Forest ecosystem properties emerge from interactions of structure and disturbance

Mitchell, J. Christina; Kashian, Daniel M.; Chen, Xiongwen; Cousins, Stella; Flaspohler, David J.; Gruner, Daniel S.; Johnson, Jeremy S.; Surasinghe, Thilina D.; Zambrano, Jenny; Buma, Brian

doi:10.1002/fee.2589

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The girdled plots have compositional and structural resources that the logged plots do not, which may provide the girdled plots with a greater capacity to respond to future stressors and disturbances (i.e., resilience). For example, standing and downed deadwood provide forest structural diversity and structural diversity interacts with disturbance, which can influence forest resilience (Mitchell et al, 2023). The girdled plots also have a greater capacity for biodiversity with more understory species and large deadwood (Franklin et al, 2002; Gilliam, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logging response alters trajectories of reorganization after loss of a foundation tree species

Barker Plotkin,

Orwig,

MacLean

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forest insect outbreaks cause large changes in ecosystem structure, composition, and function. Humans often respond to insect outbreaks by conducting salvage logging, which can amplify the immediate effects, but it is unclear whether logging will result in lasting differences in forest structure and dynamics when compared with forests affected only by insect outbreaks. We used 15 years of data from an experimental removal of Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. (Eastern hemlock), a foundation tree species within eastern North American forests, and contrasted the rate, magnitude, and persistence of response trajectories between girdling (emulating mortality from insect outbreak) and timber harvest treatments. Girdling and logging were equally likely to lead to large changes in forest structure and dynamics, but logging resulted in faster rates of change. Understory light increases and community composition changes were larger and more rapid in the logged plots. Tree seedling and understory vegetation abundance increased more in the girdled plots; this likely occurred because seedlings grew rapidly into the sapling‐ and tree‐size classes after logging and quickly shaded out plants on the forest floor. Downed deadwood pools increased more after logging but standing deadwood pools increased dramatically after girdling. Understory light levels remained elevated for a longer time after girdling. Perhaps because the window of opportunity for understory species to establish was longer in the girdled plots, total species richness increased more in the girdled than logged plots. Despite the potential for greater diversity in the girdled plots, Betula lenta L. (black birch) was the most abundant tree species recruited into the sapling‐ and tree‐size classes in both the girdled and logged plots and is poised to dominate the new forest canopy. The largest difference between the girdling and logging treatments—deadwood structure and quantity—will persist and continue to bolster aboveground carbon storage and structural and habitat diversity in the girdled plots. Human responses to insect outbreaks hasten forest reorganization and remove structural resources that may further alter forest response to ongoing climate stress and future disturbances.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logging response alters trajectories of reorganization after loss of a foundation tree species

Barker Plotkin,

Orwig,

MacLean

et al. 2024

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fire-adapted systems, low-to moderate-intensity fires are within the capacity of a forest system to absorb and recover from, and fires strengthen the capacity of a system to withstand more impactful perturbations without inducing a state change (i.e., ecological resilience; Mitchell et al 2023). In contrast, social resilience is commonly cast as the ability to limit losses associated with disruptions or to recover quickly and fully from them (e.g., disaster recovery; Buikstra et al 2010, Bollettino et al 2017).…”

Section: Different Priorities For Ecological and Social Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keeping up with the landscapes: promoting resilience in dynamic social-ecological systems

Manley,

Long,

Scheller

2024

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Forest managers working in dry forest ecosystems must contend with the costs and benefits of fire, and they are seeking forest management strategies that enhance the resilience of forests and landscapes to future disturbances in a changing climate. An interdisciplinary science team worked with resource managers and stakeholders to assess future forest ecosystem dynamics, given potential climatic changes and management strategies, across a 23,000-ha landscape in the Lake Tahoe basin of California and Nevada in support of the Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership. We projected forest growth and fire dynamics using a landscape change model, upon which the science team layered additional modeling to evaluate changes in wildlife habitat, water, and economics. Managers and stakeholders used the findings of this integrated modeling effort to inform the design of a landscape restoration strategy that balanced risks and benefits based on a robust scientific foundation. The results, published in this Special Feature, suggest that a continuation of status quo management would be less effective at protecting and improving desired outcomes than more active and extensive management approaches. In addition, the types of management activity also affected ecosystem outcomes. Results from across the studies in this special feature suggest that thinning and prescribed fire were complementary, although they resulted in somewhat different effects, and that low-severity use of fire had the greatest array and magnitude of ecosystem benefits. A notable exception was carbon storage, which declined with more active management and prescribed fire in particular. We highlight key findings from this Special Feature and summarize key challenges and some lessons learned in our experience of co-producing science. In short, science-management partnerships require cooperation, patience, and skill, but they are effective in increasing the capacity of land managers to navigate in an environment of rapid change and increasing uncertainty.

show abstract

“…Simultaneously, this observation is connected to the classification method of landscape vulnerability. Currently, research on landscape ecological risk predominantly focuses on river basins and coastlines, leaving a research gap in the context of forest landscapes [62]. Therefore, building upon the landscape risk in the study area, this study compared the risk levels of each forest landscape and classified landscape vulnerability based on expert advice.…”

Section: Analysis Of Forest Landscape Risk Drivers and Suggestions Fo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, it is recommended that the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm maintains and adjusts its existing landscape structure and addresses high-risk areas in alignment with its specific conditions. At the same time, to pay attention to the diversity of forest structure and its spatiotemporal variation characteristics is necessary [62]. The enhancement of the landscape integration pattern should prioritize natural factors.…”

Section: Analysis Of Forest Landscape Risk Drivers and Suggestions Fo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment of Saihanba under the Change in Forest Landscape Pattern

Kang,

Yang,

Qing

et al. 2024

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Examining the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm, this study utilized Landsat remote sensing data from 1987, 1997, 2001, 2013, and 2020 to interpret land use from the Support Vector Machine (SVM) method, and to decipher evolving land use patterns over the last four decades. Grounded in landscape ecology theory, an innovative evaluation index for landscape ecological risk was introduced, leading to the delineation of 382 ecological risk evaluation units. Employing landscape pattern indices and a method of spatial autocorrelation, we analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics and spatial correlation patterns of landscape ecological risk across five distinct periods. Geostatistical approaches were used to explore the driving factors of landscape risk. The results indicate that since 1987, there have been significant changes in land use types, especially in forest landscapes, their proportion increasing from 23.19% to 74.55%. In 1987, the proportion of high-risk areas was 72.30%, but in 2020, high-risk areas had significantly decreased and clustered in specific locations. The landscape ecological risks in each period of the study area showed a positive spatial correlation and tended to gather in space. After comprehensive exploration using a geographic detector, we found that landscape type, temperature, and vegetation coverage are the main risk factors. Among them, landscape type has the greatest impact on the landscape and works together with slope, aspect, and precipitation. In forest farm management, only the adaptation and adjustment of single factors are often paid attention to, while the compound effects of multiple factors are ignored. The results of this study bring important reference value to the operation and development of forest farms.

show abstract

Forest ecosystem properties emerge from interactions of structure and disturbance

Cited by 17 publications

References 66 publications

Logging response alters trajectories of reorganization after loss of a foundation tree species

Logging response alters trajectories of reorganization after loss of a foundation tree species

Keeping up with the landscapes: promoting resilience in dynamic social-ecological systems

Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment of Saihanba under the Change in Forest Landscape Pattern

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About