Enhancing structural heterogeneity in managed forest landscapes promotes gamma but not beta diversity in understorey plant communities

作者：Pia M. Bradler, Benjamin M. Delory, Sebastian Dittrich, Christian Ammer, Claus Bässler, Marc W. Cadotte, Anne Chao, Po-Yen Chuang, Werner Härdtle, Oliver Mitesser, Akira Mori, Jörg Müller, Keita Nishizawa, Fons van der Plas, Goddert von Oheimb, Andreas Fichtner · 发表于：Journal of Applied Ecology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2664.70477 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies、Lichen and fungal ecology、Plant Pathogens and Resistance

Abstract Although habitat heterogeneity is known to enhance local species diversity, the effects of management-driven structural heterogeneity on understorey plant communities across spatial scales remain poorly understood, despite their crucial role for forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. To analyse how forest understorey plant communities respond to an enhancement of structural heterogeneity in managed forests, we established 11 experimental sites consisting of two paired forest landscapes, an untreated homogenous control and a treatment district (ESBC). In treatment districts, structural heterogeneity was enhanced through different combinations of local patch-scale manipulations of light and deadwood features, leading to greater between-patch heterogeneity at the landscape scale. We performed a meta-analysis across these 11 sites using a Hill-Chao number and sample coverage standardisation framework. Gamma diversity increased across taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic facets in structurally heterogeneous forests (ESBC districts) via higher alpha diversity. This effect was positively associated with heterogeneity in light availability between forest patches, but not with their mean light availability. In contrast, we found no support that species turnover among patches (i.e., beta diversity) significantly contributes on average to the observed increase in gamma diversity. However, both the direction and magnitude of beta diversity responses varied substantiall...