Titre
Tree cover at fine and coarse spatial grains interacts with shade tolerance to shape plant species distributions across the Alps
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Nieto-Lugilde, D.
Auteure/Auteur
Lenoir, J.
Auteure/Auteur
Abdulhak, S.
Auteure/Auteur
Aeschimann, D.
Auteure/Auteur
Dullinger, S.
Auteure/Auteur
Gégout, J.-C.
Auteure/Auteur
Guisan, A.
Auteure/Auteur
Pauli, H.
Auteure/Auteur
Renaud, J.
Auteure/Auteur
Theurillat, J.-P.
Auteure/Auteur
Thuiller, W.
Auteure/Auteur
Van Es, J.
Auteure/Auteur
Vittoz, P.
Auteure/Auteur
Willner, W.
Auteure/Auteur
Wohlgemuth, T.
Auteure/Auteur
Zimmermann, N.E.
Auteure/Auteur
Svenning, J.-C.
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
ISSN
1600-0587
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2015
Volume
38
Numéro
6
Première page
578
Dernière page/numéro d’article
589
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Langue
anglais
Résumé
The role of competition for light among plants has long been recognized at local scales, but its potential importance for plant species' distribution at larger spatial scales has largely been ignored. Tree cover acts as a modulator of local abiotic conditions, notably by reducing light availability below the canopy and thus the performance of species that are not adapted to low-light conditions. However, this local effect may propagate to coarser spatial grains.
Using 6,935 vegetation plots located across the European Alps, we fit Generalized Linear Models (GLM) for the distribution of 960 herbs and shrubs species to assess the effect of tree cover at both plot and landscape grain sizes (~ 10-m and 1-km, respectively). We ran four models with different combinations of variables (climate, soil and tree cover) for each species at both spatial grains. We used partial regressions to evaluate the independent effects of plot- and landscape-scale tree cover on plant communities. Finally, the effects on species' elevational range limits were assessed by simulating a removal experiment comparing the species' distribution under high and low tree cover.
Accounting for tree cover improved model performance, with shade-tolerant species increasing their probability of presence at high tree cover whereas shade-intolerant species showed the opposite pattern. The tree cover effect occurred consistently at both plot and landscape spatial grains, albeit strongest at the former. Importantly, tree cover at the two grain sizes had partially independent effects on plot-scale plant communities, suggesting that the effects may be transmitted to coarser grains through meta-community dynamics. At high tree cover, shade-intolerant species exhibited elevational range contractions, especially at their upper limit, whereas shade-tolerant species showed elevational range expansions at both limits. Our findings suggest that the range shifts for herb and shrub species may be modulated by tree cover dynamics.
Using 6,935 vegetation plots located across the European Alps, we fit Generalized Linear Models (GLM) for the distribution of 960 herbs and shrubs species to assess the effect of tree cover at both plot and landscape grain sizes (~ 10-m and 1-km, respectively). We ran four models with different combinations of variables (climate, soil and tree cover) for each species at both spatial grains. We used partial regressions to evaluate the independent effects of plot- and landscape-scale tree cover on plant communities. Finally, the effects on species' elevational range limits were assessed by simulating a removal experiment comparing the species' distribution under high and low tree cover.
Accounting for tree cover improved model performance, with shade-tolerant species increasing their probability of presence at high tree cover whereas shade-intolerant species showed the opposite pattern. The tree cover effect occurred consistently at both plot and landscape spatial grains, albeit strongest at the former. Importantly, tree cover at the two grain sizes had partially independent effects on plot-scale plant communities, suggesting that the effects may be transmitted to coarser grains through meta-community dynamics. At high tree cover, shade-intolerant species exhibited elevational range contractions, especially at their upper limit, whereas shade-tolerant species showed elevational range expansions at both limits. Our findings suggest that the range shifts for herb and shrub species may be modulated by tree cover dynamics.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_F84355A8D90D
Date de création
2014-09-04T21:21:59.069Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-21T06:12:10Z
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Nom
BIB_F84355A8D90D.P001.pdf
Version du manuscrit
postprint
Taille
2.36 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
PID Serval
serval:BIB_F84355A8D90D.P001
URN
urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_F84355A8D90D0
Somme de contrôle
(MD5):d8b2c5ec63bb30445660b9d5ff021b72