scholarly journals The effect of forest stand characteristics on spider diversity and species composition in deciduous-coniferous mixed forests

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc Samu ◽  
Gábor Lengyel ◽  
Éva Szita ◽  
András Bidló ◽  
Péter Ódor
Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 552
Author(s):  
Janez Kermavnar ◽  
Lado Kutnar ◽  
Aleksander Marinšek

Forest herb-layer vegetation responds sensitively to environmental conditions. This paper compares drivers of both taxonomic, i.e., species richness, cover and evenness, and functional herb-layer diversity, i.e., the diversity of clonal, bud bank and leaf-height-seed plant traits. We investigated the dependence of herb-layer diversity on ecological determinants related to soil properties, climatic parameters, forest stand characteristics, and topographic and abiotic and biotic factors associated with forest floor structure. The study was conducted in different forest types in Slovenia, using vegetation and environmental data from 50 monitoring plots (400 m2 each) belonging to the ICP Forests Level I and II network. The main objective was to first identify significant ecological predictors and then quantify their relative importance. Species richness was strongly determined by forest stand characteristics, such as richness of the shrub layer, tree layer shade-casting ability as a proxy for light availability and tree species composition. It showed a clear positive relation to soil pH. Variation in herb-layer cover was also best explained by forest stand characteristics and, to a lesser extent, by structural factors such as moss cover. Species evenness was associated with tree species composition, shrub layer cover and soil pH. Various ecological determinants were decisive for the diversity of below-ground traits, i.e., clonal and bud bank traits. For these two trait groups we observed a substantial climatic signal that was completely absent for taxonomy-based measures of diversity. In contrast, above-ground leaf-height-seed (LHS) traits were driven exclusively by soil reaction and nitrogen availability. In synthesis, local stand characteristics and soil properties acted as the main controlling factors for both species and trait diversity in herb-layer communities across Slovenia, confirming many previous studies. Our findings suggest that the taxonomic and functional facets of herb-layer vegetation are mainly influenced by a similar set of ecological determinants. However, their relative importance varies among individual taxonomy- and functional trait-based diversity measures. Integrating multi-faceted approaches can provide complementary information on patterns of herb-layer diversity in European forest plant communities.


1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Gansner ◽  
Owen W. Herrick

Abstract People who have to make decisions about cost-effective management for gypsy moth need help in predicting and evaluating its effects. Field plot data collected during recent outbreaks in Pennsylvania are being used to develop guides for predicting forest stand losses to the pest Presented here are some of the more useful products of that effort to date. Easy-to-measure data for forest characteristics such as species composition and crown condition can be collected and applied in models that estimate potential stand and tree mortality and changes in timber value. North. J. Appl. For. 2:21-23, June 1984.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Lacki ◽  
Luke E. Dodd ◽  
Nicholas S. Skowronski ◽  
Matthew B. Dickinson ◽  
Lynne K. Rieske

The extent to which prescribed fires affect forest structure and habitats of vertebrate species is an important question for land managers tasked with balancing potentially conflicting objectives of vegetation and wildlife management. Many insectivorous bats forage for insect prey in forested habitats, serving as the primary predators of nocturnal forest insects, and are potentially affected by structural changes in forests resulting from prescribed fires. We compared forest-stand characteristics of temperate oak–hickory forests, as measured with airborne laser scanning (light detection and ranging, LiDAR), with categorical estimates of burn severity from prescribed fires as derived from Landsat data and field-based Composite Burn Indices, and used acoustic monitoring to quantify activity of insectivorous bats in association with varying degrees of burn severity (unburned habitat, low severity and medium severity). Forest-stand characteristics showed greatest separation between low-severity and medium-severity classes, with gap index, i.e. open-air space, increasing with degree of burn severity. Greater mid-storey density, over-storey density and proportion of vegetation in the understorey occurred in unburned habitat. Activity of bats did not differ with burn severity for high-frequency (clutter-adapted or closed-space foragers) or low-frequency (edge or open-space foragers) bats. Results indicate that differing degrees of burn severity from prescribed fires produced spatial variation in canopy structure within stands; however, bats demonstrated no shifts in activity levels to this variation in canopy structure, suggesting prescribed fire during the dormant season, used as a management practice targeting desired changes in vegetation, is compatible with sustaining foraging habitat of insectivorous bats.


2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 518-530
Author(s):  
S. Vacek ◽  
Z. Vacek ◽  
L. Bílek ◽  
I. Nosková ◽  
O. Schwarz

The research is focused on structure and development of forest stands from 5th to 8th forest vegetation zone in the Krkonoše Mts. The forest stand diversity according to tree species composition and representation, horizontal and vertical structure was evaluated by using following indices: Clark-Evans aggregation index (Clark, Evans 1954), standardised Arten-profil index (Pretsch 2005) and index of complex diversity after Jaehne, Dohrenbusch (1997). Growth model SIBYLA (Fabrika, Ďurský 2005) was used for visualizations and growth predictions of forest stands on particular plots. Based on research results, management recommendations were evaluated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-775
Author(s):  
Nam-Euy Hong ◽  
Kyung-Rok Won ◽  
Byung-Oh Yoo ◽  
Su-Young Jung ◽  
Byung-Ro Kim ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 231 ◽  
pp. 111232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martyna Wietecha ◽  
Łukasz Jełowicki ◽  
Krzysztof Mitelsztedt ◽  
Stanisław Miścicki ◽  
Krzysztof Stereńczak

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1317-1327 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Hall ◽  
WJA Volney ◽  
Y. Wang

The occurrence and spatial distribution of top kill 1 year following a jack pine budworm (Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman) outbreak were examined for possible associations with forest stand characteristics derived from resource inventory maps. Associations were computed between top-kill severity and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) maturity, stand height, crown closure, and site quality. Three different measures of association with data from a geographic information system (GIS) (Cramer's V, Spearman's nonparametric rank correlation, and Minnick's coefficient of areal determination) were used to assess the strength of these associations. There were no statistical differences among average top-kill lengths, which averaged 2 m, among the light, moderate, and severe top-kill categories. The proportion of trees that experienced top kill ranged from 55% in the light to 61% in the severe top-kill classes. Site quality and stand maturity were more highly associated with top kill than stand height and crown closure. Jack pine areas that sustained moderate and severe top kill were those on poor sites that were overmature (> 85 years), 15-20 m tall with 30-55% crown closure. The GIS approach can be a useful tool for identifying vulnerable stands, and increasingly so as forest inventory classification systems become more detailed.


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