographic complexity were major factors of gap patterns, with their effects depending on scale. Large trees in two forests had a significantly negative effect on gap size and density at the 20-m scale, but this effect was weaker and positive at the 100-m scale. Topography had the strongest effect on gap aggregation at a small scale (20 m) and on gap size and density at a larger scale (100 m). These results underscore the importance of spatial scale in understanding forest dynamics and highlight how community-level factors shape canopy structure. Identifying scale-dependent drivers of gap patterns can inform gap-based restoration and conservation strategies. Forest managers can reduce gap clustering by protecting large trees, especially in wind-prone areas, helping to maintain canopy structure, promote species diversity, and enhance ecosystem resilience.</p>","PeriodicalId":55168,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Applications","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145111417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}