Effects of forest restoration treatments on the abundance of bark beetles in Norway spruce forests of southern Finland

Restoration of protected areas in boreal forests frequently includes creating substantial volumes of dead wood. While this benefits a wide range of dead wood dependent invertebrate species, some of these are regarded as forest pests. Therefore, the risk of elevated levels of tree mortality in surrounding commercial forests must be considered. In a large-scale field experiment in southern Finland, we studied the effects of restoration treatments on the abundance of bark beetles within and in the vicinity of restored areas, in particular focusing on Ips typographus and Pityogenes chalcographus. The treatments applied to managed Norway spruce forests were controlled burning and partial harvesting combined with retaining 5, 30 or 60 m³/ha of cut down wood. We found that the abundance of bark beetles increased by both burning and harvesting with down wood retention, being highest where burning and harvesting had been combined. The actual volume of down wood retention had no significant effect. The effect of burning on the number of bark beetles along host tree boles was negative which suggests that burnt spruces provided a less suitable resource for bark beetles than unburnt dead spruces. The abundance of bark beetles along host trees also decreased with increasing volume of down wood retention. The abundance of P. chalographus was slightly elevated up to 50 m outside restored areas but the abundance was very low compared to that within the areas. The abundance of I. typographus was extremely low outside restored areas. We conclude that restoration treatments increase the abundance of bark beetles via increased availability of resources, but that the effect of burning is likely to be counteracted by decreased resource quality. Thus, burning might be the “safest” way to produce large quantities of dead wood. Furthermore, the fact that only few beetles were collected in adjacent areas suggests that restored areas pose little threat of serving as refugia in which bark beetle populations increase in sufficient numbers to attack live trees in adjacent forests. However, restoration actions repeated at consecutive years within a small area might enable the populations to grow to outbreak levels.     

Spatial patterns of litter-dwelling taxa in relation to the amounts of coarse woody debris in European temperate deciduous forests

We studied the leaf litter-dwelling fauna of managed deciduous forests and primeval reference sites in Western and Central Europe and addressed the questions if the higher overall species richness close to downed coarse woody debris (CWD) is related to intra-specific or inter-specific aggregation, if the aggregation pattern changes with the amount of CWD on the forest floor, and how much CWD is needed for different taxa. The analysis is based on shelled Gastropoda, Diplopoda/Isopoda, Chilopoda and Coleoptera. Among-sample heterogeneity was lower close to CWD than distant from CWD. This was most pronounced in Diplopoda/Isopoda and Gastropoda. Diplopoda/Isopoda are comparatively mobile and assemblages were already quite homogenous close to CWD at levels above 5 m³ downed deadwood ha⁻¹. Gastropoda have a low mobility, and more than 20 m³ downed deadwood ha⁻¹ is needed for assemblage homogeneity. We further focused on the Gastropoda as sensitive indicators. Enhanced densities and species richness close to CWD were not a simple function of leaf litter weight, thus effects of densities on heterogeneity are not solely driven by leaf litter accumulation close to CWD. In contrast to euryecious litter-dwellers such as the Punctidae, stenecious slow active dispersers such as the Clausiliidae clearly require more than 20 m³ CWD ha⁻¹ for an even distribution. Specialists depending on CWD even seem to have gone extinct in some managed forests. For conserving the litter-dwelling fauna, we propose a target of at least 20 m³ downed CWD ha⁻¹ in already managed forests and rigorous restrictions for deadwood removal from still (almost) pristine systems.     

Factors influencing the formation of unburned forest islands within the perimeter of a large forest fire

Large forest fires have recently increased in frequency and severity in many ecosystems. Due to the heterogeneity in fuels, weather and topography, these large fires tend to form unburned islands of vegetation. This study focuses on a large forest fire that occurred in north-eastern Spain in 1998, which left large areas of unburned vegetation within its perimeter. Based on a satellite post-fire severity map we searched for the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors leading to unburned island formation. We divided the area of the fire into individual units we called “slopes” which were meant to separate the differential microclimatic effects of contrasted aspects. The number of unburned islands and their areas were related to 12 variables that influence their formation (i.e. land cover composition, aspect, steepness, forest structure, two landscape indices and weather variables). We hypothesized that unburned vegetation islands would concentrate on northern aspects, in less flammable forests (i.e. broadleaf species) and higher fragmentation to interrupt the advance of fire. While north and western aspects did have a higher presence of unburned vegetation islands, our study suggests greater presence of islands in slopes that are larger (i.e. more continuous areas with relatively homogeneous aspect), with greater proportions of forest cover, with higher wood volumes and with lower proportions of broadleaf species. Climate also played a role, with relative humidity and wind speed positively and negatively correlated to island formation, respectively. Unburned vegetation was more frequent on slopes with lower diversity of land covers and higher dominance of one land cover in the slope. Since slopes with only one land cover (i.e. forests) had more islands than slopes with multiple cover types, we infer that under severe meteorological conditions, fragmented forests can be more affected by wind and by water stress, thus burning more readily than forests that are protected from this edge phenomenon. These results would reinforce forest management strategies that avoid linear features (fire-lines and fire-breaks), to enhance fuel treatments that focus on areas and minimize fragmentation.     

Determinants for successful reforestation of abandoned pastures in the Andes: Soil conditions and vegetation cover

The Andes of Ecuador are known for their outstanding biodiversity but also as the region with the highest deforestation rate in South America. This process is accompanied by accelerating degradation and loss of environmental services. Despite an extraordinary richness in native tree diversity, more than 90% of all forest plantations established in Ecuador consist of exotic species, primarily Eucalyptus spp. and Pinus spp. This is mainly due to the lack of information about the autecological and synecological requirements of the native species.     

Floristic and ecological differences between recent and ancient forests growing on non-acidic soils

The aim of this work was to investigate differences in soil chemistry and understory composition between recent forests (sites afforested in the last 170 years) and ancient forests growing on non-acidic soils. The study was carried out on hardwood forests at moderate elevation (400–600 m asl) in the Jura Mountains (N.E. France) on four main pedological substrates with different characteristics. The floristic composition of 127 stands from recent forests (n = 65) or ancient forests (n = 62) was surveyed. Some functional traits and the Ellenberg indicator values of the surveyed species were recorded. In addition, the topsoil from 30 stands was analysed. The composition of the flora was analysed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis and the species which were typical of one class of forest age were identified using a chi-square (χ²) test. The difference between forest classes for plant traits, their indicator values, or soil chemistry was tested using the generalized linear model and Bonferroni t-tests (or Kruskall–Wallis tests). The floristic composition of the ancient forests was significantly different from that of the recent forests and was characterized by a high occurrence of shrub species in recent forests. These differences were associated with higher specific leaf area, low-range seeds dispersal, and some life forms like geophytes. There was no clear difference in soil chemistry between the two classes of forests, except for δ¹⁵N values. The weakness of the difference in the soil between ancient and recent forests suggested that changes in soil chemistry caused by a former agricultural land use were not responsible for the differences in understory composition recorded. The differences in functional traits between the two forest classes supported this conclusion. We finally concluded that (i) past land use modifies the vegetation composition of current forests, even on neutral soils and that (ii) in our context, biological filters were probably responsible for these changes.     

Recovery of secondary forests on swidden cultivation fallows in Laos

Species composition, structure and diversity of secondary forests recovered on abandoned swidden cultivation fields in the lowland of Laos were studied in relation to distance from the natural forest, fallow age and crop-fallow rotation cycle. All woody species with stem diameter ≥1 cm were identified, counted and their diameter at breast height (1.3 m, dbh) measured on 290 plots in 162 swidden fallows. Distance from the forest edge related non-linearly and explained 46%, 54%, 63% and 52% of the variation in species richness, stem density, basal area and Simpson's index, respectively. The basal area of secondary forests increased significantly (p < 0.0001) while stem density tended to decrease (0.05 < p < 0.1) with increasing fallow age, whereas species richness and diversity measures remained insensitive. Species richness, stem density, basal area and Shannon-Wiener index were reduced by 28%, 35%, 72% and 23%, respectively while the number of bamboo clumps increased significantly by 45% as the crop-fallow rotation cycle increased from one to three. The occurrence of bamboo had a negative effect on most of the vegetation characteristics analyzed. From forest production and biodiversity conservation viewpoints, it is recommended that the natural regeneration in fallows with a history of previous severe land use intensity should be supplemented with enrichment planting irrespective of its distance from the natural forest. Although the management objectives for secondary forests on swidden fallows are not clearly set, promoting the development of bamboo forests in fallows would be one management option, given its importance in rural livelihood.     

天然混交林中拟赤杨的生长规律

根据拟赤杨自然更新群落样地调查资料,选择平均木进行树干解析,拟合了拟赤杨胸径、树高、单株材积生长方程并绘出其生长曲线．初步揭示了拟赤杨胸径、树高、材积的生长规律,为拟赤杨天然次生林的经营及人工林的营造提供了理论基础．     

沙地樟子松天然林自然落种和土壤种子库的特征

研究了呼伦贝尔沙地3种类型的樟子松天然林内天然母树的自然落种和土壤种子库特征.结果表明:土壤种子库中种子数量的空间分布特征和母树自然落种数量的空间分布规律相同.从树干或林缘向外,随着传播距离的增加,土壤种子库的种子数量和母树自然落种的种子数量均有降低的趋势.从树干或林缘向外4～5m范围内樟子松母树自然落种数量最多,而后随着距离的增加,自然落种数量明显减少.樟子松天然林母树自然落种的传播距离范围可以达到25m,表明在适宜条件下,沙地樟子松天然林通过自然更新,能够迅速扩展林缘,扩大种群.     

城市街道绿地不同配置模式植物群落的抑菌功能

通过对不同配置植物群落的生态效应分析研究,为城市绿地植物的选择、配置、布局等提供有力的依据,并为构建最佳的城市绿地模式进行研究与探讨。在秋冬季节对江苏省淮安市城市街道绿地不同配置模式的植物群落抑菌功能采用自然沉降法测定并计算。结果表明,秋季10月上旬不同植物群落均具有一定的抑菌作用;淮海西路处理2-5（乔木层为大叶榉树Zelkova schneideriana和雪松Cedrus deodara,灌木层为紫荆Cercis chinensis和黄杨Buxus sinica,地被为葱兰Zephyranthes candida）和北京北路处理1?鄄4（乔木层为广玉兰Magnolia grandiflora,灌木层为石楠Photinia serrulata）复层配置植物群落的抑菌效果最佳,抑菌率分别达51.93%和47.10%。合理的植物群落配置的抑菌效果在秋冬季节对改善街道空气质量具有积极意义。图1表7参10     

苏北山丘区典型性次生林下土壤蓄水能力分析

次生林下土壤蓄水能力作为水源林生态系统的重要组成部分,是发挥森林水文生态功能的主体之一。研究采用“每木调查法”,以苏北山丘区现存的赤松林、黑松林、侧柏林、栎类林、杂木林、刺槐林6种典型次生林作为主要对象,通过对林下植被土壤各个层面水文特性的研究,比较分析其林下土壤的蓄水能力。结果表明:6种次生林下土壤蓄水能力范围为280.8 ～451.2 t/hm²,各次生林下土壤的蓄水能力与土壤容重呈负相关,与土壤毛管孔隙度呈正相关,其蓄水能力的大小顺序为:刺槐林>栎类林>杂木林>侧柏林>赤松林>黑松林。