Abstract
Edge effects are among the primary mechanisms by which forest fragmentation can influence the link between biodiversity and ecosystem processes, but relatively few studies have quantified these mechanisms in temperate regions. Carbon storage is an important ecosystem function altered by edge effects, with implications for climate change mitigation. Two opposing hypotheses suggest that aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks at the forest edge will (a) decrease due to increased tree mortality and compositional shifts towards smaller, lower wood density species (e.g., as seen in tropical systems) or, less often, (b) increase due to light/temperature-induced increases in diversity and productivity. We used field-based measurements, allometry, and mixed models to investigate the effects of proximity to the forest edge on AGC stocks, species richness, and community composition in 24 forest fragments in southern Quebec. We also asked whether fragment size or connectivity with surrounding forests altered these edge effects. AGC stocks remained constant across a 100 m edge-to-interior gradient in all fragment types, despite changes in tree community composition and stem density consistent with expectations of forest edge effects. We attribute this constancy primarily to compensatory effects of small trees at the forest edge; however, it is due in some cases to the retention of large trees at forest edges, likely a result of forest management. Our results suggest important differences between temperate and tropical fragments with respect to mechanisms linking biodiversity and AGC dynamics. Small temperate forest fragments may be valuable in conservation efforts based on maintaining biodiversity and multiple ecosystem services.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
06 June 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-04946-3
References
Boudreau J, Philibert Y (2011) Normes d’inventaire ecoforestier. Placettes-Echantillons Permanentes, p 1−266
Bruederle LP, Stearns FW (1985) Ice storm damage to a southern Wisconsin mesic forest. Bull Torrey Bot Club 112:167–175
Cadenasso M, Pickett S (2000) Linking forest edge structure to edge function: mediation of herbivore damage. J Ecol 88:31–44
Chalfoun AD, Thompson FR, Ratnaswamy MJ (2002) Nest predators and fragmentation: a review and meta-analysis. Conserv Biol 16:306–318
Chen J, Franklin JF, Spies TA (1993) Contrasting microclimates among clearcut, edge, and interior of old-growth Douglas-fir forest. Agric For Meteorol 63:219–237
Chen J, Franklin JF, Spies TA (1995) Growing-season microclimatic gradients from clearcut edges into old-growth Douglas-fir forests. Ecol Appl 5:74–86
Damschen EI, Baker DV, Bohrer G, Nathan R, Orrock JL, Turner JR, Brudvig LA, Haddad NM, Levey DJ, Tewksbury JJ (2014) How fragmentation and corridors affect wind dynamics and seed dispersal in open habitats. PNAS 111:3484–3489
DAngelo SA, Andrade AC, Laurance SG, Laurance WF, Mesquita RC (2004) Inferred causes of tree mortality in fragmented and intact Amazonian forests. J Trop Ecol 20:243–246. doi:10.1017/S0266467403001032
Dantas de Paula M, Alves Costa CP, Tabarelli M (2011) Carbon storage in a fragmented landscape of Atlantic forest: the role played by edge-affected habitats and emergent trees. Trop Conserv Sci 4:349–358
Ewers RM, Didham RK, Fahrig L, Ferraz G, Hector A, Holt RD, Kapos V, Reynolds G, Sinun W, Snaddon JL, Turner EC (2011) A large-scale forest fragmentation experiment: the stability of altered forest ecosystems project. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 366:3292–3302. doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0049
Gonzalez A, Rayfield B, Lindo Z (2011) The disentangled bank: how loss of habitat fragments and disassembles ecological networks. Am J Bot 98:503–516. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000424
Harmon ME, Woodall CW, Fasth B, Sexton J (2008) Woody detritus density and density reduction factors for tree species in the United States: a synthesis. Gen Tech Rep 29. U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service, Northern Research Station), Newtown Square, p 65
Harper KA, Macdonald SE, Burton PJ, Chen J, Brosofske KD, Saunders SC, Euskirchen ES, Roberts D, Jaiteh MS, Esseen PA (2005) Edge influence on forest structure and composition in fragmented landscapes. Conserv Biol 19:768–782
Honnay O, Jacquemyn H, Bossuyt B, Hermy M (2005) Forest fragmentation effects on patch occupancy and population viability of herbaceous plant species. New Phytol 166:723–736. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01352.x
Hooper MC, Arii K, Lechowicz MJ (2001) Impact of a major ice storm on an old-growth hardwood forest. Can J Bot 79:70–75. doi:10.1139/cjb-79-1-70
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2006) Revised approved afforestation and reforestation baseline methodology AR-AM0001. United Nations, New York, p 54
Jenkins JC, Chojnacky DC, Heath LS, Birdsey RA (2003) National-scale biomass estimators for United States tree species. For Sci 49:12–35
Jenkins JC, Chojnacky DC, Heath LS, Birdsey RA (2004) Comprehensive database of diameter-based biomass regressions for North American tree species. Gen Tech Rep NE-319. U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service, Northern Research Station), Newtown Square
Laurance WF, Curran TJ (2008) Impacts of wind disturbance on fragmented tropical forests: a review and synthesis. Austral Ecol 33:399–408. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01895.x
Laurance WF, Delamonica P, Laurance SG, Vasconcelos HL, Lovejoy TE (2000) Conservation: rainforest fragmentation kills big trees. Nature 404:836
Laurance W, Lovejoy TE, Vasconcelos HL, Bruna EM, Didham RK, Stouffer PC, Gascon C, Bierregaard RO, Laurance S, Sampaio E (2002) Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: a 22-year investigation. Conserv Biol 16:605−618
Laurance WF, Nascimento HEM, Laurance SG, Andrade A, Ribeiro JELS, Giraldo JP, Lovejoy TE, Condit R, Chave J, Harms KE (2006a) Rapid decay of tree-community composition in Amazonian forest fragments. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103:19010
Laurance WF, Nascimento HEM, Laurance SG, Andrade AC, Fearnside PM, Ribeiro JEL, Capretz RL (2006b) Rain forest fragmentation and the proliferation of successional trees. Ecology 87:469–482
Laurance WF, Camargo JLC, Luizão RCC, Laurance SG, Pimm SL, Bruna EM, Stouffer PC, Williamson GB, Benítez-Malvido J, Vasconcelos HL, Van Houtan KS, Zartman CE, Boyle SA, Didham RK, Andrade A, Lovejoy TE (2011) The fate of Amazonian forest fragments: a 32-year investigation. Biol Conserv 144:56–67. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.09.021
Magnago LFS, Edwards DP, Edwards FA, Magrach A, Martins SV, Laurance WF (2014) Functional attributes change but functional richness is unchanged after fragmentation of Brazilian Atlantic forests. J Ecol 102:475–485
Matlack GR (1994) Vegetation dynamics of the forest edge–trends in space and successional time. J Ecol 82:113−123
McDonald RI, Urban DL (2004) Forest edges and tree growth rates in the North Carolina Piedmont. Ecology 85:2258–2266
McEuen AB, Curran LM (2004) Seed dispersal and recruitment limitation across spatial scales in temperate forest fragments. Ecology 85:507–518
McGarigal K, Cushman SA, Neel MC, Ene E (2002) FRAGSTATS v3: spatial pattern analysis program for categorical maps. Computer software program produced by the authors at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. http://www.umass.edu/landeco/research/fragstats/fragstats.html
MRNFP (2004) Système d’information écoforestière (SIEF): produits de diffusion, spécifications techniques. Ministère des ressources naturelles, faune et parcs, Québec, p 80
Murcia C (1995) Edge effects in fragmented forests: implications for conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 10:58–62. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(00)88977-6
Nascimento HEM, Laurance WF (2004) Biomass dynamics in Amazonian forest fragments. Ecol Appl 14:127–138
Numata I, Cochrane MA, Souza CM Jr, Sales MH (2011) Carbon emissions from deforestation and forest fragmentation in the Brazilian Amazon. Environ Res Lett 6:4
Paquette A, Messier C (2011) The effect of biodiversity on tree productivity: from temperate to boreal forests. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 20:170–180. doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00592.x
R Core Team (2012) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org/
Ries L, Fletcher RJ Jr, Battin J, Sisk TD (2004) Ecological responses to habitat edges: mechanisms, models, and variability explained. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 35:491–522. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.112202.130148
Robinson DT, Brown DG, Currie WS (2009) Modelling carbon storage in highly fragmented and human-dominated landscapes: linking land-cover patterns and ecosystem models. Ecol Model 220:1325–1338. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.02.020
Simonetti JA, Grez AA, Celis-Diez JL, Bustamante RO (2007) Herbivory and seedling performance in a fragmented temperate forest of Chile. Acta Oecol 32:312–318
Smithwick EAH, Harmon ME, Domingo JB (2003) Modeling multiscale effects of light limitations and edge-induced mortality on carbon stores in forest landscapes. Landscape Ecol 18:701–721
Tabarelli M, Lopes AV, Peres CA (2008) Edge-effects drive tropical forest fragments towards an early-successional system. Biotropica 40:657–661. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2008.00454.x
Tewksbury JJ, Levey DJ, Haddad NM, Sargent S, Orrock JL, Weldon A, Danielson BJ, Brinkerhoff J, Damschen EI, Townsend P (2002) Corridors affect plants, animals, and their interactions in fragmented landscapes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:12923–12926. doi:10.1073/pnas.202242699
UNFCCC (2010) A/R methodological tool: estimation of carbon stocks and change in carbon stocks of trees and shrubs in A/R CDM project activities. United Nations, New York, p 1−18
Van Wagner CE (1968) The line intersect method in forest fuel sampling. For Sci 14:20–26
Ziter C, Bennett EM, Gonzalez A (2013) Functional diversity and management mediate aboveground carbon stocks in small forest fragments. Ecosphere 4(art 85):1–21. doi:10.1890/ES13-00135.1
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by an NSERC CGS-M scholarship to CZ, and an NSERC Strategic Projects grant to EMB and AG, an Ouranos PACC-26 grant to AG and EMB, and the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science. AG is supported by the Canada Research Chair Program. CZ thanks Katriina O’Kane and Claudia Atomei for field assistance, Eric Pedersen for advice on statistical analyses, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. The experiments herein comply with the current laws of the country (Canada) in which the experiments were performed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Ines Ibanez.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ziter, C., Bennett, E.M. & Gonzalez, A. Temperate forest fragments maintain aboveground carbon stocks out to the forest edge despite changes in community composition. Oecologia 176, 893–902 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3061-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-3061-0