NDLI: Red deer mediate spatial and temporal plant heterogeneity in boreal forests

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Lilleeng, Marte Synnøve Hegland, Stein Joar Rydgren, Knut Moe, Stein R.
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Selective herbivory can influence both spatial and temporal vegetation heterogeneity. For example, many northern European populations of free-ranging ungulates have reached unprecedented levels, which can influence plant species turnover, long-term maintenance of biodiversity and the subsequent stability of boreal ecosystems. However, the mechanisms by which large herbivores affect spatial and temporal vegetation heterogeneity remain poorly understood. Here, we combined a 10-year exclusion experiment with a herbivore intensity gradient to investigate how red deer (Cervus elaphus) acts as a driver of temporal and spatial heterogeneity in the understory of a boreal forest. We measured the two dimensions of heterogeneity as temporal and spatial species turnover. We found that temporal heterogeneity was positively related to herbivory intensity, and we found a similar trend for spatial heterogeneity. Removing red deer (exclosure) from our study system caused a distinct shift in species composition, both spatially (slow response) and temporally (quick response). Vegetation from which red deer had been excluded for 10 years showed the highest spatial heterogeneity, suggesting that the most stable forest understory will occur where there are no large herbivores. However, excluding red deer resulted in lower species diversity and greater dominance by a low number of plant species. If both stable but species rich ecosystems are the management goal, these findings suggest that naturally fluctuating, but moderate red deer densities should be sustained.
Starting Page	777
Ending Page	784
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09123814
Journal	Ecological Research
Volume Number	31
Issue Number	6
e-ISSN	14401703
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Japan
Publisher Date	2016-09-09
Publisher Place	Tokyo
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Biodiversity Cervids Ecosystem stability Herbivory intensity Plant communities Ecology Plant Sciences Zoology Evolutionary Biology Behavioral Sciences Forestry
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition-mediated assembly rules

Relationships among Key deer, insect herbivores, and plant quality

Temporal changes in Mediterranean bird communities across fragmented and continuous forests

Herbivory on young tree seedlings in old-growth and managed mountain forests

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Coarse woody debris respiration of Japanese red pine forests in Korea: controlling factors and contribution to the ecosystem carbon cycle

Spatial synchrony of wader populations in inland lakes of the Iberian Peninsula

Biodiversity loss and the taxonomic bottleneck: emerging biodiversity science

Impact of Red Deer Cervus elaphus Grazing on Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus and Composition of Ground Beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) Assemblage

Red deer mediate spatial and temporal plant heterogeneity in boreal forests

Similar Documents

Deer herbivory affects the functional diversity of forest floor plants via changes in competition-mediated assembly rules

Relationships among Key deer, insect herbivores, and plant quality

Temporal changes in Mediterranean bird communities across fragmented and continuous forests

Herbivory on young tree seedlings in old-growth and managed mountain forests

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Coarse woody debris respiration of Japanese red pine forests in Korea: controlling factors and contribution to the ecosystem carbon cycle

Spatial synchrony of wader populations in inland lakes of the Iberian Peninsula

Biodiversity loss and the taxonomic bottleneck: emerging biodiversity science

Impact of Red Deer Cervus elaphus Grazing on Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus and Composition of Ground Beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) Assemblage

Red deer mediate spatial and temporal plant heterogeneity in boreal forests