scholarly journals Impacts of landscape-scale windthrow and subsequent, variable reforestation on bird communities in Central Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Kamp ◽  
Johanna Trappe ◽  
Luca Dübbers ◽  
Stephanie Funke
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Secondary Succession ◽  
Forest Disturbance ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Long Distance

AbstractWith climate change, the area affected by and the intensity of forest disturbances such as windthrow, insect outbreaks and fire will be increasing. Post-disturbance forest management will be varied, and it is difficult to predict how much natural succession will be allowed in comparison to reforestation. Both, disturbance and reforestation will affect forest biodiversity globally, but potential shifts in species distribution, abundance and community composition are poorly understood.We studied the response of breeding bird communities to windthrow and different reforestation strategies in one of Central Europe’s largest contiguous windthrow areas created by storm Kyrill in 2007. A decade after the disturbance, we compared bird species diversity, population densities and community composition on plots in replanted beech, replanted conifers and secondary succession (all salvage-logged after the storm), with undisturbed old Norway spruce Picea abies as a control, in the setting of a natural experiment.Of the stands blown down, 95% were Norway Spruce. Reforestation strategies varied, with Spruce and non-native conifers planted on twice the area that was replanted with European Beech Fagus sylvestris. Large areas were still dominated by successional tree species a decade after the storm, especially birch, mirroring recommendations of sub-national forestry agencies to include secondary succession in future forest development. Birds responded strongly to windthrow, with a pronounced community turnover. Species associated with high conifer stands reached significantly lower densities on sample plots in disturbed areas. Replanted areas were characterized by mostly ubiquitous bird species. Areas dominated by secondary succession, especially birch Betula spp., were characterized by high densities of long-distance migrants (often species of conservation concern) and shrubland species, among them several indicator species.Our results suggest that an increase of forest disturbance across Central Europe will lead to a pronounced reorganisation of biodiversity. Strategies that allow more secondary succession, and avoid replanting allochthonous tree species are likely to benefit populations of depleted bird species, even at salvage-logged and cleared disturbance sites.

scholarly journals Patterns in Ectomycorrhizal Diversity, Community Composition, and Exploration Types in European Beech, Pine, and Spruce Forests

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Rosinger ◽  
Hans Sandén ◽  
Bradley Matthews ◽  
Mathias Mayer ◽  
Douglas Godbold
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Root Tips ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Ectomycorrhizal Diversity ◽  
Exploration Types

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi are pivotal drivers of ecosystem functioning in temperate and boreal forests. They constitute an important pathway for plant-derived carbon into the soil and facilitate nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition. However, the mechanisms that drive ectomycorrhizal diversity and community composition are still subject to discussion. We investigated patterns in ectomycorrhizal diversity, community composition, and exploration types on root tips in Fagus sylvatica,Picea abies, and Pinus sylvestris stands across Europe. Host tree species is the most important factor shaping the ectomycorrhizal community as well as the distribution of exploration types. Moreover, abiotic factors such as soil properties, N deposition, temperature, and precipitation, were found to significantly influence EM diversity and community composition. A clear differentiation into functional traits by means of exploration types was shown for all ectomycorrhizal communities across the three analyzed tree species. Contact and short-distance exploration types were clearly significantly more abundant than cord- or rhizomorph-forming long-distance exploration types of EM fungi. Medium-distance exploration types were significantly lower in abundance than contact and short-distance types, however they were the most frequent EM taxa and constituted nearly half of the EM community. Furthermore, EM taxa exhibit distinct ecological ranges, and the type of soil exploration seemed to determine whether EM taxa have small or rather big environmental ranges.

scholarly journals Landscape-Scale Mixtures of Tree Species are More Effective than Stand-Scale Mixtures for Biodiversity of Vascular Plants, Bryophytes and Lichens

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffi Heinrichs ◽  
Christian Ammer ◽  
Martina Mund ◽  
Steffen Boch ◽  
Sabine Budde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Scots Pine ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Gamma Diversity ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Scale Mixtures ◽  
Species Mixtures

Tree species diversity can positively affect the multifunctionality of forests. This is why conifer monocultures of Scots pine and Norway spruce, widely promoted in Central Europe since the 18th and 19th century, are currently converted into mixed stands with naturally dominant European beech. Biodiversity is expected to benefit from these mixtures compared to pure conifer stands due to increased abiotic and biotic resource heterogeneity. Evidence for this assumption is, however, largely lacking. Here, we investigated the diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens at the plot (alpha diversity) and at the landscape (gamma diversity) level in pure and mixed stands of European beech and conifer species (Scots pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir) in four regions in Germany. We aimed to identify compositions of pure and mixed stands in a hypothetical forest landscape that can optimize gamma diversity of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens within regions. Results show that gamma diversity of the investigated groups is highest when a landscape comprises different pure stands rather than tree species mixtures at the stand scale. Species mainly associated with conifers rely on light regimes that are only provided in pure conifer forests, whereas mixtures of beech and conifers are more similar to beech stands. Combining pure beech and pure conifer stands at the landscape scale can increase landscape level biodiversity and conserve species assemblages of both stand types, while landscapes solely composed of stand scale tree species mixtures could lead to a biodiversity reduction of a combination of investigated groups of 7 up to 20%.

scholarly journals Tree species identity mediates mechanisms of top soil carbon sequestration in a Norway spruce and European beech mixed forest

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Andivia ◽  
Victor Rolo ◽  
Mathieu Jonard ◽  
Pavel Formánek ◽  
Quentin Ponette
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Soil Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Top Soil

scholarly journals Conserving native trees increases native bird diversity and community composition on commercial office developments

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Dyson
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Tree Protection ◽  
Matrix Habitat ◽  
Site Use

Abstract In cities, woody vegetation provides critical shelter, nesting and foraging habitat for bird species of interest. Human actions—including development and landscaping choices—determine vegetation community composition and structure, making these choices critically important to urban bird conservation. A better understanding of how bird communities are impacted by parcel-scale actions can help guide policy and management best practices to improve matrix habitat quality and quantity. Here, I examined how bird habitat use varies along a vegetation gradient created by different development and landscaping choices. I surveyed 20 commercial office developments near Seattle in the Puget Trough region of Washington, USA selected using stratified random sampling, where I quantified bird communities and observed feeding behavior. I used GLMM and PERMANOVA models with data likelihood metrics to identify the best supported variables for bird site use, along with TITAN models to identify changes in community composition along environmental gradients. I found that measures of bird effective species richness and bird community are positively influenced by the presence of more native conifers, including the presence of a stand predating development and the height and density of native conifers. Measures of the native bird community are negatively influenced by higher non-native tree density. In contrast to prior research, top-down landscape-scale variables did not explain variation in measures of the bird community on office developments. Importantly, I found that birds are associated with the same habitat on office developments as observed elsewhere. Together, my findings suggest an important role for developers, land owners, landscape architects, and tree protection policy in bird conservation.

scholarly journals Can Visual Aesthetic Components and Acceptance Be Traced Back to Forest Structure?

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 701
Author(s):  
Frieder Füger ◽  
Franka Huth ◽  
Sven Wagner ◽  
Norbert Weber
Keyword(s):  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Visual Aesthetics ◽  
Visual Diversity

The importance of local forests as places of recreation and human well-being depends very much on their visual impact on human perception. Forest managers, therefore, seek to achieve structural elements or attributes that can be used to enhance the visual aesthetics of managed forest ecosystems. The following survey was undertaken in the Tharandter Forest in Saxony (Germany). The field interviews were focussed on visual aesthetics and acceptance. The statements of the 53 participants in the survey were used to analyse views concerning typical Norway spruce forest types: with the regeneration of deciduous tree species in the background, without regeneration, and with European beech as a second layer in the foreground. The evaluation of the questionnaires confirmed a clear ranking. The forest view with the regeneration of deciduous tree species received the highest number of positive scores, followed by the forest view with beech as a second layer. The forest view characterised by pure and dense Norway spruce trees received the worst rating, differing significantly from the other two, on the basis of the spatial arrangement, visual diversity and acceptance. Linear mixed models demonstrated that visual aesthetics was mostly explained by visual diversity as a result of tree species diversity or mixtures and age structures, the diversity of surrounding structures and colours, ground vegetation or visibility.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document