Historical human influence on forest composition and structure in boreal Fennoscandia

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 872-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Josefsson ◽  
Björn Gunnarson ◽  
Lars Liedgren ◽  
Ingela Bergman ◽  
Lars Östlund
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Human Land Use ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Natural Dynamics

In studies on natural dynamics, biodiversity and reference conditions legacies of preindustrial human land use are often neglected. In this study, using archaeology and dendrochronology combined with field surveys on present forest characteristics, we assessed the naturalness of a protected forest landscape and examined the role of indigenous peoples in shaping forest structure in the past. Our results show that the studied Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) forest conforms to the generally accepted impression of pristine forests and that it has a long history of human utilization. Areas with human presence over long time periods, especially in and near settlements, show significant differences in current forest characteristics compared with the rest of the landscape: the forest is younger (mean age 140–190 years compared with >300 years), the volumes of deadwood lower (8–13 m3·ha–1 compared with >20 m3·ha–1), and the tree species composition is substantially different from the surrounding forest. We suggest that these disparities are strongly linked to past land use and that indigenous people can alter ecosystems substantially and that the legacies of their activity may last for centuries. Consequently, in ecological research and conservation strategies, forest characteristics should always be considered in the light of their historical context.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Land Use and Forest Activities on Tree Species Composition and Structure on the Edges of Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Godfrey Agea ◽  
Clement Akais Okia ◽  
Refaat Atalla Ahmed Abohassan ◽  
James Munga Kimondo ◽  
Susan B. Tumwebaze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Budongo Forest Reserve ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Budongo Forest ◽  
Species Composition And Structure ◽  
Forest Activities

scholarly journals Modelling Post-Disturbance Successional Dynamics of the Canadian Boreal Mixedwoods

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobra Maleki ◽  
Mohamadou Alpha Gueye ◽  
Benoit Lafleur ◽  
Alain Leduc ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Species Dominance ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
Boreal Mixedwoods ◽  
Natural Dynamics

Natural disturbances, such as fire and insect outbreaks, play important roles in natural forest dynamics, which are characterized over long time scales by changes in stand composition and structure. Individual-based forest simulators could help explain and predict the response of forest ecosystems to different disturbances, silvicultural treatments, or environmental stressors. This study evaluated the ability of the SORTIE-ND simulator to reproduce post-disturbance dynamics of the boreal mixedwoods of eastern Canada. In 1991 and 2009, we sampled all trees (including seedlings and saplings) in 431 (256 m2) plots located in the Lake Duparquet Research and Teaching Forest (western Quebec). These plots were distributed in stands originating from seven wildfires that occurred between 1760 and 1944, and which represented a chronosequence of post-disturbance stand development. We used the 1991 inventory data to parameterize the model, and simulated short- to long-term natural dynamics of post-fire stands in both the absence and presence of a spruce budworm outbreak. We compared short-term simulated stand composition and structure with those observed in 2009 using a chronosequence approach. The model successfully generated the composition and structure of empirical observations. In long-term simulations, species dominance of old-growth forests was not accurately estimated, due to possible differences in stand compositions following wildfires and to differences in stand disturbance histories. Mid- to long-term simulations showed that the secondary disturbance incurred by spruce budworm did not cause substantial changes in early successional stages while setting back the successional dynamics of middle-aged stands and accelerating the dominance of white cedar in late-successional post-fire stands. We conclude that constructing a model with appropriate information regarding stand composition and disturbance history considerably increases the strength and accuracy of the model to reproduce the natural dynamics of post-disturbance boreal mixedwoods.

scholarly journals The abundance ofIxodes ricinusticks depends on tree species composition and shrub cover

Parasitology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 139 (10) ◽  
pp. 1273-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. TACK ◽  
M. MADDER ◽  
L. BAETEN ◽  
P. DE FRENNE ◽  
K. VERHEYEN
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Shrub Cover ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
Chain Reactions ◽  
Tick Abundance ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reactions ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Pine Stands

SUMMARYThe mainstream forestry policy in many European countries is to convert coniferous plantations into (semi-natural) deciduous woodlands. However, woodlands are the main habitat forIxodes ricinusticks. Therefore, assessing to what extent tick abundance and infection withBorreliaspirochetes are affected by forest composition and structure is a prerequisite for effective prevention of Lyme borreliosis. We selected a total of 25 pine and oak stands, both with and without an abundant shrub layer, in northern Belgium and estimated tick abundance between April and October 2008–2010. Additionally, the presence of deer beds was used as an indicator of relative deer habitat use.Borreliainfections in questing nymphs were determined by polymerase chain reactions. The abundance of larvae, nymphs, and adults was higher in oak stands compared to pine stands and increased with increasing shrub cover, most likely due to differences in habitat use by the ticks' main hosts. Whereas tick abundance was markedly higher in structure-rich oak stands compared to homogeneous pine stands, theBorreliainfection rates in nymphs did not differ significantly. Our results indicate that conversion towards structure-rich deciduous forests might create more suitable tick habitats, but we were unable to detect an effect on the infection rate.

scholarly journals Origins of the Chicago Urban Forest: Composition and Structure in Relation to Presettlement Vegetation and Modern Land Use

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 181-193
Author(s):  
Robert Fahey ◽  
Marlin Bowles ◽  
Jeanette McBride
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Urban Forest ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Presettlement Vegetation ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Exotic Pests

Urban forests provide important ecosystem services, but species composition and canopy structure influence provisioning of these services and long-term stability of the urban canopy. Two landscape-scale data sets (presettlement land surveys and an urban tree census) were used to explore relationships among modern land use, presettlement vegetation, and urban forest canopy structure, size structure, and composition in the Chicago, Illinois, U.S., metropolitan region. Presettlement vegetation and modern land use combined to influence urban forest composition and structure. Modern forested areas with high native species dominance, canopy cover, and structural complexity were associated with forest (rather than prairie) vegetation in the presettlement landscape. Oaks (Quercus spp.), which dominated presettlement forests and provide high ecosystem service value because of their large stature and wildlife value, were strongly associated with presettlement forest areas and modern natural areas. The Chicago region is in a transitional state where composition and structure of larger size classes is heavily tied to pre-urban vegetation. In the future, this landscape is likely to experience a shift in dominance from oaks to smaller-statured, shorter-lived non-native and opportunistic species. This shift, along with climatic change and introduction of exotic pests, may result in an urban forest with reduced potential to provide important ecosystem services.

Ein neuer Naturschutz für das Anthropozän (Essay)

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Christoph Küffer
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Nature Conservation ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Human Land Use ◽  
Middle Way ◽  
Major Species

New nature conservation strategies for the Anthropocene (essay) Nature conservation experiences a phase of vivid debates about its fundamental principles. The underlying basic question is: how can biodiversity be saved and major species extinction be avoided, when most of the planet is affected by human land use and anthropogenic environmental change including climate change? This implies three more specific questions: To what extent does a spatial separation of conservation areas and land use still work? When can nature disturbed by human still be restored to a pre-human state? How should novel species assemblies, and especially those composed of non-native species, be managed? I will in this article discuss current literature dealing with these three questions and propose a middle way between extreme positions, that neither solely relies on the principles of traditional nature conservation nor fully embraces novel anthropogenic nature.

scholarly journals A comparison of presettlement and modern forest composition along an elevation gradient in central New Hampshire

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur ◽  
Steven P. Hamburg ◽  
Charles V. Cogbill ◽  
Wendy Y. Sugimura
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Elevation Data

Tree species composition is influenced not only by edaphic and climatic factors but also by natural and human-caused disturbances. To understand interactions among these influences, we compared forest species composition data from the time of European settlement with modern data. We derived elevation data for 2529 trees mapped by early land surveys (1770–1850) across a 1000 m elevation gradient in central New Hampshire and compared these with modern data (2004–2009) from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program (123 plots containing 2126 trees) and from permanent plots representing case studies of different land-use histories. Spruce and beech are much less abundant today at all elevations than they were prior to settlement, while maples and birches have increased. Fir, hemlock, pines, and oaks have changed little in distribution, although pines and oaks increased in abundance somewhat. Land-use history (agriculture below 500 m and cutting of various intensities at all elevations) is likely the primary explanation for these shifts, although climate change is also an important factor for some. A clearer understanding of presettlement forest composition improves our ability to separate the relative importance of natural and human-driven influences on the species composition of today’s forests.

scholarly journals Increasing land use drives changes in plant phylogenetic diversity and prevalence of specialists

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soraya Villalobos ◽  
Jana C. Vamosi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Diagnostic Value ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Human Land Use ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Phylogenetic Composition ◽  
High Representation

Increased human land use has resulted in the increased homogenization of biodiversity between sites, yet we lack sufficient indicators to predict which species decline and the consequence of their potential loss on ecosystem services. We used comparative phylogenetic analysis to (1) characterize how increasing conversion of forest and grasslands to grazing pasturelands changes plant diversity and composition; (2) examine how changes in land use relate to declines in functional trait diversity; and (3) specifically investigate how these changes in plant composition affect the prevalence of zygomorphy and the possible consequences that these changes may have on pollinator functional groups. As predicted, we found that the conversion to grazing pasturelands negatively impacted species richness and phylogenetic composition. Clades with significantly more represented taxa in grasslands (GL) were genera with a high representation of agricultural weeds, while the composition was biased towards clades of subalpine herbaceous wildflowers in Mixed Forest (MF). Changes in community composition and structure had strong effects on the prevalence of zygomorphic species likely driven by nitrogen-fixing abilities of certain clades with zygomorphic flowers (e.g., Fabaceae). Land conversion can thus have unexpected impacts on trait distributions relevant for the functioning of the community in other capacities (e.g., cascading effects to other trophic levels (i.e., pollinators). Finally, the combination of traits represented by the current composition of species in GL and MF might enhance the diagnostic value of productivity and ecosystem processes in the most eroded ecosystems.

Simulating the impact of human land use change on forest composition in the Great Plains agroecosystems with the Seedscape model

2001 ◽  
Vol 140 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 163-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E Easterling ◽  
James R Brandle ◽  
Cynthia J Hays ◽  
Qinfeng Guo ◽  
David S Guertin
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Human Land Use ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Forest plant and macrofungal differences in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains in Northeast China: A regional-historical comparison and its implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
Hui Wen ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Jingxue Sun ◽  
Jinghua Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northeast China ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Historical Comparison ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Total State ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Forest Plants

AbstractForests in Northeast China in the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains (GKM and LKM) account for nearly 1/3 of the total state-owned forests in the country. Regional and historical comparisons of forest plants and macrofungi will favor biological conservation, forest management and economic development. A total of 1067 sampling plots were surveyed on forest composition and structure, with a macrofungi survey at Liangshui and Huzhong Nature Reserves in the center of two regions. Regional and historical differences of these parameters were analyzed with a redundancy ordination of their complex associations. There were 61–76 families, 189–196 genera, and 369–384 species, which was only 1/3 of the historical records. The same dominant species were larch and birch with Korean pine (a climax species) less as expected from past surveys in the LKM. Shrub and herb species were different in the two regions, as expected from historical records. There was 10–50% lower species diversity (except for herb evenness), but 1.8- to 4-time higher macrofungi diversity in the GKM. Compared with the LKM, both tree heights and macrofungi density were higher. Nevertheless, current heights averaging 10 m are half of historical records (> 20 m in the 1960s). Edible macrofungi were the highest proportion in both regions, about twice that of other fungal groups, having important roles in the local economy. A major factor explaining plant diversity variations in both regions was herb cover, followed by shrubs in the GKM and herb-dominant species in the LKM. Factors responsible for macrofungi variations were tree density and shrub height. Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Larix gmelinii in the GKM but tree size and diversity were important factors in the LKM. Our findings highlighted large spatial and historical differences between the GKM and LKM in plant-macrofungal composition, forest structure, and their complex associations, which will favor precise conservation and management of forest resources in two region in the future.

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