Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

The Polish Roadkill Observation System (PROS) database, a large dataset of roadkills collected between 2000 and 2022 in Poland, was used. We calculated the total length for each road type and the main type of environment around the wildlife-vehicle collision (WVC) event, in a grid of 10 × 10 km (e.g., spatial unit). We explored the spatial congruence in WVCs among amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals across the country, using spatially explicit correlation based on the Mantel tests. We used a) Generalized Linear Mixed Models to investigate the association between WVC and the type of dominant environment and animal group, and b) Generalized Boosted Regression Models to investigate, separately for each animal group, the association between WVC and the length and type of road in each spatial unit. A total of 19,846 roadkills were recorded in Poland, involving 28,952 individuals from different animal species: 14 amphibians, 8 reptiles, 133 birds and 52 mammals. The spatial distribution of roadkill events in the country was mainly clustered around the biggest cities. Hotspots were concentrated near cities (Warsaw, Krak´ow, Rrzesz´ow) and in areas known for high biodiversity. Coldspots - relatively smaller than hotspots - were areas characterized by a high density of housing infrastructure, with lower naturality and a predominance of single roadkill casualties. A higher spatial congruence in WVC was found between birds and mammals (71 %) than between the other animal groups. Overall, the animal group less congruent with the other groups was amphibians (13 %), while birds were most congruent with all groups. We discussed some advantages and drawbacks when working with non-systematic survey datasets of roadkills. Finally, we recommended including roadkill clusters of multiple animal groups (hotspots) in strategies for mitigating wildlife-vehicle collisions but also considering more specific strategies, which can combine the type of environment and roads, concerning each animal group.

Aim Climate variations within the stadial–interstadial cycles drive shifts in the distribution of forest dominants. This study examines how climate dynamic alters the distribution ranges of two boreal and one cold‐temperate Abies species dominating in Northeast Asia. Location Northeast Asia: China, Japan, Korea and Russia. Taxon Abies nephrolepis , A. sachalinensis (sect. Balsamea ) and A. holophylla (sect. Pseudopicea ). Methods We developed climate envelope species distribution models (SDMs) using warmth and coldness indices, the continentality index, and proxies of rain and snow precipitation indices. We interpolated SDMs on reconstructed climates for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO) and to predicted climates for 2070 under global warming scenarios RCP2.6 and RCP8.5. Results During the LGM, the climatic optimum for all species covered extensive areas on the shelves of the Japanese and Yellow Seas, facilitated by the global sea level drop. The interglacial climatic optimum supports the expansion of A. nephrolepis and A. sachalinensis compared to the LGM, whereas the range of A . holophylla climatic niche range experiences a reduction. Main Conclusions Our findings highlight the significant impact of climatic oscillations on the spatial distribution and ecological dynamics of Abies species in Northeast Asia. The contrasting responses of boreal and temperate fir species to glacial and interglacial periods underscore the complex interplay between climate change and the distribution of forest dominants. Projections under future warming scenarios suggest that Abies species will face further range shifts, emphasising the need for adaptive forest management and conservation strategies, especially in the southern part of their distribution.

The recent increase of the air temperature due to the global climate change is considered as one of the important reasons for the wildfires increase in the world, even in areas where the wildfires are not that common. In addition to the various physical damages adversely affecting the ecological balance, harmful gases and solid particles are released into the atmosphere due to wildfires, causing serious health problems. In this study, impacts of the most serious forest fire in modern history of the country lasting 16 days from 23rd of July 2022 in the National Park” Bohemian Switzerland” in the Děčín district, Czech Republic, were investigated using remote sensing satellite datasets by cloud-based Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), normalized burn ratio index (NBR), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature (LST) and soil moisture index (SMI) were calculated from Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI and TIRS) dataset for the dates of 31st October 2021, 18th June 2022, and 31st October 2022. Relationship of the remote sensing indices were calculated to estimate the impacts of the wildfire. Furthermore, distribution of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was extracted using Sentinel-5P TROPOMI (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument) to observe changes before and after the forest fire in the study region. The burnt area approximately 13.20 km² from the total area of 79.28 km² was detected using different time series of the remote sensing indices in the national park.

Effective conservation of migratory species relies on habitat protection throughout their annual cycle. Although protected areas (PAs) play a central role in conservation, their effectiveness at conserving habitats across the annual cycle of migratory species has rarely been assessed. We developed seasonal ecological niche models for 418 migratory butterfly species across their global distribution to assess whether they were adequately represented in the PAs across their full annual cycle. PA coverage was inadequate in at least one season for 84% of migratory butterflies, adequate for only 17% of species in one season, and inadequate for 45% of species in all seasons. There was marked geographic variation in PA coverage: 77% of species met representation targets in Sri Lanka, for example, but only 32% met targets in Italy. Our results suggest that coordinated efforts across multiple countries will be needed to develop international networks of PAs that cover the full annual cycle of migratory insects and that conservation measures, in addition to the establishment and maintenance of PAs, are likely to be needed to effectively conserve these species.

Shrubland ecosystems cover a large part of the five Mediterranean regions of the world, and monitoring their biomass is crucial for assessing fire risk and carbon sequestration. However, biomass models for multi-stemmed shrubs remain scarce, making the quantitative assessment of shrubland biomass imprecise and often unreliable. Here, we measured, harvested, and weighed 411 specimens at two representative sites to quantify aboveground biomass (AGB) in 14 shrub species. To develop species-specific and general models of AGB, we used observations on total height (HT), diameter at collar height (DCH), number of stems (NS), and crown size as well as different geometric shapes representing crown area (CA) and bulk volume (BV). General models including all species were fit, including species identity as a random effect to take variation across species into account. A k-fold cross-validation was used to assess and compare the ability of the models to predict independent data. Individual AGB varied markedly both within and among the 14 species, with on average higher values at the site characterized by lower shrub density and species richness. Two biomass components, woody and leaf + twig, were distinguished, and species-specific means of the woody and leaf + twig proportion varied between 30 and 60%. We found that crown BV assessed on different geometric shapes was suitable to predict the biomass for different shrub species and that additional variables were rarely beneficial. The best general model included BV represented as an inverted truncated cone, derived from crown diameter (CD), HT and the DCH of the longest stem. This study provides novel allometric equations essential for assessing AGB shrublands in central Chile. Our general multi-species models based on BV geometry could prove very useful for future studies in Mediterranean shrublands, allowing us to estimate biomass through indirect, non-destructive methods.

The introduction of non-native aquarium fish species has modified the composition of fish assemblages worldwide. This anthropogenic impact alters not only the richness/abundance of local assemblages but also the taxonomic and functional composition among them. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a standardized sampling program in degraded headwater creeks located in the largest ornamental aquaculture center of Brazil, with the aim of quantifying spatial and temporal changes in taxonomic and functional diversity induced by fish escapes. Data were organized in two periods: “historical”, which included the native species pool of the region, and “current” (divided in “past” and “present”), which included all native and non-native species recorded during 2015–2017 (past) and 2022 (present). Fish assemblages showed taxonomic and functional differentiation through time, and the continuous introduction of non-native fish from 2015 to 2022 contributed to increase species richness in local assemblages. Trait diversity did not differ across native/non-native fish assemblages, and non-native assemblages had smaller body sizes than natives. Our study provides strong evidence that escapes of non-native ornamental fish induces changes in taxonomic and functional fish diversity in small creeks, representing a significant threat to these fragile ecosystems.

Satellite‐derived global digital elevation models (DEMs) are essential for providing the topographic information needed in a wide range of hydrological applications. However, their use is limited by spatial resolution and vertical bias due to sensor limitations in observing bare terrain. Significant efforts have been made to improve the resolution of global DEMs (e.g., TanDEM‐X) and create bare‐earth DEMs (e.g., FABDEM, MERIT, CEDTM). We evaluated the vertical accuracy of bare‐earth and global DEMs in Central European mountains and submontane regions, and assessed how DEM resolution, vegetation offset removal, land cover, and terrain slope affect stream network delineation. Using lidar‐derived DTM and national stream networks as references, we found that: (a) bare‐earth DEMs outperform global DEMs across all land cover types. RMSEs increased with increasing slope for all DEMs in non‐forest areas. In forests, however, the negative effect of the slope was outweighed by the vegetation offset even for bare‐earth DTMs; (b) the accuracy of derived stream networks was affected by terrain slope and land cover more than by the vertical accuracy of DEMs. Stream network delineation performed poorly in non‐forest areas and relatively well in forests. Increasing slope improved the streams delineation performance; (c) using DEMs with higher resolution (e.g., 12 m TanDEM‐X) improved stream network delineation, but increasing resolution also increased the need for effective vegetation bias removal. Our results indicate that vertical accuracy alone does not reflect how well DEMs perform in stream network delineation. This underscores the need to include stream network performance in DEM quality rankings.

The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is an obligate brood parasite of many Eurasian bird species that exploit the parental care of their hosts. Although only females lay eggs in nests of passerine hosts, male and female cuckoos should cooperate to have a success in nest parasitism. Many bird species mobbing cuckoos as an element of deterrence of cuckoos from the breeding territory of the host. However, mobbing behaviour is costly, although only cuckoo females pose a threat to the dangers of the host. Because only the presence of a female cuckoo is dangerous, due to laying eggs in the nests of hosts, birds should mainly attack cuckoo females. Therefore, we tested for differences in anti-parasite response using field experiments with female and male cuckoo dummies, in 92 breeding sites with prime habitats in Poland. tested for differences in cuckoo responses in anti-parasite response using field experiments and cuckoo dummies (male and female) placed at 92 breeding sites with prime habitats in Poland. The host species that behaved most aggressively towards cuckoos was the barn swallow Hirundo rustica, while the most aggressive behaviour recorded in the non-host group was the great tit Parus major. Generally, host species reacted to cuckoo female dummies with a significantly higher probability than cuckoo males dummies. We conclude that differences in reaction by hosts and non-hosts may have arisen from selection for recognition of danger (parasite female) by reduction of reproductive success.

The estimation of foraging parameters is fundamental for understanding predator ecology. Predation and feeding can vary with multiple factors, such as prey availability, presence of kleptoparasites and human disturbance. However, our knowledge is mostly limited to local scales, which prevents studying effects of environmental factors across larger ecological gradients. Here, we compared inter‐kill intervals and handling times of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) across a large latitudinal gradient, from subarctic to the Mediterranean ecosystems, using a standardised dataset of predicted adult ungulate kills from 107 GPS‐collared lynx from nine distinct populations in Europe. We analysed variations in these two foraging parameters in relation to proxies reflecting prey availability, scavengers' presence and human disturbance, to improve our understanding of lynx predation at a continental scale. We found that inter‐kill intervals and handling times varied between populations, social status and in different seasons within the year. We observed marked differences in inter‐kill intervals between populations, which do not appear to be driven by variation in handling time. Increases in habitat productivity (expressed by NDVI, used as a proxy for prey availability) resulted in reduced inter‐kill intervals (i.e. higher kill rates). We observed less variation in handling (i.e. feeding) times, although presence of dominant scavengers (wild boars and brown bears) and higher human impact led to significantly shorter handling times. This suggests that kleptoparasitism and human disturbance may limit the energetic input that lynx can obtain from their prey. We also observed that the human impact on foraging parameters can be consistent between some populations but context‐dependent for others, suggesting local adaptations by lynx. Our study highlights the value of large‐scale studies based on standardised datasets, which can aid the implementation of effective management measures, as patterns observed in one area might not be necessarily transferable to other regions. Our results also indicate the high degree of adaptability of these solitary felids, which enables them to meet their energy requirements and persist across a wide range of environmental conditions despite the constraints imposed by humans, dominant scavengers and variable prey availability.

The Budyko water balance is a fundamental concept in hydrology that links aridity to how precipitation is divided between evapotranspiration and streamflow. While the model is powerful, its ability to explain temporal changes and the influence of human activities and climate change is limited. Here we introduce a causal discovery algorithm to explore deviations from the Budyko water balance, attributing them to human interventions such as agricultural activities and snow dynamics. Our analysis of 1342 catchments across the U.S. and Great Britain reveals distinct patterns: in the U.S., snow fraction and irrigation alter the Budyko water balance predominantly through changes in aridity-streamflow relationships, while in Great Britain, deviations are primarily driven by changes in precipitation-streamflow relationships, notable in catchments with high cropland percentage. By integrating causal analysis with the Budyko water balance, we enhance understanding of how human activities and climate dynamics affect water balance, offering insights for water management and sustainability in the Anthropocene.

Interest in knowledge politics driving urban environmental policy is growing. The aim of this paper is to assess the conditions that enable an epistemic community of experts to influence policy in a specific locality. We evaluate an epistemic community of urban climatology researchers in Fukuoka, Japan, who have successfully engaged with local policy despite documented knowledge circulation failures for urban climatology elsewhere. The research is based on a process tracing‐derived methodology, analysing archival and documentary sources. Its results show the epistemic community has conducted observational and modelling‐based research in Fukuoka over decades, networking with peers across Japan and globally and making recommendations for policy interventions locally through government expert committees and collaborative projects. These findings reflect the importance of professionalisation and modes of persuasion – especially visuals, such as maps showing heat islands – in explaining how epistemic communities come to be effective. We argue, however, that institutions constitute epistemic communities as well as individuals. The conclusions display, however, that even if an epistemic community is effective in influencing policy, this will not necessarily translate into practical interventions in the built environment. Understanding how epistemic communities define and measure their own ‘success’ is thus an area for future research.

Olfactory signalling is the most efficient mode of animal communication between a signaller and a receiver when receiver’s presence is unpredictable. Scent-marking requires selective strategies to increase the likelihood that these signals persist in the environment and are successfully received. Bears are solitary, non-territorial carnivores, which scent-mark trees, substrate, and other objects to communicate with conspecifics. Signallers place scent marks on trees to increase the detectability of their signals, and possibly also to communicate their size and status. We assessed scent-marking tree selectivity of Andean bears, Tremarctos ornatus, in Ecuadorian cloud forests at two spatial scales: the individual-tree level and at a local scale (3-m radius). We recorded characteristics of marked and unmarked trees along bear trails (5.49 km in total) in the Eastern Cordillera of the Ecuadorian Andes, near the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve. To decrease dimensionality and multicollinearity before explanatory analyses, we performed Principal Component Analysis on data from 467 trees (65 marked trees, 54 control trees, 348 radius plot trees) of 48 tree species. We then used Generalized Linear Models, model selection, and model averaging to discover that Andean bears preferred rubbing leaning trees, aromatic tree species, and hardwood trees with smaller and thicker leaves containing less nitrogen. Thirteen of 59 marking sites contained multiple marked trees, but site-level data do not indicate why bears marked multiple trees at some sites but not others. We thus encourage further analyses of marked-tree cluster sites and their relationship to productive food resources and reproduction, which might present important communication hubs for ursids.

Heatwaves pose significant threats to socioeconomic and environmental systems, with their intensity and frequency expected to increase due to climate change. Despite their critical impacts, future heatwaves in Brazil remain underexplored, especially from a human-perceived perspective, which is crucial for assessing potential public health impacts. Here, we propose a method to assess heatwaves using the humidex ( H )—a climate index that combines temperature and relative humidity to indicate human-perceived heat - alongside traditional temperature-based measures. Using bias-corrected simulations from 10 CMIP6 models under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, we quantified projected changes in heatwaves across Brazil. The results indicate that heatwaves will become more severe and prolonged, with greater changes under the SSP5-8.5 scenario by the end of the century, particularly in the North, Northeast, and Central regions. The magnitude of human-perceived heatwaves is expected to rise faster than temperature-based ones, underscoring the need for public health-focused assessments. CMIP6 models strongly agree on increased future heatwaves, potentially tripling population exposure in most Brazilian states, with the Southeast experiencing greater changes due to its larger population. These events are expected not only to affect more people but also to be more severe, exceeding over 60 days per year of serious danger (H > 45 °C) by the end of the century under SSP5-8.5. Record-shattering events in the historical period are projected to become the norm by mid-century, highlighting the accelerating nature of these extreme events. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering human-perceived heat in climate impact studies and public health planning to mitigate potential impacts. Significance Statement Despite the increasing threat of heatwaves, most studies focus on their climate properties, overlooking human-perceived aspects. This is especially true for Brazil, where heatwaves receive limited attention. This study introduces a novel approach, coupling heatwaves with a heat stress index (H) to evaluate them from a human-perceived perspective. Our results suggest more intense and prolonged heatwaves in the future, with record-breaking events becoming the norm by mid-century. Human-perceived heatwaves are projected to rise faster than climate-based ones, emphasizing the need for public health-focused assessments. These increases are expected to more than triple population exposure in most Brazilian states, with severe events (H > 45 °C) exceeding 60 days per year by the end of the century under the pessimistic scenario.

Rachel Carson's warning of a silent spring directed attention to unwanted side effects of pesticide application. Though her work led to policies restricting insecticide use, various insecticides currently in use affect nontarget organisms and may contribute to population declines. The insecticide tebufenozide is used to control defoliating Lepidoptera in oak forests harboring rich insect faunas. Over 3 years, we tested the effect of its aerial application on bird populations with autonomous sound recorders in a large, replicated, full factorial field experiment during a spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) outbreak. The soundscape analysis combined automated aggregation of recordings into sound indices with species identification by experts. After pesticide application in the year of the outbreak, acoustic complexity in early summer was significantly reduced. The soundscape analysis showed that the reduction was not related to birds, but instead to the large reduction in caterpillar feeding and frass dropping. Effects on the vocal activity of birds were smaller than originally expected from a related study demonstrating tebufenozide's negative effect on bird breeding success. The legacy of the pesticide treatment, in terms of soundscape variation, was not present in the second year when the outbreak had ended. Our results showed a dimension of insecticide‐induced acoustic variation not immediately accessible to the human ear. It also illustrated how a multifaceted soundscape analysis can be used as a generic approach to quantify the impact of anthropogenic stressors in novel ways by providing an example of remote and continuous sound monitoring not possible in conventional field surveys.

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) play a pivotal role in aligning agricultural practices with environmental objectives, promoting sustainable land management, and conserving biodiversity. This article presents a comprehensive synthesis of recent advancements in AES research within the European Union context, focusing on ecological, economic, and socio-political dimensions. Through a systematic review of literature published since 2013, we identify emerging trends, gaps, and research priorities, providing novel insights into AES effectiveness. We examine the factors that influence participation in AES such as biodiversity, habitat fragmentation, and agricultural ecosystem services. We also explore the economic factors influencing farmer participation, including financial incentives, income stability, and cost–benefit analysis. Furthermore, we investigate the socio-political dimensions of AES, including institutional frameworks, stakeholder engagement, and the role of trust in programme implementation. Key findings highlight the need for adaptive management strategies, incentive structures aligned with environmental objectives, and inclusive governance mechanisms to enhance AES effectiveness. Our research underscores the importance of context-specific approaches that account for farm characteristics, socio-economic factors, and institutional arrangements. Practical implications for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders are discussed, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based policymaking and iterative learning in promoting sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation.

Grasslands are among the most important ecosystems for human livelihoods. Besides their irreplaceable role in human food production, grasslands provide a wide range of ecosystem services at different scales. Earthworms, being soil ecosystem engineers, can play a key role in affecting the capacity of grassland soils to provide ecosystem services. Earthworms are known to improve soil physical properties, nutrient availability, plant biomass production, and soil water balance. Specifically, a high earthworm abundance and diversity in grasslands is often related to high soil porosity and water retention, low soil compaction, formation of soil biogenic aggregates with great stability, high availability of nutrients, and accelerated soil organic matter cycling, leading to high plant biomass production. This, in turn, encourages the maintenance of large and diverse earthworm populations in grasslands. Most of the world’s managed grasslands sustain livestock production (as opposed to natural grasslands without human intervention). Earthworms are sensitive to agricultural management. For instance, fertilization, grazing and manure management, soil compaction, and modification of the plant community composition (i.e., introduction of improved forages, trees, or legumes) can affect earthworm communities in direct and indirect (and often interrelated) ways. Here, we summarize the potential of different grassland management practices and their possible effects on earthworm populations and communities, as well as the subsequent soil properties and functions that underpin sustainable intensification. Based on their importance for soil functions and high sensitivity to grassland management, we encourage the inclusion of the earthworm communities among the studied factors for the assessment of grassland management practices’ effects on soil health. Furthermore, we suggest that using earthworms as bioindicators of soil health in grassland is practically accessible and easily interpretable by farmers and agriculture services. The development of a standardized method of earthworm assessment, adapted to different edaphoclimatic conditions and types of grassland management, could help to transfer scientific knowledge generated during the last decades to final users and managers of grasslands.

Estimation and knowledge of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils and herbaceous plants are vital for ecotoxicological reasons. This study explored PTE accumulation in the aerial organ (leaf) of herbaceous plants in PTE‐contaminated soils in a linear transect of three localities close to the Litavka River in Pribram, Czech Republic. Leaf accumulation answers questions on PTE hyperaccumulation and removal during phytoremediation. The study adopted the pseudo‐total extraction (aqua regia soluble) of PTE contents (Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ni) of soil and leaf samples determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Except for Ni, the contents of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were above the permissible limits in soil following WHO with contamination factors ranging from moderate to serious contamination in the sites. Of the 118 herbaceous species in the sites, 43% (52 species) accumulated Cd above the WHO limit in leaves with Geranium pusillum Burm. f. having the highest content (0.84 mg kg ⁻¹ ) while only Geum urbanum L. (132 mg kg ⁻¹ ) and G. pusillum (166 mg kg ⁻¹ ) were above the limit that supports the principal option to clean the infested soils. There was a low bioaccumulation of all plants indicated by a bioaccumulation factor less < 1 (BAF leaf < 1) with PTE content lower than reported hyperaccumulator values. The hyperaccumulation status of PTE of plants stated by previous authors in leaves can be unreliable, under natural soil conditions, accumulations can even be lower than the permissible limits. Further studies requiring different soils and other plants are needed to make a reliable inference on which organs of plants support hyperaccumulation status.

The sources of uncertainty in wall-to-wall AGB maps propagate from the tree to pixel, but uncertainty due to forest cover mapping is rarely incorporated into the error propagation process. This study aimed to (1) elaborate an analytical procedure to incorporate forest-mapping-related uncertainty into the error propagation from plot and pixel predictions; (2) develop a stratified estimator with a model-assisted estimator for small and large areas; and (3) estimate the effect of ignoring the mapping uncertainty on the confidence intervals (CIs) for totals. Data consist of a subset of the Brazilian national forest inventory (NFI) database, comprising 75 counties that, once aggregated, served as strata for the stratified estimator. On-ground data were gathered from 152 clusters (plots) and remotely sensed data from Landsat-8 scenes. Four major contributions are highlighted. First, we describe how to incorporate forest-mapping-related uncertainty into the CIs of any forest attribute and spatial resolution. Second, stratified estimators perform better than non-stratified estimators for forest area estimation when the response variable is forest/non-forest. Comparing our stratified estimators, this study indicated greater precision for the stratified estimator than for the regression estimator. Third, using the ratio estimator, we found evidence that the simple field plot information provided by the NFI clusters is sufficient to estimate the proportion forest for large regions as accurately as remote-sensing-based methods, albeit with less precision. Fourth, ignoring forest-mapping-related uncertainty erroneously narrows the CI width as the estimate of proportion forest area decreases. At the small-area level, forest-mapping-related uncertainty led to CIs for total AGB as much as 63% wider in extreme cases. At the large-area level, the CI was 5–7% wider.

An observed acceleration of tree mortality rates in European forests has been attributed to the impacts of climate change and extreme disturbances. Ecosystem recovery depends on regeneration success, but the recruitment of juveniles has been recognized as bottleneck in the development of forests. We investigated the potential importance of biotic (canopy tree abundance, ungulate herbivory) and abiotic (light, soil nutrients) factors in the limitation of regeneration in montane primary forests in central Europe. We used widely distributed forest inventory data (n = 348 plots) for two forest types, multiple tree taxa, and two life stages (seedlings and saplings). Seedling densities were promoted by more abundant parent trees, but saplings were either negatively influenced or unaffected by the number of conspecific adults. Browsing intensity (per capita defoliation severity) strongly limited the density of seedlings, but not saplings, at a community level. Low understory light levels were positively associated with seedling densities, but either did not affect or depressed sapling abundance A tolerance of shading was enhanced by nitrogen availability in some taxa. Our findings reflect highly complex, context-specific regeneration processes that vary by species and life stage within species.