Gap recruitment and partitioning in an old-growth beech forest of the Dinaric Mountains: Influences of light regime, herb competition and browsing

Diaci, Jurij; Adamič, Tomaž; Rozman, Andrej

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.010

Cited by 43 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Gaps are also important in maintaining plant species diversity (Poulson & Platt 1989, Busing & White 1997, Brokaw & Busing 2000, Degen et al 2005. The size, shape, age and temporal changes of gaps influence the regeneration patterns of tree species, due to the different ecological traits of the particular tree species and to the effects on the herbaceous layer (e.g., Collins et al 1985, Canham 1989, Poulson & Platt 1989, Whitmore 1989, Denslow & Spies 1990, Peterken 1996, Diaci 2002, Gálhidy et al 2006, Diaci et al 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand dynamics and natural regeneration in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) plantations after traditional rotation age

Bottalico¹,

Travaglini²,

Fiorentini³

et al. 2014

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionIn the last decades forest management has shifted the focus from wood production to the provision of multiple environmental services and biodiversity conservation. Following this trend the conversion of forest plantations into naturally regenerating and more diverse and complex systems has become one of the aims of the sustainable forest management, often trying to revert a process which had instead transformed vast areas of natural forests into plantations across Europe since the XIX century (Johann 2006, Bolte et al. 2007.Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) has frequently received attention from foresters and researchers, partly because there has been a long tradition of forest management in central and southeast Europe in areas where the natural share of fir is significant (e.g., Kramer 1992, Brändli 1996, but mainly because of fir's economic, environmental and social significance. Signs of decline in fir presence have also been investigated (e.g., Elling et al. 2009, Ficko et al. 2011). Recently, Volarik & Hedl (2013 suggested that periods of both decline and expansion have underpinned silver fir dynamics. While natural mixed beech-fir forests were largely converted to spruce plantations in central European mountains and in many Alpine areas (Johann 2007, Volarik & Hedl 2013, in the Apennine Mountains (Italy) fir -naturally present in beech dominated mixed hardwood forests -was generally disfavoured by forest exploitation and has become relatively rare (Nocentini 2009). Today silver fir is an important species of five Natura 2000 habitats in the Apennines, three being priority habitats (*): 9130: Asperulo-Fagetum beech forests; 9210*: Apennine beech forests with Taxus and Ilex; 9220*: Apennine beech forests with Abies alba and beech forests with Abies nebrodensis; 9410: Acidophilous Picea forests of the montane to alpine levels (Vaccinio-Piceetea); 9510*: Southern Apennine Abies alba.Fir had often been preserved in small areas around monasteries, such as Vallombrosa and Camaldoli (Tuscan Apennines) where fir cultivation has been documented at least from the XVI century (Senni 1955, Gabbrielli 2003. Since late XVIII century fir planting started in various forests in the Tuscan Apennines, and this trend continued until the middle of the XX century. Most fir plantations are on State property and until the 1970s they were managed following the traditional model based on area regulation methods with clear cutting and 100 year rotation age (Vazzano et al. 2011.In the 1970s and 1980s pure fir stands in the Apennines started showing symptoms which recalled fir decline and dieback observed in central Europe (Larsen 1986, Kandler & Innes 1995, raising some concern about the future of this species. Together with these symptoms, Heterobasidion annosum (later identified as H. abietinum -Niemela & Korhonen 1998) also caused some damage, consisting mainly in the death of individual or small groups of trees (Farina et al. 1990, Barzanti & Capretti 1996, Capretti 1998.At the end ...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand dynamics and natural regeneration in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) plantations after traditional rotation age

Bottalico¹,

Travaglini²,

Fiorentini³

et al. 2014

iForest

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“…The lowest amount of root competition induced from the edge trees and a considerable high amount of light availability can be found in the gap center, which suggests good regeneration performance around the gap center. However, in the gap center other factors such as herbaceous competition may also be high [7,56]. This may explain the offset between maximum height and regeneration patch center found in our study suggesting the rejection of our fourth hypothesis.…”

Section: Spatial Distribution Patterns Of Regeneration Heightmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…The minimum regeneration heights (mean and in total) were found at the outer edges of the regeneration patches, which may confirm the high competition pressure exerted by the neighboring mature trees. This results in the highest regeneration heights of beech to be found in areas with intermediate light levels, where beech is most competitive [7,57].…”

Section: Spatial Distribution Patterns Of Regeneration Heightmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Canopy gaps are not static, but change their size and shape over time as they progressively close through horizontal ingrowth of gap-neighboring trees or vertical ingrowth of understory juvenile trees emerging in the gap [4,5,7,8]. Especially small gaps are closed within a few years, while larger gaps often expand subsequently due to the death of neighboring trees [4,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analyzing Spatial Distribution Patterns of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Regeneration in Dependence of Canopy Openings

Stiers

Willim

Seidel

et al. 2019

Forests

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The use of natural regeneration techniques is one of the key elements of modern (close-to-nature) forestry. In natural forests, changes in canopy cover, such as the emergence and successive re-closure of canopy gaps are particularly important, as they influence the light availability on the forest floor. Creating canopy gaps of different size is a promising silvicultural tool allowing the regulation of the light availability in managed forests in order to control regeneration composition and development. In this study, we used terrestrial laser scanning data to investigate the relationship between canopy-gap dimensions and emerging natural regeneration along a gradient of management in forests dominated by European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). We analyzed the spatial distribution and height of regeneration patches in dependence of gap characteristics. Mean regeneration height decreases progressively from the gap polygon over a transition zone towards the area under the canopy, while the tallest regeneration plants were placed in positions midway between center and gap edge, and not directly in the gap center as we initially assumed. The centers of regeneration patches were not displaced when compared to the associated canopy gap centers, as has been reported in other studies conducted on the northern hemisphere for various tree species. The observed patterns did not depend on management strategies, indicating that regeneration responded equally to naturally created gaps and gaps that were caused by logging. We conclude that establishment and development of shade-tolerant European beech regeneration in forest stands is driven by gap openings, but not necessarily direct radiation. If at all, pronounced direct radiation mainly occurs at the northern edge of large gaps. Neither regeneration patch center, nor regeneration tree height pointed in that direction. Our study suggests that in the investigated beech-dominated forests the effect of increased light availability at the northern edge of a gap is overruled by other factors increasing towards the gap edge, such as increased belowground competition of the overstory trees.

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“…The mean and variance of soil temperature were positively linked to light levels that were transmitted after canopy closure, which is mostly a function of canopy density. A dense forest canopy is known to stabilize air and soil temperature, D r a f t and soil moisture (Morecroft et al, 1998), which could benefit spring ephemerals (Diaci et al, 2012).…”

Section: Other Abiotic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late canopy closure delays senescence and promotes growth of the spring ephemeral wild leek (Allium tricoccum)

Dion

Bussières

Lapointe

2017

Botany

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Gap recruitment and partitioning in an old-growth beech forest of the Dinaric Mountains: Influences of light regime, herb competition and browsing

Cited by 43 publications

References 30 publications

Stand dynamics and natural regeneration in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) plantations after traditional rotation age

Stand dynamics and natural regeneration in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) plantations after traditional rotation age

Analyzing Spatial Distribution Patterns of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Regeneration in Dependence of Canopy Openings

Late canopy closure delays senescence and promotes growth of the spring ephemeral wild leek (Allium tricoccum)

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