Community and structural constraints on the complexity of eastern North American forests. Issue 12 (6th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gough, Christopher M.; Atkins, Jeff W.; Fahey, Robert T.; Hardiman, Brady S.; LaRue, Elizabeth A.
• Editors: Zarnetske, Phoebe
• Is Part Of: Global ecology & biogeography. Volume 29:Issue 12(2020)
• Page Start: 2107
• Page End: 2118
• Publication Date: 2020-09-06
• Subjects: canopy height -- canopy structural complexity -- diversity -- leaf area index -- LiDAR -- National Ecological Observatory Network -- NEON -- phylogenetic diversity -- richness -- rugosity; Ecology -- Periodicals; Biogeography -- Periodicals; Biodiversity -- Periodicals; Macroevolution -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/geb.13180
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1466-822X

Abstract

Abstract: Aim: Canopy structural complexity, which describes the degree of heterogeneity in vegetation density, is strongly tied to a number of ecosystem functions, but the community and structural characteristics that give rise to variation in complexity at site to subcontinental scales are poorly defined. We investigated how woody plant taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity, maximum canopy height, and leaf area index (LAI) relate to canopy rugosity, a measure of canopy structural complexity that is correlated with primary production, light capture, and resource‐use efficiency. Location: Our analysis used 122 plots distributed across 10 ecologically and climatically variable forests spanning a > 1, 500 km latitudinal gradient within the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) of the USA. Time period: 2016–2018. Taxa studied: Woody plants. Methods: We used univariate and multivariate modelling to examine relationships between canopy rugosity, and community and structural characteristics hypothesized to drive site and subcontinental variation in complexity. Results: Spatial variation in canopy rugosity within sites and across the subcontinent was strongly and positively related to maximum canopy height ( r 2 = .87 subcontinent‐wide), with the addition of species richness in a multivariate model resolving another 2% of the variation across the subcontinent. Individually, woody plant species richness and phylogenetic diversity ( r 2 = .17 to .44, respectively) and LAI ( r 2 = .16) were weakly to moderately correlated with canopy rugosity at the subcontinental scale, and inconsistently explained spatial variation in canopy rugosity within sites. Main conclusions: We conclude that maximum canopy height is a substantially stronger predictor of complexity than diversity or LAI within and across forests of eastern North America, suggesting that canopy volume places a primary constraint on the development of structural complexity. Management and land‐use practices that encourage and sustain tall temperate forest canopies may support greater complexity and associated increases in ecosystem functioning.