Abstract:In this study are presented chronologies of earlywood (EW), latewood (LW) and tree-ring widths (RW) of a Pinus halepensis (P. halepensis) and Pinus pinea (P. pinea) natural forest stand growing in western Albania. Bootstrapped correlations and pointer year analysis were combined in a dendroclimatological study to evaluate climate-growth relationships in both pine species as well as to assess the spatial outreach of our chronologies evaluating them with those of the same species from other Mediterranean countries. We found that both species responded positively to precipitation and Indexed Percentage Average Precipitation (%AvP) in late summer-early autumn, particularly the LW, whereas summer temperatures constrained the growth of P. halepensis tree-ring features. Current January temperature and Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) showed positive relationship with P. pinea LW and RW. The same association was observed when considering PET in spring and P. halepensis LW and RW. Pointer year analysis showed that inhibitory climatic drivers of radial growth for both species were low precipitation from previous winter and current summer, associated with low temperatures during autumn. Our P. halepensis chronology showed a wider spatial outreach than that of P. pinea when compared to those from other Mediterranean countries. We conclude that current January temperatures and September precipitation are very important for P. pinea growth influencing both EW and LW growth whereas P. halepensis is mostly affected by the summer-early autumn climate conditions.

Background: Biomass assessment of young forest stands is important because of their role in the carbon cycling. The aim of this study was to develop biomass equations for young broadleaved species growing in natural conditions in Albania. Methods: Five forest stands were investigated using circular sample plots. Diameter at breast height (DBH) and height (H) from 58 sampled trees ranging in age from 4 to 34 years old of Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) and manna ash (Fraxinus ornus L.) were measured in situ. Logarithmic regression equations were used and tested for their performance to estimate aboveground and tree-components biomass for each species using DBH, H and their combination DBH2 x H as predictors. Results: We found that DBH was a reliable predictor for estimation of aboveground and components biomass for young trees but the inclusion of height in biomass allometry did not improve the biomass estimation. We observed differences in scale (β0) and exponent (β1) coefficients of biomass models, not only between broadleaved species, but also among tree-components within species. Both coefficients were strongly species-specific and their values reflect differences in biomass stocking rate due to different growth strategies of each species in early development phases. Conclusions: Allometric equations to estimate aboveground and tree-component biomass appeared to be species-specific, meaning that such models are applicable for species growing at sites with similar ecological conditions. From the tree variables used, DBH was the most reliable predictor of aboveground and individual components biomass, whereas height proved to be a promising predictor for stand biomass. These allometric equations developed for young trees will improve the accuracy of current estimates of forest carbon stock in Albania.

The study objective was the determination of allometric relationships to estimate aboveground biomass in young Q. cerris stands growing in various sites in Albania. The equations described here are developed for Q. cerris forest stands managed as coppice. The total aboveground biomass of sampled trees varied from 10.67 to 19.71 kg with a stem diameter at 1.3 m (DBH) from 7.65 to 9.7 cm, and height from 5.26 to 7.6 m. Stem biomass comprised, on average, 69.6 %, while branch biomass was 24.3 %, and leaf biomass,6% on the total aboveground biomass of the sampled oak trees. Total aboveground biomass was predicted with the highest accuracy from linear and non-linear regression equations. Total aboveground biomass and the biomass of tree compartments were predicted with a notable accuracy from DBH where the allometric model efficiency exceeded 93%. Biomass expansion factors (BEFs) showed a stronger dependency on diameter at breast height and a weaker relationship with age. The age-dependence relationship found in our study was closely related to site productivity. The variability in aboveground biomass among sampled sites indicated that local site conditions cause this difference. These new equations for Q.cerris might be applicable in the framework of the Albanian National Forest Inventory for estimation of carbon accounting from forest ecosystems and will contribute to the sustainable management of oak forests.

It is well-known that tree growth at the upper treeline is controlled by low temperatures and limited seasonal growth. The study’s objective was to investigate the climate warming effects on Bosnian pine (BP; Pinus heldreichii Christ.) growth during the 20th century. We hypothesized that, like all the other drought-stressed conifers growing on tree-line locations, BP responds significantly to climate factors that control their growth. Three natural forest stands of BP were selected in Prevalla, Decan and Koritnik. The cores were taken from 98 dominant and co-dominant BP trees at breast height with no sign of human interference. The tree-ring widths were measured at 0.001 mm precision, with a LINTAB 6 (RINNTECH, Heidelberg) system and TSAP-Win Scientific software. A set of three BP tree-ring width chronologies were developed by trees spread on a typical mountain slope at elevations ranging from 1815 to 1945 m above sea level. The tree-ring chronologies from three sites showed significant correlation and this agreement decreased with the distance between sites. The length of the master chronologies varies among sites ranging from 176 years (Koritnik) to 541 years (Decani). The tree growth was controlled by a common climatic signal (local temperatures) and drought during midsummer across the investigated sites. These results confirm the assumption that tree growth at tree-line sites is controlled by low temperatures and drought conditions during the midsummer.

A key question in the development theory is why the linkage between the infrastructure and development is not strong in developing countries? This leads to the next logical question, what is the impact of infrastructure development on the growth of economy, and how we measure it. The importance of the linkage between the infrastructure and development is addressed quite extensively in the international literature. Today, many quantitative and qualitative assessments are used at length to analyze and assess the impacts of programs and projects are having on the sector development, economic and social distribution, social change, fiscal balance, environmental change, quality of public services and overall quality of life. There are serious issues at the project level, as well as at the sectorial and national level relating to design, implementation, and capacity building that relates to the achievements of the development objectives and their sustainability. How do we link the objectives with expected outcomes, and how the target values set in the programs and projects would improve those at sectorial or regional levels? The international organizations try to capture these linkages through their evaluation of programs and projects they finance in the developing countries, based on a standard methodology and criteria. The hypothesis of this paper is: "The impact of the programs and projects on the sector strategic objectives is assured if the linkage between the infrastructure and development objectives at the project and sectoral levels is strong at all stages of the project cycle, sector policies are built in the project, and the sector reforms continues steadily."