Fride Høistad Schei
Research Scientist
Biography
I am a community ecologist broadly interested in how natural and human global change drivers affect populations, communities and ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales. Currently, I am focusing on forest ecology, conservation, and sustainable management of forest resources.
Keywords: Conservation, continuous cover forestry (CCF), forest ecology, forest certification and long-term changes.
Authors
Fride Høistad Schei Mie Prik Arnberg John-Arvid Grytnes Maren Stien Johansen Jørund Johansen Anna Birgitte Milford Anders Røynstrand Mari Mette TollefsrudAbstract
Climate change and human activities have accelerated the spread of non-native species, including forest pests and pathogens, significantly contributing to global biodiversity loss. Pathogens pose a significant threat to forest ecosystems due to a lack of coevolution with native hosts, resulting in ineffective defence mechanisms and severe consequences for the affected tree species. Ash dieback, caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, is a relatively new invasive forest pathogen threatening ash (Fraxinus excelsior) with mortality rates in northern Europe reaching up to 80 %. The loss of ash due to dieback has severe ecological implications, potentially leading to an extinction cascade as ash provides crucial habitats and resources for many organisms. Despite this, the consequences of ash dieback on associated communities are largely unknown. To address this, we analysed changes in species richness, vegetation structure, and composition in 82 permanent vegetation plots across 23 Norwegian woodlands. We compared data collected before and 10–14 years after the emergence of ash dieback. In these woodlands, ash significantly declined in cover, leading to changes in tree species composition and facilitating the establishment of other woody tree species like hazel (Corylus avellana) and the invasive species sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus). Despite these changes in the tree species composition, no significant alterations were observed in the understory plant community, indicating a degree of ecosystem resilience or a lagging community response. At this point, and with our focus on the vascular plants, we do not find support for cascading effects due to ash dieback. However, our findings demonstrate that one invasive species is facilitating the expansion of another, raising concerns about potential ecological imbalance and cascading effects in the future.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Wim De Schuyter Emiel De Lombaerde Leen Depauw Pallieter De Smedt Alina Stachurska-Swakoń Anna Orczewska Balázs Teleki Bogdan Jaroszewicz Déborah Closset František Máliš Fraser Mitchell Fride Høistad Schei George Peterken Guillaume Decocq Hans Van Calster Jan Šebesta Jonathan Lenoir Jörg Brunet Kamila Reczyńska Krzysztof Świerkosz Martin Diekmann Martin Kopecký Markéta Chudomelová Martin Hermy Martin Macek Miles Newman Monika Wulf Ondřej Vild Ove Eriksson Peter Horchler Petr Petrik Remigiusz Pielech Thilo Heinken Thomas Dirnböck Thomas A. Nagel Tomasz Durak Tibor Standovár Tobias Naaf Wolfgang Schmidt Lander Baeten Pieter De Frenne Markus Bernhardt-Römermann Radim Hédl Don Waller Kris VerheyenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
