Scholarlink

<p>Forest plant diversity is threatened by global change, highlighting the importance of long-term monitoring to disentangle short-term fluctuations from directional changes of communities. We investigate changes in understory vascular plant communities over 25 years (1999–2023) in 31 Italian permanent ICP Forests plots across four forest biomes. We assessed temporal dynamics of alpha diversity with respect to climate, forest structure and soil parameters. Analysing the two components of beta diversity (turnover and nestedness) at two temporal scales, we distinguish between interannual variations and long-term trends. Richness loss occurred in alpine coniferous and temperate deciduous forests, driven by increased canopy closure and climatic extremes. In these forests, species decline corresponded to long-term trends in both turnover and nestedness. Conversely, Mediterranean (i.e., sclerophyllous evergreen forests) forests exhibited stable richness, characterized by interannual species turnover. Species filtering and replacement have increased in alpine coniferous and temperate deciduous forests, reflecting shifts from initial environmental conditions. Our results underscore changes in forest understory diversity over time, particularly in forests impacted by historic management practices and climatic extremes. Conversely, Mediterranean drought-prone forests with steady canopy cover appear more stable. Continued long-term monitoring is essential to assess how canopy stabilization and climate change interact in shaping future dynamics.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Canopy closure and intensifying climate extremes drive understory species loss over 25 years of forest monitoring

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月1日

查看全文
  • Maura Francioni,
  • Alessandro Bricca,
  • Anna Andreetta,
  • Giorgio Brunialti,
  • Filippo Bussotti,
  • Giandiego Campetella,
  • Roberto Canullo,
  • Stefano Carnicelli,
  • Guia Cecchini,
  • Marco Cervellini,
  • Francesco Chianucci,
  • Simone Di Piazza,
  • Zuzana Fačkovcová,
  • Luisa Frati,
  • Paolo Giordani,
  • Martina Pollastrini,
  • Nicola Puletti,
  • Mirca Zotti,
  • Stefano Chelli

摘要

Forest plant diversity is threatened by global change, highlighting the importance of long-term monitoring to disentangle short-term fluctuations from directional changes of communities. We investigate changes in understory vascular plant communities over 25 years (1999–2023) in 31 Italian permanent ICP Forests plots across four forest biomes. We assessed temporal dynamics of alpha diversity with respect to climate, forest structure and soil parameters. Analysing the two components of beta diversity (turnover and nestedness) at two temporal scales, we distinguish between interannual variations and long-term trends. Richness loss occurred in alpine coniferous and temperate deciduous forests, driven by increased canopy closure and climatic extremes. In these forests, species decline corresponded to long-term trends in both turnover and nestedness. Conversely, Mediterranean (i.e., sclerophyllous evergreen forests) forests exhibited stable richness, characterized by interannual species turnover. Species filtering and replacement have increased in alpine coniferous and temperate deciduous forests, reflecting shifts from initial environmental conditions. Our results underscore changes in forest understory diversity over time, particularly in forests impacted by historic management practices and climatic extremes. Conversely, Mediterranean drought-prone forests with steady canopy cover appear more stable. Continued long-term monitoring is essential to assess how canopy stabilization and climate change interact in shaping future dynamics.