Sequestration of Mercury in Soils under Scots Pine and Silver Fir Stands Located in the Proximity to a Roadway

Forest soils are the main source of mercury (Hg) in stream water. Stocks of Hg in forest soils are related to several factors, including forest species composition. In this study, the potential source of Hg pollution was a relatively new roadway traversing forested areas. We compared Hg accumulation in soils of two coniferous species: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.). The experimental plots were located near the S7 expressway in Central Poland. The stands differed in the length of time they had been exposed to Hg, because different parts of the roadway were built and opened to traffic at different times. We analyzed 480 soil samples from organic horizons (O) and the top 10 cm of mineral soil (A) sampled from six plots. The overall average Hg concentrations (irrespective of forest stand, n = 240) was 0.225 mg kg−1 in the O horizons and 0.075 mg kg−1 in the mineral horizons. The Hg concentration in the O horizons was more than three times greater in fir stands than that in pine stands. The average Hg:C ratios in the O and A horizons were 1.0 and 2.3 mg Hg kg−1 C, respectively. Our data does not clearly show the effect of road on Hg accumulation near the road. The concentrations of Hg in investigated soils adjacent to the roadway were only slightly higher than ranges reported for unpolluted areas, and no clearly affected by the vicinity of roadway. In contrast to the other reports, our data indicate a significant impact of tree species on Hg concentrations in both the O and A horizons. Moreover, the average Hg:C ratio was strongly dependent on the tree species.

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Ectomycorrhizal community composition of organic and mineral soil horizons in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) stands

Mycorrhiza ◽

10.1007/s00572-020-00970-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 541-553

Author(s):

Tanja Mrak ◽

Emira Hukić ◽

Ines Štraus ◽

Tina Unuk Nahberger ◽

Hojka Kraigher

Keyword(s):

Community Composition ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Ectomycorrhizal Community ◽

Soil Horizons

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The Effect of Climate on Tree-Ring Chronologies of Native and Nonnative Tree Species Growing Under Homogenous Site Conditions

Geochronometria ◽

10.2478/v10003-009-0006-4 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 33 (-1) ◽

pp. 49-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Edward Feliksik ◽

Sławomir Wilczyński

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Tree Ring ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Tree Species ◽

Sitka Spruce ◽

Early Spring ◽

Douglas Fir ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Site Conditions ◽

Diameter Increment

The Effect of Climate on Tree-Ring Chronologies of Native and Nonnative Tree Species Growing Under Homogenous Site ConditionsDendroclimatic studies were carried out in the experimental stands composed of many tree species situated in the Polish part of the Baltic sea-coast. Increment cores were taken from a 100-years old trees of 2 native species: Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestrisL.) and 3 nonnative species: Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii(Mirb.) Franco), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis(Bong.) Carr.) and Silver fir (Abies albaMill.). Thirty trees of each species were cored. The relationships between the diameter increment and the thermal and pluvial conditions during the period from 1925 to 2005 were analyzed on the basis of standardized tree-ring chronologies and climatic data. It was found that precipitation and temperature of the growing season and months preceding that season affected the annual diameter increment of all investigated tree species. The current year winter and early spring temperatures as well as February and August precipitation had a similar effect on the variation of diameter increment of trees. On the other hand thermal and pluvial conditions of the current year June differentiated the increment rhythm of individual species. A very strong negative effect on diameter growth of trees was observed in the case of winter and early spring frosts. Norway spruce turned out to be a species most resistant to low temperatures. The investigated tree species, especially Norway spruce, was susceptible to water deficiency in the soil during spring and summer. In the case of Scots pine a high precipitation in June stimulated its growth. The diameter increments of Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Scots pine, and Silver fir were more strongly connected with air temperature than with precipitation. So called all-species chronology of tree-ring width, constructed during this study, permitted to verify the factors having a similar effect on growth response of the investigated tree species. It reflected the mutual characteristics of diameter increments of trees of various species.

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Ectomycorrhizal communities associated with silver fir seedlings (Abies alba Mill.) differ largely in mature silver fir stands and in Scots pine forecrops

Annals of Forest Science ◽

10.1007/s13595-014-0378-0 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 801-810 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Rafał Ważny

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Ectomycorrhizal Communities

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Situation of Armillaria spp. and Heterobasidion spp. in Slovenia

BALTIC FORESTRY ◽

10.46490/vol25iss1pp002 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 2-9

Author(s):

Ana Brglez ◽

Nikica Ogris

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Deciduous Trees ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Coniferous Trees ◽

Current State ◽

Common Causes ◽

Pinus Spp

Species of the genus Armillaria and Heterobasidion are among the most common causes of stem and root rot in Slovenia. Armillaria spp. infects deciduous and coniferous trees, while Heterobasidion spp. mainly threatens Norway spruce (Picea abies), pines (Pinus spp.), and silver fir (Abies alba). On the basis of the data about the sanitary felling of infected trees, we estimated the current state and calculated the proportions represented in total felling, total sanitary felling, total sanitary felling due to diseases, in wood stock, and in increments from 2013 to 2017. Since 2014, there has been a constant increase in the sanitary felling of deciduous and coniferous trees due to infections with Armillaria spp. In 2017, 32,849 m3 of timber were harvested due to Armillaria spp. Given the present situation, we assume that the amount of sanitary felling will continue to increase, but it will not account for large shares in wood stock or increment (< 1 %). In 2017, sanitary felling of infected conifers represented 27.6 % of all sanitary felling due to diseases. In the case of deciduous trees, the share was lower, i.e. 7.1 %. Armillaria spp. was the main cause of sanitary felling due to disease (51.9 %) in the Postojna forest management unit (FMU), while elsewhere shares of up to 10 % were recorded. With Heterobasidion spp., the amount of felling is decreasing over the years. In 2017, 33,922 m3 of wood, accounting for 15.7 % of the total sanitary felling due to disease, were felled due to Heterobasidion spp. A comparison of the felling of Norway spruce, silver fir, and Scots pine due to Heterobasidion spp. shows the different proportions of felling within the total sanitary felling due to the diseases. In Norway spruce, it is on average 79.5 %, in silver fir 12.9 %, and in Scots pine 34.3 %. We assume that the volume of timber harvested due to Heterobasidion spp. will gradually decrease over the years due to the lower wood stocks of Norway spruce, which has recently been hit by numerous natural disasters and infestation of bark beetles. However, the incidence will be higher due to climate change affects.

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Muster und treibende Kräfte der Samenproduktion bei Waldbäumen

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2016.0316 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 167 (6) ◽

pp. 316-324 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Thomas Wohlgemuth ◽

Anita Nussbaumer ◽

Anton Burkart ◽

Martin Moritzi ◽

Ulrich Wasem ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Species ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Forest Tree ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Mast Seeding ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Central Plateau ◽

Forest Tree Species

Patterns and driving forces for seed production in forest tree species Why is the annual fruit production in forest tree species not constant, and which factors cause massive fruit production (seed mast year)? These and other related questions were already posed more than 100 years ago when tree breeding was economically beneficial. The questions have not been fully answered, yet. Rather, the same questions are studied again today as the climate is changing and the uncertainty about the continuation of forests at their current locations is growing. A 25 year long observation series on the variation of fruit production in Switzerland revealed a mean frequency of three years for mast seeding (full and medium mast) at low elevation on the Central Plateau in European beech (Fagus sylvatica), oak (Quercus petraea, Q. robur) and silver fir (Abies alba). In contrast, mast seed years of Norway spruce (Picea abies) occurred, on average, every sixth year. In 1992 and 2011, all four species synchronously showed mast seeding. The results are discussed in the light of different theories and new research findings. From the state of the current know ledge, we derive the need for long-term and fine-scale baseline data and present the new reporting and information webpage «mast web.ch». Here, volunteers can report observations on the fruit production of main tree species following a few simple criteria (citizen science approach). With this data, distribution maps on mass fructification levels will be made available and will serve for spatio-temporal fine-scale studies on mast seeding phenomena.

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Die klimatische Trockengrenze häufiger Baumarten hängt vom Bodennährstoffstatus ab

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2018.0323 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 169 (6) ◽

pp. 323-331

Author(s):

Karl H. Mellert ◽

Roberto Canullo ◽

Tobias Mette ◽

Daniel Ziche ◽

Axel Göttlein

Keyword(s):

Water Balance ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Tree Species ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Pedunculate Oak ◽

Acidic Soils ◽

Soil Nutrient Status ◽

Sessile Oak

The climatic drought limit of common tree species depend on soil nutrient status In forest ecology, there is a huge experience in the ecological amplitude of tree species, which is commonly represented in so-called ecograms. However, the ecogram axes are purely qualitatively described and scaled. In the study presented here, we try to specify the drought limit in the ecogram for the ten most abundant and economically important tree species in Germany (Norway spruce, Scots pine, silver fir, European beech, pedunculate oak, sessile oak, sycamore maple, European elm, hornbeam and common ash) using generalized regression models. We use data on the occurrence of the tree species and on the soil of about 3300 plots of the second German forest soil condition survey (BZW II), combined with data from the ICP Forests Level I program (BioDiv and BioSoil) from 13 neighboring European countries as well as climate data from WorldClim. The focus is on the question to what extent the drought limit of the tree species depends on the soil nutrient status. As a predictor of nutrient status, we chose the base saturation type (BT) already introduced in practice. The warmth factor was included as Growing Degree Days, the water balance as climatic water balance in the forest vegetation period (KWB). The drought limit could be specified for all tree species except elm and pedunculate oak. It was found that not only in known nutrient-sensitive tree species (sycamore, ash, hornbeam), the drought limit depends on the BT, but also in beech and spruce. In the case of sycamore as an example of a nutrient-sensitive species, the dry climate limit on strongly acidic soils (BT 5) is already reached at a KWB of 20 l/m2, on base-rich (BT 1 and 0) only at a KWB of −150 l/m2. In beech, too, the drought limit on acidic soils has been reached more quickly than on base-rich sites (BT 5: −40 l/m2, BT 0: −120 l/m2). In contrast, the reaction of spruce is reversed (BT 5: −50 l/m2, BT 0: 10 l/m2). For pine, sessile oak and fir, the drought limit is independent of the base type and is −230 l/m2 (Scots pine), −150 l/m2 (sessile oak) and 0 l/m2 (silver fir). The drought limit specified by BT is a helpful quantity, especially in view of climate change, as it makes it possible to better estimate the potential of the different tree species.

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Tree Species Classification in a Temperate Mixed Mountain Forest Landscape Using Random Forest and Multiple Datasets

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13224657 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (22) ◽

pp. 4657

Author(s):

Rafael Hologa ◽

Konstantin Scheffczyk ◽

Christoph Dreiser ◽

Stefanie Gärtner

Keyword(s):

Random Forest ◽

Spatial Resolution ◽

Tree Species ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Tree Level ◽

Mountain Forest ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Forest Landscape ◽

Species Classification ◽

Tree Species Composition

For monitoring protected forest landscapes over time it is essential to follow changes in tree species composition and forest dynamics. Data driven remote sensing methods provide valuable options if terrestrial approaches for forest inventories and monitoring activities cannot be applied efficiently due to restrictions or the size of the study area. We demonstrate how species can be detected at a single tree level utilizing a Random Forest (RF) model using the Black Forest National Park as an example of a Central European forest landscape with complex relief. The classes were European silver fir (Abies alba, AA), Norway spruce (Picea abies, PA), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris, PS), European larch (Larix decidua including Larix kampferii, LD), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii, PM), deciduous broadleaved species (DB) and standing dead trees (snags, WD). Based on a multi-temporal (leaf-on and leaf-off phenophase) and multi-spectral mosaic (R-G-B-NIR) with 10 cm spatial resolution, digital elevation models (DTM, DSM, CHM) with 40 cm spatial resolution and a LiDAR dataset with 25 pulses per m2, 126 variables were derived and used to train the RF algorithm with 1130 individual trees. The main objective was to determine a subset of meaningful variables for the RF model classification on four heterogeneous test sites. Using feature selection techniques, mainly passive optical variables from the leaf-off phenophase were considered due to their ability to differentiate between conifers and the two broader classes. An examination of the two phenological phases (using the difference of the respective NDVIs) is important to clearly distinguish deciduous trees from other classes including snags (WD). We also found that the variables of the first derivation of NIR and the tree metrics play a crucial role in discriminating PA und PS. With this unique set of variables some classes can be differentiated more reliably, especially LD and DB but also AA, PA and WD, whereas difficulties exist in identifying PM and PS. Overall, the non-parametric object-based approach has proved to be highly suitable for accurately detecting (OA: 89.5%) of the analyzed classes. Finally, the successful classification of complex 265 km2 study area substantiates our findings.

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Mite Communities (Acari, Mesostigmata) in the Initially Decomposed ‘Litter Islands’ of 11 Tree Species in Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10050403 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 403 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jacek Kamczyc ◽

Marcin K. Dyderski ◽

Paweł Horodecki ◽

Andrzej M. Jagodziński

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Pinus Sylvestris ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Tree Species ◽

Native Species ◽

Abies Alba ◽

Mite Species ◽

Soil Mesofauna ◽

Species Richness And Diversity ◽

Mite Communities

Replacement of native deciduous forests by coniferous stands was a common result of former European afforestation policies and paradigms of forest management and led to considerable ecological consequences. Therefore, the most popular management strategy nowadays in multi-functional forestry is the re-establishment of mixed or broadleaved forests with native species on suitable habitats. However, our knowledge about the effects of tree species introduced into coniferous monocultures on soil mesofauna communities is scarce. We investigated abundance, species richness and diversity of Mesostigmata mite communities in decomposed litter of seven broadleaved (Acer platanoides L., A. pseudoplatanus L., Carpinus betulus L., Fagus sylvatica L., Tilia cordata Mill., Quercus robur L., Q. rubra L.) and four coniferous (Abies alba Mill., Larix decidua Mill., Picea abies [L.] Karst., Pinus sylvestris L.) species. We collected 297 litterbags after 6, 12 and 18 months of exposition in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) monocultures in Siemianice Experimental Forest (SW Poland). Generally, species richness and diversity in litter samples were much lower than in the soil mite pool. The highest abundance was found in P. sylvestris and A. alba litter, while the lowest was found in A. platanoides. The most abundant families were Zerconidae, Parasitidae, Veigaiidae, and Trachytidae. Our study revealed that neither species richness nor diversity were affected, but that mite abundance was affected, by the tree species (litter quality). The mite communities were similarly comprised in both high- and low-quality litter and mite abundance decreased during the decomposition process in nutrient-poor Scots pine forests. Moreover, few mite species benefited from the decomposed litter. Additionally, a litter of various tree species was inhabited mainly by eu- and hemiedaphic mite species. Mite assemblages in A. alba, P. sylvestris, and Q. robur litter had higher abundances. Exposition time seems to be an important driver in shaping the mite community during the early stages of litter decomposition.

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Expected Impacts of Mixing European Beech with Silver Fir on Regional Air Quality and Radiation Balance

Climate ◽

10.3390/cli8100105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 105

Author(s):

Boris Bonn ◽

Jürgen Kreuzwieser ◽

Ruth-Kristina Magh ◽

Heinz Rennenberg ◽

Dirk Schindler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Tree Species ◽

Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Abies Alba ◽

European Beech ◽

Radiation Balance ◽

Silver Fir ◽

Radiative Balance ◽

Air Chemistry

The anticipated climate change during the next decades is posing crucial challenges to ecosystems. In order to decrease the vulnerability of forests, introducing tree species’ mixtures are a viable strategy, with deep-rooting native Silver fir (Abies alba) being a primary candidate for admixture into current pure stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) especially in mountainous areas. Such a change in forest structure also has effects on the regional scale, which, however, have been seldomly quantified. Therefore, we measured and modeled radiative balance and air chemistry impacts of admixing Silver fir to European beech stands, including changes in biogenic volatile organic compound emissions. An increased fraction of Silver fir caused a smaller albedo and a (simulated) larger evapotranspiration, leading to a dryer and warmer forest. While isoprene emission was negligible for both species, sesquiterpene and monoterpene emissions were larger for fir than for beech. From these differences, we derived that ozone concentration as well as secondary organic aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei would increase regionally. Overall, we demonstrated that even a relatively mild scenario of tree species change will alter the energy balance and air quality in a way that could potentially influence the climate on a landscape scale.

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