The value of long-term history of small and fragmented old-growth forests for restoration ecology

Finsinger, Walter; Cagliero, Eleonora; Morresi, Donato; Paradis, Laure; Čurović, Milić; Garbarino, Matteo; Marchi, Niccolò; Meloni, Fabio; Spalević, Velibor; Lingua, Emanuele; Motta, Renzo

doi:10.22498/pages.30.1.8

Cited by 3 publications

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“…According to paleo-ecological data, during the middle ages, the land around the Biogradska forest was used for cereal crop cultivation and cattle herding, and later local, higher severity catchment fires occurred (Cagliero et al, 2022). This evidence supports the notion that historical land-use pressure reduced the extent of old-growth forests, and some sporadic anthropogenic disturbances could have affected all the European forest stands (Finsinger et al, 2022). On the other hand, our reference areas have developed naturally and have experienced only small-scale disturbances typical of old-growth and late seral stages of this forest type at least for the last three to four centuries (Nagel and Svoboda, 2008;Bottero et al, 2011;Motta et al, 2011).…”

Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 60%

Monastic silviculture legacies and current old-growthness of silver fir (Abies alba) forests in the northern Apennines (Italy)

Motta,

Garbarino,

Berretti

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Species-rich mixed silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) forests dominated in the northern Apennines, but climate and, mainly, anthropogenic land use provoked a sharp silver fir decline approximately 5000 years bp. The conservation of the silver fir in this region was mainly due to the establishment of monastic orders that preserved and even planted silver fir for its spiritual and economic value. In 1993, the best silver fir stands were included in the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi (FCNP), Monte Falterona e Campigna, and have been submitted to low-intensive management or strict protection regardless of past land use and cultural history. In this study, we have (1) analyzed the current structure of three silver fir forests that have had different ownership histories and (2) compared the structure of the three Italian forests among them and with two old-growth forests from the Dinaric Alps as a reference of naturalness. The results show that the current structures of the three Italian forests are very different among them and are strictly related to past land use and, mainly, to monastic legacies. Even if the Italian forests have experienced decades of low-intensity management or strict protection, they are currently structurally very different from Dinaric old-growth forests. Developing an old-growth structure in these forests can be very slow and, in some ways, unpredictable. The results also highlight the importance of recognizing protected areas as cultural landscapes that host an important biocultural diversity. The current risk is that by applying almost exclusive biodiversity-centered management and setting difficult or impossible-to-achieve biodiversity goals, total diversity will decrease, and biocultural diversity, the greatest richness of most European parks, will be lost.

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Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 60%

Monastic silviculture legacies and current old-growthness of silver fir (Abies alba) forests in the northern Apennines (Italy)

Motta,

Garbarino,

Berretti

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Changes in fire activity and biodiversity in a Northeast Brazilian Cerrado over the last 800 years

2022

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Old-growth forests in the Dinaric Alps of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro: a continental hot-spot for research and biodiversity

Motta,

Alberti,

Ascoli

et al. 2024

Front. For. Glob. Change

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IntroductionAccording to various censuses, Europe has less than 1.5 million ha of old-growth forests (OGF). Most of them are in the boreal zone, while their presence in the temperate zone is residual and fragmented.In the framework of the EU biodiversity strategy, it has been adopted a broad definition of OGF which includes late-seral forests and forests with some management legacies. However, research purposes need to identify strictly defined OGFs characterized by structure, disturbance history, and processes typical and exclusive of the last stage of the forest dynamic.MethodsThe present paper wants to contribute to this debate by presenting a research network of four mixed (Fagus-Abies-Picea) montane OGFs in the Dinaric Alps (Lom, BiH; Janj, BiH; Perućica, BiH; Biogradska Gora, MNE), summarizing 20 years of multidisciplinary research by focusing on the structural characteristics and the disturbance history of the whole network and their coherency with strict OGF indicators. These sites were selected in relatively structurally uniform study areas, where 142 permanent plots have been established since 2002.Results and discussionThe study sites have a high living (747–1,201 m3 ha−1) and coarse woody debris (CWD) biomass (304–410 m3 ha−1), resulting in the highest forest carbon sink at the continental level (398–484 Mg C ha−1). The presence of large and old trees is one of the critical characteristics of the old-growth stage: in Lom and Perućica, there are 19 trees and 14 ha−1 larger than 1 m at breast height, respectively, and 14 trees and 15 trees ha−1 older than 400 years. In the last three centuries, continuous small-scale disturbances have driven forest dynamics, developing stands characterized by gap-phase dynamics and quasi-equilibrium structure. The Dinaric OGF network presents robust indicators of old-growthness, similar structural characteristics, and dynamic processes across all four sites. Identifying this sub-set of OGF using strict criteria is critical for recognizing conservation priorities and for quantifying, along an old-growthness chronosequence, the current structural differences of managed or recently abandoned forests. Besides, only OGF selected with rigorous criteria can act as a reliable reference for ecological restoration and sustainable forest management as a benchmark for carbon sink and for quantifying the impact of climate change on forests.

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The value of long-term history of small and fragmented old-growth forests for restoration ecology

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Monastic silviculture legacies and current old-growthness of silver fir (Abies alba) forests in the northern Apennines (Italy)

Monastic silviculture legacies and current old-growthness of silver fir (Abies alba) forests in the northern Apennines (Italy)

Changes in fire activity and biodiversity in a Northeast Brazilian Cerrado over the last 800 years

Old-growth forests in the Dinaric Alps of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro: a continental hot-spot for research and biodiversity

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