Wind disturbances shape old Norway spruce-dominated forest in Bulgaria

Correct knowledge of disturbance ecology is essential for understanding the characteristic behavior of forest ecosystems and for guiding appropriate management strategies. However, the role of natural disturbances in shaping European mountain forest ecosystems has not been adequately studied, possibly because of the perception that the development of most European forests is primarily shaped by human influences and/or fine-scale gap-phase dynamics.In the present study, we investigate the long-term disturbance history of old protected forest dominated by Norway spruce in the Parangalitsa Reserve, Bulgaria. We used aerial photo interpretation and dendroecological methods to reconstruct the history of wind, insect, and fire disturbances across a topographically complex landscape. Over the past 150 years wind has been the most important disturbance agent in this ecosystem and at least 18% of the forested area shows evidence of high-severity blowdowns. Windthrow patches ranged in size from <1 ha to >10 ha (minimum 0.11 ha, mean 0.16 ha, maximum 10 ha). Although small disturbances were much more frequent, few larger blowdowns accounted for most of the disturbed area. Pure coniferous and single-cohort coniferous forest patches were more affected by blowdowns than mixed coniferous-deciduous and multi-cohort coniferous forest patches. Although bark beetle (Ips typhographus) populations were large enough to cause mortality of some live trees, the populations did not grow to epidemic proportions during recent decades. Fire disturbance was of limited importance in the last 200 years and only two patches (4% of the study area) showed evidence of fire.The present research indicates that wind disturbances have been characteristic of these ecosystems at least over the past decades to centuries. Thus, blowdowns appear integral to the normal function and structure of the Picea-dominated mountain forests in the region and such events, in and of themselves, do not represent unhealthy forest conditions or environmental emergencies. Management strategies that aim to maintain these ecosystems within a natural range of variation should incorporate wind disturbances into the management strategy. The frequency and magnitude of future wind disturbances may be considered within the historical framework described in the current study to assess potential effects of climate change on altered disturbance regimes.     

Tree cavities in forests - The broad distribution pattern of a keystone structure for biodiversity

We explored the main factors affecting the global distribution of tree cavities - a habitat component of mostly biotic origin that is crucial for many animal species. We considered the influence of eight environmental variables (ranging from the single-tree to the biogeographic-region scale) on cavity density in a meta-analysis of 103 published studies. The global median density of cavities was 16 ha⁻¹, with densities highest in Australasia and lowest in the Palaearctic region. Two major factors influencing density were identified: cavity density was positively related to the amount of precipitation, and was higher in natural than in managed forests. These effects suggest that the distribution of tree cavities largely reflects the incidence of fungal heart-rot in trees, and that forest management, by affecting wood decay processes, can have a broad-scale impact on tree microhabitat availability. Although air temperature, forest composition and wood hardness had suggestive univariate effects, neither these variables nor biogeographic region explained any additional variation in multifactor models. In regions where woodpeckers are present there was an upper limit to the density of woodpecker-excavated cavities (approximately 10-20 cavities ha⁻¹) that was considerably lower than the highest total cavity densities encountered (up to 140 ha⁻¹). This indicates that primary cavity-nesters are particularly important keystone species in cavity-poor forests where wood decay processes are suppressed either climatically or by forest management.     

Importance of hedgerows as habitat corridors for forest plants in agricultural landscapes

Hedgerows have been proposed as habitat and conservation corridor for forest plant species, but their importance for the survival of these species is still not clear. The objective of our study was to examine the frequency of occurrence of forest species and total forest species richness in different parts of the hedgerows, and to relate these patterns of occurrence to the species’ habitat requirements and life history traits. We surveyed in total 130 forest-hedgerow transects in North-western Germany, including three age classes.About 77% of all forest plant species (including some endangered taxa) occurring in the neighbouring forests were also found in the adjacent hedgerows. In all age classes, there was a negative relationship between distance from the forest-hedgerow ecotone and the number of species. Ancient hedgerows were not significantly more species-rich than more recent ones. Within 100 m distance from the forest edge, forest species richness increased with an increasing number of species in the nearby forest and with an increasing cover of the tree canopy as well as a decreasing cover of the shrub layer. Species with high frequency had comparatively high Ellenberg indicator values for light, and were mostly associated with anemochorous and epizoochorous seed dispersal.The frequency of occurrence in hedgerows of species with common attributes was partly in agreement, partly in disagreement with the results obtained in previous studies. We conclude that patterns are difficult to generalize, probably due to a strong regional variation in the pool of forest species and in the specific environments of both forests and hedgerows.     

Linking past land use, recent disturbance, and dispersal mechanism to forest composition

Many areas in north-eastern North America were historically cleared for agriculture and subsequently abandoned. The resulting woodlots are exposed to varying degrees of recent disturbance. This paper examines the contributions of land use history and recent disturbance on the species richness and community composition of wooded areas in an agricultural landscape. Woodlots were categorized according to land clearance history, past grazing, and recent disturbance, such as the presence of roads or selective cutting. Vegetation surveys resulted in the identification of 250 herbaceous plant species, 44 of which were classified as exotic. While no influence of recent disturbance on community composition was detected, past land use influenced species richness for all plant groups examined. General linear models indicated that herbaceous, native, and forest species richness was highest in historically partially cleared sites; while exotic and invasive species richness was greatest in historically cleared sites. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMS) ordination was used to identify associations between community assemblage, land use history, and dispersal mechanism. The two axes of the NMS ordination explained 79.2% of the variation in the data, and indicated that woodlots completely cleared in the past were associated with wind dispersed species indicative of disturbed habitats. In contrast, historically uncleared sites contained short-distance dispersed species indicative of rich woods. Although no effects of recent disturbance were detected, the long lived impacts of past land use and the increase of exotic and invasive species in historically cleared indicate that undisturbed woodlots should be considered of highest conservation importance.     

近30年三北防护林工程区中阳县土壤侵蚀变化分析

基于遥感和GIS,应用修正的通用土壤流失方程(RUSLE)对比分析中阳县实施三北防护林工程后1978年、1992年和2006年的土壤侵蚀量变化,掌握三北防护林工程建设对水土流失治理的影响,为进一步制定相应的治理措施提供科学依据。结果表明,中阳县土壤侵蚀面积减少,比工程建设初期减少了305.56km2,土壤侵蚀强度降低,从建设初期的极强烈侵蚀成为中度侵蚀。从1978-1992年,中阳县发生轻度以上土壤侵蚀面积减少了145.52km2,平均土壤侵蚀模数降低了1 619.04t.km-2.a-1,尽管土壤侵蚀强度仍然为极强烈,但是整体来说土壤侵蚀治理初步呈现好转。从1992-2006年,中阳县发生轻度以上土壤侵蚀面积减少了160.01km2,平均土壤侵蚀模数降低了5 962.57t.km-2.a-1,土壤侵蚀强度从极强烈降低到中度,土壤侵蚀面积中有588.60km2侵蚀强度降低,占侵蚀面积的75.21%,土壤侵蚀呈现逆转趋势。土壤侵蚀强度降低的土地,主要是由于三北防护林工程实施以来,荒山造林、退耕还林和加强林地管护,以及农田基本建设工程改造坡耕地成为梯田。     

发展冷水滩区森林休闲旅游的思考

以永州冷水滩区为研究对象,根据其地理位置和资源环境等条件,主要从发展森林休闲旅游的有利条件、面临问题和对策建议三大方面进行了详细论证,从而进一步促进森林休闲旅游更快向前发展。     

林木自毒作用研究进展

通过深入分析国内外学者关于自毒作用的研究,归纳总结了自毒物质的种类、合成、释放、作用特点及自毒作用的验证方法,使人们更加深刻地认识自毒作用,为解决连栽地力衰退问题提供可靠的理论依据,实现林业的可持续发展。     

武安国家森林公园外来入侵植物调查

经调查及整理分析文献资料,初步认定武安国家森林公园外来入侵植物的种类有14种,分属于9科13属,禾本科种类最多,有4种,其中欧洲入侵植物占主要份额。并对入侵植物的原产地、入侵途径、危害及防治对策进行了讨论。     

森林生态效益及其保护措施探析

从介绍森林生态系统特点出发,论述了森林生态效益,并详细阐述了森林生态系统保护及恢复措施。     

河南省实施森林碳汇项目的潜力分析

根据河南林业生态省建设规划目标和森林蓄积量扩展法,计算出河南省2012年森林碳汇总量将达到42235．19万t,与2006年底的碳汇量15721．07万t相比,碳汇的增加潜力为26514．12万t,2006年底森林全部碳汇量的168．65％。巨大的碳汇量潜力为河南省实施森林碳汇项目提供了坚实的基础。