scholarly journals Strong positive biodiversity–productivity relationships in a subtropical forest experiment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Huang ◽  
Yuxin Chen ◽  
Nadia Castro-Izaguirre ◽  
Martin Baruffol ◽  
Matteo Brezzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Selection Effects ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Climate Regulation ◽  
Biodiversity Restoration ◽  
Complementarity Effects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Novel Design

Forest ecosystems contribute substantially to global terrestrial primary productivity and climate regulation, but, in contrast to grasslands, experimental evidence for a positive biodiversity-productivity relationship in highly diverse forests is still lacking1. Here, we provide such evidence from a large forest biodiversity experiment with a novel design2 in subtropical China. Productivity (stand-level tree basal area, aboveground volume and carbon and their annual increment) increased linearly with the logarithm of tree species richness. Additive partitioning3 showed that increasing positive complementarity effects combined with weakening negative selection effects caused a strengthening of the relationship over time. In 2-species mixed stands, complementary effects increased with functional distance and selection effects with vertical crown dissimilarity between species. Understorey shrubs reduced stand-level tree productivity, but this effect of competition was attenuated by shrub species richness, indicating that a diverse understorey may facilitate overall ecosystem functioning. Identical biodiversity-productivity relationships were found in plots of different size, suggesting that extrapolation to larger scales is possible. Our results highlight the potential of multi-species afforestation strategies to simultaneously contribute to mitigation of climate change and biodiversity restoration.

Contribution to the automation of the calculations involving the forest inventory with the aid of an office computer

1970 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Goossens
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
General Program ◽  
Magnetic Card ◽  
The Right

Contribution to the automation of the calculations involving  the forest inventory with the aid of an office computer - In this contribution an attempt was made to perform the  calculations involving the forest inventory by means of an office computer  Olivetti P203.     The general program (flowchart 1), identical for all tree species except  for the values of the different parameters, occupies the tracks A and B of a  magnetic card used with this computer. For each tree species one magnetic  card is required, while some supplementary cards are used for the  subroutines. The first subroutine (flowchart 1) enables us to preserve  temporarily the subtotals between two tree species (mixed stands) and so  called special or stand cards (SC). After the last tree species the totals  per ha are calculated and printed on the former, the average trees occuring  on the line below. Appendix 1 gives an example of a similar form resulting  from calculations involving a sampling in a mixed stand consisting of Oak  (code 11), Red oak (code 12), Japanese larch (code 24) and Beech (code 13).  On this form we find from the left to the right: the diameter class (m), the  number of trees per ha, the basal area (m2/ha), the current annual increment  of the basal area (m2/year/ha), current annual volume increment (m3/year/ha),  the volume (m3/ha) and the money value of the standing trees (Bfr/ha). On the  line before the last, the totals of the quantities mentioned above and of all  the tree species together are to be found. The last line gives a survey of  the average values dg, g, ig, ig, v and w.     Besides this form each stand or plot has a so-called 'stand card SC' on  wich the totals cited above as well as the area of the stand or the plot and  its code are stored. Similar 'stand card' may replace in many cases  completely the classical index cards; moreover they have the advantage that  the data can be entered directly into the computer so that further  calculations, classifications or tabling can be carried out by means of an  appropriate program or subroutine. The subroutine 2 (flowchart 2) illustrates  the use of similar cards for a series of stands or eventually a complete  forest, the real values of the different quantities above are calculated and  tabled (taking into account the area). At the same time the general totals  and the general mean values per ha, as well as the average trees are  calculated and printed. Appendix 2 represents a form resulting from such  calculations by means of subroutine 2.

scholarly journals Competition Indices and Their Relationship With Basal Area Increment of Araucaria

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel Arnoni Costa ◽  
César Augusto Guimarães Finger ◽  
André Felipe Hess
Keyword(s):  
Basal Area ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Multivariate Technique ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Mathematical Equations ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Competition Indices

Models that report the effect of competition are important for forest management since forests with higher levels of competition have lower increment rates, and their use is necessary to plan forest interventions. Thus, this study aimed to assess the effect of competition in the basal area increment of individual trees of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze in a natural forest. A total of 397 subject trees were measured, covering the diametric range. The dendrometric and morphometric characteristics of subject trees and their competitors were obtained, and 22 distance-dependent and distance-independent competition indices were calculated, in addition to increment cores extracted radially from the trunk at diameter at breast height. The relationship between models of periodic annual increment in basal area based on competition indices has allowed to obtain R2 values of 0.425 and Syx% ≥ 50.2. The multivariate technique of principal component analysis has shown that three principal components explain 78.43% of total variation. The first component was responsible for explaining 52.95%, with similar eigenvector for 11 competition indices, evidencing that these models can be used to describe especies competition, although they show different variables and mathematical equations in calculations. Results show the importance of competition to predict increment of Araucaria in individual trees.

scholarly journals Relationships Between Soil Microbial Communities and Plant Communities on Different Slope Aspects in a Subalpine Coniferous Forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luoshu He ◽  
Suhui Ma ◽  
Jiangling Zhu ◽  
Xinyu Xiong ◽  
Yangang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Plant Soil ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Purpose The local microclimate of different slope aspects in the same area can not only impact soil environment and plant community but also affect soil microbial community. However, the relationship between aboveground plant communities and belowground soil microbial communities on various slope aspects has not been well understood.Methods We investigated the above- and belowground relationship on different slope aspects and explored how soil properties influence this relationship. Plant community attributes were evaluated by plant species richness and plant total basal area. Soil microbial community was assessed based on both 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA, using High-throughput Illumina sequencing. Results There was no significant correlation between plant richness and soil bacterial community composition on the north slope, but there was a positive correlation on the south slope and a significantly negative correlation on the flat site. There was a significantly negative correlation between soil fungal community composition and plant total basal area, which did not change with the slope aspect. In addition, there was no significant correlation between plant community species richness and soil microbial species richness.Conclusions In subalpine coniferous forests, the relationship between plant-soil bacteria varies with slope aspect, but the plant-soil fungi relationship is relatively consistent across different slope aspects. These results can improve our understanding of the relationship between plant and soil microorganisms in forest ecosystems under microtopographic changes and have important implications for the conservation of biodiversity and forest management in subalpine coniferous forests.

The responses of black spruce growth to an increased proportion of aspen in mixed stands

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Légaré ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Stand Volume ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Dominant Height ◽  
The Relationship

In the southeastern boreal forest of Canada, the presence of mixed stands of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) growing in similar abiotic conditions offers the opportunity to study the influence of aspen on stand volume and spruce growth. A regression analysis performed on field data from the ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec showed a significant relationship between the relative basal area of aspen (aspen relative basal area was determined by the ratio of aspen basal area to total basal area of the stand) and the total stand merchantable volume after accounting for stand density. However, the relationship between total black spruce volume and relative basal area of aspen was not significant, implying that the volume gain was, in fact, aspen fibre. The positive effects of aspen on black spruce DBH and height were only present when the proportion of aspen in the stand ranged between 0% and 41% of the total stand basal area. These results suggest that aspen uses a different niche than black spruce. Furthermore, the significant increase in black spruce dominant height along the aspen gradient suggests that aspen enhances soil fertility by its influence on nutrient availability. The management of mixed stands, which make up an important proportion on the landscape, offers an example as to how commercial management of the forest can be in agreement with ecosystem management.

scholarly journals Relationships between resource availability and elevation vary between metrics creating gradients of nutritional complexity

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-223
Author(s):  
Mark A. Lee ◽  
Grace Burger ◽  
Emma R. Green ◽  
Pepijn W. Kooij
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Mineral Contents ◽  
Nutritive Values ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Nutritional Chemistry ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractPlant and animal community composition changes at higher elevations on mountains. Plant and animal species richness generally declines with elevation, but the shape of the relationship differs between taxa. There are several proposed mechanisms, including the productivity hypotheses; that declines in available plant biomass confers fewer resources to consumers, thus supporting fewer species. We investigated resource availability as we ascended three aspects of Helvellyn mountain, UK, measuring several plant nutritive metrics, plant species richness and biomass. We observed a linear decline in plant species richness as we ascended the mountain but there was a unimodal relationship between plant biomass and elevation. Generally, the highest biomass values at mid-elevations were associated with the lowest nutritive values, except mineral contents which declined with elevation. Intra-specific and inter-specific increases in nutritive values nearer the top and bottom of the mountain indicated that physiological, phenological and compositional mechanisms may have played a role. The shape of the relationship between resource availability and elevation was different depending on the metric. Many consumers actively select or avoid plants based on their nutritive values and the abundances of consumer taxa vary in their relationships with elevation. Consideration of multiple nutritive metrics and of the nutritional requirements of the consumer may provide a greater understanding of changes to plant and animal communities at higher elevations. We propose a novel hypothesis for explaining elevational diversity gradients, which warrants further study; the ‘nutritional complexity hypothesis’, where consumer species coexist due to greater variation in the nutritional chemistry of plants.

A Growth and Yield Model for Improved Eastern Cottonwood Plantations in the Lower Mississippi Delta

1991 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 213-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quang V. Cao ◽  
Kenneth M. Durand
Keyword(s):  
Populus Deltoides ◽  
Mississippi Delta ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Yield Model ◽  
Eastern Cottonwood ◽  
Volume Yield ◽  
Growth And Yield Model

Abstract A compatible growth and yield model was developed based on remeasurement data collected from 183 plots on unthinned improved eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) plantations in the lower Mississippi Delta. The Sullivan and Clutter (1972) equation form was selected for predicting cubic-foot volume yield and projecting volume from site index and initial age and basal area. Yield equations explained 97% and 94%, respectively, of the variations in total outside bark and merchantable inside bark volumes. Mean annual increment of merchantable volume culminated between 8 and 15 years, depending on site index and initial basal area. South. J. Appl. For. 15(4):213-216.

Partial cutting reduces species richness of fungi on woody debris in oak-rich forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1807-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Nordén ◽  
Frank Götmark ◽  
Martin Ryberg ◽  
Heidi Paltto ◽  
Johan Allmér
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Closed Canopy ◽  
And Control ◽  
Total Species

Partial cutting is increasingly applied in European temperate oak-dominated forests for biofuel harvesting, and to counteract succession in protected stands. Effects on biodiversity of these measures need to be carefully evaluated, and species-rich but neglected taxa such as fungi should be considered. We studied the effects of partial cutting on fungal fruiting bodies on woody debris. In 21 closed canopy forests rich in large oaks in Sweden, on average 25%–30% of the basal area was cut. Fruiting bodies were counted and some were collected in treated and control plots before and after treatment. We found 334 basidiomycete and 47 ascomycete species. Species richness of basidiomycetes declined significantly more in treated plots (on average 26%) than in control plots (on average 13%) between seasons. Species richness of ascomycetes increased by 17% in control plots and decreased by 2% in treated plots. Total species richness was significantly reduced on fine woody debris (1–10 cm in diameter), but not on coarse woody debris (>10 cm). Overall species composition did not change significantly as a result of partial cutting, but red-listed species tended to decrease more in treated plots. We suggest that approximately 30% of the stands should not be thinned, and dead stems and fallen branches should not be removed, to favor saproxylic fungi and their associated fauna.

scholarly journals Roles of Spatial Scale and Rarity on the Relationship between Butterfly Species Richness and Human Density in South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e0124327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Mecenero ◽  
Res Altwegg ◽  
Jonathan F. Colville ◽  
Colin M. Beale
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Spatial Scale ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Human Density

scholarly journals TREE DIAMETER GROWTH FOLLOWING SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS IN A SEMI-DECIDUOUS SECONDARY FOREST IN CENTRAL BRAZIL

CERNE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Venturoli ◽  
Augusto César Franco ◽  
Christopher William Fagg
Keyword(s):  
Radial Growth ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Secondary Forest ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Tree Diameter ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Timber Market

In the Cerrado biome of Brazil, savannas and dry forests are intimately linked and form mosaics. These forests are composed of species of high commercial value, well accepted in the timber market, which causes intensive deforestation on the remaining vegetation. Thus, the management of these forests is an important alternative to reduce deforestation in the remaining vegetation. The objective of this study was to analyze the response of tree species in relation to silvicultural treatments of competition and liana cutting in a semi-deciduous forest in Central Brazil. The results showed that community basal area increased 24% over 4.8 years and the median periodic annual increment in diameter was about 20% higher in plots with silvicultural treatments: 2.9 mm.yr-1 in the control compared to 3.2 mm.yr-1 to 3.6 mm.yr-1 between treatments. This study demonstrated that it is possible to increase the rates of radial growth through silvicultural techniques.

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