Direct seeding of late-successional trees to restore tropical montane forest

Natural regeneration of large-seeded, late-successional trees in fragmented tropical landscapes can be strongly limited by a lack of seed dispersal resulting in the need for more intensive restoration approaches, such as enrichment planting, to include these species in future forests. Direct seeding may be an alternative low-cost approach to planting nursery-raised tree seedlings, but there is minimal information on its efficacy or when in the successional process this technique will be most successful. We tested directly seeding five native tree species into habitats representing passive and active restoration approaches: (1) recently abandoned pasture; (2) naturally establishing, young secondary forests; and (3) young, mixed-species (fast-growing N-fixers and commercially valuable species) tree plantations established to facilitate montane forest recovery in southern Costa Rica. We monitored germination, survival, growth, and above- and below-ground biomass over a 2-year period. Germination in pastures, secondary forests, and tree plantations was similar (∼43%). Seedling survival after one and two years was significantly higher under tree plantations (91% year 1, 75% year 2) compared to secondary forests (76, 44%) or pastures (74, 41%). Moreover, seedlings had greater total biomass and lower root:shoot ratios in the plantations, suggesting higher nutrient availability in that treatment. Costs for direct seeding were 10- to 30-fold less per 100 seedlings after 2-year compared to nursery-raised seedlings planted at the same sites; however, there are important trade-offs to the two restoration approaches. Planting nursery-raised seedling is a more effective but higher cost approach for rapidly establishing canopy cover and restoring large areas whereas direct seeding is a more efficient way to enrich an existing system. We particularly recommend using direct seeding as a complimentary measure to the more intensive restoration approach of planting fast-growing and N-fixing trees.     

Growth and ecophysiology of seedlings of Podocarpus falcatus in plantations of exotic species and in a natural montane forest in Ethiopia

The potential role of exotic tree plantations in facilitating successional processes on degraded areas was evaluated in southern Ethiopia by comparing seedling characteristics, transpiration and photo-synthetic performance of Podocarpus falcatus seedlings in Eucalyptus plantation, Pinus plantation, adjacent natural forest and clear-felled plantation site. P. falcatus seedlings exhibited differences in architecture between Eucalyptus and Pinus plantations. They had higher leaf area, shorter internode length and greater number of lateral branches in Eucalyptus plantation. At similar vapor pressure deficit (VPD), P. falcatus transpired much less than E. saligna, especially at higher VPDs. Analysis of fluorescence parameters in the leaves showed no significant differences in the level of dark-adapted and light-adapted fluorescence yield (Fv /Fm and ΔF/Fm, respectively), electron transport rate (ETR) and nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) among seedlings grown inside plantations and adjacent natural forest, indicating similar photosynthetic performance. Nevertheless, there was evidence of photoinhibition in P. falcatus in the clear-felled site which had low fluorescence yield but high values of NPQ as protection from photoamage. The light response curves of ETR, NPQ and ΔF/F m , showed similar light saturation behavior among the seedlings grown inside plantations and natural forest and suggested a sequence of light-adapted to shade-adapted behavior in Natural forest > Eucalyptus plantation > Pinus plantation. The results show the structural flexibility, better water-use and adaptability of P. falcatus in its use of the understory environment of plantation species.     

Early seedling establishment of two tropical montane cloud forest tree species: The role of native and exotic grasses

Tropical montane cloud forest has been undergoing a drastic reduction because of its widespread conversion to pastures. Once these forests have been cleared exotic grasses are deliberately introduced for forage production. Exotic grass species commonly form monodominant stands and produce more biomass than native grass species, resulting in the inhibition of secondary succession and tree regeneration. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of native vs. exotic grass species on the early establishment of two native tree seedlings (Mexican alder, Alnus acuminata and Jalapa oak, Quercus xalapensis) on an abandoned farm in central Veracruz, Mexico. Seedling survival and growth were monitored (over 46 weeks) in relation to grass cover and height, and available photosynthetic active radiation (PAR). More seedlings survived in the presence of the native grass Panicum glutinosum than those growing with the exotic grass Cynodon plectostachyus (92% vs. 48%). The causes of seedling mortality varied between species; Q. xalapensis was affected by herbivory by voles but mainly in the exotic grass-dominated stands, whereas A. acuminata seedlings died due to competition with the exotic grass. A. acuminata seedlings increased more in height in the exotic grass-dominated stands (102 ± 7.8 cm) compared to native grass-dominated stands (51 ± 4.7 cm). Grass layer height, cover and available PAR were correlated (Pearson; p < 0.05). In the exotic grass dominated plots, grass layer height was correlated with the relative height growth rates of Q. xalapensis (Pearson; p < 0.05). These results indicate that the exotic grass may be affecting tree regeneration directly (grass competition) and indirectly (higher herbivory). Passive restoration may occur once P. glutinosum dominated pastures are abandoned. However, when C. plectostachyus dominates, introduction of early and mid successional tree seedlings protected against vole damage is needed.     

Stomatal conductance, transpiration and sap flow of tropical montane rain forest trees in the southern Ecuadorian Andes

We investigated tree water relations in a lower tropical montane rain forest at 1950-1975 m a.s.l. in southern Ecuador. During two field campaigns, sap flow measurements (Granier-type) were carried out on 16 trees (14 species) differing in size and position within the forest stand. Stomatal conductance (g(s)) and leaf transpiration (E(l)) were measured on five canopy trees and 10 understory plants. Atmospheric coupling of stomatal transpiration was good (decoupling coefficient Omega = 0.25-0.43), but the response of g(s) and E(l) to the atmospheric environment appeared to be weak as a result of the offsetting effects of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) on g(s). In contrast, sap flow (F) followed these atmospheric parameters more precisely. Daily F depended chiefly on PPF sums, whereas on short time scales, VPD impeded transpiration when it exceeded a value of 1-1.2 kPa. This indicates an upper limit to transpiration in the investigated trees, even when soil water supply was not limiting. Mean g(s) was 165 mmol m(-2) s(-1) for the canopy trees and about 90 mmol m(-2) s(-1) for the understory species, but leaf-to-leaf as well as tree-to-tree variation was large. Considering whole-plant water use, variation in the daily course of F was more pronounced among trees differing in size and crown status than among species. Daily F increased sharply with stem diameter and tree height, and ranged between 80 and 120 kg day(-1) for dominant canopy trees, but was typically well below 10 kg day(-1) for intermediate and suppressed trees of the forest interior.     

Boron in forest trees and forest ecosystems

This review critically examines the role of boron (B) in forests in view of recent findings on B nutrition and the continuing occurrence of B deficiency. Many perceptions about the role of B in plants and its uptake and mobility have been altered since the last review on B in forest trees in 1990. Now there is evidence for a fundamental role of B in the formation of the pectic structure in primary cell walls in plants, and further roles in membrane function are being explored. In plants, channel-mediated B uptake, active B uptake and B uptake by mycorrhizas have been shown, B transporters have been identified, and B retranslocation has been shown. We explore these findings and their consequences on forest trees and on ecosystems that they dominate. Particular emphasis is placed on B retranslocation and B in mycorrhizal symbiosis, given their importance in trees.     

土著植物产品对印度森林病虫害防治的生物功效：综述

讨论了苦楝树和其他热带树种天然产品在印度森林病虫害防治中的生物功效。这些树木产品可起到拒食素、防护剂、不育诱导剂、毒素等作用,可以调控害虫生长,具有效力高、价格低廉和对环境无公害的特点。将这些树木产品整合到森林虫害管理策略中,会增强森林的可持续性,防止木材质量衰退。表3参61。     

森林水文数学模拟及分析

以安藤长期径流模型为基础,结合森林流域的林冠截持降水、森林土壤蓄水、土壤的饱和及超渗地表径流等特点建立起森林流域径流模型,模拟了林冠截持、林冠和地面的蒸散、渗透和地下水的涵养、直接径流及地下径流的生成等过程。同时将此模型用于比较3个小流域的水文特征并通过两个对比小流域水文特征的比较,分析了森林采伐后因植被变化而带来的水文效应。     

Insect pests of some exotic and indigenous browse species in southeastern Nigeria

During the period February to July 1992 the incidence of attacks by insect pests on ten cultivated browse species was studied at Obio Akpa, located in humid southeastern Nigeria. Two of the browse speciesGliricidia sepium andLeucaena leucocephala were exotic and eightAlchornia cordifolia, Baphia nitida, Rauvolfia vomitoria, Diallum guineensis, Ficus capensis, Glyphaea brevis, Homalium aylmeri andManniophytum fulvum indigenous. Forty insect pests were collected and 33 identified. Those identified belonged to either the order Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Lepidoptera or Orthoptera. Some of the insects were browse-specific, while others attacked several browse species. None of the browse species was free from insect attacks.     

西藏外来林业有害生物的发生与防范

经过分析西藏的气候和生态环境以及现有森林健康状况,得出结论:外来林业有害生物传入风险极大,适宜定殖的种类繁多。同时介绍了传入西藏的外来林业有害生物主要种类、发生特点、危害程度,入侵途径和载体,提出防范措施。     

火干扰对森林水文的影响

Fire is quite a common natural phenomenon closely related to forest hydrology in forest ecosystem. The influence of fire on water is indirectly manifested in that the post fire changes of vegetation, ground cover, soil and environment affect water cycle, water quality and aquatic lives. The effect varies depending upon fire severity and frequency. Light wildland fires or prescribed burnings do not affect hydrology regime significantly but frequent burnings or intense fires can cause changes in hydrology regime similar to that caused clear cutting.     

广州南香山水库森林水文季节变化研究

为了提高森林水文研究过程中数据采集的精确性,应用现代测绘技术,包括水准测量、全站仪三维坐标测量、GNSS 卫星测量及测深仪的水深测量等,研究了广州南香山水库的库容变化规律,反演水库上游森林径流。研究结果表明：南香山一年内的降雨量分布出现类似双波浪形的变化,波峰出现在5月份和8月份,波谷出现在1月和10月;降雨量与库容增量存在线性关系,相关系数为0.9152;地表径流的大小主要与植被类型,土壤水分的饱和度及地形有密切关系。相比传统的测量方法,现代测绘技术更精确地反映了广州南香山地区森林水文的变化规律。     

Growth and yield of some indigenous trees in an Amazonian agroforestry system: a rural-history-based analysis

Over the years farmers of Japanese descent in the Brazilian Amazon have planted indigenous trees that yield various products and services: fruit, seeds,bark, latex, oil, and shade and wind breaks for understory crop plants. Production of timber is often the intended end use of such planted trees. Long-term growth performance of these trees nevertheless has not been well documented. The authors constructed 65-year growth curves for nine indigenous tree species based on measurements of diameter at breast height (dbh), height, and tree age data provided by farmers in the Brazilian State of Pará. An index of wood prices used to calculate state stumpage taxes was then applied to mean stem wood growth curves to produce price curves. These price curves estimate both present value of standing timber, and the value added from annual growth of standing timber in the agroforestry systems studied. The results of this study provide local farmers with a tool to estimate potential annual income from the growth of their trees, and a basis for planning timber harvest rotations. This study's approach may be applicable in other parts of the tropics, where growth information about indigenous trees commonly used in agroforestry is lacking.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transpiration and forest structure in relation to soil waterlogging in a Hawaiian montane cloud forest

Transpiration, leaf characteristics and forest structure in Metrosideros polymorpha Gaud. stands growing in East Maui, Hawaii were investigated to assess physiological limitations associated with flooding as a mechanism of reduced canopy leaf area in waterlogged sites. Whole-tree sap flow, stomatal conductance, microclimate, soil oxidation-reduction potential, stand basal area and leaf area index (LAI) were measured on moderately sloped, drained sites with closed canopies (90%) and on level, waterlogged sites with open canopies (50-60%). The LAI was measured with a new technique based on enlarged photographs of individual tree crowns and allometric relationships. Sap flow was scaled to the stand level by multiplying basal area-normalized sap flow by stand basal area. Level sites had lower soil redox potentials, lower mean stand basal area, lower LAI, and a higher degree of soil avoidance by roots than sloped sites. Foliar nutrients and leaf mass per area (LMA) in M. polymorpha were similar between level and sloped sites. Stomatal conductance was similar for M. polymorpha saplings on both sites, but decreased with increasing tree height (r(2) = 0.72; P < 0.001). Stand transpiration estimates ranged from 79 to 89% of potential evapotranspiration (PET) for sloped sites and from 28 to 51% of PET for level sites. Stand transpiration estimates were strongly correlated with LAI (r(2) = 0.96; P < 0.001). Whole-tree transpiration was lower at level sites with waterlogged soils, but was similar or higher for trees on level sites when normalized by leaf area. Trees on level sites had a smaller leaf area per stem diameter than trees on sloped sites, suggesting that soil oxygen deficiency may reduce leaf area. However, transpiration per unit leaf area did not vary substantially, so leaf-level physiological behavior was conserved, regardless of differences in tree leaf area.     

天然林水文功能浅析

从湖南省天然林的现状分析入手，对不同森林类型的水源涵养功能进行了阐述。天然次生林以阔叶林为主，生物多样性丰富，粗腐殖质层A0层厚，林地土壤有机质含量高，与人工林比较，乔根重及乔、灌草面积指数高，凋落物多，森林水文生态功能强。天然次生林一次最大土壤贮水量1326.5t/hm^2比人工林的706.845/hm^2大87.67%；天然次生林冠一次最大持水量6.148t/hm^2，比人工林的3.039t/hm^2倍，天然林在防洪蓄水中起着重要的作用。     

Germination ecology of twelve indigenous and eight exotic multipurpose leguminous species from Ethiopia

The germination requirements of seeds of 20 leguminous species were studied in three experiments. In the first experiment, seeds were subjected to mechanical scarification, sulphuric acid and boiling water treatments. In the second experiment, they were treated with dry heat at 60, 80 and 100°C. In the third experiment, seeds were placed at different temperature regimes (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) on a thermogradient. Sulphuric acid treatment improved germination in all the species while mechanical scarification improved germination in 18 out of 20 species. Boiling water treatment improved germination in 15 species but proved to be lethal to five species. Similarly, germination was significantly improved in 11 out of 16 species treated with dry heat. Germination was faster and higher at both 25°C and 30°C and the optimum temperature for germination was between 20°C and 30°C for all the species. Mechanical scarification, sulphuric acid and boiling water treatments as well as dry heat were effective to overcome seed coat imposed dormancy in the species studied. It was not possible to recommend a treatment which is equally effective for all the species. However, boiling water is a practical method for achieving rapid, uniform and high germination except in five of the species for which it proved to be lethal. In the latter case, either mechanical scarification or sulphuric acid treatment should be used. Seeds of Millettia ferruginea should be sown when they are fresh to get high germination as they tend to lose their viability during storage. Results from the present study show that once the dormancy in leguminous species with hard seed coats is broken, the seeds germinate in wide ranges of temperature.     

杉木纯林改混交林阔叶树种的选择

为了可持续利用选出多种杉木纯林改造的阔叶树种的人工复层林的经营模式 ,在杉木纯林间伐后采用多种更新改造阔叶树的随机设计试验。调查分析表明 ,树种间的造林效果达到显著、极显著的差异 ,米老排为效果最佳树种 ,其次为光皮桦、火力楠、细柄阿丁枫 ,初步认为桤木不适宜作为改造树种     

Natural development and regeneration of a Central European montane spruce forest

Montane Norway spruce forests of Central Europe have a very long tradition of use for timber production; however, recently there has been increasing concern for their role in maintaining biological diversity. This concern, coupled with recent severe windstorms that led to wide-spread bark beetle outbreaks, has brought the management of montane spruce forests to the forefront of public policy discussions in Central Europe. In order to shed light on the natural development and current structure of mature montane spruce forests, we established four 0.25 ha research plots in a semi-natural montane spruce forest in the Šumava Mountains (The Bohemian Forest), Czech Republic. We mapped all trees, extracted increment cores for age and growth-pattern analyses, and inventoried all current tree regeneration, including the substrates on which it was found. Stands were characterized by uni-modal tree diameter distributions and high basal areas (56.6 m² ha⁻¹ on average), indicating a natural transition from the stem exclusion phase towards the understory reinitiation phase. The stands showed largely single-cohort recruitment age structures, however, with recruitment spanning seven decades. Our analyses suggest that this cohort existed as advance regeneration prior to major disturbances in the late 1800s, which included post-bark beetle salvage logging. Spatial pattern analyses of living and dead stems combined, showed an increase in uniformity of living trees, pointing to the role of natural density-dependent mortality. However, past growth patterns and historical documentation suggest that low intensity canopy disturbances (wind and snow) also caused mortality and diversified canopy structure. Because the stands developed naturally over the past 120+ years and thus escaped thinning operations, high volumes of coarse woody debris (94 m³ ha⁻¹) and snag densities (546 stems ha⁻¹) have accrued. Advance spruce regeneration was quite abundant and existed primarily on deadwood substrates, even though these occupied only a small percent of stand area. Because of salvage logging in the late 1880s, these stands do not qualify, according to the traditional paradigm, as natural spruce forests. As a result, they are recently subject to active management practices including salvage logging that remove dead and dying trees. Given the importance of deadwood for forest regeneration and recovery from disturbance, as demonstrated in this study, we argue that dead wood removal may limit future natural regeneration in these stands. Thus, the purported benefits of removing dead and dying trees from semi-natural forests must be carefully weighed against the potential detrimental impacts on natural spruce forest regeneration and biodiversity.     

The Shamba system: an indigenous system of food production from forest areas in Kenya

The Shamba system, a form of Taungya where agricultural crops are grown together with forest tree species, has been quite widespread in the high-potential areas of Kenya since the early 1900s, and still is very popular. When properly practiced, the system allows sustained, optimum production of food crops along with forestry species from the same land and thus meets most of the social and economic needs of the shamba farmer. This paper briefly describes the system's productivity and functioning and analyses its ecological as well as socio-economic characteristics.     

Accumulation of airborne fluorides in forest trees and vegetation

The accumulation of fluoride in natural vegetation exposed to emissions from five aluminium smelter plants in Norway was studied during the years 1990–93. About 2000 leaf, bark and twig samples of 60 plant species, collected mostly during the growing season, were analysed. Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) was widespread and common in the areas studied, and was used as a reference species. Fluoride concentrations in monthly samples of rowan leaves were linearly related to fluoride exposure (average fluoride concentration in ambient air × days since leaf emergence). The accumulation coefficient for rowan was estimated to be 1.7 m³/g dry wt. day. Most other species had values between 0.3 and 1.5; the median for all species was 0.8. The fern Dryopteris filix-mas was exceptional, containing on average three times greater fluoride concentrations man rowan. High background levels indicated that soil uptake contributed significantly to the fluoride accumulation in this species. The fluoride concentrations in bark and shoots of trees were mostly low compared with leaves, but the bark of Betula pendula and B. pubescens had very high concentrations.