Olmsted, Castilleja Fallon
(2024)
Evaluating the importance of cryptic reservoirs of species and functional groups for biodiversity maintenance in forests.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Biodiversity is essential to the functioning and resilience of ecosystems, but some cryptic elements of biodiversity are often overlooked and undervalued. Nonetheless, these elements, which include functional traits and long-term coexistence strategies, are still affected by common processes such as disturbance and herbivory. Yet, we lack the data to reliably predict their responses. In particular, the responses of traits such as the timing of reproduction and the ability to form a viable seed bank, which have far-reaching impacts on the rest of the community, have not been thoroughly explored in the context of chronic herbivory. Furthermore, the consequences of overbrowsing on a seed bank community that has experienced interacting natural and anthropogenic disturbances are unknown. Generally, the importance of forest seed banks has been underestimated. Here, I show that the impact of herbivory on these reproductive traits is highly context dependent, rather than unilaterally negative. I also illustrate the importance of the soil seed bank in forests, both in facilitating community regrowth following intense interacting disturbances, but also in terms of the sheer diversity of species that seed bank in forests worldwide. To date, studies on the conditions of forest seed banks in different biomes have produced highly variable results. Furthermore, my research highlights that studies of seed banking that are integrated with the many interacting processes that shape plant communities are extremely rare and desperately needed. On the whole, this work calls for a greater appreciation of the less-apparent axes of biodiversity that are impacted by foundational ecosystem processes, and an incorporation of those cryptic elements of biodiversity into the narrative on how disturbance and herbivory change forest communities.
Share
| Citation/Export: |
|
| Social Networking: |
|
Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
8 January 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
25 July 2023 |
| Approval Date: |
8 January 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
15 September 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
2 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 2 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
235 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Biological Sciences |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
seed bank, seedbank, deer, herbivory, disturbance, logging, forest, coexistence, phenology |
| Related URLs: |
|
| Date Deposited: |
08 Jan 2024 18:11 |
| Last Modified: |
08 Jan 2024 18:11 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/45407 |
Metrics
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[img]](http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png)
![[img]](http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/text_html.png)
![[feed]](/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}