Vegetation restoration is associated with increasing forest width

New Forests - Monitoring and assessment reveal important information about restoration areas and can also be useful for understanding ecological processes such as succession and species-area...     

The North American long-term soil productivity experiment: Findings from the first decade of research

First decade findings on the impacts of organic matter removal and soil compaction are reported for the 26 oldest installations in the nation-wide network of long-term soil productivity sites. Complete removal of surface organic matter led to declines in soil C concentration to 20 cm depth and to reduced nutrient availability. The effect is attributed mainly to the loss of the forest floor. Soil C storage seemed undiminished, but could be explained by bulk density changes following disturbance and to decomposition inputs of organic C from roots remaining from the harvested forest. Biomass removal during harvesting had no influence on forest growth through 10 years. Soil compaction effects depended upon initial bulk density. Soils with densities greater than 1.4 Mg m⁻³ resisted compaction. Density recovery was slow, particularly on soils with frigid temperature regimes. Forest productivity response to soil compaction depended both on soil texture and the degree of understory competition. Production declined on compacted clay soils, increased on sands, and generally was unaffected if an understory was absent.     

Analysis of tree interactions in a mixed Mediterranean pine stand using competition indices

Studying species interactions in mixed forests allows us to assess their potential benefits and adapt current silvicultural tools developed in monospecific stands to multi-specific stands. We analyzed tree interactions in a Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus pinea L. mixed plantation using individual tree neighborhood models and competition indices that accounted for symmetric and asymmetric competition, to analyze whether the growth of each species was better explained by symmetric or asymmetric competition. We also split the competition indices into their intra- and interspecific forms, to test for competition effects on growth change based on competitor identity. Finally, we analyzed whether P. halepensis and P. pinea trees had different growth responses to competition. When calculating competition indices, we explored how spatial information and size of competitor trees contributed to the quantification of the process. Competition measurements were optimized to more precisely describe interactions. Results showed that the inclusion of competition indices generated important improvements in growth models. The main mode of competition was symmetric, which could be related to water restrictions typical of the Mediterranean climate. Considering competitor identity did not improve the growth models, while measurement without discriminating competitors by species generated more parsimonious models. P. halepensis and P. pinea trees had similar growth responses to competition, indicating that the two species cope with competition in similar ways. However, P. pinea showed lower average growth than P. halepensis in the period analyzed. Results suggest that preventing the onset of intense interspecific competition processes could help slow down the long-term replacement of P. pinea by P. halepensis and could have benefits for silvicultural management in systems with two species that share ecological niches but are capable of generating different goods and services.     

Environmental influences on post-harvest natural regeneration of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus pinaster</Emphasis> Ait. in Mediterranean forest stands submitted to the seed-tree selection method

Research on natural regeneration is crucial for the development of sustainable forestry practices, in light of the global climate changes taking place. In this study, 151 plots were sampled in six Pinus pinaster stands that were naturally regenerated by the seed-tree method in Mediterranean forests in central Spain. The objectives of the survey were to study the suitability of different forest stands designated for natural regeneration as well as to analyse seedling establishment and the relationship between regeneration and different site factors. Analysis of variance and multivariate analysis with canonical ordination techniques were employed. Full and partial redundancy analyses on a correlation matrix were used to carry out a direct gradient analysis of regeneration density as a function of site factors. Nearly all stands presented seedling densities over 2,000 seedlings ha⁻¹ and were thus found to be suitable for natural regeneration of Pinus pinaster by the seed-tree selection method. Significant variables that best explained total seedling and viable seedling density were spring and autumn precipitation of the year prior to establishment, spring and summer precipitation of the year of establishment and percentage cover of litter. There were no signs of competition between shrubs and seedlings, but a negative significant correlation with grass cover was observed. Pinus pinaster natural regeneration was successful with the seed-tree method, although it appeared to be highly dependent on climate and stand conditions.     

A generalized nonlinear mixed-effects height–diameter model for Eucalyptus globulus L. in northwestern Spain

A generalized height–diameter model was developed for Eucalyptus globulus Labill. stands in Galicia (northwestern Spain). The study involved a variety of pure stands ranging from even-aged to uneven-aged. Data were obtained from permanent circular sample plots in which trees were sampled within different radii according to their diameter at breast height. A combination of weighted regression, to take into account the unequal selection probabilities of such an inventory design, and mixed model techniques, to accommodate local random fluctuations in the height–diameter relationship, were applied to estimate fixed and random parameters for several models reported in the relevant literature. The models that provided the best results included dominant height and dominant diameter as fixed effects. These models explained more than 83% of the observed variability, with mean errors of less than 2.5 m. Random parameters for particular plots were estimated with different tree selection options. Height–diameter relationships tailored to individual plots can be obtained by calibration of the height measurements of the three smallest trees in a plot. An independent dataset was used to test the performance of the model with data not used in the fitting process, and to demonstrate the advantages of calibrating the mixed-effects model.     

Mini‐cutting technique application in Corymbia and Eucalyptus: effects of mini‐tunnel use across seasons of the year

New Forests - The forestry sector has been able to sustainably satisfy the increasing global demand for forest products, thereby positively impacting the economy, while mitigating climate change....