Transgressive overyielding in mixed compared with pure stands of Norway spruce and European beech in Central Europe: evidence on stand level and explanation on individual tree level

AbstractWith climate change, the area affected by and the intensity of forest disturbances such as windthrow, insect outbreaks and fire will be increasing. Post-disturbance forest management will be varied, and it is difficult to predict how much natural succession will be allowed in comparison to reforestation. Both, disturbance and reforestation will affect forest biodiversity globally, but potential shifts in species distribution, abundance and community composition are poorly understood.We studied the response of breeding bird communities to windthrow and different reforestation strategies in one of Central Europe’s largest contiguous windthrow areas created by storm Kyrill in 2007. A decade after the disturbance, we compared bird species diversity, population densities and community composition on plots in replanted beech, replanted conifers and secondary succession (all salvage-logged after the storm), with undisturbed old Norway spruce Picea abies as a control, in the setting of a natural experiment.Of the stands blown down, 95% were Norway Spruce. Reforestation strategies varied, with Spruce and non-native conifers planted on twice the area that was replanted with European Beech Fagus sylvestris. Large areas were still dominated by successional tree species a decade after the storm, especially birch, mirroring recommendations of sub-national forestry agencies to include secondary succession in future forest development. Birds responded strongly to windthrow, with a pronounced community turnover. Species associated with high conifer stands reached significantly lower densities on sample plots in disturbed areas. Replanted areas were characterized by mostly ubiquitous bird species. Areas dominated by secondary succession, especially birch Betula spp., were characterized by high densities of long-distance migrants (often species of conservation concern) and shrubland species, among them several indicator species.Our results suggest that an increase of forest disturbance across Central Europe will lead to a pronounced reorganisation of biodiversity. Strategies that allow more secondary succession, and avoid replanting allochthonous tree species are likely to benefit populations of depleted bird species, even at salvage-logged and cleared disturbance sites.

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Modelling individual tree height to crown base of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.)

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0186394 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. e0186394 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ram P. Sharma ◽

Zdeněk Vacek ◽

Stanislav Vacek ◽

Vilém Podrázský ◽

Václav Jansa

Keyword(s):

Picea Abies ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Fagus Sylvatica ◽

Tree Height ◽

European Beech ◽

Individual Tree ◽

Fagus Sylvatica L

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Drought Resistance of Norway Spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica [L.]) in Mixed vs. Monospecific Stands and on Dry vs. Wet Sites. From Evidence at the Tree Level to Relevance at the Stand Level

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11060639 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 639

Author(s):

Shah Rukh ◽

Werner Poschenrieder ◽

Michael Heym ◽

Hans Pretzsch

Keyword(s):

Stress Gradient ◽

Volume Growth ◽

Ring Width ◽

European Beech ◽

Tree Level ◽

Mixed Stands ◽

Ecological Gradient ◽

Individual Tree ◽

Growth Loss ◽

The Individual

Frequency of drought years is expected to increase through climate warming. Mixed stands have often shown to be more productive than monospecific stands in terms of yield and of resistance against windthrows and bark beetle attacks. Mixture of beech and spruce is of particular interest. However, little is known about its growth reaction to drought. Therefore, we investigated the drought reaction of beech and spruce in mixed vs. monospecific stands along an ecological gradient. In particular, we sought evidence for mixture-related resilience on the individual tree level. Therefore, we quantified the response of tree ring width to drought. Moreover, we attempted to explain the relevance of individual tree response on the stand level by quantifying the stand level loss of volume growth after drought. At the individual tree level, beech was found to be more resilient and resistant in pure vs. mixed stands. Spruce, in contrast, was favored by mixture, and this was especially evident on drier sites. Along the gradient, growth losses at stand level increased in both mixed and pure stands in 2015, with growth gains on the drier sites observed in the same drought year, in accordance with the Stress Gradient Hypothesis. However, the stand level difference of growth loss between mixed and pure stands was not statistically significant. Mitigating mixture effects on the level of the individual tree thus did not become evident on the level of the whole stand.

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Generalized Nonlinear Mixed-Effects Individual Tree Crown Ratio Models for Norway Spruce and European Beech

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9090555 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 555 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ram Sharma ◽

Zdeněk Vacek ◽

Stanislav Vacek

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Model Fitting ◽

Basal Area ◽

European Beech ◽

Logistic Function ◽

Mixed Effects ◽

Mixed Effects Model ◽

Individual Tree ◽

Mixed Effects Modeling ◽

Species Mixture

Tree crowns are commonly measured to understand tree growth and stand dynamics. Crown ratio (CR—crown depth-to-total height ratio) is significantly affected by a number of tree- and stand-level characteristics and other factors as well. Generalized mixed-effects CR models were developed using a large dataset (measurements from 14,669 trees of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica (L.)) acquired from permanent research plots in various parts of the Czech Republic. Among several tree- and stand-level variables evaluated, diameter at breast height, height to crown base, dominant height, basal area of trees larger in diameter than a focal tree, relative spacing index, and variables describing the effects of species mixture and canopy height differentiation significantly contributed to CR variation. We included sample-plot-level variations caused by randomness in the data and other stochastic factors into the CR models using the mixed-effects modeling approach. The logistic function, which predicts the values between 0 and 1, was chosen to develop the generalized CR mixed-effects model. A large proportion of the CR variation (R2adj ≈ 0.63 (Norway spruce); 0.72 (European beech)) was described by generalized mixed-effects model without significant residual trends. Testing the CR model against a part of the model fitting dataset confirmed its high prediction precision. Our CR model can be useful for growth simulation using inventory databases that lack crown measures. Other potential implications of our CR models in forest management are mentioned in the article.

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Tree biomass allometry during the early growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies) varies between pure stands and mixtures with European beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2017-0177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 77-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ioan Dutcă ◽

Richard Mather ◽

Florin Ioraş

Keyword(s):

Picea Abies ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Fagus Sylvatica ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

European Beech ◽

Mixed Stand ◽

Pure Stand ◽

Tree Biomass ◽

Mixed Stands ◽

Individual Tree

In this paper, we report an investigation of how forest stand mixture may affect biomass allometric relationships in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). Analysis of aboveground biomass data was conducted for 50 trees: 25 sample trees from a pure Norway spruce stand and 25 from a mixed stand of Norway spruce with European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). ANCOVA results demonstrated that individual-tree biomass allometry of the pure stand significantly differed from that of the mixed stand. Allometric characteristics depended on the biomass component recorded and the type of biomass predictor used. When predicted by diameter at breast height and (or) height, the total aboveground biomass of mixed-stand trees was significantly less than that for pure-stand trees. This “apparent” lower aboveground biomass was attributed to the lower branch and needle biomass proportions of trees growing in mixed stand. The findings indicate that caution should be exercised when applying biomass allometric models developed from pure stands to predict tree biomass in mixed stands (and vice versa), as such data treatment may introduce significant bias.

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Temporal changes in the climate sensitivity of Norway spruce and European beech along an elevation gradient in Central Europe

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.02.028 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 24-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Tomáš Kolář ◽

Petr Čermák ◽

Miroslav Trnka ◽

Tomáš Žid ◽

Michal Rybníček

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Central Europe ◽

Climate Sensitivity ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

European Beech ◽

Temporal Changes

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Foliage and fine roots in terms of growth efficiency – a comparison between European beech and Norway spruce at early growth stages

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/56/2013-jfs ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (No. 11) ◽

pp. 436-446 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. Konôpka ◽

J. Pajtík

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Fine Roots ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

European Beech ◽

Growth Efficiency ◽

Morphological Properties ◽

Tree Level ◽

Growth Stages ◽

Root Tips

The quantification of stems (under- and overbark), foliage and fine roots in 14-year-old stands of European beech and Norway spruce grown on the same site were evaluated. Therefore, 60 trees of each species were sampled, dry masses of stems and foliage were established and expressed by allometric equations with stem diameter as an independent variable. The spruce allocated a much larger portion of biomass into the foliage than beech. The equations on a tree level were constructed also for specific leaf area and one-sided projected leaf area. Moreover, the quantity and morphological characteristics of fine roots in both stands were surveyed through soil coring. While standing stocks of fine roots were similar in the stands of both tree species, significant interspecies differences occurred in morphological properties of roots. Growth efficiency, expressing annual stem production on a variety of foliage and fine root parameters was calculated. The largest differences, specifically fivefold in favour of spruce, were found in growth efficiency based on a number of root tips.

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