Litter impair spruce seedling emergence in beech forests: a litter manipulation experiment

European beech Fagus sylvatica and Norway spruce Picea abies are economically and ecologically important forest trees in large parts of Europe. Today, the beech forest reaches its northern distribution limit in south-eastern Norway and it is expected to expand northwards due to climate warming. This expansion will likely result in fundamental ecosystem changes. To increase our knowledge about the competitive balance between spruce and beech, we have investigated how beech and spruce litter affect spruce seedling emergence, growth and uptake of C and N. We did this in a seed-sowing experiment that included litter layer removal as well as reciprocal transplantations of litter layers between spruce and beech forests. Our results show that spruce seedling emergence was significantly impaired by both litter layer types, and especially so by the beech litter layer in the beech forest. The low seedling emergence in beech forests is concurrent with their lower light availability.