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Forests
Special Issues
Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics
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Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2023) | Viewed by 7935

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dylan Fischer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Field and Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory, Lab 1, 3051, The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia, WA 98505, USA
Interests: genes-to-ecosystems; ecological restoration; riparian forests; temperate rainforests; disturbance ecology; volcano ecology; community ecology; carbon and water cycling; nutrient cycles; tree root production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change effects on plant communities represent a major potential threat to global forest plant biodiversity. Nevertheless, many forest ecosystems have not been examined closely with respect to the effects of the climate and microclimate on individual species’ distributions, reproduction, and survival. Global change impacts on plant communities may occur via drought, nutrient dynamics, land-use change, invasive species, pathogens, and altered disturbance regimes. In light of climate change, it has been said that species can persist, adapt, move, or die. Accordingly, much of the responsiveness of individual species to changing climate conditions depends on plant traits, life history strategies, asexual reproduction, phenological patterns in growth and reproduction, and interactions with other elements of forest ecosystems such as disturbance, tree mortality, symbioses, and invasive species. The responsiveness of plant communities to global change will result from the amalgam of individual species’ responses and interactions. Defining the nature of these amalgam responses may help predict and manage changing biodiversity in forest ecosystems. In this Special Issue, we invite authors to contribute manuscripts representing forest plant species and plant community responses to climatic variation. We aim to include papers presenting data on individual species, communities, and the results of modeling in the context of climatic variation.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Autecology;
  • Assembly;
  • Disturbance ecology;
  • Changes in plant distributions;
  • Eco–evo dynamics;
  • Phenological variation in understory species;
  • Environmental filters;
  • Species pools and legacy effects;
  • Mortality and effects of pathogens;
  • Changes in plant reproduction and growth under changing climate conditions.

Dr. Dylan Fischer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • drought
  • forests
  • global change
  • land-use change
  • meta-analysis
  • diversity
  • global change experiments
  • herbaceous plants
  • richness
  • assembly
  • community genetics
  • climatic adaptation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1806 KiB  
Article
Unraveling the Relative Contributions of Deterministic and Stochastic Processes in Shaping Species Community Assembly in a Floodplain and Shallow Hillslope System
by Gustavo Enrique Mendoza-Arroyo, René Efraín Canché-Solís, Alejandro Morón-Ríos, Mario González-Espinosa and Moisés Méndez-Toribio
Forests 2024, 15(2), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15020250 - 28 Jan 2024
Viewed by 842
Abstract
Understanding the process underlying species coexistence is crucial in ecology. This challenge is relevant in tree communities inhabiting contrasting abiotic conditions, such as lowland floodplain and shallow hillslope karstic systems. We examined the influence of topographic variables and spatial factors on the structure [...] Read more.
Understanding the process underlying species coexistence is crucial in ecology. This challenge is relevant in tree communities inhabiting contrasting abiotic conditions, such as lowland floodplain and shallow hillslope karstic systems. We examined the influence of topographic variables and spatial factors on the structure of tree communities in the karstic system in Calakmul, Mexico. We measured 7050 trees (diameter at breast height ≥ 3 cm) in 152 circular plots and generated seven topographic variables from a digital elevation model. We employed redundancy analysis and variance partitioning to test the effects of environmental and spatial factors on tree communities. In addition, we used the null Raup–Crick model to uncover the relative importance of the deterministic and stochastic processes driving community assembly. Our study revealed significant floristic distinction between seasonally flooded and upland forests. The topographic wetness index (TWI) contribution to explaining the floristic differentiation in the studied tree assemblages was greater than that of the other topography-related variables. The explanatory power of the environmental and spatial factors varied slightly between datasets. The null model indicated a predominant influence of deterministic over stochastic processes. Our findings reaffirm the role of seasonal flooding as an abiotic filter. Additionally, the TWI can serve to identify flood-prone conditions within shallow depressions. The preservation of adjacent seasonally flooded and upland forests is relevant for the maintenance of tree diversity in the karst of the Yucatan Peninsula, since flooding drives the distribution of species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics)
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17 pages, 16812 KiB  
Article
Remote Sensing Identification and the Spatiotemporal Variation of Drought Characteristics in Inner Mongolia, China
by Xiaomin Liu, Sinan Wang and Yingjie Wu
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1679; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081679 - 18 Aug 2023
Viewed by 940
Abstract
In the context of global warming, timely and accurate drought monitoring is of great importance to ensure regional ecological security and guide agricultural production. This study established the Drought Severity Index (DSI), based on the potential evapotranspiration (PET), evapotranspiration (ET) and normalized difference [...] Read more.
In the context of global warming, timely and accurate drought monitoring is of great importance to ensure regional ecological security and guide agricultural production. This study established the Drought Severity Index (DSI), based on the potential evapotranspiration (PET), evapotranspiration (ET) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from 2001 to 2020, to compensate for the low accuracy of drought spatial and temporal evolution due to the uneven distribution of stations. The DSI index was established to reveal the spatial and temporal variation of droughts in Inner Mongolia in the past 20 years, using trend analysis, gravity shift and geographic probes, and to explore the influence of different factors on the DSI. The results were as follows. (1) The results showed that the spatial distribution of DSI in Inner Mongolia during 2001–2020 had strong spatial heterogeneity, and generally showed distribution characteristics of drought in the west and wet in the east. In addition, the changes in DSI all exhibited a rising tendency, with the highest tendency in deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF) and the lowest tendency in grassland (GRA). (2) The center of gravity of wet, normal and arid areas showed a migration trend from northeast to southwest, with migration distances of 209 km, 462 km and 826 km, respectively. (3) The four combinations of temperature and elevation, temperature and slope, temperature and land use, and temperature and rainfall contributed the most. The results obtained in this study are important for the scheduling of ecological early warnings and drought prevention and control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics)
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14 pages, 4557 KiB  
Article
Identifying the Main Factors Influencing Significant Global Vegetation Changes
by Yuxin Zhang, Yafeng Lu and Xueqian Song
Forests 2023, 14(8), 1607; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14081607 - 9 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of vegetation change is crucial for comprehending ecosystem functioning and its response to anthropogenic activities and climate change. This study investigates significant vegetation changes worldwide and aims to identify the dominant factors responsible for these changes. By analyzing long-term data [...] Read more.
Understanding the dynamics of vegetation change is crucial for comprehending ecosystem functioning and its response to anthropogenic activities and climate change. This study investigates significant vegetation changes worldwide and aims to identify the dominant factors responsible for these changes. By analyzing long-term data on vegetation dynamics and climatic factors, this research identifies regions with significant global vegetation changes and determines the main factors leading to such changes at the grid scale. The results reveal important insights into the drivers of vegetation change. Firstly, the study finds that the area experiencing significant browning from April to July is larger than the area exhibiting significant greening. Secondly, on an annual scale, anthropogenic activity emerges as the main factor driving significant vegetation greening, while climate change becomes the primary factor causing vegetation browning from July to September. Thirdly, in regions dominated by climate change, temperature is identified as the primary climatic factor contributing to significant vegetation greening. Additionally, the study reveals that the primary climatic factors causing significant vegetation browning are temperature followed by soil moisture, with temperature being the main factor in most months. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving global vegetation changes and have implications for sustainable development and climate action. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics)
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22 pages, 4279 KiB  
Article
Microevolutionary Processes in a Foundation Tree Inform Macrosystem Patterns of Community Biodiversity and Structure
by Helen M. Bothwell, Arthur R. Keith, Hillary F. Cooper, Julia B. Hull, Lela V. Andrews, Christian Wehenkel, Kevin R. Hultine, Catherine A. Gehring, Samuel A. Cushman, Thomas G. Whitham and Gerard J. Allan
Forests 2023, 14(5), 943; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14050943 - 3 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2312
Abstract
Despite an increased focus on multiscale relationships and interdisciplinary integration, few macroecological studies consider the contribution of genetic-based processes to landscape-scale patterns. We test the hypothesis that tree genetics, climate, and geography jointly drive continental-scale patterns of community structure, using genome-wide SNP data [...] Read more.
Despite an increased focus on multiscale relationships and interdisciplinary integration, few macroecological studies consider the contribution of genetic-based processes to landscape-scale patterns. We test the hypothesis that tree genetics, climate, and geography jointly drive continental-scale patterns of community structure, using genome-wide SNP data from a broadly distributed foundation tree species (Populus fremontii S. Watson) and two dependent communities (leaf-modifying arthropods and fungal endophytes) spanning southwestern North America. Four key findings emerged: (1) Tree genetic structure was a significant predictor for both communities; however, the strength of influence was both scale- and community-dependent. (2) Tree genetics was the primary driver for endophytes, explaining 17% of variation in continental-scale community structure, whereas (3) climate was the strongest predictor of arthropod structure (24%). (4) Power to detect tree genotype—community phenotype associations changed with scale of genetic organization, increasing from individuals to populations to ecotypes, emphasizing the need to consider nonstationarity (i.e., changes in the effects of factors on ecological processes across scales) when inferring macrosystem properties. Our findings highlight the role of foundation tree species as drivers of macroscale community structure and provide macrosystems ecology with a theoretical framework for linking fine- and intermediate-scale genetic processes to landscape-scale patterns. Management of the genetic diversity harbored within foundation species is a critical consideration for conserving and sustaining regional biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics)
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22 pages, 2495 KiB  
Article
Spatial Habitat Structure Assembles Willow-Dependent Communities across the Primary Successional Watersheds of Mount St. Helens, USA
by Charles D. Minsavage-Davis, Iris J. Garthwaite, Marisa D. Fisher, Addison Leigh, Joy M. Ramstack Hobbs, Shannon M. Claeson, Gina M. Wimp and Carri J. LeRoy
Forests 2023, 14(2), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14020322 - 6 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1833
Abstract
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 resulted in a cataclysmic restructuring of its surrounding landscapes. The Pumice Plain is one of these landscapes, where tree species such as Sitka willow (Salix sitchensis) and their dependent communities have been established [...] Read more.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 resulted in a cataclysmic restructuring of its surrounding landscapes. The Pumice Plain is one of these landscapes, where tree species such as Sitka willow (Salix sitchensis) and their dependent communities have been established along newly-formed streams. Thus, the study of these dependent communities provides a unique and rare opportunity to investigate factors influencing metacommunity assembly during true primary succession. We analyzed the influence of landscape connectivity on metacommunity assembly through a novel application of circuit theory, alongside the effects of other factors such as stream locations, willow leaf chemistry, and leaf area. We found that landscape connectivity structures community composition on willows across the Pumice Plain, where the least connected willows favored active flyers such as the western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma fragilis) or the Pacific willow leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta decora carbo). We also found that multiple levels of spatial habitat structure linked via landscape connectivity can predict the presence of organisms lacking high rates of dispersal, such as the invasive stem-boring poplar weevil (Cryptorhynchus lapathi). This is critical for management as we show that the maintenance of a heterogeneous mixture of landscape connectivity and resource locations can facilitate metacommunity dynamics to promote ecosystem function and mitigate the influences of invasive species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Change and Forest Plant Community Dynamics)
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