Fungal species associated with butt rot of mature Scots pine and Norway spruce in northern boreal forests of Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu in Finland

This study investigated the sensitivity of managed boreal forests to climate change, with consequent needs to adapt the management to climate change. Model simulations representing the Finnish territory between 60 and 70° N showed that climate change may substantially change the dynamics of managed boreal forests in northern Europe. This is especially probable at the northern and southern edges of this forest zone. In the north, forest growth may increase, but the special features of northern forests may be diminished. In the south, climate change may create a suboptimal environment for Norway spruce. Dominance of Scots pine may increase on less fertile sites currently occupied by Norway spruce. Birches may compete with Scots pine even in these sites and the dominance of birches may increase. These changes may reduce the total forest growth locally but, over the whole of Finland, total forest growth may increase by 44%, with an increase of 82% in the potential cutting drain. The choice of appropriate species and reduced rotation length may sustain the productivity of forest land under climate change.

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Biomass expansion factors (BEFs) for Scots pine, Norway spruce and birch according to stand age for boreal forests

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2003.07.008 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 188 (1-3) ◽

pp. 211-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 247

Author(s):

A Lehtonen ◽

R Mäkipää ◽

J Heikkinen ◽

R Sievänen ◽

J Liski

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Stand Age ◽

Biomass Expansion Factors

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Regional risks of wind damage in boreal forests under changing management and climate projections

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2017-0183 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 (12) ◽

pp. 1632-1645 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

V.-P. Ikonen ◽

A. Kilpeläinen ◽

A. Zubizarreta-Gerendiain ◽

H. Strandman ◽

A. Asikainen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Wind Speed ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Wind Damage ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Climate Projections ◽

The South ◽

Growing Stock

We employed simulations by forest ecosystem (SIMA) and mechanistic wind damage (HWIND) models in upland boreal forests throughout Finland to study regional risks of wind damage under changing management preferences and climates (current and RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios) over 2010–2099. We used a critical wind speed for the uprooting of trees as a measure of vulnerability, which together with the probability of such wind speed defined a level of risk. Based on that, we also predicted the stem volume of growing stock at risk and the amount of damage. In this work, medium fertility sites were planted to one of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), or silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) or to the tree species that was dominant before the final clear-felling. The vulnerability to wind damage, the volume of growing stock at risk, and the amount of damage all increased, increasing the most in the south when the proportion of Norway spruce (with shallow rooting) of the growing stock increased. Under a severe climate warming, the proportion of Norway spruce decreased the most in the south, opposite to that of birch. This decreased the risk of damage in autumn (when birch is leafless), unlike in summer. The low risk of damage in the north was due to the large proportion of Scots pine.

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Ectomycorrhizal root tips in relation to site and stand characteristics in Norway spruce and Scots pine stands in boreal forests

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/tpn042 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 445-456 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

H.-S. Helmisaari ◽

I. Ostonen ◽

K. Lohmus ◽

J. Derome ◽

A.-J. Lindroos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Root Tips ◽

Pine Stands ◽

Scots Pine Stands ◽

Stand Characteristics

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Variation in understory and canopy reflectance during stand development in Finnish coniferous forests

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2014-0538 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 45 (8) ◽

pp. 1077-1085 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Nea Kuusinen ◽

Pauline Stenberg ◽

Erkki Tomppo ◽

Pierre Bernier ◽

Frank Berninger

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Spectral Band ◽

Stand Development ◽

Area Index ◽

Spectral Bands ◽

Site Fertility ◽

Infrared Spectral

Inherent variability in the spectral properties of boreal forests complicates the retrieval of canopy properties such as canopy leaf area index from satellite images. Understanding the drivers of this variability could help provide better estimates of desired canopy cover properties. Field plot data from the Finnish National Forest Inventory and Landsat thematic mapper (TM) images were used to investigate the variation in canopy and understory reflectance during stand development in coniferous boreal forests. Spectral data for each plot were obtained from the Landsat pixel within which the plot center coordinates fell. Nonlinear unmixing was used to estimate the bidirectional reflectance factors (BRFs) of the “sunlit understory” and “canopy and shaded ground” components by site fertility and stand development classes. A forest albedo model was used to estimate the contribution of diffuse radiation reflected downwards from the canopy to the sunlit understory component. The sunlit understory BRF in the near-infrared spectral band decreased as the site fertility decreased and the forest matured, whereas the sunlit understory BRFs in the red and shortwave-infrared spectral bands concurrently increased. The BRFs of the canopy and shaded ground component decreased slightly during stand development, mostly in the near-infrared spectral band. Adding the diffuse contribution to the sunlit understory component changed the estimated component BRFs only a little (0.1%–1.7%) compared with those obtained using a linear mixing assumption. This effect was largest in the near-infrared spectral band and smallest in the red spectral band. For Norway spruce plots, the measured and estimated forest variables were well correlated with the BRFs in all of the studied spectral bands, but for the Scots pine plots, the correlations were notably weaker. Results show a greater importance of the fraction of visible sunlit understory on forest reflectance in Scots pine than in Norway spruce forests.

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Two dominant boreal conifers use contrasting mechanisms to reactivate photosynthesis in the spring

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-13954-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Qi Yang ◽

Nicolás E. Blanco ◽

Carmen Hermida-Carrera ◽

Nóra Lehotai ◽

Vaughan Hurry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Photosynthetic Activity ◽

Early Spring ◽

Seasonal Patterns ◽

Spring Period ◽

Photooxidative Damage ◽

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle ◽

Evergreen Conifers

AbstractBoreal forests are dominated by evergreen conifers that show strongly regulated seasonal photosynthetic activity. Understanding the mechanisms behind seasonal modulation of photosynthesis is crucial for predicting how these forests will respond to changes in seasonal patterns and how this will affect their role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. We demonstrate that the two co-occurring dominant boreal conifers, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies), use contrasting mechanisms to reactivate photosynthesis in the spring. Scots pine downregulates its capacity for CO2 assimilation during winter and activates alternative electron sinks through accumulation of PGR5 and PGRL1 during early spring until the capacity for CO2 assimilation is recovered. In contrast, Norway spruce lacks this ability to actively switch between different electron sinks over the year and as a consequence suffers severe photooxidative damage during the critical spring period.

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