Plant Diversity Changes during the Postglacial in East Asia: Insights from Forest Refugia on Halla Volcano, Jeju Island

0381087 - BÚ 2013 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Doležal, Jiří - Altman, Jan - Kopecký, Martin - Černý, Tomáš - Janeček, Štěpán - Bartoš, Michael - Petřík, Petr - Šrůtek, Miroslav - Lepš, J. - Song, J.-S.
Plant Diversity Changes during the Postglacial in East Asia: Insights from Forest Refugia on Halla Volcano, Jeju Island.
PLoS ONE. Roč. 7, č. 3 (2012), e33065. ISSN 1932-6203. E-ISSN 1932-6203
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT LC06073
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516
Keywords : forest vegetation * modern analouge * vegetation change
Subject RIV: EF - Botanics
Impact factor: 3.730, year: 2012

We compared plant diversity, species traits and environment between late-glacial Abies, early-Holocene Quercus, and mid-Holocene warm-temperate Carpinus forest refugia on Jeju Island, Korea. The late-glacial open-canopy conifer forests were rich in vascular plants, whose dramatic decline was caused by the early Holocene invasion of dwarf bamboo, followed by mid-Holocene expansion of strongly shading trees such as maple and hornbeam. This diversity loss was partly compensated in the Carpinus forests by an increase in shade-tolerant evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. The strongly shading tree species dominating in the hornbeam forests have higher leaf tissue N and P concentrations and smaller leaf dry matter content, which enhances litter decomposition and nutrient cycling and in turn favored the selection of competitive species in the shrub layer. This further reduced available light and caused almost complete disappearance of understory herbs, including dwarf bamboo.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0211633