Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Karatassiou, Panagiota Karaiskou, Eleni Verykouki, Sophia Rhizopoulou
Summary: This study compared the leaf hydraulic functionality of co-occurring evergreen and deciduous shrubs grown on Olympus Mountain. The results demonstrated different hydraulic tactics between the deciduous and evergreen shrubs, with higher hydraulic conductance and lower stomatal conductance observed in the deciduous plants. Positive correlations were also found between water potential and transpiration in the deciduous shrubs.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marian Schoenauer, Peter Hietz, Bernhard Schuldt, Boris Rewald
Summary: Vessel traits are important for understanding trees' hydraulic efficiency, growth performance, and drought tolerance. However, our understanding of root hydraulic functioning and trait coordination across organs is limited. This study compared wood anatomical traits and hydraulic conductivities between roots and branches of drought-deciduous and evergreen angiosperm tree species in a seasonally dry subtropical forest.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Liang Song, Bin Yang, Lu-Lu Liu, Yu-Xuan Mo, Wen-Jie Liu, Xian-Jing Meng, Hua-Zheng Lu, Yuan Li, Sissou Zakari, Zheng-Hong Tan, Ze-Xin Fan, Yong-Jiang Zhang
Summary: This study investigated water uptake depths and leaf traits of dominant tree species in a subtropical forest in China. The findings suggest that interspecific competition for water sources may increase the risk of tree dieback in drought years, highlighting the importance of understanding water use patterns for predicting forest response.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Qichi Yang, Hehe Zhang, Lihui Wang, Feng Ling, Zhengxiang Wang, Tingting Li, Jinliang Huang
Summary: Topography and soil factors have important impacts on the species composition of plant communities in subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forests. This study classified subtropical forests in Hubei Province into 12 community types, with differences in species diversity and abundance among them. Factors such as elevation, slope, aspect, soil nitrogen and phosphorus content were identified as key drivers affecting species composition in each community type.
Article
Forestry
Yunlong Ni, Tiejun Wang, Honglin Cao, Yanpeng Li, Yue Bin, Ruyun Zhang, Yue Wang, Juyu Lian, Wanhui Ye
Summary: Studies have shown that rare old-growth forests are more severely damaged by strong typhoons compared to secondary forests. Forest structure and composition play a significant role in determining the vulnerability of forests to powerful typhoons. This study advances knowledge about how old-growth forests respond to global climate change.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Jin-Hua Qi, Ze-Xin Fan, Pei-Li Fu, Yong-Jiang Zhang, Frank Sterck
Summary: Growth rates and physiological traits differ between evergreen and deciduous tree species, with evergreen species exhibiting slower growth and more conservative strategies, while deciduous species show faster growth and higher resource acquisition capabilities. Physiological traits such as photosynthesis, hydraulics, and nutrient-use efficiency can predict tree growth in subtropical forests.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patrizia Trifilo, Sara Natale, Sara Gargiulo, Elisa Abate, Valentino Casolo, Andrea Nardini
Summary: The study found that stem photosynthesis plays a key role in maintaining hydraulic functioning during drought, especially in deciduous tree species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhimin Li, Chuankuan Wang, Dandan Luo, Enqing Hou, Muhammed Mustapha Ibrahim
Summary: The Vulnerability segmentation (VS) and Hydraulic segmentation (HS) hypotheses propose that leaves are more vulnerable to hydraulic resistance and embolism than branches. However, whether these hypotheses hold true during freezing stress has been rarely investigated. This study measured the hydraulic traits of leaf and branch in three temperate evergreen tree species across four seasons and found that vulnerability segmentation can occur all year round, including freezing stress, to protect branches from hydraulic failure.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Honglang Duan, Defu Wang, Nan Zhao, Guomin Huang, Victor Resco de Dios, David T. Tissue
Summary: Subtropical tree species may face severe drought stress in the future due to variable rainfall, and the ability to restore hydraulic function after drought may vary among species with different leaf habits. The links between hydraulic recovery and physiological and morphological traits related to water-carbon availability are still not well understood.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Amy N. A. Aritsara, Ming-Yuan Ni, Yong-Qiang Wang, Chao-Long Yan, Wen-Hao Zeng, Hui-Qing Song, Kun-Fang Cao, Shi-Dan Zhu
Summary: In this study, we examined the relationship between xylem structure and hydraulic traits, water storage, and growth rate in 22 tree species from a subtropical karst forest in southern China. We found that larger vessel diameter, paratracheal parenchyma, and higher saturated water content were associated with higher hydraulic conductivity. Embolism resistance was not correlated with anatomical traits and did not trade off with hydraulic conductivity. The growth rate was independent of hydraulic traits in small trees, but in large trees, higher hydraulic conductivity and greater embolism resistance led to higher growth rate.
Article
Forestry
Shu-Bin Zhang, Guo-Jing Wen, Ya-Ya Qu, Lin-Yi Yang, Yu Song
Summary: Evergreen and deciduous species in tropical dry forests and savannas have different xylem hydraulic and mechanical functions, reflecting conservative and acquisitive life-history strategies. The results showed that deciduous species have higher hydraulic conductivity but lower mechanical strength compared to evergreen species. There are trade-offs between hydraulic efficiency and mechanical strength within species groups, which are modulated by structural and chemical traits.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lisi Hai, Xiao-Qian Li, Jing-Bo Zhang, Xiao-Guo Xiang, Rui-Qi Li, Florian Jabbour, Rosa del C. Ortiz, An-Ming Lu, Zhi-Duan Chen, Wei Wang
Summary: This study explores the evolution and formation of subtropical East Asian evergreen broadleaved forests through the analysis of dominant Fagaceae species. The research reveals that high precipitation in summer and low temperature in winter are the key climatic factors influencing the distribution of this biome. The study also highlights the time lag between species invasion and becoming dominant within the region.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Eele Ounapuu-Pikas, Jean-Stephane Venisse, Philippe Label, Arne Sellin
Summary: Global climate change affects the functional traits of plants, and understanding the plasticity of these traits is important for predicting plant responses. This study investigated the light sensitivity and hydraulic plasticity of leaf and branch traits in two tree species with different water-use strategies. The results showed that the plasticity of these traits increases the ability of plants to cope with environmental changes and climate change.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lezhang Wei, Zhijun Qiu, Guangyi Zhou, Giulia Zuecco, Yu Liu, Ya Wen
Summary: Hydraulic redistribution (HR) is important for plant physiology and ecohydrological processes, but our knowledge on HR in the humid monsoon climate zone is limited. This study compared meteorological parameters and soil moisture content at one evergreen broad-leaved forest and one clear-cutting forest site in south China. The results show that HR frequently occurred at the evergreen forest, mainly during the monsoon dry season, replenishing approximately 34-50% of water consumption in the top 30 cm soil layer. These findings highlight the importance of understanding HR in the context of climate change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Jun Wang, Yao Huang, Qinfeng Guo, Long Yang, Hongfang Lu, Hai Ren
Summary: The results of this study suggest that artificial canopy N deposition at 50 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) may promote seed storage and alter species composition in the soil seed bank. In subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests, the potential for regenerating tree species from the soil seed bank is limited due to the dominance of shrubs and herbs.
Article
Ecology
Gabriele Midolo, Tomas Herben, Irena Axmanova, Corrado Marceno, Ricarda Patsch, Helge Bruelheide, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Svetlana Acic, Ariel Bergamini, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Michele De Sanctis, Olga Demina, Jurgen Dengler, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Emmanuel Garbolino, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Friedemann Goral, Behlul Guler, Guillermo Hinojos-Mendoza, Florian Jansen, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Aaron Perez-Haase, Remigiusz Pielech, Vadim Prokhorov, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Eszter Ruprecht, Solvita Rusina, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Zvjezdana Stancic, Irina Tatarenko, Milan Chytry
Summary: This article presents a new dataset that identifies optimal positioning of European plant species along gradients of natural and anthropogenic disturbance. The dataset includes disturbance indicator values for 6382 vascular plant species. These indicator values are crucial for integrating disturbance niche optima into large-scale vegetation analyses and macroecological studies.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Remy Beugnon, Wensheng Bu, Helge Bruelheide, Andrea Davrinche, Jianqing Du, Sylvia Haider, Matthias Kunz, Goddert von Oheimb, Maria D. D. Perles-Garcia, Mariem Saadani, Thomas Scholten, Steffen Seitz, Bala Singavarapu, Stefan Trogisch, Yanfen Wang, Tesfaye Wubet, Kai Xue, Bo Yang, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer
Summary: This study conducted in a Chinese subtropical forest experiment revealed a strong positive correlation between soil microbial biomass and soil carbon concentrations. It was found that an increase in tree productivity and tree root diameter led to an increase in soil carbon concentration, while an increase in litterfall C:N content resulted in a decrease in soil carbon concentration. Tree functional traits also modulated microenvironmental conditions, with significant consequences for soil microbial biomass.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Yi Li, Yuan-Bao Du, Jing-Ting Chen, Ming-Qiang Wang, Shi-Kun Guo, Andreas Schuldt, Arong Luo, Peng-Fei Guo, Xiang-Cheng Mi, Xiao-Juan Liu, Ke-Ping Ma, Helge Bruelheide, Douglas Chesters, Xuan Liu, Chao-Dong Zhu
Summary: Global biodiversity decline and its cascading effects through trophic interactions pose a severe threat to human society. Establishing the impacts of biodiversity decline requires a more thorough understanding of multi-trophic interactions and, more specifically, the effects that loss of diversity in primary producers has on multi-trophic community assembly.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lubomir Tichy, Irena Axmanova, Juergen Dengler, Riccardo Guarino, Florian Jansen, Gabriele Midolo, Michael P. P. Nobis, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Svetlana Acic, Fabio Attorre, Erwin Bergmeier, Idoia Biurrun, Gianmaria Bonari, Helge Bruelheide, Juan Antonio Campos, Andraz Carni, Alessandro Chiarucci, Mirjana Cuk, Renata Custerevska, Yakiv Didukh, Daniel Dite, Zuzana Dite, Tetiana Dziuba, Giuliano Fanelli, Eduardo Fernandez-Pascual, Emmanuel Garbolino, Rosario G. G. Gavilan, Jean-Claude Gegout, Ulrich Graf, Behlul Guler, Michal Hajek, Stephan M. M. Hennekens, Ute Jandt, Anni Jaskova, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Philippe Julve, Stephan Kambach, Dirk Nikolaus Karger, Gerhard Karrer, Ali Kavgaci, Ilona Knollova, Anna Kuzemko, Filip Kuzmic, Flavia Landucci, Attila Lengyel, Jonathan Lenoir, Corrado Marceno, Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund, Pavel Novak, Aaron Perez-Haase, Tomas Peterka, Remigiusz Pielech, Alessandro Pignatti, Valerijus Rasomavicius, Solvita Rusina, Arne Saatkamp, Urban Silc, Zeljko Skvorc, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Milan Chytry
Summary: This study aims to create a harmonized data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values applicable at the European scale by incorporating indicator values from other European regions. The researchers collected and compared data from 13 data sets and provided a new data set of Ellenberg-type indicator values for 8908 European vascular plant species.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Jing-Ting Chen, Ming-Qiang Wang, Yi Li, Douglas Chesters, Arong Luo, Wei Zhang, Peng-Fei Guo, Shi-Kun Guo, Qing-Song Zhou, Ke-Ping Ma, Goddert von Oheimb, Matthias Kunz, Nai-Li Zhang, Xiao-Juan Liu, Helge Bruelheide, Andreas Schuldt, Chao-Dong Zhu
Summary: Human-induced biodiversity loss negatively affects ecosystem function, but the interactive effects of biodiversity change across trophic levels remain insufficiently understood. We sampled arboreal spiders and lepidopteran larvae across seasons in a subtropical tree diversity experiment, and then disentangled the links between tree diversity and arthropod predator diversity by deconstructing the pathways among multiple components of diversity (taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional) with structural equation models. Our study highlights the importance of an integrated approach based on multiple biodiversity components in understanding the consequences of biodiversity loss in multitrophic communities.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ellen Desie, Juan Zuo, Kris Verheyen, Ika Djukic, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Harald Auge, Nadia Barsoum, Christel Baum, Helge Bruelheide, Nico Eisenhauer, Heike Feldhaar, Olga Ferlian, Dominique Gravel, Herve Jactel, Inger Kappel Schmidt, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Celine Meredieu, Simone Mereu, Christian Messier, Lourdes Morillas, Charles Nock, Alain Paquette, Quentin Ponette, Peter B. Reich, Javier Roales, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Steffen Seitz, Anja Schmidt, Artur Stefanski, Stefan Trogisch, Inge van Halder, Martin Weih, Laura J. Williams, Bo Yang, Bart Muys
Summary: Tree species diversity has a significant impact on litter decomposition in forests. Our study, conducted in 15 tree diversity experiments across three continents, found that tree identity has a significant effect on decomposition, while tree species richness does not. Additionally, litter quality, stand age, and density also influence decomposition.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Alexander Keller, Markus J. Ankenbrand, Helge Bruelheide, Stefanie Dekeyzer, Brian J. Enquist, Mohammad Bagher Erfanian, Daniel S. Falster, Rachael Gallagher, Jennifer Hammock, Jens Kattge, Sara D. Leonhardt, Joshua S. Madin, Brian Maitner, Margot Neyret, Renske E. Onstein, William D. Pearse, Jorrit H. Poelen, Roberto Salguero-Gomez, Florian D. Schneider, Aniko B. Toth, Caterina Penone
Summary: Traits play a crucial role in ecological and evolutionary sciences, helping researchers understand the function of organisms and their interactions with the environment. However, there are challenges in measuring, compiling, and analyzing trait data. This article provides 10 simple rules as a guide to making critical decisions and promoting good practice in collecting and managing trait data for reuse by the research community.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Igor V. V. Bartish, Salome Bonnefoi, Abdelkader Ainouche, Helge Bruelheide, Mark Bartish, Andreas Prinzing
Summary: Plant lineages differ in species richness globally, regionally, and locally. Whole-genome characteristics (WGCs) such as chromosome number and ploidy level may explain these differences through speciation or extinction. This study investigates the relationships between WGCs and species richness in a regional flora and local plant communities.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andreas Schuldt, Xiaojuan Liu, Francois Buscot, Helge Bruelheide, Alexandra Erfmeier, Jin-Sheng He, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Keping Ma, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Bernhard Schmid, Thomas Scholten, Zhiyao Tang, Stefan Trogisch, Christian Wirth, Tesfaye Wubet, Michael Staab
Summary: Carbon-focused climate mitigation strategies are important in forests, but we need better understanding of their impact on biodiversity. A study using a large dataset from subtropical forests found that aboveground carbon was not strongly related to multitrophic diversity, while total carbon including belowground carbon was a significant predictor. Relationships were nonlinear and strongest for lower trophic levels. Tree species richness and stand age influenced these relationships, suggesting long-term forest regeneration is effective in reconciling carbon and biodiversity targets. This highlights the need to carefully evaluate the biodiversity benefits of climate-oriented management.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Thore Engel, Helge Bruelheide, Daniela Hoss, Francesco M. Sabatini, Jan Altman, Mohammed A. S. Arfin-Khan, Erwin Bergmeier, Tomas Cerny, Milan Chytry, Matteo Dainese, Juergen Dengler, Jiri Dolezal, Richard Field, Felicia M. Fischer, Dries Huygens, Ute Jandt, Florian Jansen, Anke Jentsch, Dirk N. Karger, Jens Kattge, Jonathan Lenoir, Frederic Lens, Jaqueline Loos, Ulo Niinemets, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Wim A. Ozinga, Josep Penuelas, Gwendolyn Peyre, Oliver Phillips, Peter B. Reich, Christine Roemermann, Brody Sandel, Marco Schmidt, Franziska Schrodt, Eduardo Velez-Martin, Cyrille Violle, Valerio Pillar
Summary: This study evaluates the effects of dominance and niche partitioning on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships in grassland systems worldwide. The results indicate that dominance effects, related to the traits of the dominant species, have a significant impact on BEF relationships, while functional diversity (FD) does not affect primary productivity (NDVI).
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Heike Heklau, Nicole Schindler, Nico Eisenhauer, Olga Ferlian, Helge Bruelheide
Summary: This study investigated the relationship and changes of mycorrhization rates of 10 deciduous trees from winter to spring to early summer. The results showed that except for Aesculus hippocastanum and Acer pseudoplatanus, which formed only one type of mycorrhiza, the other tree species had both arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and ectomycorrhiza (EM) at different times. The mycorrhization rates were lowest in May, but no differences were observed between December and March. The mycorrhization rates of different types were not correlated over time at the individual tree level, indicating asynchronous variation between AM and EM mycorrhization. At the community level, increased biodiversity led to more asynchrony in mycorrhization, suggesting its importance in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Bala Singavarapu, Jianqing Du, Remy Beugnon, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Kai Xue, Yanfen Wang, Helge Bruelheide, Tesfaye Wubet
Summary: Loss of multifunctional microbial communities can negatively affect ecosystem services, especially forest soil nutrient cycling. Therefore, exploration of the genomic potential of soil microbial communities, particularly their constituting subcommunities and taxa for nutrient cycling, is vital to get an in-depth mechanistic understanding for better management of forest soil ecosystems.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Francesco Maria Sabatini, Georg Haehn, Karina Speziale, Ana Maria Cingolani, Gabriella Damasceno, Helge Bruelheide
Summary: Monitoring vegetation trends is crucial for understanding the impacts of global change on plant biodiversity. However, in regions like southern Patagonia, there is a lack of vegetation plot time series data. This study extracted and harmonized vegetation survey data from the Transecta project in the 1970s, and created an open-access database to fill this regional gap. The database provides a baseline for assessing the impacts of global change on vegetation in southern Patagonia.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandra Weigelt, Liesje Mommer, Karl Andraczek, Colleen M. Iversen, Joana Bergmann, Helge Bruelheide, Gregoire T. Freschet, Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramirez, Jens Kattge, Thom W. Kuyper, Daniel C. Laughlin, Ina C. Meier, Fons van der Plas, Hendrik Poorter, Catherine Roumet, Jasper van Ruijven, Francesco Maria Sabatini, Marina Semchenko, Christopher J. Sweeney, Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes, Larry M. York, M. Luke McCormack
Article
Ecology
Remy Beugnon, Nico Eisenhauer, Helge Bruelheide, Andrea Davrinche, Jianqing Du, Sylvia Haider, Georg Haehn, Mariem Saadani, Bala Singavarapu, Marie Suennemann, Lise Thouvenot, Yanfen Wang, Tesfaye Wubet, Kai Xue, Simone Cesarz
Summary: Forest ecosystems play a critical role in carbon sequestration. Increasing tree diversity enhances forest productivity and litter decomposition. Tree species richness increases litter decomposition by increasing the species richness and amount of litterfall. Soil microorganisms perform the majority of litter decomposition, and changes in litterfall and microbial activity explain a significant portion of decomposition variance. Litter decomposability is determined by litter functional identity, diversity, and species richness, while tree proximity, biomass, and leaf functional traits drive the spatial distribution of litterfall and subsequently influence litter decomposition. Considering spatial variability in biotic properties improves our understanding of ecosystem functioning.
