Abstract
Bryophytes form the major seedbed for coniferous trees in the subalpine forests of central Japan. Field experiments were conducted on the floor of a closed stand dominated byTsuga on Mt Fuji to examine the seedling survival ofAbies veitchii andTsuga diversifolia in seven substrate types in relation to the morphological characteristics of the seeds and seedlings. NeitherAbies norTsuga seedlings could survive on dwarf-bamboo litter beyond 2 years after the seed rain.Abies seedlings survived not only in all types of bryophyte communities but also in larch litter. In contrast, the survival ofTsuga seedlings was restricted to communities of smaller-statured bryophytes found on logs. The seeds and 1st year seedlings ofA. veitchii were larger than those ofT. diversifolia. Abies seedlings produced hypocotyls taller than any bryophyte community and radicles which were long enough to penetrate into the moist humus layer, whereasTsuga seedling radicles presumably penetrate into humus only in bryophyte communities forming a thin mat on logs. The effect of bryophytes on survival of tree seedlings therefore depends on the relationships between the morphology of seeds and seedlings and the structure of bryophyte communities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antos J. A. &Zobel D. B. (1985) Recovery of forest understories buried by tephra from Mount St Helens.Vegetatio 64: 103–11.
Bormann F. H. &Likens E. D. (1979)Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Christy E. J. &Mack R. N. (1984) Variation in demography of juvenileTsuga beterophylla across the substratum mosaic.J. Ecol. 72: 75–91.
Collins S. L. (1990) Habitat relationship of tree seedlings in hemlock-hardwood forest.Can. J. Bot. 68: 790–7.
Cross J. R. (1981) The establishment ofRhododendron ponticum in Killarney oakwoods, S. W. IrelandJ. Ecol. 69: 807–24.
Franklin J. F., Maeda T., Ohsumi Y., Matsui M., Yagi H. &Hawk G. M. (1979) Subalpine coniferous forests of Central Honshu, Japan.Ecol. Monogr. 49: 311–34.
Grime J. P. (1979)Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
Gross K. L. (1984) Effects of seed size and growth form on seedling establishment of six monocarpic perennial plants.J. Ecol. 72: 369–87.
Gross K. L. &Werner P. A. (1982) Colonizing abilities of biennial plant species in relation to ground cover: Implications for their distributions in a successional sere.Ecology 63: 921–31.
Harmon M. E. (1989) Retention of needles and seeds on logs inPicea sitchensis-Tsuga beterophylla forests of coastal Oregon and Washington,Can. J. Bot. 67: 1833–7.
Harmon M. E. &Franklin J. F. (1989) Tree seedlings on logs inPicea-Tsuga forests of Oregon and Washington,Ecology 70: 48–59.
Harmon M. E., Franklin J. F., Swanson F. W. et al. (1986) Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems.Adv. Ecol. Res. 15: 133–302.
Hayashi K. &Endo K. (1975) Effect of soil fungi and drought on the germination of todo-fir seed.Bull. Govt For. Exp. Stn. Japan 274: 1–22 (in Japanese with English summary).
Hibino K., Sato K., Iwata H. &Iizumi S. (1981) An ecological study on theAbies mariesii seedling. In:Ecological Studies on the Abies mariesiiForest (ed. S. Iizumi) pp. 1–14. The Mount Hakkoda Botanical Laboratory, Tohoku University, Sendai (in Japanese with English summary).
Keizer B. F., Van Tooren B. F. &During H. J. (1985) Effects of bryophytes on seedling emergence and establishment of short-lived forbs in chalk grassland.J. Ecol. 73: 493–504.
Nakamura T. (1984) Development of terricolous moss communities in subalpine coniferous forest of Mt Fuji.J. Hattori Bot. Lab. 56: 65–77.
Nakamura T. (1985) Forest succession in the subalpine region of Mt Fuji, Japan.Vegetatio 64: 15–27.
Nakamura T. (1987) Bryophyte and lichen succession on fallen logs and seedling establishment inTsuga-Abies forests of central Japan.Symp. Biol. Hungarica 35: 485–95.
Nakamura T. (1990) Succession and regeneration of subalpine forests in central Japan.Jpn. J. Hist. Bot. 7: 3–14 (in Japanese with English summary).
Nakamura T. &Obata K. (1982) Differences in ecological character betweenAbies veitchii andTsuga diversifolia I: Growth of saplings in gaps of subalpine forest on Mt Fuji.Bull. Tokyo Univ. For. 72: 121–38 (in Japanese with English summary).
Nakamura T. &Obata K. (1985) Differences in ecological character betweenAbies veitchii andTsuga diversifolia. II: Distribution of seedlings on the mosscovered floor ofTsuga forests on Mt Fuji.Bull. Tokyo Univ. For. 74: 67–79 (in Japanese with English summary).
Ogden J. (1985) Past, present and future: Studies on the population dynamics of some long-lived trees. In:Studies on Plant Demography (ed. J. White) pp. 3–16. Academic Press, London.
Oshima Y. (1961) Ecological studies ofSasa communities. I: Productive structure of some of theSasa communities in Japan.Bot. Mag. Tokyo 74: 199–210.
Peterson C. J., Carson W. P., McCarthy B. C. &Pickett S. T. A. (1990) Microsite variation and soil dynamics within newly created treefall pits and mounds,Oikos 58: 39–46.
Sohlberg E. H. &Biss L. C. (1987) Responses ofRanunculus sabinei andPapaver radicatum to removal of the moss layer in a high-arctic meadow.Can. J. Bot. 65: 1224–8.
Suzuki E., Ota K. &Fujiwara K. (1987) Regeneration process of coniferous forests in Northern Hokkaido I:Abies sachalinensis forest andPicea glenii forest.Ecol. Res. 2: 61–75.
Takahashi I. (1970) Studies on mycoflora and diseases of coniferous trees at the central Hokkaido, Japan: Special reference to Ascomycetes, Fungi imperfecti and Uredinales.Bull. Tokyo Univ. For. 69: 1–143 (in Japanese with English summary).
Taylor A. H. &Zisheng Q. (1988) Tree replacement patterns in subalpineAbies-Betula forests, Wolong Natural Reserve, China.Vegetatio 78: 141–9.
Van Tooren B. F. (1988) The fate of seeds after dispersal in chalk grassland: The role of the bryophyte layer.Oikos 53: 41–8.
Yamamoto S. (1971) Hydrologic study of volcano Fuji and its adjacent areas. In:Fuji-san: Results of the Cooperative Scientific Survey of Mt Fuji (ed. T. Tsuya et al.) pp. 151–209, Fujikyuko, Tokyo (in Japanese with English summary).
Yatoh K. (1963) Ecological studies on the subalpine forest in the Kii peninsula. II: 3. A vegetation ofPicea jezoensis var.bondoensis forest of Mt. Ohdaigahara, 4. The corticolous communities of mosses and seedlings ofPicea jezoensis var.bondoensis.Bull. Fac. Agric. Mie Univ. 28: 101–26 (in Japanese).
Yura H. 1989. Comparative ecophysiology ofLarix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. II: Mechanisms of higher drough resistance of seedlings ofL. kaempferi as compared withA. veitchii.Ecol. Res. 4: 351–60.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Nakamura, T. Effect of bryophytes on survival of conifer seedlings in subalpine forests of central Japan. Ecol. Res. 7, 155–162 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348494
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02348494