Effects of soil surface disturbances after logging on plant functional types

Overview & Synopsis

Soil surface disturbances after logging influence plant species diversity. To estimate these effects, the objective of the present study was to test three hypotheses: (1) each soil surface disturbance type is characterized by a group of plant species that emerges following the disturbance, (2) each emergent group of plant species has distinct, recognizable biological traits, (3) in two different bio‑geographic plant communities, each soil surface disturbance type is characterized by the same set of biological traits. We present results from Atlantic oak (Quercus pubescens Willd., Q. robur L. and Q. petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.) coppices and natural Mediterranean Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Miller) forests of southern France. Both studies use the same methodology based on a typology of soil surface perturbation 1-3 years after logging combined with a vegetation inventory. Plant functional traits (morphological, life history and regeneration), not necessarily linked with taxonomic attribution, were used to constitute putative functional groups to allow comparison between the two studies. Results were similar in the two studies and confirmed the working hypotheses.