Phenology of forest herbs, from 2017 and 100 plots, used in "Spring understory herbs flower later in intensively managed forests", Ecological Applications

Many organisms respond to anthropogenic environmental change through shifts in their phenology. We disentangled how forest management would change forest structure and thereby microclimatic conditions and, as a consequence, flowering phenology. To investigate this, we studied the phenology of 20 early-flowering forest herb species on 100 forest plots of different management type and intensity. The studied forest plots ranged from protected unmanaged forests and extensively managed selection system forests to managed deciduous age-class forests (from young thickets to mature timber plots) and intensively managed Norway spruce plantations. Statistical analyses were restricted to the 16 most abundant species.