Applying biodiversity concepts to plantation forestry in northern Mediterranean landscapes

1993 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piermaria Corona
Keyword(s):  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes

scholarly journals Evaluating Plantation Forest vs. Natural Forest Regeneration for Biodiversity Enhancement in Hong Kong

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 593
Author(s):  
Janet E. Nichol ◽  
Sawaid Abbas
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Continuous Increase ◽  
Natural Forest Regeneration ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Global trends predict a continuous increase in the proportion of forest occupied by plantations up to the end of the 21st century, while a dramatic loss of biodiversity is foreseen as a result of anthropogenic exploitation and climate change. This study compares the role and performance of plantation policies in Hong Kong, with natural regeneration of secondary forest, using detailed spatio-temporal data extracted from a previous study. The study extends over a 70-year period from 1945 to 2014 using aerial photographs and satellite images of five time periods to document spatio-temporal trends in plantation forestry and natural forest succession. Field data on species richness and woody biomass at different stages of forest succession are compared with available data from plantations in the same study area. Results indicate that plantation forests support relatively few native species in the understory, with much lower species richness than naturally regenerated forest, even after 6 to 7 decades. Time-sequential maps of habitat change show that natural forest succession from barren grassy hillsides, progressed at an annual rate of 7.8%, from only 0.2% of the landscape post WWII, to over 37% today. Plantation forestry on the other hand has been less successful, and has even acted as a barrier to natural forest regeneration, as mono-cultural plantations from the late 1960s to 1980s are still plantations today, whereas other similar areas have succeeded naturally to forest. The theory of plantations acting as a nurse crop for a woody native understory is not supported, as Pinus massoniana plantations, destroyed by two deadly nematodes during the 1970s, apparently had no woody understory, as they were seen to have reverted to grassland in 1989 and are still mainly grassland today.

scholarly journals Modeling fire ignition probability and frequency using Hurdle models: a cross-regional study in Southern Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina D’Este ◽  
Antonio Ganga ◽  
Mario Elia ◽  
Raffaella Lovreglio ◽  
Vincenzo Giannico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Ignition Probability ◽  
Hurdle Models ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Fire Ignition ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Abstract Background Wildfires play a key role in shaping Mediterranean landscapes and ecosystems and in impacting species dynamics. Numerous studies have investigated the wildfire occurrences and the influence of their drivers in many countries of the Mediterranean Basin. However, in this regard, no studies have attempted to compare different Mediterranean regions, which may appear similar under many aspects. In response to this gap, climatic, topographic, anthropic, and landscape drivers were analyzed and compared to assess the patterns of fire ignition points in terms of fire occurrence and frequency in Catalonia (Spain), Sardinia, and Apulia (Italy). Therefore, the objectives of the study were to (1) assess fire ignition occurrence in terms of probability and frequency, (2) compare the main drivers affecting fire occurrence, and (3) produce fire probability and frequency maps for each region. Results In pursuit of the above, the probability of fire ignition occurrence and frequency was mapped using Negative Binomial Hurdle models, while the models’ performances were evaluated using several metrics (AUC, prediction accuracy, RMSE, and the Pearson correlation coefficient). The results showed an inverse correlation between distance from infrastructures (i.e., urban roads and areas) and the occurrence of fires in all three study regions. This relationship became more significant when the frequency of fire ignition points was assessed. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between fire occurrence and landscape drivers according to region. The land cover classes more significantly affected were forest, agriculture, and grassland for Catalonia, Sardinia, and Apulia, respectively. Conclusions Compared to the climatic, topographic, and landscape drivers, anthropic activity significantly influences fire ignition and frequency in all three regions. When the distance from urban roads and areas decreases, the probability of fire ignition occurrence and frequency increases. Consequently, it is essential to implement long- to medium-term intervention plans to reduce the proximity between potential ignition points and fuels. In this perspective, the present study provides an applicable decision-making tool to improve wildfire prevention strategies at the European level in an area like the Mediterranean Basin where a profuse number of wildfires take place.

Plantation Forestry in South Africa and its Impact on Biodiversity

1998 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Armstrong ◽  
G. Benn ◽  
A. E. Bowland ◽  
P. S. Goodman ◽  
D. N. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
Impact On Biodiversity

Plantation forestry in the tropics

1984 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-235
Author(s):  
B. Lundgren
Keyword(s):  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
The Tropics

scholarly journals Plantation forestry diseases in Zambia: Contributing factors and management options

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (8) ◽  
pp. 802-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Chungu ◽  
Ambayeba Muimba-Kankolongo ◽  
Michael J. Wingfield ◽  
Jolanda Roux
Keyword(s):  
Plantation Forestry ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Management Options

BEYOND BUTRINT: THE ‘MURSI SURVEY’, 2008

2016 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 269-297
Author(s):  
Richard Hodges ◽  
Erika Carr ◽  
Alessandro Sebastiani ◽  
Emanuele Vaccaro
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Short Report ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
Ancient City ◽  
History Of ◽  
Byzantine Period ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Town

This article provides a short report on a survey of the region to the east of the ancient city of Butrint, in south-west Albania. Centred on the modern villages of Mursi and Xarra, the field survey provides information on over 80 sites (including standing monuments). Previous surveys close to Butrint have brought to light the impact of Roman Imperial colonisation on its hinterland. This new survey confirms that the density of Imperial Roman sites extends well to the east of Butrint. As in the previous surveys, pre-Roman and post-Roman sites are remarkably scarce. As a result, taking the results of the Butrint Foundation's archaeological excavations in Butrint to show the urban history of the place from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, the authors challenge the central theme of urban continuity and impact upon Mediterranean landscapes posited by Horden and Purcell, inThe Corrupting Sea(2000). Instead, the hinterland of Butrint, on the evidence of this and previous field surveys, appears to have had intense engagement with the town in the Early Roman period following the creation of the Roman colony. Significant engagement with Butrint continued in Late Antiquity, but subsequently in the Byzantine period, as before the creation of the colony, the relationship between the town and its hinterland was limited and has left a modest impact upon the archaeological record.

scholarly journals Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Zambon ◽  
Agostino Ferrara ◽  
Rosanna Salvia ◽  
Enrico Mosconi ◽  
Luigi Fici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
Long Term Changes

scholarly journals Neutral processes and high inter-annual turnover shape the assembly of soil bacterial communities in a Mediterranean watershed

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myrto Tsiknia ◽  
Stilianos Fodelianakis ◽  
Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis ◽  
Nikolaos V. Paranychianakis
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Processes ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Environmental Selection ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
Soil Bacterial ◽  
Annual Turnover

AbstractThere is a renewed interest in recent years on the ecological processes (stochastic vs selective) driving the assembly of microbial communities. Such information could potentially improve our understanding on ecosystem functioning and resilience to disturbances, ecosystem response to environmental shifts, and adoption of sustainable soil management practices. Herein, employing a suite of existing methodologies, we show that stochastic processes have an important role on the assembly of soil bacterial communities at a Mediterranean watershed. Moreover, we document that the relative contribution of assembly processes varies over the years. The observed intensification of stochastic processes was accompanied by a decrease in the contribution of variable selection in favor of homogeneous selection and dispersal and this trend was only marginally affected by land use (natural vs agricultural lands) or soil depth. Our study also revealed a high inter-annual turnover of soil microbial communities that was likely stimulated by the weak environmental selection and the prevailing environmental conditions (drying-wetting cycles) in Mediterranean landscapes, implying potential impacts on ecosystem functioning and our ability to predict soil response to environmental shifts. Using nitrogen mineralization rate (NMR) as a representative function we document highly variable NMR over the sampling years, land uses and soil depths and lack of significant associations with the monitored environmental variables and individual taxa. In summary, our study provides novel insights on the organization and functioning of microbial communities at Mediterranean ecosystems and sets directions towards a more advanced understanding of the relationships among environmental factors, microbial community structure, and ecosystem functioning that could contribute to sustainable management of these severely degraded ecosystems.

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