Abstract
Background and aims
Clear-cut logging currently is a key factor transforming forest communities in many boreal regions. The dynamics of biogeochemical processes taking place in clear-cuts makes them a good model for studying the response of plants to changes in environmental conditions. This study aimed to assess the response of nutrient, carbon and water exchange parameters in coniferous and deciduous plants after clear-cut forest harvesting.
Methods
The effects of environmental factors on the functional traits of regrowing trees in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), aspen (Populus tremula L.) and grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) were analysed during four growing seasons (2016–2019) in a clear-cut site and under the canopy of an undisturbed bilberry-type pine forest in the middle taiga of Karelia, Northwest Russia.
Results
Unidirectional changes were observed in the specific nutrient content, specific leaf area, biological macronutrient absorption capacity, stomatal conductance, and rates of photosynthesis and transpiration in the different tree species along a gradient of environmental factors. In most cases, the nutrient concentrations and N:P:K ratio were consistent in all species as environmental conditions changed. Species-specific responses were observed for the N:P:K and K:Ca:Mg ratios, photosynthetic water use and nitrogen use efficiency. Contrasting environmental conditions in the clear-cut and under forest canopy most significantly affect plant capacity to absorb nitrogen.
Conclusions
Variation in functional traits in the coniferous and deciduous species reflects their specific resource-use strategies in a heterogeneous environment and, hence, indicates the different adaptation potentials for various plant species.
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Acknowledgements
This study was carried out using equipment of the Core Facility of the Karelian Research Centre RAS. English language editing was provided by EcoSpatial Services L.L.C. (USA).
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This study was supported by the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (grant 17-04-01087-a) and the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS).
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Formal analysis, V.P., T.S., E.N., D.S., Yu.T., A.P., V.T., O.B. and A.O.; funding acquisition, T.S.; investigation, V.P. and T.S.; data collection of functional plant traits and analysis, V.P., E.N., D.S.; vegetation data collection and analysis, A.P. and V.T.; soil data collection and analysis, Yu.T. and O.B.; writing – original draft, V.P., T.S., A.O.; writing – review and editing, V.P., T.S., A.O. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Pridacha, V.B., Sazonova, T.A., Novichonok, E.V. et al. Clear-cutting impacts nutrient, carbon and water exchange parameters in woody plants in an east Fennoscandian pine forest. Plant Soil 466, 317–336 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05058-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05058-w