TY - JOUR
T1 - Overstorey composition shapes across-trophic level community relationships in deciduous forest regardless of fragmentation context
AU - Perring, Michael P.
AU - Hertzog, Lionel R.
AU - De Groote, Stefanie R.E.
AU - Dekeukeleire, Daan
AU - Dekoninck, Wouter
AU - De Smedt, Pallieter
AU - Proesmans, Willem
AU - Sercu, Bram K.
AU - Sleeuwaert, Thiebe
AU - Van Keer, Johan
AU - van Schrojenstein Lantman, Irene M.
AU - Vantieghem, Pieter
AU - Baeten, Lander
AU - Bonte, Dries
AU - Martel, An
AU - Verheyen, Kris
AU - Lens, Luc
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Communities across trophic levels, and the functional roles they play, are vital for the sustained provision of ecosystem services. In forest systems, diversification of overstorey composition has been shown to be a key driver of biodiversity, but its influence on across-trophic level relationships remains scarcely known. Species across trophic levels in varied overstorey compositions are also differentially susceptible to fragmentation context. We hypothesise that fragmentation will disrupt community relationships associated with particular overstorey compositions. We test this hypothesis using a tree diversity research platform across 53 deciduous woodland plots in central Belgium. We estimate species’ abundances within nine, generally taxonomic, community groups across trophic levels: understorey vegetation; leaf miners and gall formers; woodlice, millipedes; carabid beetles, harvestmen, spiders, birds, bats. We use multiple co-inertia analyses to examine how taxonomic and trophic role community matrices covary across gradients of overstorey composition, via three different tree species diversification pathways, and fragmentation. For all trophic role groups, across all plots, there was at least one significant pairwise comparison. Apart from comparisons involving bats, there was at least one significant pairwise correlation between taxonomic groups too. These results indicate correlated community matrices across trophic levels. Overstorey composition related to community tightness, that is, the level of co-ordinated change among taxonomic and/or trophic role groups as revealed by multiple co-inertia analyses. Notably, diversifying woodlands of beech Fagus sylvatica or red oak Quercus rubra with pedunculate oak Quercus robur correlated with increased taxonomic community tightness. Diversifying pedunculate oak forest stands with other overstorey species related to unchanged community tightness. Evidence was lacking for fragmentation affecting community tightness, singly or by interacting with overstorey composition. Synthesis. Overall, changing tree species composition and fragmentation level affected across-trophic level community relationships differently. Yet, we demonstrated a clear signal that diversifying monoculture stands with particular species correlated with greater community tightness, and co-ordinated change among sets of community groups, across trophic levels and regardless of fragmentation context. We postulate that having tighter community relationships suggests that measures to improve biodiversity at one trophic level (i.e. trees) could affect other groups, and their associated roles, in a co-ordinated manner.
AB - Communities across trophic levels, and the functional roles they play, are vital for the sustained provision of ecosystem services. In forest systems, diversification of overstorey composition has been shown to be a key driver of biodiversity, but its influence on across-trophic level relationships remains scarcely known. Species across trophic levels in varied overstorey compositions are also differentially susceptible to fragmentation context. We hypothesise that fragmentation will disrupt community relationships associated with particular overstorey compositions. We test this hypothesis using a tree diversity research platform across 53 deciduous woodland plots in central Belgium. We estimate species’ abundances within nine, generally taxonomic, community groups across trophic levels: understorey vegetation; leaf miners and gall formers; woodlice, millipedes; carabid beetles, harvestmen, spiders, birds, bats. We use multiple co-inertia analyses to examine how taxonomic and trophic role community matrices covary across gradients of overstorey composition, via three different tree species diversification pathways, and fragmentation. For all trophic role groups, across all plots, there was at least one significant pairwise comparison. Apart from comparisons involving bats, there was at least one significant pairwise correlation between taxonomic groups too. These results indicate correlated community matrices across trophic levels. Overstorey composition related to community tightness, that is, the level of co-ordinated change among taxonomic and/or trophic role groups as revealed by multiple co-inertia analyses. Notably, diversifying woodlands of beech Fagus sylvatica or red oak Quercus rubra with pedunculate oak Quercus robur correlated with increased taxonomic community tightness. Diversifying pedunculate oak forest stands with other overstorey species related to unchanged community tightness. Evidence was lacking for fragmentation affecting community tightness, singly or by interacting with overstorey composition. Synthesis. Overall, changing tree species composition and fragmentation level affected across-trophic level community relationships differently. Yet, we demonstrated a clear signal that diversifying monoculture stands with particular species correlated with greater community tightness, and co-ordinated change among sets of community groups, across trophic levels and regardless of fragmentation context. We postulate that having tighter community relationships suggests that measures to improve biodiversity at one trophic level (i.e. trees) could affect other groups, and their associated roles, in a co-ordinated manner.
KW - biodiversity
KW - co-inertia analysis
KW - Fagus sylvatica
KW - forest fragmentation
KW - Quercus robur
KW - Quercus rubra
KW - tree composition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099763664&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1365-2745.13580
DO - 10.1111/1365-2745.13580
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099763664
SN - 0022-0477
VL - 109
SP - 1591
EP - 1606
JO - Journal of Ecology
JF - Journal of Ecology
IS - 4
ER -