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Forest Ecology and Management
Elsevier Science
Forest Ecology and Management

Elsevier Science

0378-1127

Forest Ecology and Management/Journal Forest Ecology and ManagementSCIISTPEIAHCI
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    Prescribed burning in spring or autumn did not affect the soil fungal community in Mediterranean Pinus nigra natural forests

    Vazquez-Veloso, AitorDejene, TatekAndres Oria-de-Rueda, JuanGuijarro, Mercedes...
    12页
    查看更多>>摘要：In the context of global change, wildfires are not only a threat but are also increasing in their severity in forest ecosystems worldwide, affecting and modifying vegetation, wildlife, and fungal dynamics. Mediterranean ecosystems are frequently affected by fire and prescribed burning is being increasingly used as a tool to reduce the risk and severity of wildfires. Although some of the effects of prescribed burning have been studied, the best moment to perform a prescribed burn to reduce the impact of fire on fungal communities has not been fully investigated. In this study, we analysed the effect of prescribed burning in two different seasons (spring and autumn) on soil fungi associated with natural Pinus nigra forests. Four years after prescribed burning was applied, our analyses showed that the total fungal richness and the composition of fungal communities in spring-burned, autumn-burned, and unburned control plots did not differ significantly. However, analyses of specific phyla and functional trophic groups did reveal some significant differences between spring-or autumn-burned plots and unburned control plots. Valuable edible fungi, which were not affected by the prescribed burning, were also found in the study area. Thus, our results suggest that prescribed burning is not only an interesting tool that could be used to reduce the risk of wildfire but also is compatible with the conservation of fungal communities, and could even promote specific valuable edible species, generating complementary incomes for the rural population. Although further studies are needed, our analyses suggest that the season (spring or autumn) in which prescribed burning is performed does not affect fungal conservation and, therefore, does not need to be one of the factors taken into consideration when selecting the most appropriate time to perform a prescribed burning.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Mesophication of upland oak forests: Implications of species-specific differences in leaf litter decomposition rates and fuelbed composition

    Babl-Plauche, E. K.Alexander, H. D.Siegert, C. M.Willis, J. L....
    8页
    查看更多>>摘要：Without periodic fire, historically open-canopied, oak-dominated upland woodlands of the central and eastern United States are shifting to closed-canopied forests with increased abundance of shade-tolerant and typically fire-sensitive species. Once established, these encroaching species (i.e., mesophytes) are hypothesized to initiate a positive feedback termed mesophication where mesophytes perpetuate conditions that foster their own proliferation at the expense of oaks (Quercus spp.). One potential mechanism of mesophication is reduced fuel loads through faster decomposition rates of mesophyte leaf litter, as leaf litter is the primary fuel in closed canopy forests. To better understand how different tree species impact fuel loads, we compared initial leaf litter chemistry and one-year (2016-2017) decomposition rates of four non-oak species exhibiting increased abundance in the region and/or relatively high sapling/midstory abundance relative to the overstory on our sites (red maple [Acer rubrum], sugar maple [A. saccharum], American beech [Fagus grandifolia], and hickory [Carya spp.]) and three oak species (black oak [Q. velutina], chestnut oak [Q. montana], white oak [Q. alba]) in an upland oak forest in north-central Kentucky. We also evaluated fuelbed mass, composition, and bulk density beneath overstory (20-60 cm DBH) individuals of each species following leaf fall in December 2016. Except for American beech (66% mass remaining), we found non-oak leaf litter, especially that of red and sugar maple, decomposed the fastest (45 and 48% mass remaining), and oak leaf litter decomposed the slowest (54-64% mass remaining). Further, although total leaf litter fuel loads in December were similar beneath individuals of different tree species, fuel composition differed. Under non-oak crowns, the proportion of leaf litter from non-oaks was 22-35%, while under oak crowns, the proportion of leaf litter from non-oaks was only 10-12%. This suggests that individual trees of non-oaks are impacting fuel composition beneath their own crowns despite continued oak dominance at the stand scale. Considering differences between species in both leaf litter inputs based on allometric equations and decomposition rates, modeled leaf litter fuel loads in a forest composed entirely of red maple, sugar maple, or Carya spp. were ~20% lower than an oak forest after one year of decomposition. While limited to the species examined in this study, these findings confirm that the leaf litter of non-oaks, excluding American beech, decomposes more rapidly than oak and that individual non-oak trees alter fuelbed composition beneath their crowns, suggesting that oak woodlands will become less-flammable with increasing mesophytic dominance.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Relationship between soil bacterial communities and dissolved organic matter in a subtropical Pinus taiwanensis forest after short-term nitrogen addition

    Zeng, QuanxinZhou, JiacongLin, KaimiaoWu, Yue...
    12页
    查看更多>>摘要：The interaction between soil bacterial communities and dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the central link of soil carbon and other nutrient cycle. However, how nitrogen (N) addition changes the relationship between forest soil bacterial community composition and DOM components (BCC-DOM) and which key bacterial taxa affect DOM components is not clear. After two years of N addition, we used parallel factor analysis and high-throughput sequencing to explore the changes of DOM fluorescent components, microbial community composition, and diversity at three N addition levels in a subtropical Pinus taiwanensis forest and presented the relationship between BCC-DOM through co-occurrence networks. The results show that low N addition, but not high N addition, transitions the surface bacterial community into a eutrophic state and reduces the Shannon index in the subsoil. Short-term N addition decreases the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content but increases DOM humification degree and humus-like components (Cl and C2) in the topsoil. Network analysis revealed that the relationships between BCC-DOM are more complex after N addition and the negative associations were dominant. Random forest analysis showed that Chloroflexi (TK10, Ktedonobacteria, and JG37.AG.4) and Nitrospirae (Nitrospira) are key factors for predicting humus-like DOM. Protein-like DOM was mainly related to Firmicutes (Clostridia). Furthermore, structural equation models revealed that soil pH and DOC content do not determine the key bacterial taxa and DOM components, but total N content significantly affects these parameters. Short-term N addition reduces soluble substances in forest soil but improves the obstinacy of carbon substrates. Further, N addition helps to regulate forest soil bacterial communities and strengthen the interactions with DOM.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Forest management impact on soil organic carbon: A paired-plot study in primeval and managed European beech forests

    Leuschner, ChristophFeldmann, EikePichler, ViliamGlatthorn, Jonas...
    9页
    查看更多>>摘要：Forest soils have been recognized as important reservoirs of older stable carbon (C) in the biosphere and thus play a key role in the global C cycle. While much research has addressed the consequences of forest conversion and forest use on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, some controversies remain as to whether primary forest soils store significantly more SOC than soils in managed forests. Here, we explore the effect of forest management on SOC stocks in European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests through a paired-plot study in nearby primeval and managed forests in the western Carpathians, testing the hypotheses that primeval forests store significantly more SOC especially in the topsoil and that larger biomass and deadwood amounts are important drivers. The three primeval forests stored on average 15 % more SOC (similar to 1.8 kg C m(-2)) in the organic layers and mineral soil to 50 cm depth than the managed forests prior to harvest (difference marginally significant at p = 0.09). Contrary to expectation, the difference was significant in the subsoil (30-50 cm depth) but not in the topsoil. Consequently, the primeval forests had a greater proportion of their SOC pool located in the subsoil than the managed forests. Despite considerably larger wood biomass and deadwood amounts in the primeval forests, SOC pools were neither related to biomass nor deadwood mass. PCA and correlation analyses revealed a prominent negative effect of the availability of Ca, Mg, K and P on SOC stocks, suggesting that clear-cutting has slightly (but significantly) increased nutrient supply in the managed forests, likely stimulating soil biological activity and reducing SOC storage in comparison to the primeval forests. We conclude that the primeval forest reference is important for assessing forest management effects on SOC storage, and that a long history of management likely has significantly reduced the SOC stocks of Central European beech forests.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Northern hardwood silviculture at a crossroads: Sustaining a valuable resource under future change

    Rogers, Nicole S.D'Amato, Anthony W.Kern, Christel C.Bedard, Steve...
    15页
    查看更多>>摘要：Northern hardwoods are an economically, ecologically, and culturally important forest type spanning the upper latitudes of the United States and the lower latitudes of Canada. The prevalence and value of these forests have driven silviculture research for over a century. During this time, silvicultural approaches have varied widely, searching for scenarios to meet traditional commodity-based and diversifying ecological forestry objectives. To better understand this forest type and the spectrum of appropriate silvicultural options, we analyzed regional inventory data from the United States and Canada and synthesized decades of scientific studies. Calculated overstory tree (stems & GE; 12.5 cm diameter at breast height) metrics show common structural conditions across mature northern hardwood forests and dominance of sugar maple (Acer saccharum). However, density and composition metrics for established reproduction (saplings 2.5 to 12 cm dbh) emphasize challenges for establishing and maintaining economically and ecologically valued trees species broadly and regionally. Our work underscores the variation in northern hardwoods within and across its distribution, driven by characteristics like disturbance regimes, land use history, and ownership patterns. We conclude maintaining this important forest type amid climate uncertainty and associated effects, like proliferation of exotic insects and diseases, requires recalibration of historically applied silvicultural systems and application of emerging tools.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    The list of ancient-forest plant species revisited - Field verification in the Carpathian ancient and recent forests

    Jabs-Sobocinska, ZofiaAffek, Andrzej N.Matuszkiewicz, Jan Marek
    8页
    查看更多>>摘要：Existing lists of ancient-forest species - taken to indicate stands with no record of agricultural use - in general relate to the deciduous and mixed forests of Europe (i.e. the European Hermy's list and the Polish Dzwonko and Loster's list). We hypothesised that these lists might in fact be too general to prove useful in assessing and managing the forests in any individual region, and all the more so where the region in question has specific environmental (e.g. mountainous) conditions. Our goal was therefore to develop a list of ancient-forest species for a particular mountain region - the NE Carpathians - and then to assess how that compares with the aforementioned lists of broader (Polish or European) scope already existing. As we also sought insight into the ecological drivers behind the plant composition of recent forests, our further goal was to identify and discuss differences in ecological characteristics between the plant species that are significantly more common in either our ancient or our recent forests. To that end, we collected 294 phytosociological releves in ancient and recent forests to compare the frequency and cover of each species present. To analyse their ecological characteristics we used environmental data collected in the field, as well as the plant functional traits. We then parametrised multiple regression models to find the most important predictors of differences in species frequency between recent and ancient forests. Ultimately, our results revealed just 15 understory species (out of 215) with significantly higher cover and frequency in ancient forests, along with 9 species with significantly higher cover in recent forests. We also showed that plant life form, leaf persistence and dispersal mode are predictors best explaining differences in frequency between recent and ancient forests. The results of the model showed that understory species in ancient forests were significantly more often geophytes, with green leaves from early spring to early summer and dispersed by ants. In turn, in recent forests, species were significantly more often characterised as therophytes with green leaves during summer. We conclude that the lists of ancient-forest species compiled for Poland and Europe are not entirely representative for the NE Carpathians. Moreover, there are three species (Brachypodium sylvaticum, Impatiens noli-tangere and Circaea lutetiana) shown as no longer warranting a status as ancient-forest species, given that they actually occurred significantly more often in the studied recent forests.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Species evenness declines but specific functional strategy enhances aboveground biomass across strata in subtropical-Warm-temperate forests of South Korea

    Lee, Hae-InSeo, Yeon-OkKim, HyeonghoAli, Arshad...
    9页
    查看更多>>摘要：The relationships amongst environmental conditions, stand age, tree diversity, and trait identity with aboveground biomass (AGB) remain highly debated in forest ecosystems, but these relationships across forest strata (i. e., overstory and understory) remain poorly assessed in subtropical - warm-temperate forests. Here, we hypothesized that environmental conditions, stand age, tree diversity and trait identity jointly control AGB, but divergent species' functional strategies regulate AGB in different forest strata of subtropical - warm-temperate forests. To do so, we analyzed datasets from 72 plots across five sites in subtropical - warm-temperate forests of Jeju Island, South Korea. We used multimodel inference tests based on multiple linear regressions models and then piecewise structural equation modeling (pSEM) to assess the relationships amongst topographic factors, stand age, tree diversity (i.e., species, phylogenetic and functional diversity), and trait identity (i.e., communityweighted mean - CWM - of a trait values) and AGB in the overstory, understory, and whole community. The pSEMs showed that lower species evenness increased AGB in overstory and understory, but CWM of tree maximum height and seed mass enhanced overstory and understory AGB, respectively. Moreover, species evenness mediated the divergent effects of stand age and topography on overstory and understory AGB, respectively. This study shows that the effect of low species evenness on AGB is ubiquitous across forest strata, but divergent species' functional strategies also contribute to shaping AGB. We argue that species' functional strategies (i.e., the mass ratio effect) across forest strata and developmental stages should be taken into consideration for sustainable forest management to achieve the biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration that underpins human wellbeing through climate change mitigation strategies.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Modelling potential yield capacity in conifers using Swedish long-term experiments

    Mensah, Alex AppiahHolmstrom, EmmaNystrom, KennethNilsson, Urban...
    21页
    查看更多>>摘要：Information on forest site productivity is a key component to assess the carbon sequestration potential of boreal forests. While site index (SI) is commonly used to indicate forest site productivity, expressions of SI in the form of yield capacity (potential maximum mean annual volume increment) is desirable since volume yield is central to the economic and ecological analyses of a given species and site. This paper assessed the functional relationship between SI and yield capacity on the basis of yield plot data from long-term experiments measured over several decades for Norway spruce (Picea abies), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and Larch (Larix decidua and Larix sibirica) in Sweden. Component models of total basal area and volume yield were also developed. SI was determined by existing height development functions using top height and age, whereas functions for stand-level (m2 ha- 1) basal area development were constructed based on age, SI and initial stand density using difference equations and nonlinear mixed-effects models. The relation between volume yield (m3 ha- 1) and top height was adjusted with total basal area production through nonlinear mixed-effects models. Species-specific parametric regression models were used to construct functional relationships between SI and yield capacity. The root mean square errors of the species-specific models ranged from 2 to 6% and 10-18% of the average values for the basal area and volume equations, respectively. For the yield capacity functions, the explained variations (R2) were within 80-96%. We compared our yield capacity functions to earlier functions of the species and significant differences were observed in both lower and higher SI classes, especially, for Scots pine and Norway spruce. The new functions give better prediction of yield capacity in current growing conditions; hence, they could later be used for comparing tree species' production under similar site and management regimes in Sweden.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Flow-on effects of an introduced tree species: Lodgepole pine plantation affects function and performance of boreal ants

    Lofroth, ThereseAndersson, JonRoberge, Jean-MichelSjogren, Jorgen...
    10页
    查看更多>>摘要：Increased demand on forests to produce renewable biomass have accelerated the use of non-native tree species in forestry worldwide, often with negative effects on native biodiversity. In Sweden, the North American lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas ex. Loudon var. latifolia) was introduced already in the 1970's. Even though the species now covers large areas, effects on native flora and fauna have not been thoroughly evaluated. In this study, we used a large-scale field experiment with 30 paired P. contorta and P. sylvestris stands in central and northern Sweden to study the effects of P. contorta plantation on the abundance and activity of red wood ants of the Formica rufa-group, density and species richness of other ant species, as well as possible effects on the abundance of the specialized ant predator Pella humeralis. We collected epigaeic insects with pit fall traps, surveyed wood ant mound density and volume, and monitored ant activity on trees in all stands. Our analyses revealed a trend with higher mound density in P. sylvestris compared with P. contorta stands, although wood ant worker catch did not differ between the pine species. However, red wood ant activity was significantly higher in P. sylvestris stands, suggesting that P. contorta is not a preferred tree species for the tending of aphids for honeydew. Total ant species richness as well as the catch of Camponotus herculeanus and Myrmica ruginodis were higher in P. sylvestris stands, suggesting that they constitute a more favorable habitat for ants. Ant species richness was negatively influenced by wood ants in P. sylvestris stands only. A similar pattern was shown for C. herculeanus. Myrmica ruginodis was more abundant in P. sylvestris stands only if no thinning had been applied. Wood ant catch was positively correlated with catch of the specialized predatory rove beetle Pella humeralis showing that there is a strong interaction between the predatory beetle and wood ants.Our results suggest that P. contorta plantations impact both red wood ants and associated species and although competition from wood ants is more pronounced in P. sylvestris stands they still constitute a more favorable habitat for most ant species. Thus, large scale plantation of the non-native but closely related P. contorta may negatively impact epigaeic assemblages, a pattern that is not compensated by released competition by dominant red wood ants.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier

    Predicting natural hyperdense regeneration after wildfires in Pinus halepensis (Mill.) forests using prefire site factors, forest structure and fire severity

    Rodriguez-Garcia, EncarnaSantana, Victor M.Alloza, Jose A.Ramon Vallejo, V....
    14页
    查看更多>>摘要：Postfire Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) regeneration is often hyperdense. The overstocked stands created by this hyperdense regeneration considerably increase the risk of biotic and abiotic disturbances, especially fires, by increasing the potential for widespread forest losses. Our aim was to understand the relation between prefire site factors (climate, geographical position, topography, soil), prefire forest structure variables and fire severity with regeneration density after fire. We specifically wondered: (1) what are the general drivers of natural regeneration in these forests after fire?; (2) what are the necessary prefire conditions for establishing Aleppo pine hyperdense regenerations (>4,000 plants/ha)? To answer these questions, we sampled 147 plots in 15 wildfires located in the Comunitat Valenciana, which were representative of Aleppo pine Mediterranean forests. We used full and partial redundancy analyses (RDAs) for variance partitioning, and a decision tree analysis to look for the key site factors that drive regeneration density after fire. We found that all the site factors measured in the study explained 34.4 % of total variation in regeneration density. Prefire site factors and fire severity together explained 28.4 % of total variability, while the measured postfire factors explained only 7.5 %. Forest structure and climate explained 8.3 % and 6.7 % of variation, respectively. Five specific site factors drove regeneration density after fire: average minimum temperature, tree density before fire, resprouting shrubs coverage before fire, soil depth and bedrock type. The conclusions of this study were: (i) the average minimum temperature was the main significant variable that classified regeneration density and split data into three significant groups of Aleppo pine burned sites; (ii) the prefire forest structure (overstorey density and understorey coverage) controls regeneration density at colder burned sites, but soil depth and bedrock can be more important at warmer sites; (iii) fire severity relates positively to pine regeneration density, but negatively to resprouting vegetation coverage after fire; (iv) overstocked stands are not expected if prefire stand density is below 100 trees/ha at colder burned sites. These results may facilitate the planning of forest management and restoration actions because it may be used to identify those areas more likely to regenerate overstocked stands when faced with a changing fire regime.
      原文链接:
    • NSTL
    • Elsevier