Compositional stability of boreal understorey vegetation after overstorey harvesting across a riparian ecotone

摘要

QuestionsUnderstanding factors that contribute to the stability of an ecosystem following harvesting is central to predicting responses of boreal ecosystems to increasing human disturbances. While the response of understorey vegetation to harvesting is well understood for upland sites, little is known about compositional stability of riparian understorey vegetation. We examined how compositional stability changes with or without harvesting along an upland to streamside gradient and tested whether compositional stability is affected by pre-harvest species diversity and composition.