The European Forest Plant Species List (EuForPlant): Concept and applications
(2022) In Journal of Vegetation Science 33(3). p.1-16- Abstract
- Question: When evaluating forests in terms of their biodiversity, distinctiveness and naturalness, the affinity of the constituent species to forests is a crucial parameter. Here we ask to what extent are vascular plant species associated with forests, and does species’ affinity to forests vary between European regions?
Location: Temperate and boreal forest biome of Northwestern and Central Europe. Methods: We compiled EuForPlant, a new extensive list of forest vascular plant spe- cies in 24 regions spread across 13 European countries using vegetation databases and expert knowledge. Species were region-specifically classified into four categories reflecting the degree of their affinity to forest habitats: 1.1, species of forest... (More) - Question: When evaluating forests in terms of their biodiversity, distinctiveness and naturalness, the affinity of the constituent species to forests is a crucial parameter. Here we ask to what extent are vascular plant species associated with forests, and does species’ affinity to forests vary between European regions?
Location: Temperate and boreal forest biome of Northwestern and Central Europe. Methods: We compiled EuForPlant, a new extensive list of forest vascular plant spe- cies in 24 regions spread across 13 European countries using vegetation databases and expert knowledge. Species were region-specifically classified into four categories reflecting the degree of their affinity to forest habitats: 1.1, species of forest interiors; 1.2, species of forest edges and forest openings; 2.1, species that can be found in forest as well as open vegetation; and 2.2, species that can be found partly in forest, but mainly in open vegetation. An additional “O” category was distinguished, covering species typical for non-forest vegetation.
Results: EuForPlant comprises 1,726 species, including 1,437 herb-layer species, 159 shrubs, 107 trees, 19 lianas and 4 epiphytic parasites. Across regions, generalist forest species (with 450 and 777 species classified as 2.1 and 2.2, respectively) significantly outnumbered specialist forest species (with 250 and 137 species classified as 1.1 and 1.2, respectively). Even though the degree of shifting between the categories of for- est affinity among regions was relatively low (on average, 17.5%), about one-third of the forest species (especially 1.2 and 2.2) swapped categories in at least one of the study regions.
Conclusions: The proposed list can be used widely in vegetation science and global change ecology related to forest biodiversity and community dynamics. Shifting of forest affinity among regions emphasizes the importance of a continental-scale forest plant species list with regional specificity. (Less)
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- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-03-16
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- biogeographical regions, boreal zone, expert knowledge, forest affinity, forest plant species, habitat shift, nemoral zone, species diversity, vascular flora, woodland
- in
- Journal of Vegetation Science
- volume
- 33
- issue
- 3
- article number
- 2022;33:e13132.
- pages
- 1 - 16
- publisher
- International Association of Vegetation Science
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85133024405
- ISSN
- 1654-1103
- DOI
- 10.1111/jvs.13132
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
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- b958d16f-2647-41e7-938d-9ac69f551201
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-15 11:01:34
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- 2025-04-04 15:02:54
@article{b958d16f-2647-41e7-938d-9ac69f551201,
abstract = {{Question: When evaluating forests in terms of their biodiversity, distinctiveness and naturalness, the affinity of the constituent species to forests is a crucial parameter. Here we ask to what extent are vascular plant species associated with forests, and does species’ affinity to forests vary between European regions?<br/>Location: Temperate and boreal forest biome of Northwestern and Central Europe. Methods: We compiled EuForPlant, a new extensive list of forest vascular plant spe- cies in 24 regions spread across 13 European countries using vegetation databases and expert knowledge. Species were region-specifically classified into four categories reflecting the degree of their affinity to forest habitats: 1.1, species of forest interiors; 1.2, species of forest edges and forest openings; 2.1, species that can be found in forest as well as open vegetation; and 2.2, species that can be found partly in forest, but mainly in open vegetation. An additional “O” category was distinguished, covering species typical for non-forest vegetation.<br/>Results: EuForPlant comprises 1,726 species, including 1,437 herb-layer species, 159 shrubs, 107 trees, 19 lianas and 4 epiphytic parasites. Across regions, generalist forest species (with 450 and 777 species classified as 2.1 and 2.2, respectively) significantly outnumbered specialist forest species (with 250 and 137 species classified as 1.1 and 1.2, respectively). Even though the degree of shifting between the categories of for- est affinity among regions was relatively low (on average, 17.5%), about one-third of the forest species (especially 1.2 and 2.2) swapped categories in at least one of the study regions.<br/>Conclusions: The proposed list can be used widely in vegetation science and global change ecology related to forest biodiversity and community dynamics. Shifting of forest affinity among regions emphasizes the importance of a continental-scale forest plant species list with regional specificity.}},
author = {{Heinken, Thilo and Diekmann, Martin and Liira, Jaan and Orczewska, Anna and Schmidt, Marcus and Brunet, Jörg and Chytrý, Milan and Chabrerie, Olivier and Decocq, Guilliame and De Frenne, Pieter and Dřevojan, Pavel and Dzwonko, Zbigniew and Ewald, Jörg and Feilberg, Jon and Graae, Bente Jessen and Grytnes, Jon-Arvid and Hermy, Martin and Kriebitzsch, Wolf-Ulrich and Laivins, Maris and Lenoir, Jonathan and Lindmo, Sigrid and Marage, Damien and Marozas, Vitas and Niemeyer, Thomas and Paal, Jaanus and Pysek, Petr and Roosaluste, Elle and Sadlo, Jiri and Schaminée, Joop H. J. and Tyler, Torbjörn and Verheyen, Kris and Wulf, Monika and Vanneste, Thomas}},
issn = {{1654-1103}},
keywords = {{biogeographical regions, boreal zone, expert knowledge, forest affinity, forest plant species, habitat shift, nemoral zone, species diversity, vascular flora, woodland}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{1--16}},
publisher = {{International Association of Vegetation Science}},
series = {{Journal of Vegetation Science}},
title = {{The European Forest Plant Species List (EuForPlant): Concept and applications}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13132}},
doi = {{10.1111/jvs.13132}},
volume = {{33}},
year = {{2022}},
}