Xiaoyu Li’s research while affiliated with Beijing Forestry University and other places

The Janzen-Connell hypothesis has been explored by many ecologists in a great number of forests. Numerous studies have suggested that mycorrhizal type and fungal composition may affect the conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) among tree species. However, how the variations and roles of mycorrhizal type and fungi compositions influence CNDD remains a challenge in temperate forests. We used tree demographic data in a 42–ha plot over ten years to test the effects of two types of tree mycorrhiza (arbuscular mycorrhiza: AM and ectomycorrhizal mycorrhiza: EM) on the survival of 45 species over three types of tree ontogeny (sapling, juvenile, adult trees), and the relationship between CNDD and soil fungal community composition of 8 common species. The results of this study show that AM tree species experienced stronger CNDD than EM tree species in each of the three ontogenetic stages. EM tree species with higher mutualistic fungi and lower pathogenic fungi may suffer lower CNDD. Individual trees with higher pathogenic fungi may be affected more severely by CNDD in our temperate forest. Our findings highlight the key roles of mycorrhizal association in mediating the strength of CNDD on tree survival, which may affect the plant community composition of temperate forests.

• It is well understood that biotic and abiotic variables influence forest productivity. However, in regard to temperate forests, the relative contributions of the aforementioned drivers to biomass demographic processes (i.e., the growth rates of the survivors and recruits) have not received a great deal of attention. Thus, this study focused on the identification of the relative influencing effects of biotic and abiotic variables in the demographic biomass processes of temperate forests. • This study was conducted in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, in northeastern China. Based on the observational data collected from three 5.2‐hectare forest plots, the annual above‐ground biomass (AGB) increment (productivity) of the surviving trees, recruits, and the total tree community (survivors + recruits) were estimated. Then, the changes in the forest productivity in response to biotic variables (including species diversity, structural diversity, and density variables) along with abiotic variables (including topographic and soil variables) were evaluated using linear mixed‐effect models. • This study determined that the biotic variables regulated the variabilities in productivity. Density variables were the most critical drivers of the annual AGB increments of the surviving trees and total tree community. Structural diversity enhanced the annual AGB increments of the recruits, but diminished the annual AGB increments of the surviving trees and the total tree community. Species diversity and abiotic variables did not have impacts on the productivity in the examined forest plots. • The results highlighted the important roles of forest density and structural diversity in the biomass demographic processes of temperate forests. The surviving and recruit trees were found to respond differently to the biotic variables, which suggested that the asymmetric competition had shaped the productivity dynamics in forests. Therefore, the findings emphasized the need to consider the demographic processes of forest productivity to better understand the functions of forests.

Key message The effects of distance dependence, negative density dependence (NDD), phylogenetic density dependence, and habitat filtering were integrated to provide additional evidence in temperate forest tree seedling survival. The main focus of this study was to explore how population density and habitat filtering regulate NDD. An approach involving four classes of population density and three classes of soil moisture was tested, including the effect of habitat variables to more accurately evaluate the underlying ecological processes affecting the density dependence of seedlings. Context NDD is an important mechanism for the maintenance of species diversity across multiple life stages, particularly during seedling recruitment. By regulating specific population structures to maintain species diversity, the effects of density dependence and distance dependence are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Nevertheless, the contribution of NDD to community assembly, relative to other processes such as habitat filtering, remains a subject of debate. Recently, it has been reported that seedling survivals are also negatively correlated with phylogenetic relatedness between neighbors and focal individuals. This effect is known as phylogenetic negative density dependence (PNDD). However, another opposite effect known as phylogenetic positive density dependence (PPDD) has also been reported to exist. Aims The objectives of this study are to examine the following: (i) how population density affects negative density dependence (NDD); (ii) how habitat filtering regulates the NDD; (iii) whether more evidence can be found for PNDD or PPDD and why; and (iv) whether the intensity of negative density dependence is affected by the distance between parent trees and seedlings. Methods The study was conducted in a 20-ha primary mixed broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain of China. We used generalized linear mixed models to analyze how the seedling survival of 23 woody plant species relates to neighborhoods and habitat variables. Four models were established with and without habitat variables, and two of the four models were used to test how different population densities of focal seedlings and different gradients of habitat variable regulated negative density dependence. Results The following results were obtained: (1) the strongest conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) was found within a radius of 15 m; (2) seedling survival were most strongly impacted by the density of conspecific seedling and adult neighbors in habitats with relatively low soil moisture; (3) the effect of seedling-seedling CNDD was especially significant, when densities ranged from 20 to 40 seedlings/4 m², and (4) there were some evidences of phylogenetic positive density dependence (PPDD), and the effect of seedling-seedling PPDD was increasing with an increase in soil moisture. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that conspecific negative density dependence played an important role in seedling survival, which is closely related to habitat filtering and population density. However, we found some evidences of phylogenetic positive density dependence. We suggest that future studies of neighborhood density dependence should increase awareness of evolutionary relationships.