Summary 1.This article reviews the application of some summary statistics from current theory of spatial point processes for extracting information from spatial patterns of plants. Theoretical measures and issues connected with their estimation are described. Results are illustrated in the context of specific ecological questions about spatial patterns of trees in two forests. 2. The pair correlation function, related to Ripley's K function, provides a formal measure of the density of neighbouring plants and makes precise the general notion of a 'plant's-eye' view of a community. The pair correlation function can also be used to describe spatial relationships of neighbouring plants with different qualitative properties, such as species identity and size class. 3. The mark correlation function can be used to describe the spatial relationships of quantitative measures (e.g. biomass). We discuss two types of correlation function for quantitative marks. Applying these functions to the distribution of biomass in a temperate forest, it is shown that the spatial pattern of biomass is uncoupled from the spatial pattern of plant locations. 4. The inhomogeneous pair correlation function enables first-order heterogeneity in the environment to be removed from second-order spatial statistics. We illustrate this for a tree species in a forest of high topographic heterogeneity and show that spatial aggregation remains after allowing for spatial variation in density. An alternative method, the master function, takes a weighted average of homogeneous pair correlation functions computed in subareas; when applied to the same data and compared with the former method, the spatial aggregations are smaller in size. 5. Synthesis. These spatial statistics, especially those derived from pair densities, will help ecologists to extract important ecological information from intricate spatially correlated plants in populations and communities.

Question: We were interested if and how variation in frequency and/or size of disturbances affect the dynamics of a montane old-growth forest in Central Europe. Location: The forest, co-dominated by Fagus sylvatica, Picea abies and Abies alba, is located in Lower Austria and represents one of the few sizable virgin forests in Central Europe. Methods: We extracted cores from 100 trees using systematic grid sampling (grid cell size 10 m × 10 m) on each of four 1-ha plots distributed across the old-growth remnant of 300 ha. We inferred disturbance events from rapid early growth and release events. For defining release criteria, we applied the boundary line method. We investigated the spatial structure of current age and gap distributions and past disturbance events in grid cells, using a pair density statistic. Results: The disturbance histories indicate decades with peaks and also extended periods without disturbance. Some peaks occurred synchronously at three of the four plots (1910s, 1930s, 1960s and 1980s). Peaks and gaps in the disturbance chronologies widely agreed with peaks and gaps in the age distributions. Most disturbance events during single decades showed a random spatial distribution. Conclusions: There is considerable variation in disturbance frequency and/or severity over time. Most disturbance events will rather thin the stand than clear larger areas at once. Following scattered disturbance two pathways occur: (1) gap expansion leading to creation of larger gaps, and (2) gap closure by lateral encroachment or by subcanopy trees growing into the canopy.

In the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia, native forest and forest biodiversity is almost confined to sacred groves associated with churches. Local communities rely on these 'church forests' for essential ecosystem services including shade and fresh water but little is known about their region-wide distribution and conservation value. We (1) performed the first large-scale spatially-explicit assessment of church forests, combining remote-sensing and field data, to assess the number of forests, their size, shape, isolation and woody plant species composition, (2) determined their plant communities and related these to environmental variables and potential natural vegetation, (3) identified the main challenges to biodiversity conservation in view of plant population dynamics and anthropogenic disturbances, and (4) present guidelines for management and policy. The 394 forests identified in satellite images were on average ~2 ha in size and generally separated by ~2 km from the nearest neighboring forest. Shape complexity, not size, decreased from the northern to the central highlands. Overall, 148 indigenous tree, shrub and liana species were recorded across the 78 surveyed forests. Patch α-diversity increased with mean annual precipitation, but typically only 25 woody species occurred per patch. The combined results showed that >50% of tree species present in tropical northeast Africa were still present in the 78 studied church forests, even though individual forests were small and relatively species-poor. Tree species composition of church forests varied with elevation and precipitation, and resembled the potential natural vegetation. With a wide distribution over the landscape, these church forests have high conservation value. However, long-term conservation of biodiversity of individual patches and evolutionary potential of species may be threatened by isolation, small sizes of tree species populations and disturbance, especially when considering climate change. Forest management interventions are essential and should be supported by environmental education and other forms of public engagement.

Szwagrzyk, J. 2004. Spatio-temporal development of forests Á/ current trends in field methods and models. Á/ Oikos 107: 3 Á/15.We present a critical review of current trends in research of spatio-temporal development of forests. The paper addresses (1) field methods for the development of spatially-explicit models of forest dynamics and their integration in models of forest dynamics, (2) strengths and limitations of traditional patch models versus spatiallyexplicit, individual-based models, and (3) the potential for moment-based methods in the analysis of forest dynamics. These topics are discussed with reference to their potential for solving open questions in the studies of forest dynamics. The study of spatio-temporal processes provides a link between pattern and process in plant communities, and plays a crucial role in understanding ecosystem dynamics. In the last decade, the development of spatially-explicit, individual-based models shifted the focus of forest dynamics modelling from the dynamics of discrete patches to the interactions among individual organisms, thus encapsulating the theory of ''neighbourhood'' dynamics. In turn, the stochastic properties and the complexity of spatially-explicit, individual-based models gave rise to the development of a new suite of so-called moment-based models. These new models describe the dynamics of individuals and of pairs of individuals in terms of their densities, thus directly capturing second-order information on spatial structure. So far, this approach has not been applied to forests; we indicate extensions needed for such applications. Moment-based models may be an important complement to spatially explicit individual-based models in developing a general spatial theory of forest dynamics. However, both kinds of models currently focus on fine scales, whereas a critical issue in forest dynamics is to understand the interaction of fine-scale processes with coarser-scale disturbances. To obtain a more complete picture of forest dynamics, the relevant links and interactions between fine-, intermediate-, and coarse-scale processes ought to be identified. Intensive links between modelling work and field studies designed across different scales are a promising means to create a new perspective on forest dynamics.

To assess the impact of a dense understory of the bamboo Yushania microphylla Munro on tree regeneration in monospecific Abies densa Griff. stands of the central Bhutan Himalayas, the age-class distribution of fir regeneration, the microsite preferences, and height growth as well as the relationship between height of the bamboo, gap fraction, and tree seedling density were studied. Seedling densities were much lower on sites with bamboo. Recruitment was more or less continuous, and there was no indication of overall synchronized single-cohort regeneration in bamboo plots. On sites with bamboo understory, the light regime at the forest floor is strongly influenced by the height of the bamboo. A large portion of the variance of tree seedling density could be explained by the height of the bamboo. The mortality of fir seedlings is considerably reduced at elevated microsites. Fir establishment on the forest floor is restricted to sites where bamboo density is low and light levels are higher. On sites with dense, unbrowsed bamboo, light levels are too low for long-term survival of fir seedlings, resulting in a lack of suppressed regeneration with minimal height growth. Because of the absence of this fraction, the average height increment of fir seedlings is higher on sites with bamboo.Résumé : Dans le but d'évaluer l'impact d'un sous-étage dense du bambou Yushania microphylla Munro sur la régénération des arbres, dans les peuplements monospécifiques d'Abies densa Griff. de l'Himalaya du Bhûtân central, les auteurs ont examiné la distribution des classes d'âge de la régénération en sapin, les microsites préférés et la croissance en hauteur, ainsi que la relation entre la hauteur du bambou, la proportion d'ouvertures et la densité des semis d'arbres. La densité des semis était beaucoup plus faible dans les sites avec bambou. Le recrutement, lui, était plus ou moins continu et il n'y avait pas d'indication d'une régénération synchronisée sous forme d'une cohorte unique dans les parcelles de bambou. Dans les sites avec sous-étage de bambou, le régime de lumière sur le parterre de la forêt est fortement influencé par la hauteur du bambou. Une grande proportion de la variance de la densité des semis des arbres peut être expliquée par la hauteur du bambou. La mortalité des semis de sapin est réduite considérablement sur les microsites surélevés. L'établissement du sapin sur le parterre de la forêt est limité aux sites où la densité du bambou est faible et les niveaux de lumière élevés. Sur les sites avec une couverture dense et non broutée du bambou, la lumière est trop faible pour permettre une survie à long terme des semis du sapin et aboutit au manque d'une régénération supprimée dotée d'une croissance en hauteur minimale. En l'absence de cette composante, l'accroissement moyen en hauteur des semis de sapin est plus élevé sur les sites avec le bambou.[Traduit par la Rédaction] Gratzer et al. 1527