Advanced search
2 files | 7.93 MB Add to list

Nutrient‐demanding and thermophilous plants dominate urban forest‐edge vegetation across temperate Europe

Author
Organization
Project
Abstract
Forests are highly fragmented across the globe. For urban forests in particular, fragmentation increases the exposure to local warming caused by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. We here aim to quantify edge effects on herbaceous understorey vegetation in urban forests, and test whether these effects interact with forest structural complexity. We set up a pan-European study at the continental scale including six urban forests in Zurich, Paris, Katowice, Brussels, Bremen, and Stockholm. We recorded understorey plant communities from the edge towards the interior of urban forests. Within each urban forest, we studied edge-to-interior gradients in paired stands with differing forest structural complexity. Community composition was analysed based on species specialism, life form, light, nutrient, acidity and disturbance indicator values and species' thermal niches. We found that herbaceous communities at urban forest edges supported more generalists and forbs but fewer ferns than in forests' interiors. A buffered summer microclimate proved crucial for the presence of fern species. The edge communities contained more thermophilous, disturbance-tolerant, nutrient-demanding and basiphilous plant species, a pattern strongly confirmed by corresponding edge-to-interior gradients in microclimate, soil and light conditions in the understorey. Additionally, plots with a lower canopy cover and higher light availability supported higher numbers of both generalists and forest specialists. Even though no significant interactions were found between the edge distance and forest structural complexity, opposing additive effects indicated that a dense canopy can be used to buffer negative edge effects. The urban environment poses a multifaceted filter on understorey plant communities which contributes to significant differences in community composition between urban forest edges and interiors. For urban biodiversity conservation and the buffering of edge effects, it will be key to maintain dense canopies near urban forest edges.
Keywords
peri-urban forest, community composition, community temperature index, disturbance indicator, Ellenberg indicator, forest edge, forest specialist, generalist, species richness, understorey, urban forest, SPECIES RICHNESS, UNDERSTOREY VEGETATION, NITROGEN DEPOSITION, GREEN SPACES, LAND-USE, URBANIZATION, CITY, BIODIVERSITY, GRADIENTS, TRAITS, cavelab

Downloads

  • (...).pdf
    • full text (Published version)
    • |
    • UGent only
    • |
    • PDF
    • |
    • 5.50 MB
  • 2024 02 13 AAM.docx
    • full text (Accepted manuscript)
    • |
    • open access
    • |
    • Word
    • |
    • 2.43 MB

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
De Pauw, Karen, et al. “Nutrient‐demanding and Thermophilous Plants Dominate Urban Forest‐edge Vegetation across Temperate Europe.” JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, vol. 35, no. 1, 2024, doi:10.1111/jvs.13236.
APA
De Pauw, K., Depauw, L., Calders, K., Cousins, S. A. O., Decocq, G., De Lombaerde, E., … De Frenne, P. (2024). Nutrient‐demanding and thermophilous plants dominate urban forest‐edge vegetation across temperate Europe. JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13236
Chicago author-date
De Pauw, Karen, Leen Depauw, Kim Calders, Sara A. O. Cousins, Guillaume Decocq, Emiel De Lombaerde, Martin Diekmann, et al. 2024. “Nutrient‐demanding and Thermophilous Plants Dominate Urban Forest‐edge Vegetation across Temperate Europe.” JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE 35 (1). https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13236.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
De Pauw, Karen, Leen Depauw, Kim Calders, Sara A. O. Cousins, Guillaume Decocq, Emiel De Lombaerde, Martin Diekmann, David Frey, Jonathan Lenoir, Camille Meeussen, Anna Orczewska, Jan Plue, Fabien Spicher, Florian Zellweger, Pieter Vangansbeke, Kris Verheyen, and Pieter De Frenne. 2024. “Nutrient‐demanding and Thermophilous Plants Dominate Urban Forest‐edge Vegetation across Temperate Europe.” JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE 35 (1). doi:10.1111/jvs.13236.
Vancouver
1.
De Pauw K, Depauw L, Calders K, Cousins SAO, Decocq G, De Lombaerde E, et al. Nutrient‐demanding and thermophilous plants dominate urban forest‐edge vegetation across temperate Europe. JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE. 2024;35(1).
IEEE
[1]
K. De Pauw et al., “Nutrient‐demanding and thermophilous plants dominate urban forest‐edge vegetation across temperate Europe,” JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, vol. 35, no. 1, 2024.
@article{01HQJHM5YDGAAVHZTR3XW88RNZ,
  abstract     = {{Forests are highly fragmented across the globe. For urban forests in particular, fragmentation increases the exposure to local warming caused by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. We here aim to quantify edge effects on herbaceous understorey vegetation in urban forests, and test whether these effects interact with forest structural complexity.
We set up a pan-European study at the continental scale including six urban forests in Zurich, Paris, Katowice, Brussels, Bremen, and Stockholm.
We recorded understorey plant communities from the edge towards the interior of urban forests. Within each urban forest, we studied edge-to-interior gradients in paired stands with differing forest structural complexity. Community composition was analysed based on species specialism, life form, light, nutrient, acidity and disturbance indicator values and species' thermal niches.
We found that herbaceous communities at urban forest edges supported more generalists and forbs but fewer ferns than in forests' interiors. A buffered summer microclimate proved crucial for the presence of fern species. The edge communities contained more thermophilous, disturbance-tolerant, nutrient-demanding and basiphilous plant species, a pattern strongly confirmed by corresponding edge-to-interior gradients in microclimate, soil and light conditions in the understorey. Additionally, plots with a lower canopy cover and higher light availability supported higher numbers of both generalists and forest specialists. Even though no significant interactions were found between the edge distance and forest structural complexity, opposing additive effects indicated that a dense canopy can be used to buffer negative edge effects.
The urban environment poses a multifaceted filter on understorey plant communities which contributes to significant differences in community composition between urban forest edges and interiors. For urban biodiversity conservation and the buffering of edge effects, it will be key to maintain dense canopies near urban forest edges.}},
  articleno    = {{e13236}},
  author       = {{De Pauw, Karen and Depauw, Leen and Calders, Kim and Cousins, Sara A. O. and Decocq, Guillaume and De Lombaerde, Emiel and Diekmann, Martin and Frey, David and Lenoir, Jonathan and Meeussen, Camille and Orczewska, Anna and Plue, Jan and Spicher, Fabien and Zellweger, Florian and Vangansbeke, Pieter and Verheyen, Kris and De Frenne, Pieter}},
  issn         = {{1100-9233}},
  journal      = {{JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE}},
  keywords     = {{peri-urban forest,community composition,community temperature index,disturbance indicator,Ellenberg indicator,forest edge,forest specialist,generalist,species richness,understorey,urban forest,SPECIES RICHNESS,UNDERSTOREY VEGETATION,NITROGEN DEPOSITION,GREEN SPACES,LAND-USE,URBANIZATION,CITY,BIODIVERSITY,GRADIENTS,TRAITS,cavelab}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{18}},
  title        = {{Nutrient‐demanding and thermophilous plants dominate urban forest‐edge vegetation across temperate Europe}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13236}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}

Altmetric
View in Altmetric
Web of Science
Times cited: