Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Influence of ground flora on Fraxinus mandshurica seedling growth on abandoned land and beneath forest canopy

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
European Journal of Forest Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A better understanding of root/shoot interactions influencing seedling growth on abandoned land could yield insight into seedling regeneration and restoration of the abandoned lands. Field work had been conducted for 2 years (2008–2009) to investigate the impacts of neighbouring plants on Manchurian Ash (Fraxinus mandshurica) seedling growth under the canopy of an old secondary forest and on the abandoned land exposed to full solar radiation in North-eastern China. Four different interaction treatments were designed for the study: neither shoot nor root interaction, shoot interaction only, root interaction only, and both shoot and root interaction. The presence of either the shoots or roots of neighbours had a competitive effect, reducing the growth of the target seedlings at each site. The total competitive effect of roots and shoots of neighbouring plants was significantly less than the sum of root and shoot competition separately on the abandoned land, but this difference was not significant beneath the forest canopy. Root competition was more restraining than shoot competition on the abandoned land. Target seedlings adjusted their root morphology and growth rates in response to the competitive effects from different parts of the neighbouring plants. Our results indicated that the root:shoot ratios of the target seedlings at the end of the experiment were affected by neither initial tree size nor the competition from either above- or belowground at either site. The results also highlight the importance of reducing root competition in boosting seedling regeneration and forest rehabilitation on the abandoned land.

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

  • Bertness MD, Callaway RM (1994) Positive interactions in communities. Trends Ecol Evol 9:191–193

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Ewanchuk PJ (2002) Latitudinal and climate-driven variation in the strength and nature of biological interactions in New England salt marshes. Oecologia 132:392–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Leonard GH (1997) The role of positive interactions in communities: lessons from intertidal habitats. Ecology 78:1976–1989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonhomme R, Chartier P (1972) The interpretation and automatic measurement of hemispherical photographs to obtain sunlit foliage area and gap frequency. Isr J Agr Res 22:53–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Callaghan TV (1998) The balance between positive and negative plant interactions and its relationship to environmental gradients: a model. Oikos 81:196–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Scott D, Palmer SCF, Swaine E (2006) Transient facilitative effects of heather on Scots pine along a grazing disturbance gradient in Scottish moorland. J Ecol 94:637–645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Maestre FT, Callaway RM, Lortie CL, Cavieres LA, Kunstler G, Liancourt P, Tielbörger K, Travis JMJ, Anthelme F, Armas C, Coll L, Corcket E, Delzon S, Forey E, Kikvidze Z, Olofsson J, Pugnaire F, Quiroz CL, Saccone P, Schiffers K, Seifan M, Touzard B, Michalet R (2008) Facilitation in plant communities: the past, the present, and the future. J Ecol 96:18–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahill JF (1999) Fertilization effects on interactions between above- and belowground competition in an old field. Ecology 80:466–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahill JF (2002) Interactions between root and shoot competition vary among species. Oikos 99:101–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahill JF (2003) Lack of relationship between belowground competition and allocation to roots in 10 grassland species. J Ecol 91:532–540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Brooker RW, Choler P, Kikvidze Z, Lortie CJ, Michalet R, Paolini L, Pugnaire FI, Newingham B, Aschehoug ET, Armas C, Kikodze D, Cook BJ (2002) Positive interactions among alpine plants increase with stress. Nature 417:844–848

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Pennings SC, Richards CL (2003) Phenotypic plasticity and interactions among plants. Ecology 84:1125–1128

    Google Scholar 

  • Canham CD, Kobe RK, Latty EF, Chazdon RL (1999) Interspecific and intraspecific variation in tree seedling survival: effects of allocation to roots versus carbohydrate reserves. Oecologia 121:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casper BB, Cahill JF, Hyatt LA (1998) Above-ground competition does not alter biomass allocated to roots in Abutilon theophrasti. New Phytol 140:231–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon RL (2008) Beyond deforestation: restoring forests and ecosystem services on degraded lands. Science 320:1458–1460

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clements FE, Weaver JE, Hanson HC (1929) Plant competition: an analysis of community functions. Carnegie Institute, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Donald CM (1958) The interaction of competition for light and for nutrients. Aust J Agr Res 9:421–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg DE, Barton AM (1992) Patterns and consequences of interspecific competition in natural communities: a review of field experiments with plants. Am Nat 139:771–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP, Hodgson JG (1987) Botanical contributions to contemporary ecological theory. New Phytol 106:283–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griscom HP, Griscom BW, Ashton MS (2009) Forest regeneration from pasture in the dry tropics of Panama: effects of cattle, exotic grass, and forested riparia. Restor Ecol 17:117–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb PJ, Lee WG, Kollmann J, Wilson JB (1996) Interaction of irradiance and soil nutrient supply on growth of seedlings of ten European tall–shrub species and Fagus sylvatica. J Ecol 84:827–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunaratne AMTA, Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN, Madawala Weerasinghe HMSP, Burslem DFRP (2010) Barriers to tree seedling emergence on human-induced grasslands in Sri Lanka. J Appl Ecol 47:157–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunaratne AMTA, Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke IAUN, Madawala Weerasinghe HMSP, Burslem DFRP (2011) Release from root competition promotes tree seedling survival and growth following transplantation into human-induced grasslands in Sri Lanka. For Ecol Manage 262:229–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges LV, Gurevitch J, Curtis PS (1999) The meta-analysis of response ratios in experimental ecology. Ecology 80:1150–1156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holl KD (1998) Effects of above- and below-ground competition of shrubs and grass on Calophyllum brasiliense (Camb.) seedling growth in abandoned tropical pasture. For Ecol Manage 109:187–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holl KD, Loik ME, Lin EHV, Samuels IA (2000) Tropical montane forest restoration in Costa Rica: overcoming barriers to dispersal and establishment. Restor Ecol 8:339–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmgren M, Scheffer M, Huston MA (1997) The interplay of facilitation and competition in plant communities. Ecology 78:1966–1975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper E, Condit R, Legendre P (2002) Responses of 20 native tree species to reforestation strategies for abandoned farmland in Panama. Ecol Appl 12:1626–1641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper ER, Legendre P, Condit R (2004) Factors affecting community composition of forest regeneration in deforested, abandoned land in Panama. Ecology 85:3313–3326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen AM, Löf M, Gardiner ES (2011) Effects of above- and below-ground competition from shrubs on photosynthesis, transpiration and growth in Quercus robur L. seedlings. Environ Exp Bot 71:367–375

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalembasa SJ, Jenkinson DS (1973) A comparative study of titrimetric and gravimetric methods for the determination of organic carbon in soil. J Sci Food Agr 24:1085–1090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keddy PA (2001) Competition, 2nd edn. Kluwer, Dordrecht

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kikvidze Z, Suzuki M, Brooker R (2011) Importance versus intensity of ecological effects: why context matters. Trends Ecol Evol 26:383–388

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb D (1998) Large-scale ecological restoration of degraded tropical forest lands: the potential role of timber plantations. Restor Ecol 6:271–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loik ME, Holl KD (1999) Photosynthetic responses to light for rainforest seedlings planted in abandoned pasture, Costa Rica. Restor Ecol 7:382–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo W, Xie Y, Chen X, Li F, Qin X (2010) Competition and facilitation in three marsh plants in response to a water-level gradient. Wetlands 30:525–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manly BFJ (1997) Randomization, bootstrap and Monte Carlo methods in biology. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Messier C, Nikinmaa E (2000) Effects of light availability and sapling size on the growth, biomass allocation, and crown morphology of understory sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech. Ecoscience 7:345–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulligan MK, Kirkman LK (2002) Competition effects on wiregrass (Aristida beyrichana) growth and survival. Plant Ecol 167:39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nepstad DC, Uhl C, Pereira CA, da Silva JMC (1996) A comparative study of tree establishment in abandoned pasture and mature forest of eastern Amazonia. Oikos 76:25–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman EI (1973) Competition and diversity in herbaceous vegetation. Nature 244:311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings SC, Selig ER, Houser LT, Bertness MD (2003) Geographic variation in positive and negative interactions among salt marsh plants. Ecology 84:1527–1538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posada JM, Aide TM, Cavelier J (2000) Cattle and weedy shrubs as restoration tools of tropical montane rainforest. Restor Ecol 8:370–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pregitzer KS, DeForest JL, Burton AJ, Allen MF, Ruess RW, Hendrick RL (2002) Fine root architecture of nine north american trees. Ecol Monogr 72:293–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruden G, Powlson DS, Jenkinson DS (1985) The measurement of 15N in soil and plant material. Nutr Cycl Agroecosys 6:205–218

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pugnaire FI, Armas C, Maestre FT (2011) Positive plant interactions in the Iberian Southeast: mechanisms, environmental gradients, and ecosystem function. J Arid Environ 75:1310–1320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Canham CD (1992) Mechanisms of arrested succession in shrublands: root and shoot competition between shrubs and tree seedlings. For Ecol Manage 49:267–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schall P, Lödige C, Beck M, Ammer C (2012) Biomass allocation to roots and shoots is more sensitive to shade and drought in European beech than in Norway spruce seedlings. For Ecol Manage 266:246–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiffers K, Tielbörger K (2006) Ontogenetic shifts in interactions among annual plants. J Ecol 94:336–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semchenko M, Lepik M, Götzenberger L, Zobel K (2011) Positive effect of shade on plant growth: amelioration of stress or active regulation of growth rate? J Ecol 100:459–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shipley B, Meziane D (2002) The balanced-growth hypothesis and the allometry of leaf and root biomass allocation. Funct Ecol 16:326–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slocum MG, Horvitz CC (2000) Seed arrival under different genera of trees in a neotropical pasture. Plant Ecol 149:51–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song M, Tian Y, Xu X, Hu Q, Ouyang H (2006) Interactions between root and shoot competition among four plant species in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Acta Oecol 29:214–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song M, Hu Q, Tian Y, Ouyang H (2012) Seasonal patterns of root and shoot interactions in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. J Plant Ecol 5:182–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tielbörger K, Kadmon R (2000) Temporal environmental variations tips the balance between facilitation and interference in desert plants. Ecology 81:1544–1553

    Google Scholar 

  • Travis JM, Brooker RW, Dytham C (2005) The interplay of positive and negative species interactions across an environmental gradient: insights from an individual-based simulation model. Biol Lett 1:5–8

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Hees AFM, Clerkx APPM (2003) Shading and root–shoot relations in saplings of silver birch, pedunculate oak and beech. For Ecol Manage 176:439–448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner J (1986) How competition for light and nutrients affects size variability in Ipomoea tricolor populations. Ecology 67:1425–1427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson JB (1988) Shoot competition and root competition. J Appl Ecol 25:279–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson WG, Nisbet RM (1997) Cooperation and competition along smooth environmental gradients. Ecology 78:2004–2017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang K, Dang H, Tan S, Wang Z, Zhang Q (2010) Vegetation community and soil characteristics of abandoned agricultural land and pine plantation in the Qinling Mountains, China. For Ecol Manage 259:2036–2047

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. X.P. Wang for his useful suggestion in the revision and two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This research is supported by the Special Research Program for Forestry Welfare of China (Grant No. 200904022; 201004002) and the 12th five-year National Science and Technology plan of China (Grant No. 2012BAC01B03). Rothamsted Research receives grant aided support from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC), UK.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Forest Resources and Ecosystem Processes of Beijing, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35 Tsinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China

    Jinsong Wang, Xiuhai Zhao, Juan Fan & Chunyu Zhang

  2. Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK

    L. Wu

  3. Faculty of Forestry and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Klaus von Gadow

Authors
  1. Jinsong Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L. Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiuhai Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Juan Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chunyu Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Klaus von Gadow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiuhai Zhao.

Additional information

Communicated by C. Ammer.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 17 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, J., Wu, L., Zhao, X. et al. Influence of ground flora on Fraxinus mandshurica seedling growth on abandoned land and beneath forest canopy. Eur J Forest Res 132, 313–324 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-012-0676-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-012-0676-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation