Abstract
We examined edge effects of narrow linear openings on the performance of cow-wheat (Melampyrum lineare, Desr.), an herbaceous annual and facultative hemi-parasite, in the boreal forest. Our objective was to determine the edge effects from linear disturbances: (1) on the abundance and performance (height, flower, and fruit production) of cow-wheat at both the population and individual-level; and (2) on abiotic/biotic (vegetation structure) conditions that might influence cow-wheat responses at edges. In jack pine-dominated boreal forests of northern Alberta, Canada we measured cow-wheat height, reproductive success, and abundance in three treatments: on a linear disturbance (6–8 m wide), at the edge of that disturbance, and in the adjacent interior forest. Our results suggest that cow-wheat abundance and seed production at the population level are positively influenced by the creation of openings and associated edge effects, but cow-wheat individual performance was not. In addition, we found evidence of ‘edge sealing’, with edges characterized by higher tree and sapling density compared to both the interior forest and seismic lines and higher short shrub cover than in the interior forest. Our results provide insight into positive effects of forest openings and associated edges on this hemi-parasitic annual with implications for increased population abundance in the face of increasing fragmentation in the boreal forest.
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Data availability
Data analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Renae Shewan and Allison Roth for their assistance in the field and Jacqueline Dennett for assistance with site selection.
Funding
This research was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Development Grant to S.E.N. [CRDPJ-498955-16] and a Discovery Grant to S.E.M. [Grant no. 46725].
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by LE, with guidance from EM and SN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LE and EM and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Communicated by javad Eshaghi Rad.
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Echiverri, L.F.I., Macdonald, S.E. & Nielsen, S.E. Edge effects of a linear disturbance on the abundance and reproduction of an annual, Melampyrum lineare, in the boreal forest. Plant Ecol 225, 391–401 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01352-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01352-y