scholarly journals Structural Diversity of Tree Stems of Elephant Camp Natural Forest in Omo Forest Reserve

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Oladele Fisayo Falade ◽  
Janet Ugochukwu Iheke
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Resource Utilisation ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Tree size diversity is an indicator of biodiversity values of a forest. Microsite conditions of a forest determine the survival and growth of trees. However, the contribution of variable habitats to tree size hierarchy and segregation is poorly understood. Tree size variation in a population is caused by different competition mechanisms. Therefore, the size distribution and spatial pattern of trees can identify the process governing resource utilisation in the forest. The objective of the study was to investigate the tree stem structural diversity in the Elephant Camp natural forest in the Omo Forest Reserve. Three and four 0.09 ha sample plots were established in Riparian (RF) and Old-growth forests (OF) in the Elephant Camp natural forest, respectively. The tree stems (Dbh ≥ 5cm) were identified to the species level and enumerated within each plot, and the stem density was computed. The diameter at breast height (Dbh) was measured with diameter tape. Species diversity was assessed using Shannon–Weiner (H’) and Simpson indices (1-D’), while size inequality was assessed using the Gini coefficient (GC), coefficient of variation (CV), H’ and I-D’. The performance of single two- and three-parameter Weibull models was evaluated using Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K-S) chi-square (χ2), root-mean-square error (RMSE), bias and the coefficient of determination (R2). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. A total of 27 and 24 tree species were identified in RF and OF, respectively. The stem density of RF was significantly higher than that of OF. The values of species diversity (H’, 1-D’) and evenness (E’) were higher in OF than in RF, while richness (Margalef and number of species) was higher in RF than in OF. The Dbh was 38.30 ± 21.4 and 42.87 ± 19.2 cm in Riparian and Old-growth forests, respectively. Size-density distributions of both forests were positively skewed and expressed exponential pattern. The forest types of the Elephant Camp natural forest comprise the same size-density frequency shape but a different proportion of tree sizes and structural diversities.

scholarly journals Boreal old-growth forest structural diversity challenges aerial photographic survey accuracy

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxence Martin ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Forest Inventories ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Aerial Surveys ◽  
Old Growth Forests

The erosion of old-growth forests in boreal managed landscapes is a major issue currently faced by forest managers; however, resolving this problem requires accurate surveys. The intention of our study was to determine if historic operational aerial forest surveys accurately identified boreal old-growth forests in Quebec, Canada. We first compared stand successional stages (even-aged vs. old-growth) in two aerial surveys performed in 1968 (preindustrial aerial survey) and 2007 (modern aerial survey) on the same 2200 km2 territory. Second, we evaluated the accuracy of the modern aerial survey by comparing its results with those of 74 field plots sampled in the study territory between 2014 and 2016. The two aerial surveys differed significantly; 80.8% of the undisturbed stands that were identified as “old-growth” in the preindustrial survey were classified as “even-aged” in the modern survey, and 60% of the stands identified as “old-growth” by field sampling were also erroneously identified as “even-aged” by the modern aerial survey. The scarcity of obvious old-growth attributes in boreal old-growth forests, as well as poorly adapted modern aerial survey criteria (i.e., criteria requiring high vertical stratification and significant changes in tree species composition along forest succession), were the main factors explaining these errors. It is therefore likely that most of Quebec’s boreal old-growth forests are currently not recognized as such in forest inventories, challenging the efficacy of sustainable forest management policies.

Plant community attributes 12 to 14 years following precommercial thinning in a young lodgepole pine forest

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
P M.F Lindgren ◽  
D B Ransome ◽  
D S Sullivan ◽  
T P Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Precommercial Thinning ◽  
Tree Layer ◽  
Moss Layer ◽  
Pine Stands

We investigated plant community responses (abundance, species diversity, and structural diversity) to a range of precommercial thinning densities in young lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) stands 12 to 14 years after thinning, with both unthinned and old-growth stands for comparison. Abundance of understory plants, especially herbs, appeared to increase dramatically in the thinned stands. The moss layer was significantly more abundant in old-growth stands than in the young pine stands. Of a total of 108 species sampled, only three were introduced species, all of which occurred more frequently in the low-density stands than in any of the other stands. Thinning treatments appeared to increase the abundance of late-seral species. Our results suggest that by disrupting canopy closure, thinning decreased the dominance of tall trees and increased the abundance of herbs, shrubs, and trees in the understory height classes. As a result, thinning to low densities significantly increased the structural richness of the tree layer and caused an increase in total structural diversity, which, although only marginally significant (p = 0.06), was likely biologically important. Our results suggest that thinning will enhance the abundance, species diversity, and structural diversity of the plant community 12 to 14 years postthinning.

scholarly journals Stand Structural Diversity and Species with Leaf Nitrogen Conservation Drive Aboveground Carbon Storage in Tropical Old-Growth Forests

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 994
Author(s):  
Genzhu Wang ◽  
Yuguo Liu ◽  
Xiuqin Wu ◽  
Danbo Pang ◽  
Xiao Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Niche Complementarity ◽  
Aboveground Carbon ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Stand Structural Diversity ◽  
Aboveground Carbon Storage

Tropical old-growth forests are essential for global carbon regulation. Although there is increasing evidence that species and functional diversity, stand structural diversity, functional compositions, and elevation play roles in ecosystem functioning, the relative strengths of these drivers and the underlying mechanisms (mass-ratio hypothesis or niche complementarity hypothesis) are not clear. Aboveground carbon storage, species diversity, stand structural diversity, community-weighted mean (CWM), and functional diversity (FDvar) of 12 leaf traits were analyzed using data from 56 old-growth forest communities in the Dawei Mountain area of Southwest China. Multiple regression models were used to test the relative importance of the predictor variables and the structural equation model was used to explore the direct and indirect influences on aboveground carbon storage. High structural diversity moderately enhanced aboveground carbon storage. CWM leaf nitrogen concentration in young leaves weakly affected aboveground carbon storage. Our final multiple regression model showed that aboveground carbon storage is mostly affected by diameter at breast height (DBH) diversity, followed by FDvar of dry matter concentration in mature leaves and CWM nitrogen concentration in young leaves. The structural equation model indicated that elevation negatively affects aboveground carbon storage via diameter at breast height (DBH) diversity. Our results suggest that niche complementarity effects moderately drive aboveground carbon storage in tropical old-growth forests, but do not fully support the importance of the mass-ratio hypothesis.

scholarly journals It's a long way to the top: Plant species diversity in the transition from managed to old-growth forests

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Burrascano ◽  
Francesco Ripullone ◽  
Liliana Bernardo ◽  
Marco Borghetti ◽  
Emanuela Carli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Species Diversity ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Changes in tree size, not species diversity, underlie the low above‐ground biomass in natural forest edges

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateus Cardoso Silva ◽  
Felipe Pimentel Lopes Melo ◽  
Eduardo Berg
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Ground Biomass

scholarly journals Broad-Scale Classification and Mapping of Tree Size and Density Attributes in Productive Old-Growth Forests in Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Caouette ◽  
Eugene J. DeGayner
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Density Mapping ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Tongass National Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Mapping Models

Abstract The forest classification and mapping system currently used in managing the Tongass National Forest (NF) is based largely on an economic forest measure, net board foot volume per acre. Although useful for timber economic modeling, this forest measure poorly differentiates old-growth forest types in a way that is meaningful to ecological and social concerns. In 2005, we published an article presenting a proposed tree size and tree density mapping model for the Tongass NF. We claimed the model would provide better information on the structural patterns in old-growth forests than did the current mapping models based on net board foot volume per acre. We also stated that further testing of our proposed model is required before it can be fully integrated into forest management plans and landscape analysis. In this article, we used independent field data to evaluate our proposed tree size and density model and better define its accuracy. Results showed differences among mapping classes similar to differences observed in the development stages of the model. Results also showed mapping accuracy estimates between 60 and 80%. We used the model in a forest management application by comparing the representation of old-growth forest types within a landscape to the representation within a management-defined subset of that landscape.

scholarly journals Land snail fauna of the Humosu Secular Forest (Suceava County, Romania); a new locality of Serrulina serrulata (L. Pfeiffer, 1847) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Clausiliidae)

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 48-50
Author(s):  
Barna Páll-Gergely ◽  
Cătălin-Constantin Roibu
Keyword(s):  
Land Snail ◽  
Beech Forest ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Species Survival ◽  
Old Growth Forests

The paper reports faunistic data on the land snail fauna of the protected beech forest reserve of Fagetul Secular Humosu (Suceava County, Romania). We found several species with Carpathian distribution, and the study area is probably the easternmost locality of these species. The Humosu Forest Reserve is the fourth locality of Serrulina serrulata (L. Pfeiffer, 1847) in Romania. The species survival requires occurrence of preserved old-growth forests with decaying tree trunks and logs.

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