forest dynamics

Unexpected westward range shifts in European forest plants link to nitrogen deposition

Climate change is commonly assumed to induce species’ range shifts toward the poles. Yet, other environmental changes may affect the geographical distribution of species in unexpected ways. Here, we quantify multidecadal shifts in the distribution of …

Relative decline in density of Northern Hemisphere tree species in warm and arid regions of their climate niches

Although climate change is expected to drive tree species toward colder and wetter regions of their distribution, broadscale empirical evidence is lacking. One possibility is that past and present human activities in forests obscure or alter the …

Lasting effects of avian-frugivore interactions on seed dispersal and seedling establishment

The consequences of plant–animal interactions often transcend the mere encounter stage, as those encounters are followed by a chain of subsequent stages on the plant’s reproductive cycle that ultimately determine fitness. Yet, the dissemination and …

Masting is uncommon in trees that depend on mutualist dispersers in the context of global climate and fertility gradients

The benefits of masting (volatile, quasi-synchronous seed production at lagged intervals) include satiation of seed predators, but these benefits come with a cost to mutualist pollen and seed dispersers. If the evolution of masting represents a …

Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery

The relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 …

Globally, tree fecundity exceeds productivity gradients

Lack of tree fecundity data across climatic gradients precludes the analysis of how seed supply contributes to global variation in forest regeneration and biotic interactions responsible for biodiversity. A global synthesis of raw seedproduction data …

Maintaining forest cover to enhance temperature buffering under future climate change

Forest canopies buffer macroclimatic temperature fluctuations. However, we do not know if and how the capacity of canopies to buffer understorey temperature will change with accelerating climate change. Here we map the difference (offset) between …

Evaluación del estado de conservación de las Dehesas Extremeñas usando LiDAR del PNOA y el Inventario Forestal Nacional (IFN IV)

Se evaluó el estado de conservación del hábitat de interés comunitario 6310 (Dehesas perennifolias de Quercus spp.) en Extremadura según el índice de conservación descrito por DÍAZ Y PULIDO (2009), adaptado para datos LiDAR. El índice de …

ClimPlant: Realized climatic niches of vascular plants in European forest understoreys

Detailed knowledge on the climatic tolerances of species is crucial to understand, quantify and predict the impact of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, quantitative data are limited; often, only expert-based qualitative …

Forest dynamics and climate change: a multiscale approach