Woody species as landscape modulators: their effect on the herbaceous plants in a Mediterranean maquis
Abstract"Landscape modulators" are ecosystem engineers that have an impact on community structure by creating patches in the landscape mosaic. Our aim was to study the effect of evergreen trees, as landscape modulators, on herbaceous plants in a Mediterranean maquis system in northern Israel. We examined the effects of canopy removal and cattle grazing on species richness, plant functional types, and rare plant species in two patch types: (1) woody under tree canopy (or the location of a removed canopy) (2) herbaceous in open areas with no tree canopy. Patch type and tree removal affected species richness and plant functional types. The extreme negative effect of the woody patch type on species richness disappeared soon after the removal of the landscape modulator canopy. We conclude that the dominant effect of the evergreen woody landscape modulators can be regulated by canopy removal and grazing for maintaining patch type and landscape diversities, and consequent high species richness in Mediterranean ecosystems, which is a main goal of global nature conservation policy.
Plant Ecology