Diversity of lichens and bryophytes in hybrid aspen plantations in Estonia depends on landscape structure

Importance of single-species forest plantations in sustaining biodiversity could be bigger than expected. We described the diversity of lichens and bryophytes in 15 midterm (16â 17-year-old) hybrid aspen (Populus tremula Ă P. tremuloides) plantations in Estonia. Species richness and composition data were linked with environmental and landscape-scale variables. Altogether, 44 lichen and 37 bryophyte species were recorded from plantations; richnesses of bryophytes and lichens were positively correlated. Lichen species composition was significantly affected by landscape-scale parameters (distance to the nearest present forest, distance to the nearest forest continuously occurring in the same place since 1930s, and forest area in the study plot vicinity in 1930s). Bryophyte species composition was affected mainly by light conditions and forest area in 1930s. Among lichens, functional group of sexual crustose species dominated in midterm plantations; appearance of asexual lichens of different growth forms is expected during next years. Our results indicate importance of long-term availability of good-quality forests as sources of propagules. Short-rotation hybrid aspen plantations can provide temporary habitats for forest species and thus in part contribute to preserving landscape-scale biodiversity, if they are close to possible colonisation sources. Green-tree retension in plantations will probably raise the biodiversity value of those short-term communities.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author