Ecotones Between Forest and Grassland wwwwwwwwwwww Randall W. Myster Editor Ecotones Between Forest and Grassland Editor Randall W. Myster Department of Biology Oklahoma State University Oklahoma City, OK, USA ISBN 978-1-4614-3796-3 ISBN 978-1-4614-3797-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-3797-0 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012941221 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, speci fi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on micro fi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) For my mother, Dorothy, on her 90th birthday. Many more and much love, always. wwwwwwwwwwww Preface I have lived within the Cross Timbers for 10 years, observing its many changes. It did not take me long to realize that many of the processes maintaining this eco- tone—between eastern deciduous forest and tallgrass prairie—may also control how trees invaded the ecotone de fi ned after abandonment from agriculture in New Jersey, USA which was the subject of my Ph.D dissertation and included in my fi rst book. Not only were many of the dominant species and genera the same (e.g., Quercus spp., Ulmus spp., Rubus spp., Juniperius virginiana ) but the ecotonal dynamics itself could be looked at as an interplay between the process of tree inva- sion on the forest side of the ecotone and those processes that present barriers to that invasion on the prairie side. Consequently I could combine my previous knowledge of the biology and ecology of many of the trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses with re fi ned fi eld experimentation, to investigate this Cross Timbers ecotone and set the stage for this new book. I have been fortunate to work with these generous col- leagues at Oklahoma State University (OSU): Drs. John Weir, Stephen Hallgren, Edwardo Lorenzi, and Chris Stansberry at OSU—Stillwater, and Drs. Edward Vezey and Armando Cruz-Rodz at OSU—Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City, OK , USA Randall W. Myster vii wwwwwwwwwwww Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 Randall W. Myster Part I Temperate Forest-Grassland Ecotones: Prairies, Steppes, and Pampas 2 Woodland-Grassland Ecotonal Shifts in Environmental Mosaics: Lessons Learnt from the Environmental History of the Carpathian Basin (Central Europe) During the Holocene and the Last Ice Age Based on Investigation of Paleobotanical and Mollusk Remains ............................................................................. 17 Pál Sümegi, Gergő Persaits, and Sándor Gulyás 3 Ecotones as Complex Arenas of Disturbance, Climate, and Human Impacts: The Trans-Andean Forest-Steppe Ecotone of Northern Patagonia ............................................................. 59 Thomas Kitzberger 4 Woody–Herbaceous–Livestock Species Interaction ............................ 89 Temuulen Tsagaan Sankey 5 Woody Plant Invasions in Pampa Grasslands: A Biogeographical and Community Assembly Perspective ................ 115 Enrique J. Chaneton, Noemí Mazía, William B. Batista, Andrés G. Rolhauser, and Claudio M. Ghersa Part II Tropical Forest-Grassland Ecotones: Old Fields, Savannas, and Llanos 6 Post-agricultural Ecotones in Puerto Rico............................................ 147 Randall W. Myster ix x Contents 7 South Brazilian Forest-Grassland Ecotones: Dynamics Affected by Climate, Disturbance, and Woody Species Traits ....................................................................... 167 Sandra C. Müller, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Carolina C. Blanco, Juliano M. de Oliveira, and Valério D. Pillar 8 Long-Term Perspectives on Tropical Forest–Savanna Dynamics in Lowland Bolivia from the Last Ice Age Until Present ..................... 189 Francis E. Mayle and Bronwen S. Whitney 9 Using Paleoecological Data to Define Main Vegetation Dynamics Along the Savanna–Forest Ecotone in Colombia: Implications for Accurate Assessment of Human Impacts ................. 209 Juan-Carlos Berrio, Hanne Wouters, Henry Hooghiemstra, Andrew S. Carr, and Arnoud Boom Part III Boral and Cloud Forest-Grassland Ecotones: Páramo and Alpine Grasslands 10 The Dynamic History of the Upper Forest Line Ecotone in the Northern Andes ............................................................. 229 Henry Hooghiemstra, Juan Carlos Berrio, Mirella H.M. Groot, Raul G. Bogotá-A, Marcela Moscol Olivera, and Zaire González-Carranza 11 Climatic Drivers of Tree Growth and Recent Recruitment at the Pyrenean Alpine Tree Line Ecotone ........................................... 247 Enric Batllori, J. Julio Camarero, and Emilia Gutiérrez 12 The Alpine Treeline Ecotone in the Southernmost Swedish Scandes: Dynamism on Different Scales ................................ 271 Leif Kullman 13 How Climate and Fire Disturbances Influence Contrasted Dynamics of Picea glauca Ecotones at Alpine Tree Lines in Atlantic and Continental Eastern North America .......................................................................... 299 Guillaume de Lafontaine and Serge Payette 14 Conclusion, Synthesis, and Future Directions ...................................... 313 Randall W. Myster Index ................................................................................................................. 321 Contributors William B. Batista IFEVA–CONICET and Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos , Universidad de Buenos Aires , 1417 Buenos Aires , Argentina Enric Batllori Departament d’Ecologia , Universitat de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona , Spain Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management , University of California, Berkeley , USA Juan Carlos Berrio Department of Geography , University of Leicester , Leicester, LE1 7RH , UK Carolina C. Blanco Departamento de Ecologia , Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul , 91501-970 Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil Raul G. Bogotá-A Department Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology , University of Amsterdam , 1098 XH , Amsterdam , The Netherlands Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas , Bogotá , Colombia Arnoud Boom Department of Geography , University of Leicester , Leicester , LE1 7RH , UK J. Julio Camarero ARAID, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC , 50080 Zaragoza , Spain Andrew S. Carr Department of Geography , University of Leicester , Leicester , LE1 7RH , UK Enrique J. Chaneton IFEVA–CONICET, Universidad de Buenos Aires , 1417 Buenos Aires , Argentina Claudio M. Ghersa IFEVA–CONICET, Universidad de Buenos Aires , 1417 Buenos Aires , Argentina xi xii Contributors Zaire González-Carranza Department Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology , University of Amsterdam , 1098 XH Amsterdam , The Netherlands EcoPetrol , Bucaramanga , Colombia Mirella H. M. Groot Department Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology , University of Amsterdam , 1098 XH , Amsterdam The Netherlands Sándor Gulyás Department of Geology and Landscape , University of Szeged , 6722 Szeged, Egyetem u.2-6 , Hungary Emilia Gutiérrez Departament d’Ecologia , Universitat de Barcelona , 08028 Barcelona , Spain Henry Hooghiemstra Department of Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands Thomas Kitzberger Laboratorio Ecotono, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, INIBIOMA-CONICET , 8400 Bariloche , Argentina Leif Kullman Department of Ecology and Environmental Science , Umeå University , 901 87 Umeå , Sweden Guillaume de Lafontaine Département de biologie , Conservateur/Curator Herbier Louis-Marie , Québec , Canada Francis E. Mayle School of GeoSciences , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , EH89XP , UK Noemí Mazía Cátedra de Dasonomía , Universidad de Buenos Aires , 1417 Buenos Aires , Argentina Juliano M. de Oliveira Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia , Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos—UNISINOS , 93022-000 São Leopoldo , RS , Brazil Marcela Moscol Olivera Department Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology , University