Beneficial effect of pine thinning in mixed plantations through changes in the understory functional composition

Nunes, Alice; Oliveira, Graça; Cabral, M. Salomé; Branquinho, Cristina; Correia, Otília

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.06.026

Cited by 21 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…There was no significant correlation between thinning intensity and taxonomic diversity. This result was consistent with the results of many previous studies (Ares et al 2010;Nunes et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…Moreno-Gutiérrez (2011) report that the changes of soil conditions and light after thinning intensity potentially influence plant functional traits. Our result that thinning improves functional diversity aligns with previous studies (Ares et al 2010;Nunes et al 2014). It has been proven that functional diversity was the main driver of EMF in a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest (Huang et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Thinning enhances ecosystem multifunctionality via increase of functional diversity in a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest

Huang

Su³

2020

Preprint

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Background: The impacts of thinning on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analyzed nine variables related to four ecosystem functions (nutrient cycling, soil carbon stocks, decomposition, and wood production) under five thinning intensities. We included a control group to evaluate the shift in EMF of a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest. We also assessed the relationship between above- and belowground biodiversity and EMF under these different thinning intensities. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on EMF with the structural equation model (SEM). Results: We found that EMF tended to increase with thinning intensity, and that thinning significantly improved EMF except the low intensity of thinning. Individual ecosystem functions (EFs) all had a significant positive correlation with thinning intensity. Different EFs showed different patterns with the increase of thinning intensity: the nutrient cycling and the soil carbon stock of thinning three times and five times were significantly greater than other thinning intensities and control group; decomposition correlated directly to the increase of thinning intensity; the wood production of the fourth thinning was greatest. Thinning intensity had a significant positive correlation with functional diversity and soil moisture. Both functional diversity and soil moisture had a significant positive correlation with EMF, but soil fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) had a significant negative correlation with EMF. Based on SEM, we found that thinning improved EMF mainly by increasing functional diversity. Conclusion: Our study both demonstrates that thinning is a good management technique from an EMF perspective, and provides an input to improve management of a P. yunnanensis natural secondary forest.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Thinning enhances ecosystem multifunctionality via increase of functional diversity in a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest

Huang

Su³

2020

Preprint

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“…Used for restoration, such species may become dominant (or favour the dominance of undesired species) and outcompete native species (e.g. Nunes et al, 2014), as reported in some of the surveyed projects. Additionally, they may have a negative impact in biotic fluxes and interactions with local flora and fauna (Alyokhin, 2011), thus hindering natural colonization and succession, which should be promoted and capitalized as much as possible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Nunes

Oliveira

Mexia

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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Restoration efforts in the Mediterranean Basin have been changing from a silvicultural to an ecological restoration approach. Yet, to what extent the projects are guided by ecological restoration principles remains largely unknown. To analyse this issue, we built an on-line survey addressed to restoration practitioners. We analysed 36 restoration projects, mostly from drylands (86%). The projects used mainly soil from local sources. The need to comply with legislation was more important as a restoration motive for European Union (EU) than for non-EU countries, while public opinion and health had a greater importance in the latter. Non-EU countries relied more on non-native plant species than EU countries, thus deviating from ecological restoration guidelines. Nursery-grown plants used were mostly of local or regional provenance, whilst seeds were mostly of national provenance. Unexpected restoration results (e.g. inadequate biodiversity) were reported for 50% of the projects and restoration success was never evaluated in 22%. Long term evaluation (>6years) was only performed in 31% of cases, and based primarily on plant diversity and cover. The use of non-native species and species of exogenous provenances may: i) entail the loss of local genetic and functional trait diversity, critical to cope with drought, particularly under the predicted climate change scenarios, and ii) lead to unexpected competition with native species and/or negatively impact local biotic interactions. Absent or inappropriate monitoring may prevent the understanding of restoration trajectories, precluding adaptive management strategies, often crucial to create functional ecosystems able to provide ecosystem services. The overview of ecological restoration projects in the Mediterranean Basin revealed high variability among practices and highlighted the need for improved scientific assistance and information exchange, greater use of native species of local provenance, and more long-term monitoring and evaluation, including functional and ecosystem services' indicators, to improve and spread the practice of ecological restoration.

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“…20 First thinning has a crucial role in supporting stand growth and stability, and especially in mitigating wildfi re risk in fi re-prone forests, such as Mediterranean pine stands. [21][22][23] Red pine stands are among the species most aff ected by wildfi res in Europe and wildfi re prevention also explains the high thinning intensity, which is further justifi ed by the wish to reduce competition for the scarce water resource in a typically dry habitat. 24,25 If the goal of heavy thinning is reducing fuel loads, then whole-tree harvesting is probably the best solution when implementing the thinning prescription.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the quantity and quality of biomass obtained from the thinning of Turkish red pine stands

Eker

Spinelli

Gürlevık

2017

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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Red pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) is the most common tree species in Turkey, where it covers almost 6 million hectares. The fi rst thinning of red pine stands is a fundamental tending measure that may yield between 4 and 12 dry tons of biomass per hectare. While this is not a very large amount per se, it is larger than obtained from the recovery of logging residues from fi nal felling operations, which have represented the main subject of previous studies. What is more, valorization of the non-commercial biomass component can boost work productivity and increase owner revenues, with strong benefi ts on the fi nancial sustainability of an operation that normally incurs substantial cost and tends to be neglected. Therefore, increased use of biomass can support proper tending of young stands and a general improvement of their quality and future value. The study also indicates that small-tree size favors whole-tree harvesting, even when performed with animal or manual power, as customary in Turkey and in most developing economies. Whole-tree chipping is probably the best option in stands growing on poor yield sites, whereas multi-product harvesting is advisable on good yield sites. This study addresses specifi cally Turkish red pine, but it frames a general paradigm that applies to most forest stands and countries, and as such it can be generalized to a great extent.

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Beneficial effect of pine thinning in mixed plantations through changes in the understory functional composition

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

Thinning enhances ecosystem multifunctionality via increase of functional diversity in a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest

Thinning enhances ecosystem multifunctionality via increase of functional diversity in a Pinus yunnanensis natural secondary forest

Ecological restoration across the Mediterranean Basin as viewed by practitioners

Determining the quantity and quality of biomass obtained from the thinning of Turkish red pine stands

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