Intra-annual raw basal area increments (early-wood and late-wood) of Pinus nigra subsp. laricio Poiret trees from southern Italy at the pines׳ mesic to xeric distribution range

Red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) has been described as a poor seed producer at its distribution range limit; however, few studies have verified this claim or have examined the factors influencing the reproduction of the species. In 2000, data were collected from 60 trees growing in Manitoba at the extreme northwest limit of the natural distribution range for this species. Cones per tree were counted and samples weighed and measured. Likewise, seeds per cone were counted, measured, weighed, and tested for germination. Correlation and regression analyses compared measured characteristics among cones, among individual trees, and among portions of tree crowns (north, west, south, and east portions). Cone abundance among individual trees was significantly and positively correlated with stem diameter and with basal area increment from 1 to 4 years preceding cone maturation. Cone size and fresh mass and seed abundance, mass, and germination were not significantly correlated with individual trees or crown portions; however, seed number per cone and seed size were found to be significantly and positively correlated with cone size. Germination success in red pine increased with seed mass to a certain threshold value, beyond which more than 80% of the seeds germinated no matter what their mass. Our data for 2000 and field observations for 1999 and 2001 showed that red pine at its northwest limit of distribution range produced numerous cones and viable seeds.Key words: red pine, Pinus resinosa, distribution limit, seeds, germination, cones.

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Assessing Tree Drought Resistance and Climate-Growth Relationships under Different Tree Age Classes in a Pinus nigra Arn. ssp. salzmannii Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12091161 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1161

Author(s):

Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja ◽

Arun K. Bose ◽

Enrique Andivia ◽

David Candel-Pérez ◽

Pedro A. Plaza-Álvarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Balance ◽

Drought Resistance ◽

Basal Area ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Tree Age ◽

Black Pine ◽

Growth Reduction ◽

Age Classes ◽

Commercial Thinning ◽

Large Trees

The magnitude of drought impact in forest ecosystems depends on which group of trees are more severely affected; greater mortality of smaller trees can modulate the trajectories of succession, while the mortality of larger trees can disproportionately offset the ecosystem’s carbon balance. Several studies have documented a greater vulnerability of large trees to extreme droughts while some other studies reported a greater growth reduction in smaller trees during droughts. We tested these hypotheses by comparing tree basal area increment (BAI), drought resistance (i.e., magnitude of growth decline during drought), and resilience (i.e., magnitude of growth recovery after drought) across five different age-classes in black pine (Pinus nigra Arn. Ssp salzmannii) forests in Spain. Our results showed that the BAI patterns, drought resistance, and resilience were strongly influenced by tree age-classes. In addition, the effect of climatic water balance (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) on BAI significantly varied among age-classes. The effect of water balance on BAI was lower for younger age-classes (1–39 years of age) compared to older age-classes. We observed a greater growth reduction (i.e., lower resistance) in older trees (>40 years of age) during droughts compared to younger trees (<40 years of age). However, all trees, irrespective of their ages, were able to recover the growth rates after the drought. In general, younger trees showed a greater capacity in recovering the growth rate (i.e., more resilient) than older trees. We detected no significant effects of stand basal area and stand density on BAI, drought resistance, and resilience. Overall, our results indicated that growth of older trees was more negatively affected during drought. Therefore, these older/larger trees can be selected for commercial thinning, or can be released from competition, which can minimize the potential impacts of future droughts in black pine forests in Spain.

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A Crown Width-Diameter Model for Natural Even-Aged Black Pine Forest Management

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9100610 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 610 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dimitrios Raptis ◽

Vassiliki Kazana ◽

Angelos Kazaklis ◽

Christos Stamatiou

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Nonlinear Models ◽

Management Practice ◽

Basal Area ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Least Square ◽

Black Pine ◽

Mixed Effect ◽

Crown Width

Crown size estimations are of vital importance in forest management practice. This paper presents nonlinear models that were developed for crown width prediction of Black pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) natural, pure, even-aged stands in Olympus Mountain, central Greece. Using a number of measured characteristics at tree and plot level from 66 sample plots as independent variables, an attempt was made to predict crown width accurately, initially based on Least Square Analysis. At the second stage, nonlinear mixed effect modeling was performed in order to increase the fitting ability of the proposed models and to deal with the lack of between observations independence error assumption. Based on the same form, a generalized crown width model was developed by including six main regressors, such as the diameter at breast height, the total height, the canopy base height, the basal area, the relative spacing index and the diameter to quadratic mean diameter ratio, while at the final stage, the same model was expanded to mixed-effect. The proposed models were evaluated against independent crown width sample observations that were also obtained from the study area. The results showed that the two types of mixed-effect models performed equally well and, therefore, we propose those for use in forestry practice. Furthermore, the exact contribution of each inherent variable in crown width allometry was evaluated, thus providing a framework to facilitate field measurements for forest management predictions.

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Pinus nigra Arn. ssp. salzmannii seedling recruitment is affected by stand basal area, shrub cover and climate interactions

Annals of Forest Science ◽

10.1007/s13595-016-0550-9 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

pp. 649-656 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Manuel E. Lucas-Borja ◽

David Candel-Pérez ◽

Francisco A. García Morote ◽

Thierry Onkelinx ◽

Pedro A. Tíscar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seedling Recruitment ◽

Basal Area ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Shrub Cover ◽

Climate Interactions ◽

Stand Basal Area

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Increased Post-Drought Growth after Thinning in Pinus nigra Plantations

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12080985 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 985

Author(s):

Àngela Manrique-Alba ◽

Santiago Beguería ◽

Miquel Tomas-Burguera ◽

Jesús Julio Camarero

Keyword(s):

Basal Area ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Physiological Mechanisms ◽

Drought Intensity ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

Mechanisms Of Adaptation ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

O Isotope ◽

Study Sites ◽

Positive Effect

In Mediterranean seasonally dry regions, the rise in dieback and mortality episodes observed in pine afforestations has been related to higher drought intensity and lack of appropriate management, which enhance competition between trees for water and light. However, there is little understanding of the benefits of silviculture for plantations under seasonal drought stress. A combination of dendrochronology and wood C and O isotope analyses was used in three Black pine (Pinus nigra) plantations to work out the responses of radial growth (BAI, basal area increment) and water-use efficiency (WUEi) to thinning treatments (removal of 40% of the stand basal area). Thinning had a positive effect on BAI and WUEi, reduced drought sensitivity, and reduced the temporal dependence on the previous year’s growth. These results were significant even 13–14 years after thinning and coherent for the three study sites. Differences were found between the sites regarding the physiological mechanisms of adaptation. In two sites, we inferred the enhanced WUEi was due to increased photosynthetic rates (A) at constant stomatal conductance (gs). In the third site, which had higher tree density and therefore competition, we inferred increases in both A and gs, with the former being proportionally larger than the latter.

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Dimensionless numbers for the sustainable harvesting of a monospecific uneven-aged forest

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2015-0140 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 45 (11) ◽

pp. 1535-1545 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ignacio López Torres ◽

Carmen Fullana Belda

Keyword(s):

Stable Equilibrium ◽

Direct Method ◽

Basal Area ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Diameter Distribution ◽

Diameter Growth ◽

Natural Disturbances ◽

Dimensionless Numbers ◽

The Best Approximation ◽

Positive Linear Correlation

This study proposes a simple and direct method based on dimensionless numbers to provide reliable approximations of the population growth rate, the “sustainable/stable” harvest rate, the proportion of trees that has to remain unharvested to retain the stable diameter distribution, and the stable diameter distribution of a forest stand. Those numbers, obtained under conditions of stable equilibrium from a matrix model, could also serve to estimate boundaries between sustainable and unsustainable harvesting. To exemplify and test the results, the model uses data from uneven-aged managed Pinus nigra Arnold stands, considering three levels of tree diameter growth, six levels of basal area, and 33 levels of recruitment, creating a total of 594 planning scenarios. The best approximation of all the variables observed occurred in any case for the scenarios with the lowest level of diameter growth, the lowest level of basal area, and the highest recruitment level. Furthermore, the study reveals the existence of a strong positive linear correlation between those variables and their respective approximations, as well as a small distance between the stable diameter distribution of the stand and its approximation. Finally, we incorporate natural disturbances into the dimensionless numbers and criteria.

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Structure, quality, production, LAI and dendrochronology of 100 years old Austrian pine (Pinus nigra ARNOLD) stand

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/4545-jfs ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 51 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 67-76

Author(s):

F. Tokár ◽

E. Krekulová

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area Index ◽

Leaf Area ◽

Annual Ring ◽

Forest Type ◽

Ring Width ◽

Basal Area ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Production Quality ◽

Area Index ◽

Annual Ring Width

The paper evaluates the growth, structure, production, quality, leaf area index and dendrochronology of 100 years old Austrian pine (Pinus nigra ARNOLD) monoculture situated in the forest type group Fageto-Quercetum in the locality Horné Lefantovce (Nitrianska Streda Forest District, Topoľčianky Forest Enterprise). Codominant trees, trees with stem of high quality, with medium-sized crown, medium dense and straight crown are the most abundant in the stand. The tree number in the stand is 1,024 trees/ha, basal area 51.75 m2/ha, growing stock 571.56 m3/ha, aboveground biomass stock 348.76 t/ha and leaf area index 21.85 ha/ha. Dendrochronological analyses examined the response in individual sample trees and minimum annual ring width was found in 1920, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1938, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1963, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2001. Marked maximum values of annual ring width in the years 1919, 1923, 1926, 1930, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1997 were found as a positive productive feature. Beginning in the year 1993, dry Austrian pine trees occurred in the stand as a result of the fungal infection by Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.) Dyko et Sutton.

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Onset of canopy closure for black pine, Turkish red pine and Scots pine forests

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/153/2017-jfs ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (No. 5) ◽

pp. 224-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kara Ferhat ◽

Topaçoğlu Osman

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Basal Area ◽

Stand Density ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Red Pine ◽

Pine Forests ◽

Canopy Closure ◽

Black Pine ◽

Scots Pine Forests ◽

Turkish Red Pine

Canopy closure plays an important role in regeneration and management activities in forestry. Thus, determining the density at which canopy closure occurs is important for the success of silvicultural treatments. Turkish red pine (Pinus brutia Tenore), black pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris Linnaeus) forests are usually managed at a density that is near or below the canopy closure. Residual stand density during the management of these species is commonly described by stand basal area – BA (m2·ha–1), however, the BA levels for the canopy closure have not been clearly indicated for these species. The minimum density for the onset of canopy closure (DOCC) was determined for Turkish red pine, black pine and Scots pine forests in this study. DOCC values were compared across the species. For the DOCC, the maximum tree area that a tree can occupy under open-grown conditions was used. The DOCC curves of black pine and Scots pine seem to be similar, but the canopy closure in Turkish red pine forests occurs with fewer trees per hectare for a given mean tree diameter. According to the DOCC curves, regeneration and tending activities will be more practical and effective in these forests.

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An intra-stand approach to identify intra-annual growth responses to climate in Pinus nigra subsp. laricio Poiret trees from southern Italy

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2018.05.029 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 425 ◽

pp. 9-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gianluigi Mazza ◽

Dimitrios Sarris ◽

Ugo Chiavetta ◽

Rossana M. Ferrara ◽

Gianfranco Rana

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Annual Growth ◽

Growth Responses

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Estimation de la hauteur des peuplements forestiers par diffusiomètre radar

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x00-109 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 30 (12) ◽

pp. 1983-1991 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J M Martinez ◽

A Beaudoin ◽

P Durand ◽

T Le Toan ◽

N Stach

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Basal Area ◽

Tree Height ◽

Pinus Nigra ◽

Site Index ◽

Sensor Data ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Backscatter Coefficient ◽

Scatter Coefficient ◽

Local Site

This paper presents the results of an analysis of radar airborne scatterometer data obtained over an Austrian black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold ssp. nigricans Host.) forest in Lozère, France. This system provides vertical sounding inside canopy from which can be derived tree height estimations. The objective of this paper is to analyse the validity of these measurements and, then, to study the interest of this kind of sensors for better forest management. The mean and top height estimations give very good results with a relative error of about 6%. The radar measures the back scatter coefficient of the vegetation from which can be estimated other parameters such as stem volume or basal area. The radar backscatter coefficient is found to be sensitive to the biomass in a low to intermediate range of values (0-200 m3/ha), particularly when the canopy backscattering is separated from the ground echo. The estimation of stem volume using a regression with both tree height estimations and backscatter measurements gives satisfying results. Finally, we discuss the interest of this kind of sensor data for an improved and detailed forest management giving an example of application on the evaluation of the variability of the local site index within a stand.

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