Effects of multiple factors on plant diversity of forest fragments in intensive farmland of Northern Portugal

The joint and independent effects of dominant tree species, forest patch spatial attributes, and forest structure and management as drivers of plant species richness and composition in small forest patches scattered within an intensive agricultural landscape were addressed.In a landscape with scattered urban and intensive dairy agricultural areas in north-west Portugal, within which small forest patches (dominated by pines, eucalypts, or both) represent semi-natural habitat islands, 50 small forest patches, with areas ranging between 0.3 and 3 ha, were selected and surveyed for vascular plant diversity, within dairy farming landscape mosaics dominated by annual forage crops. Explanatory variables were composed of three datasets derived either from GIS mapping or field observations: forest type (dominant tree species), forest patch spatial attributes (patch area and shape index), and measures of forest management and structure (diameter at breast height, tree density per hectare, and percentage cover of vegetation strata). Variations in these forest patch attributes were assessed across forest types, and related to measures of plant diversity (total, native, alien, woody, and herbaceous species richness). Redundancy analysis with variance partitioning was applied to evaluate the joint and independent effects of the three sets of variables on species assemblages. The recent shift in canopy dominance from pine to eucalypt observed in the region appears to be related to a (nonsignificant) tendency for the increase of patch area and to the decrease of patch complexity, as well as several changes in forest structure and management, expressed as a trend to denser tree canopies and lower cover of understory plants. Dominant tree species and attributes related to forest structure and management were the most important factors determining plant diversity. The joint effect of the dominant tree species and forest structure and management resulted in lower levels of plant species richness in eucalypt plantations. These were also more prone to invasion by alien species, probably due to decreased biotic resistance from unsaturated native plant assemblages. Our results draw attention to the importance of dominant tree species and management practices for the maintenance of plant diversity levels (species richness and composition) in dairy landscape mosaics, highlighting the importance of the remnants of semi-natural forests as refuges for plant diversity in the landscape context. Nonetheless, forest plant diversity could further be fostered by promoting naturalness of pine stands and the regeneration of native oak woodlands in some forest areas. This would also diversify the range of ecosystem services that could be provided by forest areas in these peri-urban farmlands.

► Forest species, structure and management determine plant diversity in small patches.
► Shifts in tree dominance tend to drive an increase of area and decrease of patch complexity.
► Spatial attributes have a limited influence on forest plant diversity in dairy landscapes.
► Intensively managed eucalypt stands are more prone to invasion by alien plant species.
► Forest plant diversity could be fostered by promoting naturalness of pine stands.