Old-growth forest reserves in Slovenia: the past, present, and future

2012 ◽  
Vol 163 (6) ◽  
pp. 240-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Nagel ◽  
Jurij Diaci ◽  
Dusan Rozenbergar ◽  
Tihomir Rugani ◽  
Dejan Firm
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
The Past ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Forest Remnants ◽  
Basic Characteristics

Old-growth forest reserves in Slovenia: the past, present, and future Slovenia has a small number of old-growth forest remnants, as well as many forest reserves approaching old-growth conditions. In this paper, we describe some of the basic characteristics of these old-growth remnants and the history of their protection in Slovenia. We then trace the long-term development of research in these old-growth remnants, with a focus on methodological changes. We also review some of the recent findings from old-growth research in Slovenia and discuss future research needs. The conceptual understanding of how these forests work has slowly evolved, from thinking of them in terms of stable systems to more dynamic and unpredictable ones due to the influence of natural disturbances and indirect human influences. In accordance with this thinking, the methods used to study old-growth forests have changed from descriptions of stand structure to studies that address natural processes and ecosystem functions.

Tekstura drzewostanów naturalnych w polskich parkach narodowych na tle teorii dynamiki lasu

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Bartkowicz ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Site Conditions ◽  
Gap Dynamics ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Mosaic Pattern ◽  
Spruce Forests ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Patch Mosaic

The aim of the study was to compare a patch-mosaic pattern in the old-growth forest stands developed in various climate and soil conditions occurring in different regions of Poland. Based on the assumption, that the patch-mosaic pattern in the forest reflect the dynamic processes taking place in it, and that each type of forest ecosystem is characterized by a specific regime of natural disturbances, the following hypotheses were formulated: (i) the patches with a complex structure in stands composed of latesuccessional, shade-tolerant tree species are more common than those composed of early-successional, light-demanding ones, (ii) the patch-mosaic pattern is more heterogeneous in optimal forest site conditions than in extreme ones, (iii) in similar site conditions differentiation of the stand structure in distinguished patches is determined by the successional status of the tree species forming a given patch, (iv) the successional trends leading to changes of species composition foster diversification of the patch structure, (v) differentiation of the stand structure is negatively related to their local basal area, especially in patches with a high level of its accumulation. Among the best-preserved old-growth forest remaining under strict protection in the Polish national parks, nineteen research plots of around 10 ha each were selected. In each plot, a grid (50 × 50 m) of circular sample subplots (with radius 12,62 m) was established. In the sample subplots, species and diameter at breast height of living trees (dbh ≥ 7 cm) were determined. Subsequently, for each sample subplot, several numerical indices were calculated: local basal area (G), dbh structure differentiation index (STR), climax index (CL) and successional index (MS). Statistical tests of Kruskal- Wallis, Levene and Generalized Additive Models (GAM) were used to verify the hypotheses. All examined forests were characterized by a large diversity of stand structure. A particularly high frequency of highly differentiated patches (STR > 0,6) was recorded in the alder swamp forest. The patch mosaic in the examined plots was different – apart from the stands with a strongly pronounced mosaic character (especially subalpine spruce forests), there were also stands with high spatial homogeneity (mainly fir forests). The stand structure in the distinguished patches was generally poorly related to the other studied features. Consequently, all hypotheses were rejected. These results indicate a very complex, mixed pattern of forest natural dynamics regardless of site conditions. In beech forests and lowland multi-species deciduous forests, small-scale disturbances of the gap dynamics type dominate, which are overlapped with less frequent medium-scale disturbances. In more difficult site conditions, large-scale catastrophic disturbances, which occasionally appear in communities formed under the influence of gap dynamics (mainly spruce forests) or cohort dynamics (mainly pine forests), gain importance.

scholarly journals STAND STRUCTURE OF A CALABRIAN PINE OLD-GROWTH FOREST: INDICATIONS FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT AND LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION

2010 ◽  
pp. 529-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orazio Ciancio ◽  
Francesco Iovino ◽  
Giuliano Menguzzato ◽  
Antonino Nicolaci ◽  
Antonella Veltri
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Landscape Conservation ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Calabrian Pine

scholarly journals Extensive recent wildfires demand more stringent protection of critical old growth forest

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 384
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer ◽  
Chris Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Data ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Growth State ◽  
The Past ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Vegetation Class ◽  
Young Forests ◽  
Data Layers

Old growth forests have many key values, but temporal changes across their spatial extent are poorly understood. This includes large parts of Australia and is a major knowledge gap given the extent of human and natural disturbances in the Australian forest estate over past decades. We integrated spatial data on the timing and extent of fire and logging across mapped forest and woodland cover in different Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) groups to quantify disturbance of the old growth forest and woodland estate in Victoria since 1995, including after the 2019–20 wildfires. We found ~77% of old growth forest and woodlands have been disturbed by fire and logging over the past 25 years. Disturbance was particularly marked in some EVCs, such as the Wet and Damp Forest and the Subalpine Woodlands. In contrast, relatively little of the Modelled Old Growth Forest and Woodland has been disturbed between 1995 and 2020 in other EVCs such as in Plains Woodlands and Heathy Woodlands. Wildfire was the primary driver of disturbance in Modelled Old Growth Forest and Woodland. We argue that a range of strategies is critical to increase protection of undisturbed old growth forest. These include re-assessing disturbance data layers to ensure that areas of old growth that have been burned at low severity are protected, and reducing the size of old growth patches to be conserved. There is also a need to increase levels of protection of young forests to enable them to grow through to an old growth state.

Logging-Induced Edge and Configuration of Old-Growth Forest Remnants in the Eastern North American Boreal Forests

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Boucher ◽  
Martin-Hugues St-Laurent ◽  
Pierre Grondin
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Forest Remnants

scholarly journals Waldbiodiversität im Kanton Luzern | Forest biodiversity in the canton Lucerne

2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (7) ◽  
pp. 185-190
Author(s):  
Ueli Frey
Keyword(s):  
Financial Resources ◽  
Forest Biodiversity ◽  
Private Forest ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Private Forest Owners ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Forest Owners ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Old Growth Forest

The promotion of forest biodiversity in Lucerne is conducted by the office of Landwirtschaft und Wald (Lawa). The biodiversity program 2008–2011 is coordinated with the program agreement “Biodiversität im Wald” between the federal and the cantonal authorities. The canton Lucerne has well-developed planning criteria available which allow a correct prioritization during the promotion and a goal oriented investment of the available financial resources. One difficulty with the application of the biodiversity program is the large portion of private forest owners in the canton Lucerne. The following measures which are eligible for grants and their application are discussed in more detail: old growth, forest edges, forest ponds and forest reserves.

scholarly journals Small scale spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration in an old growth temperate deciduous forest

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 9977-10005 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Jordan ◽  
G. Jurasinski ◽  
S. Glatzel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sampling Point ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest

Abstract. The large scale spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration caused by differences in site conditions is quite well understood. However, comparably little is known about the micro scale heterogeneity within forest ecosystems on homogeneous soils. Forest age, soil texture, topographic position, micro topography and stand structure may influence soil respiration considerably within short distance. In the present study within site spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration has been evaluated. To do so, an improvement of available techniques for interpolating soil respiration data via kriging was undertaken. Soil respiration was measured with closed chambers biweekly from April 2005 to April 2006 using a nested design (a set of stratified random plots, supplemented by 2 small and 2 large nested groupings) in an unmanaged, beech dominated old growth forest in Central Germany (Hainich, Thuringia). A second exclusive randomized design was established in August 2005 and continually sampled biweekly until July 2007. The average soil respiration values from the random plots were standardized by modeling soil respiration data at defined soil temperature and soil moisture values. By comparing sampling points as well as by comparing kriging results based on various sampling point densities, we found that the exclusion of local outliers was of great importance for the reliability of the estimated fluxes. Most of this information would have been missed without the nested groupings. The extrapolation results slightly improved when additional parameters like soil temperature and soil moisture were included in the extrapolation procedure. Semivariograms solely calculated from soil respiration data show a broad variety of autocorrelation distances (ranges) from a few centimeters up to a few tens of meters. The combination of randomly distributed plots with nested groupings plus the inclusion of additional relevant parameters like soil temperature and soil moisture data permits an improved estimation of the range of soil respiration, which is a prerequisite for reliable interpolated maps of soil respiration.

scholarly journals Altered structure and stability of bat-prey interaction networks in logged tropical forests revealed by metabarcoding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Hemprich-Bennett ◽  
Victoria A. Kemp ◽  
Joshua Blackman ◽  
Matthew J. Struebig ◽  
Owen T. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Networks ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
List Type ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Prey Interaction ◽  
The Impact

AbstractHabitat degradation is pervasive across the tropics and is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, with major implications for biodiversity. Much research has addressed the impact of degradation on species diversity; however, little is known about how ecological interactions are altered, including those that constitute important ecosystem functions such as pest consumption.We examined how rainforest degradation alters trophic interaction networks linking insectivorous bats and their prey. We used DNA metabarcoding to study the diets of forest-dwelling insectivorous bat species, and compared bat-prey interaction networks between old growth forest and forest degraded by logging in Sabah, Borneo.We predicted that rainforest degradation would cause measurable reductions in the numbers of prey consumed by individual bats, and that this degradation would yield networks in logged forest with lower functional complementarity, modularity and nestedness than those in old growth forest.Compared to bats in old growth rainforest, bats in logged sites consumed a lower diversity of prey. Their interaction networks were less nested and had a more modular structure in which bat species had lower closeness centrality scores than in old growth forest. These network structures were associated with reduced network redundancy and thus increased vulnerability to perturbations in logged forests.Our results show how ecological interactions change between old growth and logged forests, with potentially negative implications for ecosystem function and network stability. We also highlight the potential importance of insectivorous bats in consuming invertebrate pests.Malay abstractDegradasi habitat merupakan suatu fenomena yang berleluasa dikawasan tropika, terutamanya di Asia Tenggara dengan implikasi yang besar ke atas biodiversiti. Banyak kajian telahpun meneliti impak degradasi habitat atas kepelbagaian spesis. Walau bagaimanapun, dari segi mana interaksi ekologi diubah suai kurang diselidik, termasuk interaksi yang membentuk fungsi ekosistem yang penting seperti pemakanan binatang perosak.Kami telah memeriksa bagaimana degradasi hutan hujan tropika dapat mengubah suai interaksi antara tahap trofik yang menghubungkan kelawar yang memakan serangga dan mangsa mereka. Kami telah menggunakan “DNA metabarcoding” untuk mengenal pasti kandungan artropod dalam sampel najis kelawar and membandingkan jaringan interaksi kelawar dan mangsa mereka diantara hutan dara dan hutan yang telah dibalak di Sabah, Borneo.Kami meramalkan bahawa degradasi hutan hujan akan menyebabkan kekurangan dalam bilangan nod mangsa yang dimakan oleh setiap individu kelawar yang dapat diukur. Degradasi ini pula boleh menghasilkan jaringan yang mempunyai fungsi saling melengkapi dan modulariti yang rendah, dan lebih berkelompok atau “mempunyai “nestedness” yang lebih tinggi di hutan yang dibalak berbanding hutan dara.Kelawar di kawasan hutan yang dibalak memakan diversiti mangsa yang lebih rendah dengan kelawar di habitat hutan hujan dara. Jaringan-jaringan interaksi mereka kurang berkelompok dan mempunyai stuktur yang lebih modular dimana spesis kelawar mempunyai pemarkahan kerapatan berpusat yang lebih rendah daripada sepesis kelawar di hutan dara. Struktur-struktur jaringan ini berkait dengan lebihan jaringan atau “network redundancy” yang lebih rendah and ini membawa kepada kerentantan yang meningkat terhadap gangguan luar di hutan yang telah dibalak.Keputusan kami menunjukkan bagaimana interaksi ekologi berubah diantara hutan dara dan hutan yang dibalak, dengan potensi implikasi negatif untuk fungsi ekosistem dan kestabilan jaringan. Kami juga telah menunjukkan potensi kepentingan kelawar yang memakan serangga dalam fungsi mereka untuk makan perosak invertebrat.Data Accessibility StatementData are currently archived at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Environmental Information Data Centre (https://doi.org/10.5285/8b106445-d8e0-482c-b517-5a372a09dc91) and will be released from embargo following publication. Specific analysis scripts are available on GitHub with links given in the manuscript and will be archived on Zenodo prior to publication.Statement of authorshipSR, EC, DHB, MS and OTL conceived the project, DHB, VK and JB undertook field collections and laboratory work, DHB analysed the data with input from EC, and DHB wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.

West coast, temperate, old-growth forests

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy MacKinnon
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wet Climate ◽  
Coastal British Columbia

Canada's west coast, temperate, old-growth forests include its largest, most commercially valuable, fastest-growing, oldest, and certainly most fought-over forests. They can be divided into three main types: coastal rainforest, coastal subalpine forest, and "rain-shadow" forest. Although there is great variation within each of these broad types, coastal rainforests and subalpine forests share a wet climate and are relatively unimpacted by fire as a stand-replacing disturbance. This allows development of multi-aged, multi-canopy, old-growth forests with large volumes of living and dead wood. These forests are structurally and biologically complex. Coastal rain-shadow forests, on the other hand, have a distinctively drier climate (for the coast), and a history of frequent, low-intensity fires. Although well over half of Canada's original west coast, temperate, old-growth forests remain as old growth, there is great variation ecologically and geographically. In general, the percentage of old-growth forest remaining increases with increasing latitude and elevation. Key words: old growth, old-growth forest, coastal British Columbia, temperate rainforest, protected areas, stand structure

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