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Effects of the topographic niche differentiation on the coexistence of major and minor species in a species-rich temperate forest

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Topographic niche differentiation (TND) is believed to facilitate the coexistence of tree species, but its effects are not well established for minor species or for life stages beyond recruitment. In this study, the effects of topography (slope inclination and topographic configuration) on the demographic parameters (mortality, diameter growth rate and recruitment rate) of both major and minor species in a species-rich temperate forest were examined using a mixed-model approach. The model selection analysis detected interspecies difference in the response of recruitment rate to topographic configuration. However, mortality and diameter growth rate of stems with DBH ≥ 5 cm did not show any species-specific response to two topographic parameters. The recruitment rate of major species tended to be higher under topographic conditions where many stems of the species already existed, suggesting significant habitat segregation. No such correlation was found for minor species. These results suggest TND has a limited effect on habitat segregation among species, and that other mechanisms also contributed to coexistence, especially when considering minor species.

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Acknowledgments

This study originated in discussions with Takuya Kubo and Taku Kadoya. Early drafts of the paper were refined by Susumu Goto, Keita Fukazawa, and Kiyoshi Umeki. Especially helpful were discussions with Takashi B. Nishimura, Takashi Masaki, Akio Takenaka, and anonymous reviewers, and also the advice and information provided by Tsutom Hiura, Wataru Ishizuka, and Tohru Nakasizuka. The census plot used here was established by Mikio Kaji and Tatsuya Okubo, managed by Haruo Sawada (who also corroborated for Fig. 1), Shinsaku Shibano, Kazuya Omura, and many other UF-Chichibu staff. Akio Fujiwara contributed greatly to making the data available and registering it in the Ja-LTER.

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  1. University Forest in Chichibu, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Hinoda-cho 1-1-49, Chichibu, Saitama, 368-0034, Japan

    Maki Suzuki

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  1. Maki Suzuki
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Correspondence to Maki Suzuki.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 5.

Table 5 Abbreviations of species and the number of stems used for model fitting
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Suzuki, M. Effects of the topographic niche differentiation on the coexistence of major and minor species in a species-rich temperate forest. Ecol Res 26, 317–326 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-010-0786-z

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