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Peer-reviewedCC BYJournal of Applied Ecology

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

  • Pia M. Bradler1,2,3
  • Benjamin M. Delory4,5
  • Sebastian Dittrich6,3
  • Christian Ammer7,8
  • Claus Bässler9,10,11
  • Marc W. Cadotte12,13
  • Anne Chao14,15
  • Po-Yen Chuang14,15
  • Werner Härdtle16,2
  • Oliver Mitesser17,18
  • Akira S. Mori19,20
  • Jörg C. Müller9,21,18
4 more authors
  • Keita Nishizawa19,20
  • Fons van der Plas22
  • Goddert von Oheimb6,3
  • Andreas Fichtner23,2
23 affiliations
  1. 1Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Lueneburg, Germany; Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany;
  2. 2Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Lueneburg, Germany
  3. 3Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany
  4. 4Copernicus institute of sustainable development, Utrecht University, The Netherlands;
  5. 5Copernicus institute of sustainable development, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  6. 6Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany;
  7. 7Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Goettingen, Germany;
  8. 8Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Goettingen, Germany
  9. 9Bavarian Forest Nationalpark
  10. 10Fungal Ecology , University of Bayreuth , Universitätsstraße 30 , Bayreuth , Germany
  11. 11Fungal Ecology, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstrasse 30, Bayreuth, Germany
  12. 12Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada;
  13. 13Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada
  14. 14Institute of Statistics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan;
  15. 15Institute of Statistics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
  16. 16Institute of Ecology , Leuphana University of Lüneburg , Lüneburg , Germany
  17. 17Chair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter of the Julius-Maximilians University of Wuerzburg;
  18. 18Chair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter of the Julius-Maximilians University of Wuerzburg
  19. 19Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;
  20. 20Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
  21. 21Chair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology , Biocenter of the Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg
  22. 22Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen, The Netherlands
  23. 23Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University of Lueneburg, Lueneburg, Germany;
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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 substantially among landscapes. On average, structurally heterogeneous forests supported higher species richness for both open and closed forest habitat species. Synthesis and applications: Our findings highlight the benefits of enhancing structural heterogeneity for understorey plant diversity in managed forest landscapes. Specifically, management strategies that create a spatial mosaic of interventions, such as combining single-tree removal with group felling, can increase the variety of light niches among forest patches, thereby supporting the conservation of a wide range of understorey plant species, including forest specialists.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bradler2026enhancing,
  title = {{Enhancing structural heterogeneity in managed forest landscapes promotes gamma but not beta diversity in understorey plant communities}},
  author = {Pia M. Bradler and Benjamin M. Delory and Sebastian Dittrich and Christian Ammer and Claus Bässler and Marc W. Cadotte and Anne Chao and Po-Yen Chuang and Werner Härdtle and Oliver Mitesser and Akira S. Mori and Jörg C. Müller and Keita Nishizawa and Fons van der Plas and Goddert von Oheimb and Andreas Fichtner},
  journal = {Journal of Applied Ecology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.70477},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70477},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Enhancing structural heterogeneity in managed forest landscapes promotes gamma but not beta diversity in understorey plant communities
AU  - Pia M. Bradler
AU  - Benjamin M. Delory
AU  - Sebastian Dittrich
AU  - Christian Ammer
AU  - Claus Bässler
AU  - Marc W. Cadotte
AU  - Anne Chao
AU  - Po-Yen Chuang
AU  - Werner Härdtle
AU  - Oliver Mitesser
AU  - Akira S. Mori
AU  - Jörg C. Müller
AU  - Keita Nishizawa
AU  - Fons van der Plas
AU  - Goddert von Oheimb
AU  - Andreas Fichtner
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - Journal of Applied Ecology
DO  - 10.1111/1365-2664.70477
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70477
AB  - 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 substantially among landscapes. On average, structurally heterogeneous forests supported higher species richness for both open and closed forest habitat species. Synthesis and applications: Our findings highlight the benefits of enhancing structural heterogeneity for understorey plant diversity in managed forest landscapes. Specifically, management strategies that create a spatial mosaic of interventions, such as combining single-tree removal with group felling, can increase the variety of light niches among forest patches, thereby supporting the conservation of a wide range of understorey plant species, including forest specialists.
SN  - 0021-8901
SN  - 1365-2664
ER  -