scholarly journals Occurrence of termites (Isoptera) on living and standing dead trees in a tropical dry forest in Mexico

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Calderón-Cortés ◽  
Luis H. Escalera-Vázquez ◽  
Ken Oyama
Keyword(s):  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Tropical Dry Forest ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Dead Tree ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees ◽  
Main Factor

Termites play a key role as ecosystem engineers in numerous ecological processes though their role in the dynamics of wood degradation in tropical dry forests, particularly at the level of the crown canopy, has been little studied. In this study, we analysed the occurrence of termites in the forest canopy by evaluating the density and proportion of living and standing dead trees associated with termites in deciduous and riparian habitats of the tropical dry forest in Chamela, Mexico. The results indicated that 60–98% of standing dead trees and 23–59% of living trees in Chamela were associated with termites. In particular, we found that the density of standing dead trees was higher in deciduous forests (0.057–0.066 trees/m2) than in riparian forests (0.022 and 0.027 trees/m2), even though the proportion of trees was not significantly different among habitats. Additionally, we found a higher density of trees associated with termites in trees of smaller size classes (0.01–0.09 trees/m2) than in larger class sizes (0–0.02 trees/m2). Interestingly, 72% of variation in the density of trees associated with termites is explained by the density of standing dead trees. Overall, these results indicate that standing dead tree availability might be the main factor regulating termite populations in Chamela forest and suggest that termites could play a key role in the decomposition of above-ground dead wood, mediating the incorporation of suspended and standing dead wood into the soil.

scholarly journals The Effects of a Western Spruce Budworm Outbreak on the Dead Wood Component in Relation to Ownership in Forests of Eastern Oregon

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Azuma
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Western Spruce Budworm ◽  
Wood Component ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees ◽  
The Dead

Abstract Forest Inventory and Analysis data were used to investigate the effects of a severe western spruce budworm outbreak on the dead wood component of forests in 11 counties of eastern Oregon for two time periods. The ownership and the level of damage (as assessed by aerial surveys) affected the resulting down woody material and standing dead trees. The pattern of coarse woody debris with respect to ownership and management intensity remained consistent into the next 10-year period. Harvesting tended to lower the amount of coarse woody debris on private forests. Federally managed forests had more standing dead trees than private lands, with more in the reserved than nonreserved areas. There was a reduction in the number of standing dead trees between the two periods.

Wie viel Totholz braucht der Wald? | Dead wood in managed forests: how much is enough?

2004 ◽  
Vol 155 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Bütler ◽  
Rodolphe Schlaepfer
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Bioenergetic Model ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees

Dead wood is of paramount importance for forest biodiversity. For this reason it was adopted as an indicator for sustainable forest management by the Ministerial Conference on the protection of forests in Europe. This paper aims to answer the question of how much dead wood is necessary for the maintenance of biodiversity in sub-alpine spruce forest ecosystems. For this purpose we studied the habitat preferences of the three-toed woodpecker, a bird species that depends heavily on dead trees. Previous ecological studies had already demonstrated that this woodpecker is an indicator of spruce forests with a high degree of naturalness and biodiversity. Our field study in Swiss sub-Alpine spruce and Swedish boreal forests showed that, below a threshold level of about 20 m3 standing dead trees per ha, the probability of finding these woodpeckers drastically decreases. Similar results were obtained using a bioenergetic model, which calculated the energy requirements of this insectivorous woodpecker. Based on the results, our recommendation is to ensure a scattering of dead-wood rich areas in forest landscapes. Each area should cover about one square kilometre and have a mean of 5% of standing dead trees (≥ 18 m3 ha–1), and a total of approx. 9% of dead wood(≥ 33 m3 ha–1 standing and fallen).

Gradual and sudden forest canopy gaps in Allegheny northern hardwood forests

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne E. Krasny ◽  
Mark C. Whitmore
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Gap Dynamics ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees

To determine the importance of gradual tree death to gap dynamics in Allegheny northern hardwood forests, line transect surveys of gaps and gap makers were conducted in three mature forests in central New York. Of the total number of gaps, 71.7% were classified as gradual gaps, meaning they were partial openings in the canopy caused by either trees with greater than 50% branch loss or standing dead trees. Sudden gaps, caused by trees that had fallen, constituted 9.7% of the total number of gaps. Another 18.6% of the gaps had mixed causes. American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.), which is subject to beech bark disease in the study area, was the predominant gap maker, representing 52.4% of the gap makers compared with 25.6% of the canopy trees. It is suggested that future studies of forest gap dynamics include measures of gaps forming over a period of time, particularly in forests subject to decline and biotic diseases and in other forests where gradual tree death and standing dead trees are known to be important.

Effect of minimum diameter at breast height and standing dead wood field measurements on the accuracy of ALS-based forest inventory

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1280-1288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Keränen ◽  
Jussi Peuhkurinen ◽  
Petteri Packalen ◽  
Matti Maltamo
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Minimum Diameter ◽  
Living Tree ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees ◽  
Young Forests

Where airborne laser scanning (ALS) measures the entire aboveground vegetation, the target of a stand-level forest inventory is usually the living tree stock above a given diameter but excluding standing dead trees. The aim here was to investigate the effects of varying field-measured minimum diameters (3–10 cm) and standing dead wood on ALS-based forest inventories. The characteristics considered in this case were volume, basal area, number of stems, mean diameter, and mean height for each species, as well as the total growing stock and the total aboveground biomass. The field data comprised measurements of all trees that were ≥3 cm at breast height (1.3 m) on 601 sample plots located in pine-dominated managed forests in eastern Finland. The results showed that the minimum diameter had a significant effect on the estimates obtained in young forests, for which the three smallest minimum diameter datasets (3, 4, and 5 cm) gave the most accurate estimates. Minimum diameter had no marked influence in the case of middle-aged or mature forests. The inclusion of standing dead trees did not have any effect on the estimates of living tree characteristics. The effect of minimum diameter is minor where large-area inventory applications are concerned; however, especially from a silvicultural point of a view, a minimum diameter of 3 cm should be employed in young forests, for which a large proportion of the tree stock usually consists of small trees, i.e., with diameters of <5 cm.

scholarly journals Inventory of dead wood in the Kněhyně-Čertův mlýn National Nature Reserve, the Moravian-Silesian Beskids

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Jankovský ◽  
D. Lička ◽  
K. Ježek
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
National Nature Reserve ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Decomposition Processes ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Recorded Data ◽  
Standing Dead Trees

In four permanent experimental plots, dead wood was inventory under conditions of mountain forest ecosystems of the Kněhyně-Čertův ml&yacute;n National Nature Reserve, the Moravian-Silesian Beskids. Down woody material, standing dead trees as well as living trees were recorded. Data obtained were used to determine partial and summarized volumes of dead wood and its proportion in a living stand. Each of the surveyed areas was described not only from the viewpoint of mensuration but also with respect to subsequently carried out studies of biodiversity of wood mycoflora, succession of decomposition processes, natural regeneration on the dead wood etc. Mean volume of dead wood and a share in the total standing volume reaches 132 m<sup>3</sup>/ha(40%), of this 86 m<sup>3</sup>/hais down woody material and 46 m<sup>3</sup>/havolume of standing dead trees. Mean total standing volume per ha amounted to 332 m<sup>3</sup>/ha in the region of the Kněhyně-Čertův ml&yacute;n NNR.

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