What Is Known About the Management of European Beech Forests Facing Climate Change? A Review

In the course of global climate change, central Europe is experiencing more frequent and prolonged periods of drought. The drought years 2018 and 2019 affected European beeches (Fagus sylvatica L.) differently: even in the same stand, drought damaged trees neighboured healthy trees, suggesting that the genotype rather than the environment was responsible for this conspicuous pattern. We used this natural experiment to study the genomic basis of drought resistance with Pool-GWAS. Contrasting the extreme phenotypes identified 106 significantly associated SNPs throughout the genome. Most annotated genes with associated SNPs (>70%) were previously implicated in the drought reaction of plants. Non-synonymous substitutions led either to a functional amino acid exchange or premature termination. A SNP-assay with 70 loci allowed predicting drought phenotype in 98.6% of a validation sample of 92 trees. Drought resistance in European beech is a moderately polygenic trait that should respond well to natural selection, selective management, and breeding.

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Climate Change Impairs Nitrogen Cycling in European Beech Forests

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0158823 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e0158823 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Michael Dannenmann ◽

Carolin Bimüller ◽

Silvia Gschwendtner ◽

Martin Leberecht ◽

Javier Tejedor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Nitrogen Cycling ◽

European Beech ◽

Beech Forests

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The Resistance of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) From the Eastern Natural Limit of Species to Climate Change

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca ◽

10.15835/nbha44210262 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 625-633 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Marius BUDEANU ◽

Any Mary PETRITAN ◽

Flaviu POPESCU ◽

Diana VASILE ◽

Nicu Constantin TUDOSE

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Radial Growth ◽

Precipitation Amount ◽

European Beech ◽

Beech Forest ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Growth Indices ◽

Lower Altitude

In this study, different approaches were used to investigate the vulnerability of beech forests, located at the eastern limit of their natural range, to climate change. To accomplish this, six 2500 m2 plots were sampled in four European beech forest genetic resources, located in Romania at different altitudinal levels, varying from 230 to 580 m in the BacÄƒu hills and between 650 and 1300 m in the Curvature Carpathian (BraÅŸov region). The analysis of trees phenotypic traits, their radial growth, and the regeneration, did not indicate a vulnerability of the sampled stands to the fluctuations of the environmental factors from the 1950-2014 period. The growth indices of all three populations of BacÄƒu hills are negatively correlated with both June air temperature of current year and September of the previous year. The precipitation amount of September previous year positively influenced the growth indices. The radial growth of plots in BraÅŸov region is slightly linked to the climate. The temperature during the growing season represents a limiting factor for stands that are located outside of the optimal altitudinal species distribution (600-1200 m, in Romania), especially at low altitudes. Our results indicated that a rise of the temperature accompanied by a possible reduction of the precipitations (as is predicted for the coming years) could increase the sensibility of beech forests at lower altitude.

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Impact of European Beech Forest Diversification on Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Stocks–A Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Forests and Global Change ◽

10.3389/ffgc.2021.606669 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie Rehschuh ◽

Mathieu Jonard ◽

Martin Wiesmeier ◽

Heinz Rennenberg ◽

Michael Dannenmann

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Tree Species ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

European Beech ◽

Beech Forest ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Soc Stocks

Drought-sensitive European beech forests are increasingly challenged by climate change. Admixing other, preferably more deep-rooting, tree species has been proposed to increase the resilience of beech forests to drought. This diversification of beech forests might also affect soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks that are relevant for a wide range of soil functions and ecosystem services, such as water and nutrient retention, filter functions and erosion control. Since information of these effects is scattered, our aim was to synthesize results from studies that compared SOC/TN stocks of beech monocultures with those of beech stands mixed with other tree species as well as monocultures of other tree species. We conducted a meta-analysis including 38 studies with 203, 220, and 160 observations for forest floor (i.e., the organic surface layer), mineral soil (0.5 m depth) and the total soil profile, respectively. Monoculture conifer stands had higher SOC stocks compared to monoculture beech in general, especially in the forest floor (up to 200% in larch forests). In contrast, other broadleaved tree species (oak, ash, lime, maple, hornbeam) showed lower SOC stocks in the forest floor compared to beech, with little impact on total SOC stocks. Comparing mixed beech-conifer stands (average mixing ratio with regard to number of trees 50:50) with beech monocultures revealed significantly higher total SOC stocks of around 9% and a smaller increase in TN stocks of around 4%. This equaled a SOC accrual of 0.1 Mg ha−1 yr−1. In contrast, mixed beech-broadleaved stands did not show significant differences in total SOC stocks. Conifer admixture effects on beech forest SOC were of additive nature. Admixing other tree species to beech monoculture stands was most effective to increase SOC stocks on low carbon soils with a sandy texture and nitrogen limitation (i.e., a high C/N ratio and low nitrogen deposition). We conclude that, with targeted admixture measures of coniferous species, an increase in SOC stocks in beech forests can be achieved as part of the necessary adaptation of beech forests to climate change.

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Carbon and Nitrogen Pools and Fluxes in Adjacent Mature Norway Spruce and European Beech Forests

Forests ◽

10.3390/f7110282 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (12) ◽

pp. 282 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Filip Oulehle ◽

Michal Růžek ◽

Karolina Tahovská ◽

Jiří Bárta ◽

Oldřich Myška

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

European Beech ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Carbon And Nitrogen ◽

Nitrogen Pools

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Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s10021-021-00650-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Laura Marqués ◽

Drew M. P. Peltier ◽

J. Julio Camarero ◽

Miguel A. Zavala ◽

Jaime Madrigal-González ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Management ◽

Tree Growth ◽

European Beech ◽

Ring Formation ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Past Climate ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ecological Memory ◽

Historical Forest

AbstractLegacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon. We applied the stochastic antecedent modelling (SAM) framework to annual tree-ring widths from mixed forests to recover the ecological memory of tree growth. We quantified the effects of antecedent temperature and precipitation up to 4 years preceding the year of ring formation and integrated management effects with records of harvesting intensity from historical forest management archives. The SAM approach uncovered important time periods most influential to growth, typically the warmer and drier months or seasons, but variation among species and sites emerged. Silver fir responded primarily to past climate conditions (25–50 months prior to the year of ring formation), while European beech and Scots pine responded mostly to climate conditions during the year of ring formation and the previous year, although these responses varied among sites. Past management and climate interacted in such a way that harvesting promoted growth in young silver fir under wet and warm conditions and in old European beech under drier and cooler conditions. Our study shows that the ecological memory associated with climate legacies and historical forest management is species-specific and context-dependent, suggesting that both aspects are needed to properly evaluate forest functioning under climate change.

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Biotic and Abiotic Determinants of Soil Organic Matter Stock and Fine Root Biomass in Mountain Area Temperate Forests—Examples from Cambisols under European Beech, Norway Spruce and Silver Fir (Carpathians, Central Europe)

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12070823 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 823

Author(s):

Anna Zielonka ◽

Marek Drewnik ◽

Łukasz Musielok ◽

Marcin K. Dyderski ◽

Dariusz Struzik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Root Biomass ◽

Fine Root ◽

Stand Density ◽

European Beech ◽

Fine Root Biomass ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Beech Forests

Forest ecosystems significantly contribute to the global organic carbon (OC) pool, exhibiting high spatial heterogeneity in this respect. Some of the components of the OC pool in a forest (woody aboveground biomass (wAGB), coarse root biomass (CRB)) can be relatively easily estimated using readily available data from land observation and forest inventories, while some of the components of the OC pool are very difficult to determine (fine root biomass (FRB) and soil organic matter (SOM) stock). The main objectives of our study were to: (1) estimate the SOM stock; (2) estimate FRB; and (3) assess the relationship between both biotic (wAGB, forest age, foliage, stand density) and abiotic factors (climatic conditions, relief, soil properties) and SOM stocks and FRB in temperate forests in the Western Carpathians consisting of European beech, Norway spruce, and silver fir (32 forest inventory plots in total). We uncovered the highest wAGB in beech forests and highest SOM stocks under beech forest. FRB was the highest under fir forest. We noted a considerable impact of stand density on SOM stocks, particularly in beech and spruce forests. FRB content was mostly impacted by stand density only in beech forests without any discernible effects on other forest characteristics. We discovered significant impacts of relief-dependent factors and SOM stocks at all the studied sites. Our biomass and carbon models informed by more detailed environmental data led to reduce the uncertainty in over- and underestimation in Cambisols under beech, spruce, and fir forests for mountain temperate forest carbon pools.

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Fate of nitrogen released from 15N-labeled litter in European beech forests

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/21.2-3.153 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 21 (2-3) ◽

pp. 153-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

B. Zeller ◽

M. Colin-Belgrand ◽

E. Dambrine ◽

F. Martin

Keyword(s):

European Beech ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Fate Of Nitrogen

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Drivers of nitrogen leaching from organic layers in Central European beech forests

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-016-2798-0 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 403 (1-2) ◽

pp. 343-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Martin T. Schwarz ◽

Sebastian Bischoff ◽

Stefan Blaser ◽

Steffen Boch ◽

Fabrice Grassein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

European Beech ◽

Nitrogen Leaching ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Central European ◽

Organic Layers

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Modeliranje višinske in debelinske rasti dominantnih dreves ter ocenjevanje indeksov produkcijske sposobnosti gozdnih rastišč

Acta Silvae et Ligni ◽

10.20315/asetl.125.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 125 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Andrej Bončina ◽

Vasilije Trifković ◽

Živa Bončina

Keyword(s):

Growth Models ◽

Tree Height ◽

European Beech ◽

Productivity Index ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Forest Types ◽

Site Productivity ◽

Beech Forests ◽

Sessile Oak ◽

Diameter Increment

Modeling the height and diameter growth of trees is an important part of forest management. Growth models provide the basis for determining the thinning regime, target tree dimensions and optimal proportions of developmental phases of forest stands. We developed individual height growth models for dominant Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in two forest types (sessile oak-European beech forests and pre-Alpine silver fir-European beech forests). Based on the models, the site productivity index (SPI), defined as the dominant tree height at a diameter of 45 cm, was determined for spruce and beech in both forest types. Based on the diameter increment of the dominant trees, the age of trees in regard to their diameter was calculated, which was the basis for Height-Age modeling. The site productivity index (SPI) of spruce in sessile oak-beech forests and pre-Alpine silver fir-European beech forests is higher than that of beech: 31.3 and 29.7 vs 28.7 and 27.9, respectively. Estimated site indices (SI; dominant tree height at the age of 100 years) in sessile oak- European beech forests and pre-Alpine silver fir-European beech forests were 33.4 and 32.0 for spruce, and 29.0 and 27.0 for beech, respectively. Using the described procedure, it is possible to determine indices of site productivity of spruce and beech (SI and SPI) in the selected forest habitat types. Testing the procedure in other forest types and for other tree species is suggested.

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