Effect of forest stand management on species composition, structural diversity, and productivity in the temperate zone of Europe

Abstract People who have to make decisions about cost-effective management for gypsy moth need help in predicting and evaluating its effects. Field plot data collected during recent outbreaks in Pennsylvania are being used to develop guides for predicting forest stand losses to the pest Presented here are some of the more useful products of that effort to date. Easy-to-measure data for forest characteristics such as species composition and crown condition can be collected and applied in models that estimate potential stand and tree mortality and changes in timber value. North. J. Appl. For. 2:21-23, June 1984.

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Disentangling the Ecological Determinants of Species and Functional Trait Diversity in Herb-Layer Plant Communities in European Temperate Forests

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050552 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 552

Author(s):

Janez Kermavnar ◽

Lado Kutnar ◽

Aleksander Marinšek

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Species Composition ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Functional Trait ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Relative Importance ◽

Herb Layer ◽

Bud Bank ◽

Tree Species Composition ◽

Stand Characteristics

Forest herb-layer vegetation responds sensitively to environmental conditions. This paper compares drivers of both taxonomic, i.e., species richness, cover and evenness, and functional herb-layer diversity, i.e., the diversity of clonal, bud bank and leaf-height-seed plant traits. We investigated the dependence of herb-layer diversity on ecological determinants related to soil properties, climatic parameters, forest stand characteristics, and topographic and abiotic and biotic factors associated with forest floor structure. The study was conducted in different forest types in Slovenia, using vegetation and environmental data from 50 monitoring plots (400 m2 each) belonging to the ICP Forests Level I and II network. The main objective was to first identify significant ecological predictors and then quantify their relative importance. Species richness was strongly determined by forest stand characteristics, such as richness of the shrub layer, tree layer shade-casting ability as a proxy for light availability and tree species composition. It showed a clear positive relation to soil pH. Variation in herb-layer cover was also best explained by forest stand characteristics and, to a lesser extent, by structural factors such as moss cover. Species evenness was associated with tree species composition, shrub layer cover and soil pH. Various ecological determinants were decisive for the diversity of below-ground traits, i.e., clonal and bud bank traits. For these two trait groups we observed a substantial climatic signal that was completely absent for taxonomy-based measures of diversity. In contrast, above-ground leaf-height-seed (LHS) traits were driven exclusively by soil reaction and nitrogen availability. In synthesis, local stand characteristics and soil properties acted as the main controlling factors for both species and trait diversity in herb-layer communities across Slovenia, confirming many previous studies. Our findings suggest that the taxonomic and functional facets of herb-layer vegetation are mainly influenced by a similar set of ecological determinants. However, their relative importance varies among individual taxonomy- and functional trait-based diversity measures. Integrating multi-faceted approaches can provide complementary information on patterns of herb-layer diversity in European forest plant communities.

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The effect of forest stand characteristics on spider diversity and species composition in deciduous-coniferous mixed forests

Journal of Arachnology ◽

10.1636/cp13-75.1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 135 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Ferenc Samu ◽

Gábor Lengyel ◽

Éva Szita ◽

András Bidló ◽

Péter Ódor

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Mixed Forests ◽

Stand Characteristics

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Structural diversity and regeneration patterns of the Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) dominated virgin forest in NNR Zadná Poľana

Beskydy ◽

10.11118/beskyd201306020127 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 127-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Saniga ◽

Miroslav Balanda ◽

J. Pittner ◽

S. Kucbel ◽

P. Jaloviar

Keyword(s):

Gini Index ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Height Growth ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Virgin Forest ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

Tree Generation ◽

Evans Index ◽

Structural Indices

The paper analyzes the structural diversity of the spruce dominated old-growth forest in National Nature Reserve (NNR) Zadná Poľana on the series of three permanent research plots (PRP) with the area of 0.5 ha each. The height and diameter diversity as well as the spatial distribution were expressed using standard structural indices (Füldner’s TH and TD index, Gini index, Clark-Evans index). Obtained results confirmed the low structural diversity regardless of the developmental stage of investigated forest. The extensive ungulate browsing retards the height growth of the subsequent tree generation and leads toward to the structural homogenization of the future forest stand.

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Structure and development of forest stands on permanent research plots in the Krkonoše Mts.

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/73/2010-jfs ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (No. 11) ◽

pp. 518-530

Author(s):

S. Vacek ◽

Z. Vacek ◽

L. Bílek ◽

I. Nosková ◽

O. Schwarz

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Tree Species ◽

Vertical Structure ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Forest Stands ◽

Vegetation Zone ◽

Aggregation Index ◽

Tree Species Composition ◽

Results Management ◽

Management Recommendations

The research is focused on structure and development of forest stands from 5th to 8th forest vegetation zone in the Krkono&scaron;e Mts. The forest stand diversity according to tree species composition and representation, horizontal and vertical structure was evaluated by using following indices: Clark-Evans aggregation index (Clark, Evans 1954), standardised Arten-profil index (Pretsch 2005) and index of complex diversity after Jaehne, Dohrenbusch (1997). Growth model SIBYLA (Fabrika, Ďurský 2005) was used for visualizations and growth predictions of forest stands on particular plots. Based on research results, management recommendations were evaluated.

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Application of Mg-fertilizers to prevent and to decrease Norway spruce yellowing

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/11848-jfs ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 51 (Special Issue) ◽

pp. 43-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V.V. Podrázský ◽

S. Vacek ◽

J. Remeš ◽

I. Ulbrichová

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Forest Decline ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Considerable Improvement ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Ecological Analysis ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Stand Management ◽

Areas Of Interest

Yellowing of the Norway spruce is a relatively common problem in many areas of the Czech Republic. In some of them, it is also connected with forest decline; it was studied in the Šumava (Bohemian Forest) Mts. and in the western part of the Krušné hory Mts. This unfavourable phenomenon is initiated by several ecological as well as anthropic processes, one of the most important being the imbalance of forest stand nutrition. Particular reasons lead to the deficiency of nutrients, especially of magnesium. Solution of this undesirable trend is the profound ecological analysis and cause-oriented treatments. Besides lowering the air pollutant input, fertilization with deficient nutrients is a successful treatment in the forest stand management in affected areas. In the areas of interest, the application of a relatively small amount of appropriate fertilizer (SILVAMIX Mg) led to considerable improvement in the defoliation dynamics and yellowing progress since the first years after use.

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A comparison of numerical methods for optimizing even aged stand management

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x90-129 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 961-969 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Lauri T. Valsta

Keyword(s):

Dynamic Programming ◽

Species Composition ◽

Random Search ◽

Optimization Methods ◽

Global Optimum ◽

Computational Effort ◽

Direct Search ◽

Computational Time ◽

Discrete State ◽

Stand Management

A two-species, whole-stand, deterministic growth model was combined with three optimization methods to derive management regimes for species composition, thinnings, and rotation age, with the objective of maximizing soil expectation value. The methods compared were discrete time – discrete state dynamic programming, direct search using the Hooke and Jeeves algorithm, and random search. Optimum solutions for each of the methods varied considerably, required unequal amounts of computational time, and were not equally stable. Dynamic programming located global optimal solutions but did not determine them accurately, owing to discretized state space. Direct search yielded the largest objective function values with comparable computational effort, although the likelihood of finding a global optimum solution was high only for smaller problems with up to two or three thinnings during the rotation. Random search solutions varied considerably with regard to growing stock level and species composition and did not define a consistent management guideline. In general, direct search and dynamic programming appeared to be superior to random search.

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The marginal cost of structural diversity of mixed uneven-aged hard maple forests

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x02-001 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 616-628 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Shashi Kant

Keyword(s):

Growth Model ◽

Acer Saccharum ◽

Marginal Cost ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Shannon Index ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Simpson Index ◽

Southern Ontario ◽

Theoretical Concepts ◽

Size Diversity

Theoretical concepts pertaining to the marginal cost (MC) of the structural diversity of a forest stand are developed. A matrix growth model is estimated for mixed uneven-aged forest stands of hard maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) from southern Ontario. The estimated growth model is used to derive the MC equations for the Shannon and the Simpson indices of total structural diversity (TSD), species diversity (SD), and tree-size diversity (TD). The effects of exclusion and inclusion of the opportunity cost (OC) on the MC of the TSD are compared. The contributions of SD and TD to the MC of the TSD are disaggregated. The MCs of TSD, SD, and TD for the Shannon and the Simpson indices are iso-elastic. The elasticity of the MC of the TSD for the inclusion of OC is greater than the elasticity of MC of the TSD for the exclusion of OC. The elasticities of MC of TSD, SD, and TD for the Shannon index are greater than the elasticities of MC of TSD, SD, and TD, respectively, for the Simpson index. The elasticities of MC of SD are smaller than the elasticities of MC of TD, for both indices. However, these results are specific to the hard maple forests of southern Ontario and cannot be generalized. Some general features of MC equations of structural diversity are discussed.

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