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Negative canopy–understorey interaction shapes the sapling bank of Fagus crenata in a cool-temperate, conifer–hardwood mixed forest

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Abstract

Negative density-dependence (NDD) is a major mechanism for shaping forest communities. However, its influence on species coexistence in conifer–hardwood mixed forests remains unclear. We aimed to determine whether NDD influences establishment of the seedling and/or sapling bank of Fagus crenata in an evergreen, coniferous Cryptomeria japonica-dominated stand, focusing on canopy structure (openness, distance from mature plants and species composition). For F. crenata trees, we analysed the spatial pattern using the pair-correlation function g(r) to test for NDD and spatial correspondence to canopy structure in two study plots established in a cool-temperate, old-growth conifer–hardwood mixed forest in western Japan. We also analysed the height growth of offspring and understorey light condition with respect to canopy structure. We detected evidence of NDD among neighbours during the transition of seedlings (age ≤ 4 years) to saplings (age > 4 years, stem length < 3 m). Although offspring densities at the seedling stage were highest under the conspecific canopy, those at the small sapling stage were significantly elevated under the C. japonica canopy in a zone extending 5 m beyond the drip lines of conspecifics. The height growth of saplings (age > 4 years) was elevated under the canopy of C. japonica, which was lighter than under that of F. crenata. Our results suggest that F. crenata recruitment was affected by NDD at the seedling-to-sapling transition under the conspecifics and allowed for the formation of the sapling bank under C. japonica canopies beyond the drip lines of conspecifics.

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Acknowledgments

We thank members of the Ashiu Forest Research Station, Kyoto University, for permission to conduct research within the study forest site and supporting our work. We also thank Masaru Okuda (who supported preparation of the software code for spatial analysis using GIS), Michimasa Yamasaki, Kazumichi Morishita and Ryoma Hayashi and the members of the Laboratory of Forest Vegetation Dynamics for assisting with the field surveys and providing helpful advice on our study. Dr. Karen Harper and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful suggestions for improving the manuscript.

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  1. Tomohiro Kuninaga

    Present address: Fukui Nature Conservation Center, Minami-Rokuroshi 169-11-2, Ono City, 912-0131, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Hangi-cho 1-5, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8522, Japan

    Tomohiro Kuninaga & Kimiko Hirayama

  2. Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Michinori Sakimoto

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  1. Tomohiro Kuninaga
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  2. Kimiko Hirayama
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Correspondence to Tomohiro Kuninaga.

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Communicated by Karen Harper.

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Kuninaga, T., Hirayama, K. & Sakimoto, M. Negative canopy–understorey interaction shapes the sapling bank of Fagus crenata in a cool-temperate, conifer–hardwood mixed forest. Plant Ecol 216, 1191–1202 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0501-9

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