TY - JOUR

T1 - The European Forest Plant Species List (EuForPlant)

T2 - Concept and applications

AU - Heinken, Thilo

AU - Diekmann, Martin

AU - Liira, Jaan

AU - Orczewska, Anna

AU - Schmidt, Marcus

AU - Brunet, Jörg

AU - Chytrý, Milan

AU - Chabrerie, Olivier

AU - Decocq, Guillaume

AU - De Frenne, Pieter

AU - Drevojan, Pavel

AU - Dzwonko, Zbigniew

AU - Ewald, Jörg

AU - Feilberg, Jon

AU - Graae, Bente Jessen

AU - Grytnes, John Arvid

AU - Hermy, Martin

AU - Kriebitzsch, Wolf-Ulrich

AU - Laivins, Maris

AU - Lenoir, Jonathan

AU - Lindmo, Sigrid

AU - Marage, Damien

AU - Marozas, Vitas

AU - Niemeyer, Thomas

AU - Paal, Jaanus

AU - Pyšek, Petr

AU - Roosaluste, Elle

AU - Sadlo, Jiri

AU - Schaminée, Joop H.J.

AU - Tyler, Torbjörn

AU - Verheyen, Kris

AU - Wulf, Monika

AU - Vanneste, Thomas

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.

PY - 2022/5/16

Y1 - 2022/5/16

N2 - 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 species 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 forest 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.

AB - 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 species 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 forest 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.

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - biogeographical regions

KW - boreal zone

KW - expert knowledge

KW - forest affinity

KW - forest plant species

KW - habitat shift

KW - nemoral zone

KW - species diversity

KW - vascular flora

KW - woodland

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3bbc4982-fa0e-35cc-9aef-f9003391f4c0/

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133024405&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jvs.13132

DO - 10.1111/jvs.13132

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 33

JO - Journal of Vegetation Science

JF - Journal of Vegetation Science

SN - 1100-9233

IS - 3

M1 - e13132

ER -