Responses of tree seedlings to understory filtering by the recalcitrant fern layer in a subtropical forest.

ABSTRACT: The recalcitrant understory fern layer is an important ecological filter for seedling regeneration, yet how the fern layer influences seedling regeneration dynamics remains unclear. Here we transplanted 576 seedlings of four dominant tree species, Castanopsis fargesii, Lithocarpus glaber, Schima superba and Hovenia acerba, to the treatments of Diplopterygium glaucum retention and removal under an evergreen broad-leaved forest in eastern China. We monitored the survival, growth and biomass data of these seedlings for 28 months, and then used generalized linear mixed models to evaluate the treatment effects on seedling survival, growth, biomass and root-shoot ratio. Our results showed that fern retention significantly inhibited the seedling establishment of

SUBMITTER: Liu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9730283 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature