Continuous-cover forestry maintains soil fungal communities in Norway spruce dominated boreal forests

Natural forests and plantations of Pinus are ecologically and economically important worldwide, producing an array of goods and services, including the provision of non-wood forest products. Pinus species play an important role in Mediterranean and boreal forests. Although Pinus species seem to show an ecological adaptation to recurrent wildfires, a new era of mega fires is predicted, owing to climate changes associated with global warming. As a consequence, fungal communities, which are key players in forest ecosystems, could be strongly affected by these wildfires. The aim of this study was to observe the fungal community dynamics, and particularly the edible fungi, in maritime (Pinus pinaster Ait.), austrian pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold), and scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests growing under wet Mediterranean, dry Mediterranean, and boreal climatic conditions, respectively, by comparing the mushrooms produced in severely burned Pinus forests in each area. Sporocarps were collected during the main sampling campaigns in non-burned plots, and in burned plots one year and five years after fire. A total of 182 taxa, belonging to 81 genera, were collected from the sampled plots, indicating a high level of fungal diversity in these pine forests, independent of the climatic conditions. The composition of the fungal communities was strongly affected by wildfire. Mycorrhizal taxa were impacted more severely by wildfire than the saprotrophic taxa, particularly in boreal forests—no mycorrhizal taxa were observed in the year following fire in boreal forests. Based on our observations, it seems that fungal communities of boreal P. sylvestris forests are not as adapted to high-intensity fires as the Mediterranean fungal communities of P. nigra and P. pinaster forests. This will have an impact on reducing fungal diversity and potential incomes in rural economically depressed areas that depend on income from foraged edible fungi, one of the most important non-wood forest products.

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Sensitivity of managed boreal forests in Finland to climate change, with implications for adaptive management

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2007.2204 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 363 (1501) ◽

pp. 2339-2349 ◽

Cited By ~ 173

Author(s):

Seppo Kellomäki ◽

Heli Peltola ◽

Tuula Nuutinen ◽

Kari T Korhonen ◽

Harri Strandman

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Growth ◽

Forest Land ◽

Forest Zone ◽

The North ◽

Northern Forests ◽

Climate Change Model

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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Multi-objective forestry increases the production of ecosystem services

Forestry An International Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1093/forestry/cpaa041 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Olalla Díaz-Yáñez ◽

Timo Pukkala ◽

Petteri Packalen ◽

Manfred J Lexer ◽

Heli Peltola

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Carbon Balance ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Simulation And Optimization ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Continuous Cover Forestry

Abstract Boreal forests produce multiple ecosystem services for the society. Their trade-offs determine whether they should be produced simultaneously or whether it is preferable to assign separate areas to different ecosystem services. We use simulation and optimization to analyse the correlations, trade-offs and production levels of several ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry over 100 years in a boreal forest landscape. The case study area covers 3600 ha of boreal forest, consisting of 3365 stands. The ecosystem services and their indicators (in parentheses) considered are carbon sequestration (forestry carbon balance), biodiversity (amount of deadwood and broadleaf volume), economic profitability of forestry (net present value of timber production) and timber supply to forest industry (volume of harvested timber). The treatment alternatives simulated for each of the stands include both even-aged rotation forestry (thinning from above with clear cut) and continuous cover forestry regimes (thinning from above with no clear cut). First, we develop 200 Pareto optimal plans by maximizing multi-attribute utility functions using random weights for the ecosystem service indicators. Second, we compare the average level of ecosystem services in single- and multi-objective forestry. Based on our findings, forestry carbon balance and the amount of deadwood correlate positively with each other, and both of them correlate negatively with harvested timber volume and economic profitability of forestry. Despite this, the simultaneous maximization of multiple objectives increased the overall production levels of several ecosystem services, which suggests that the management of boreal forests should be multi-objective to sustain the simultaneous provision of timber and other ecosystem services.

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Wood-inhabiting cryptogams on dead Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees in managed Swedish boreal forests

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x98-191 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 178-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 112

Author(s):

Nicholas Kruys ◽

Clas Fries ◽

Bengt Gunnar Jonsson ◽

Tomas Lämås ◽

Göran Ståhl

Keyword(s):

Picea Abies ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Large Diameter ◽

Managed Forests ◽

Red Lists ◽

Dead Trees ◽

Utilization Patterns ◽

Specific Species

We surveyed the quantity and quality of dead Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) trees and wood-inhabiting cryptogams in a managed boreal forest landscape in northern Sweden. Size and decay of dead trees was related to substrate utilization by wood-inhabiting species. Coarse woody debris (CWD) was surveyed along 34 strip transects. CWD and wood-inhabiting cryptogams were surveyed in eight circular plots at each site. A total of 6195 spruce CWD units occurred along strip transects and 809 spruce CWD units in circular plots. On average 2.2 m3/ha spruce CWD was found on the plots. The majority (63%) of the transect CWD units were <10 cm diameter and in early to intermediate decay stages. Sixty-eight wood-specific species of fungi, lichens, mosses, and hepatics occurred on the plots. Of these, 13 occurred on [Formula: see text]5% of the 809 CWD units surveyed for wood-inhabiting species. Eight species occur on the Swedish red lists, indicating that such species are indeed uncommon in managed forests. Red-listed species showed strong preferences for large diameter CWD and CWD in late decay stages, i.e., substrates that are poorly represented in managed forests. Frequently occurring species, however, showed utilization patterns that correspond with the distribution of the substrate types.

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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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Loss of diversity in wood-inhabiting fungal communities affects decomposition activity in Norway spruce wood

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2014.00230 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Lara ValentÃn ◽

Tiina Rajala ◽

Mikko Peltoniemi ◽

Jussi Heinonsalo ◽

Taina Pennanen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Fungal Communities ◽

Spruce Wood ◽

Loss Of Diversity

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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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