Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Seedling recruitment in response to artificial gaps: predicting the ecological consequence of forest disturbance

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Artificial gaps are widely created for forest management. However, the interactive effects of gap sizes and within-gap locations on seedling regeneration are rarely tested. Therefore, whether there are lower and upper size limits for artificial gaps remains controversial. Here, we aimed to test the hypothesis that the effects of within-gap positions on seedling regeneration are dependent on gap sizes. Newly germinated wild seedlings of shade-intolerant Quercus mongolica scattered in different positions within artificially created gaps of different sizes were surveyed to test our hypothesis. Large gaps promoted seedling growth more than medium and small gaps. The increase in Q. mongolica seedling growth in large gaps can be largely attributed to the dormancy breaking of the apical buds and increased net photosynthetic rates. More importantly, we showed that the effects of within-gap position were prominent only in medium gaps, i.e., the effect of within-gap position appears to be dependent on gap size. We show an integrative effect of gap size and within-gap location on seedling performance of shade-intolerant oaks, suggesting future studies should evaluate the influence of within-gap location in conjunction with the role of gap size. We therefore suggest that gap creation in silvicultural systems should highlight the lower and upper size limits of forest gaps, which will vary with the species and regions studied.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrari Vajari K, Jalilvand H, Pourmajidian MR, Espahbodi K, Moshki A (2012) Effect of canopy gap size and ecological factors on species diversity and beech seedlings in managed beech stands in Hyrcanian forests. J For Res 23:217–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Aguilera MO, Lauenroth WK (1995) Influence of gap disturbances and type of microsites on seedling establishment in Bouteloua gracilis. J Ecol 83:87–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Albanesi E, Gugliotta OI, Mercurio R (2005) Effects of gap size and within-gap position on seedlings establishment in Silver fir stands. iForest 2:358–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton DH, Turner JS (1979) Studies on the light compensation point of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. Aust J Bot 27:589–607

    Google Scholar 

  • Barton AM, Fetcher N, Redhead S (1989) The relationship between treefall gap size and light flux in a Neotropical rain forest in Costa Rica. J Trop Ecol 5:437–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Battaglia M, Reid JB (1993) The effect of microsite variation on seed germination and seedling survival of Eucalyptus delegatensis. Aust J Bot 42:169–181

    Google Scholar 

  • Brokaw NVL (1985) Gap-phase regeneration in a tropical forest. Ecology 66:682–687

    Google Scholar 

  • Brokaw N, Busing RT (2000) Niche versus chance and tree diversity in forest gaps. Trends Ecol Evol 15:183–188

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown N (1996) A gradient of seedling growth from the centre of a tropical rain forest canopy gap. For Ecol Manag 82:239–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Brumme R (1995) Mechanisms of carbon and nutrient release and retention in beech forest gaps. Plant Soil 168–169:593–600

    Google Scholar 

  • Canham CD, Denslow JS, Platt WJ, Runkle JR, Spies TA, White PS (1990) Light regimes beneath closed canopies and tree-fall gaps in temperate and tropical forests. Can J For Res 20:620–631

    Google Scholar 

  • Čater M, Diaci J, Roženbergar D (2014) Gap size and position influence variable response of Fagus sylvatica L. and Abies alba Mill. For Ecol Manag 325:128–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Clinton BD (2003) Light, temperature, and soil moisture responses to elevation, evergreen understory, and small canopy gaps in the southern Appalachians. For Ecol Manag 186:243–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Coates KD (2000) Conifer seedling response to northern temperate forest gaps. For Ecol Manag 127:249–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Cremer KW (1975) Temperature and other climatic influences on shoot development and growth of Eucalyptus regnans. Aust J Bot 13:303–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalling JW, Hubbell SP, Silvera K (1998) Seed dispersal, seedling establishment and gap partitioning among tropical pioneer trees. J Ecol 86:674–689

    Google Scholar 

  • Denslow JS (1980) Gap partitioning among tropical rainforest trees. Biotropica 12:47–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Diaci J, Gyoerek N, Gliha J, Nagel TA (2008) Response of Quercus robur L. seedlings to north-south asymmetry of light within gaps in floodplain forests of Slovenia. Ann For Sci 65:105–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupuy JM, Chazdon RL (2008) Interacting effects of canopy gap, understory vegetation and leaf litter on tree seedling recruitment and composition in tropical secondary forests. For Ecol Manag 255:3716–3725

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellsworth DS, Reich PB (1993) Canopy structure and vertical patterns of photosynthesis and related leaf traits in a deciduous forest. Oecologia 96:169–178

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fahey RT, Puettmann KJ (2007) Ground-layer disturbance and initial conditions influence gap partitioning of understorey vegetation. J Ecol 95:1098–1109

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrester JA, Lorimer CG, Dyer JH, Gower ST, Mladenoff DJ (2014) Response of tree regeneration to experimental gap creation and deer herbivory in north temperate forests. For Ecol Manag 329:137–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Gálhidy L, Mihók B, Hagyó A, Rajkai K, Standovár T (2006) Effects of gap size and associated changes in light and soil moisture on the understorey vegetation of a Hungarian beech forest. Plant Ecol 183:133–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Gendreau-Berthiaume B, Kneeshaw D (2009) Influence of gap size and position within gaps on light levels. Int J For Res. https://doi.org/10.1155/2009/581412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giordano CV, Sánchez RA, Austin AT (2009) Gregarious bamboo flowering opens a window of opportunity for regeneration in a temperate forest of Patagonia. New Phytol 181:880–889

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gray AN, Spies TA (1996) Gap size, within-gap position and canopy structure effects on conifer seedling establishment. J Ecol 84:635–645

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray AN, Spies TA (1997) Microsite controls on tree seedling establishment in conifer forest canopy gaps. Ecology 78:2458–2473

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann M, Isselstein J (2004) Seedling recruitment on agriculturally improved mesic grassland: the influence of disturbance and management schemes. Appl Veget Sci 7:193–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Holeksa J (2003) Relationship between field-layer vegetation and canopy openings in a Carpathian subalpine spruce forest. Plant Ecol 168:57–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Houter NC, Pons TL (2014) Gap effects on leaf traits of tropical rainforest trees differing in juvenile light requirement. Oecologia 175:37–50

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kellner JR, Asner GP (2009) Convergent structural responses of tropical forests to diverse disturbance regimes. Ecol Lett 12:887–897

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy DN, Swaine MD (1992) Germination and growth of colonizing species in artificial gaps of different sizes in Dipterocarp rain forest. Philos Trans Biol Sci 335:357–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Kern CC, Reich PB, Montgomery RA, Strong TF (2012) Do deer and shrubs override canopy gap size effects on growth and survival of yellow birch, northern red oak, eastern white pine, and eastern hemlock seedlings? For Ecol Manag 267:134–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Kern CC, Montgomery RA, Reich PB, Strong TF (2013) Canopy gap size influences niche partitioning of the ground-layer plant community in a northern temperate forest. J Plant Ecol 6:101–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim GS, Son HK, Lee CH, Cho HJ, Lee CS (2011) Ecological comparison of Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb.) community between Mt. Nam and Mt. Jeombong as a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. J Ecol Field Biol 34:75–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Krause GH, Winter K (1996) Photoinhibition of photosynthesis in plants growing in natural tropical forest gaps. A chlorophyll fluorescence study. Bot Acta 109:456–462

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krause GH, Koroleva OY, Dalling JW, Winter K (2001) Acclimation of tropical tree seedlings to excessive light in simulated tree-fall gaps. Plant Cell Environ 24:1345–1352

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kwit C, Platt WJ (2003) Disturbance history influences regeneration of non-pioneer trees. Ecology 84:2575–2581

    Google Scholar 

  • Letts MG, Rodríguez-Calcerrada J, Rolo V, Rambal S (2012) Long-term physiological and morphological acclimation by the evergreen shrub Buxus sempervirens L. to understory and canopy gap light intensities. Trees 26:479–491

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu D, Zhu J, Sun Y, Hu L, Zhang G (2015) Gap closure process by lateral extension growth of canopy trees and its effect on woody species regeneration in a temperate secondary forest, northeast China. Silva Fenn 49:1310

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu D, Geoff Wang G, Yan Q, Gao T, Zhu J (2018) Effects of gap size and within-gap position on seedling growth and biomass allocation: is the gap partitioning hypothesis applicable to the temperate secondary forest ecosystems in northeast China? For Ecol Manag 429:351–362

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy J (2001) Gap dynamics of forest trees: a review with particular attention to boreal forests. Environ Rev 9:1–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Muscolo A, Bagnato S, Sidari M, Mercurio R (2014) A review of the roles of forest canopy gaps. J For Res 25:725–736

    Google Scholar 

  • Naaf T, Wulf M (2007) Effects of gap size, light and herbivory on the herb layer vegetation in European beech forest gaps. For Ecol Manag 244:141–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Pakeman RJ, Small JL (2005) The role of the seed bank, seed rain and the timing of disturbance in gap regeneration. J Veg Sci 16:121–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Powers MD, Pregitzer KS, Palik BJ (2008) Physiological performance of three pine species provides evidence for gap partitioning. For Ecol Manag 256:2127–2135

    Google Scholar 

  • Rabelo GR, Vitória AP, da Silva MVA, Cruz RA, Pinho EIB, Ribeiro DR, Freitas AV, Cunha MA (2013) Structural and ecophysiological adaptations to forest gaps. Trees 27:259–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao P, Barik SK, Pandey HN, Tripathi RS (1997) Tree seed germination and seedling establishment in treefall gaps and understorey in a subtropical forest of northeast India. Aust J Ecol 22:136–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond P, Munson AD, Ruel JC, Coates KD (2006) Spatial patterns of soil microclimate, light, regeneration, and growth within silvicultural gaps of mixed tolerant hardwood–white pine stands. Can J For Res 36:639–651

    Google Scholar 

  • Rittera E, Dalsgaarda L, Einhornb KS (2005) Light, temperature and soil moisture regimes following gap formation in a semi-natural beech-dominated forest in Denmark. For Ecol Manag 206:15–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Romell E, Hallsby G, Karlsson A (2009) Forest floor light conditions in a secondary tropical rain forest after artificial gap creation in northern Borneo. Agric For Meteorol 149:929–937

    Google Scholar 

  • Royo AA, Carson WP (2006) On the formation of dense understory layers in forests worldwide: consequences and implications for forest dynamics, biodiversity, and succession. Can J For Res 36:1345–1362

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharenbroch BC, Bockheim JG (2007) Impacts of forest gaps on soil properties and processes in old growth northern hardwood-hemlock forests. Plant Soil 294:219–233

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schnitzer SA, Carson WP (2010) Lianas suppress tree regeneration and diversity in treefall gaps. Ecol Lett 13:849–857

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shields JM, Webster CR, Nagel LM (2007) Factors influencing tree species diversity and Betula alleghaniensis establishment in silvicultural openings. Forestry 80:293–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Sipe TW, Bazzaz FA (1994) Gap partitioning among maples (Acer) in central New England: shoot architecture and photosynthesis. Ecology 75:2318–2332

    Google Scholar 

  • Swaine MD, Whitmore TC (1988) On the definition of ecological species groups in tropical rain forests. Vegetatio 75:81–86

    Google Scholar 

  • VanPelt R, Franklin JF (1999) Response of understory trees to experimental gaps in old-growth Douglas-fir forests. Ecol Appl 9:504–512

    Google Scholar 

  • Walters MB, Willis JL, Gottschalk KW (2014) Seedling growth responses to light and mineral N form are predicted by species ecologies and can help explain tree diversity. Can J For Res 44:1356–1368

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Liu J, Zhang JX, Li XF, Zhu CG, Zhao TB, Yue Y, Zhang SY (2015) Spatial distribution characteristics of photosynthetic photon flux density and air temperature in gaps at two different slope directions of secondary forest ecosystem in montane are of eastern Liaoning province. Chin J Ecol 34:933–940

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whitmore TC (1989) Canopy gaps and two major groups of forest trees. Ecology 70:536–538

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis JL, Walters MB, Gottschalk KW (2015) Scarification and gap size have interacting effects on northern temperate seedling establishment. For Ecol Manag 347:237–247

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright EF, Coates KD, Bartemucci P (1998) Regeneration from seed of six tree species in the interior cedar-hemock forests of British Columbia as affected by substrate and canopy gap position. Can J For Res 28:1352–1364

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu JB, Guan DX, Sun XM, Zhang M, Shi TT, Han SJ, Jin CJ (2006) Photosynthetic characteristics of dominant tree species and canopy in the broadleaved Korean pine forest of Changbai Mountains. Sci China Earth Sci 49:89–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto S, Nishimura N (1999) Canopy gap formation and replacement pattern of major tree species among developmental stages of beech (Fagus crenata) stands. Jpn Plant Ecol 140:167–176

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang M, Zhu J, Li M, Zhang G, Yan Q (2013) Different light acclimation strategies of two coexisting tree species seedlings in a temperate secondary forest along five natural light levels. For Ecol Manag 306:234–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang M, Wang Z, Liu X, Yi X (2017) Seedling predation of Quercus mongolica by small rodents in response to forest gaps. New For 48:83–94

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Tan H, Li F, Chen M, Zhang J (2007) Microclimate regimes following gap formation in a montane secondary forest of eastern Liaoning Province, China. J For Res 18:167–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Lu D, Zhang W (2014) Effects of gaps on regeneration of woody plants: a meta-analysis. J For Res 25:501–510

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Zhang G, Wang G, Yan Q, Lu D, Li X, Zheng X (2015) On the size of forest gaps: can their lower and upper limits be objectively defined? Agric For Meteorol 213:64–76

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Funding for this study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31760156), the Young Talents Invitation Program of Shandong Provincial Colleges and Universities (2019601) and the Doctoral Starting up Foundation of Henan University of Science and Technology (13480077). The authors thank Prof. Jiaojun Zhu and his research group for allowing them to use the artificial gaps.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471000, China

    Mingming Zhang

  2. College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, China

    Xianfeng Yi

Authors
  1. Mingming Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xianfeng Yi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xianfeng Yi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Communicated by Thomas A. Nagel.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 352 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, M., Yi, X. Seedling recruitment in response to artificial gaps: predicting the ecological consequence of forest disturbance. Plant Ecol 222, 81–92 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-020-01089-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-020-01089-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation