Testing the impact of community composition on the productivity of a cool temperate eucalypt forest: the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX)
Melissa R. Gerwin A , Rose Brinkhoff A B , Travis Britton A B , Meagan Porter A B , Ruth K. Mallett A C and Mark J. Hovenden
A B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B ARC Training Centre for Forest Value, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia
C Present address: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, I-00153 Rome, Italy.
D Corresponding author. Email: mark.hovenden@utas.edu.au
Australian Journal of Botany 68(4) 310-319 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT19131
Submitted: 1 August 2019 Accepted: 29 July 2020 Published: 21 August 2020
Abstract
Understanding the factors controlling productivity is crucial for modelling current and predicting future forest growth and carbon sequestration potential. Although abiotic conditions exert a strong influence on productivity, it is becoming increasingly evident that plant community composition can dramatically influence ecosystem processes. However, much of our understanding of these processes in forests comes from correlative studies or field experiments in short-statured, short-lived vegetation. Here, we present the background, design and implementation success of the Australian Forest Evenness Experiment (AFEX), which was designed to investigate the influence of community composition on the processes that contribute to forest productivity. Eighty 25 × 25-m plots, covering 5 ha in a logged, burnt forest coupe in south-eastern Tasmania were sown with four tree species, namely Eucalyptus delegatensis R.T.Baker, E. regnans F.Muell., Acacia dealbata Link and Pomaderris apetala Labill., in varying combinations to provide a range of evenness levels with each of the four species as target dominant. Despite some differences between sown composition and realised composition 1 year after sowing, a substantial range of community evenness and local neighbourhood densities and compositions existed in the experiment. Thus, this site provides a unique opportunity to determine the influence of local neighbourhood composition on a range of ecological processes.
Additional keywords: carbon sequestration, complementarity, neighbourhood effects, selection effects, species richness.
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