Table S1 List of all the references used in the meta-analysis
1.
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and canopy gap formation on tree regeneration in an old beech forest. Journal of Vegetation
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2.
Arevalo JR, Fernandez-Palacios JM. 2007. Treefall gaps and regeneration composition in the
laurel forest of Anaga (Tenerife): a matter of size? Plant Ecology, 188: 133-143.
3.
Beckage B, Clark JS, Clinton BD, Haines BL. 2000. A long-term study of tree seedling
recruitment in southern Appalachian forests: the effects of canopy gaps and shrub
understories. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche
Forestiere, 30: 1617-1631.
4.
Bolton NW, D'Amato AW. 2011. Regeneration responses to gap size and coarse woody debris
within natural disturbance-based silvicultural systems in northeastern Minnesota, USA.
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5.
Brown N. 1996. A gradient of seedling growth from the centre of a tropical rain forest canopy
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6.
Brudvig LA, Asbjornsen H. 2008. Patterns of oak regeneration in a Midwestern savanna
restoration experiment. Forest Ecology and Management, 255: 3019-3025.
7.
Burnham KM, Lee TD. 2010. Canopy gaps facilitate establishment, growth, and reproduction
of invasive Frangula alnus in a Tsuga canadensis dominated forest. Biological Invasions, 12:
1509-1520.
8.
Busing RT, Fujimori T. 2002. Dynamics of composition and structure in an old Sequoia
sempervirens forest. Journal of Vegetation Science, 13: 785-792.
9.
Clarke PJ. 2004. Effects of experimental canopy gaps on mangrove recruitment: lack of
habitat partitioning may explain stand dominance. Journal of Ecology, 92: 203-213.
10. Coates KD. 2002. Tree recruitment in gaps of various size, clearcuts and undisturbed mixed
forest of interior British Columbia, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management, 155: 387-398.
11. d'Oliveira MVN, Ribas LA. 2011. Forest regeneration in artificial gaps twelve years after
canopy opening in Acre State Western Amazon. Forest Ecology and Management, 261:
1722-1731.
12. Dickinson MB, Whigham DF, Hermann SM. 2000. Tree regeneration in felling and natural
treefall disturbances in a semideciduous tropical forest in Mexico. Forest Ecology and
Management, 134: 137-151.
13. Dobrowolska D. 2006. Oak natural regeneration and conversion processes in mixed Scots
pine stands. Forestry, 79: 503-513.
14. Drobyshev IV. 1999. Regeneration of Norway spruce in canopy gaps in Sphagnum-Myrtillus
old-growth forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 115: 71-83.
15. Dupuy JM, Chazdon RL. 2008. Interacting effects of canopy gap, understory vegetation and
leaf litter on tree seedling recruitment and composition in tropical secondary forests. Forest
Ecology and Management, 255: 3716-3725.
16. Elias RB, Dias E. 2009. Gap dynamics and regeneration strategies in Juniperus-Laurus
forests of the Azores Islands. Plant Ecology, 200: 179-189.
17. Fajardo A, de Graaf R. 2004. Tree dynamics in canopy gaps in old-growth forests of
Nothofagus pumilio in Southern Chile. Plant Ecology, 173: 95-105.
18. Forrester JA, Leopold DJ. 2006. Extant and potential vegetation of an old-growth maritime
Ilex opaca forest. Plant Ecology, 183: 349-359.
19. Gasser D, Messier C, Beaudet M, Lechowicz MJ. 2010. Sugar maple and yellow birch
regeneration in response to canopy opening, liming and vegetation control in a temperate
deciduous forest of Quebec. Forest Ecology and Management, 259: 2006-2014.
20. Hebert R, Huot J. 2009. Gap dynamics in Balsam Fir, Abies balsamea - Yellow Birch, Betula
alleghaniensis, forests of Quebec. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 123: 117-125.
21. Hoshino D, Nishimura N, Yamamoto S. 2003. Effects of canopy conditions on the
regeneration of major tree species in an old-growth Chamaecyparis obtusa forest in central
Japan. Forest Ecology and Management, 175: 141-152.
22. Imai N, Takyu M, Nakamura Y, Nakamura T. 2006. Gap formation and regeneration of
tropical mangrove forests in Ranong, Thailand. Plant Ecology, 186: 37-46.
23. Kern CC, D'Arnato AW, Strong TF. 2013. Diversifying the composition and structure of
managed, late-successional forests with harvest gaps: What is the optimal gap size? Forest
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24. Lara-Gonzalez R, Sanchez-Velasquez LR, Corral-Aguirre J. 2009. Regeneration of Abies
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25. Leithead M, Silva LCR, Anand M. 2012. Recruitment patterns and northward tree migration
through gap dynamics in an old-growth white pine forest in northern Ontario. Plant Ecology,
213: 1699-1714.
26. Mallik AU, Kreutzweiser DP, Spalvieri CM. 2014. Forest regeneration in gaps seven years
after partial harvesting in riparian buffers of boreal mixedwood streams. Forest Ecology and
Management, 312: 117-128.
27. Muscolo A, Sidari M, Bagnato S, Mallamaci C, Mercurio R. 2010. Gap size effects on aboveand below-ground processes in a silver fir stand. European Journal of Forest Research, 129:
355-365.
28. Myers GP, Newton AC, Melgarejo O. 2000. The influence of canopy gap size on natural
regeneration of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) in Bolivia. Forest Ecology and Management,
127: 119-128.
29. Nagel TA, Svoboda M, Rugani T, Diaci J. 2010. Gap regeneration and replacement patterns
in an old-growth Fagus-Abies forest of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Plant Ecology, 208: 307-318.
30. Narukawa Y, Yamamoto SI. 2001. Gap formation, microsite variation and the conifer
seedling occurrence in a subalpine old-growth forest, central Japan. Ecological Research, 16:
617-625.
31. Obiri JAF, Lawes MJ. 2004. Chance versus determinism in canopy gap regeneration in
coastal scarp forest in South Africa. Journal of Vegetation Science, 15: 539-547.
32. Page LM, Cameron AD. 2006. Regeneration dynamics of Sitka spruce in artificially created
forest gaps. Forest Ecology and Management, 221: 260-266.
33. Rao P, Barik SK, Pandey HN, Tripathi RS. 1997. Tree seed germination and seedling
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34. Sarra DA, Hibbs DE, Shatford JPA, Momsen R. 2011. Influences of life history,
environmental gradients, and disturbance on riparian tree regeneration in Western Oregon.
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35. Sherman RE, Fahey TJ, Battles JJ. 2000. Small-scale disturbance and regeneration dynamics
in a neotropical mangrove forest. Journal of Ecology, 88: 165-178.
36. Thompson J, Proctor J, Scott DA, Fraser PJ, Marrs RH, Miller RP, Viana V. 1998. Rain forest
on Maraca Island, Roraima, Brazil: artificial gaps and plant response to them. Forest Ecology
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37. van der Meer PJ, Sterck FJ, Bongers F. 1998. Tree seedling performance in canopy gaps in a
tropical rain forest at Nouragues, French Guiana. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 14: 119-137.
38. Vargas R, Gartner SM, Hagen E, Reif A. 2013. Tree regeneration in the threatened forest of
Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile: The role of small-scale disturbances on microsite conditions
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39. Walters BB. 2005. Ecological effects of small-scale cutting of Philippine mangrove forests.
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40. Wang GL, Liu F. 2011. The influence of gap creation on the regeneration of Pinus
tabuliformis planted forest and its role in the near-natural cultivation strategy for planted
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41. Zhang C, Zou CJ, Peltola H, Wang KY, Xu WD. 2013. The effects of gap size and age on
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42. Zhu JJ, Matsuzaki T, Lee FQ, Gonda Y. 2003. Effect of gap size created by thinning on
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