•Regional-scale dendroecological study of primary mixed beech-fir forests.•Low-and intermediate-severity disturbances were the prevailing type of events.•Plot-level events of high and very-high ...disturbance severities were also detected.•Overall, the forest was driven by a mixed-severity disturbance regime.
Natural disturbances are key factors in the formation of forest ecosystem structure. Evaluation of the spatial and temporal extent of disturbance regimes is critical for understanding forest dynamics, forest structural heterogeneity, and biodiversity habitats. Quantifying disturbance regimes is therefore imperative for appropriate management of forests and protected areas. However, natural disturbance regimes have rarely been assessed using dendrochronological methods on a regional scale across primary mixed beech-fir forest stands - one of the dominant forest vegetation types in Europe. To study the natural disturbance regimes of beech-dominated mixed-forest stands, we established 42 permanent study plots with an area of 0.1 ha across three primary forest stands in the Western Carpathians, a region that still contains large areas of primary forest. We reconstructed each stand-level disturbance history using a tree-ring based approach. The temporal synchronicity of disturbance events was then evaluated by delineating stand-level disturbance events using a kernel density function, and through the detection of plot-level disturbances with severities greater than 10 percent. The results obtained from the chronologies showed substantial variability in time and space, especially in the mid-19th century. Low- and moderate-severity plot-level disturbance events were most common, but high- and extremely high-severity plot-level disturbance events also occurred. The observed spatial and temporal variability suggests that the beech-dominated forests were primarily driven by mixed-severity disturbance regimes, with windstorms as the main disturbance agent.
This reconstruction of the disturbance regime provided unique insight into the scale of mortality processes in these beech-dominated mixed forests. This information can help guide ecological forestry in areas where both wood production and biodiversity preservation are simultaneous goals, such as by employing more spatiotemporally-complex silvicultural systems that resemble natural disturbance patterns and facilitate heterogeneous forest structures.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Four new species of the genus Pyrenula (Pyrenulaceae, Pyrenulales, lichenized Ascomycetes) are presented. They originate from primary forests in the Guianas: Pyrenula cubica Sipman, with cubical ...central lumina in the ascospores; Pyrenula flavida Sipman, with a yellow-pigmented thallus; P. rubromarginata Sipman, with red pigment on the excipulum and not on the thallus; and P. submicromma Sipman, like P. micromma but with submuriform instead of bacillar ascospores. In addition, a description for P. atropurpurea is provided, and P. subvariabilis is reduced to synonymy of P. infrastroidea. Special attention was paid to the development of the ascospores. Two different development types are recognized. The phylogenetic significance of these types is unclear.
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3.
Where are Europe's last primary forests? Sabatini, Francesco Maria; Burrascano, Sabina; Keeton, William S. ...
Diversity & distributions,
October 2018, Volume:
24, Issue:
9/10
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Aim: Primary forests have high conservation value but are rare in Europe due to historic land use. Yet many primary forest patches remain unmapped, and it is unclear to what extent they are ...effectively protected. Our aim was to (1) compile the most comprehensive European-scale map of currently known primary forests, (2) analyse the spatial determinants characterizing their location and (3) locate areas where so far unmapped primary forests likely occur. Location: Europe. Methods: We aggregated data from a literature review, online questionnaires and 32 datasets of primary forests. We used boosted regression trees to explore which biophysical, socio-economic and forest-related variables explain the current distribution of primary forests. Finally, we predicted and mapped the relative likelihood of primary forest occurrence at a 1-km resolution across Europe. Results: Data on primary forests were frequently incomplete or inconsistent among countries. Known primary forests covered 1.4 Mha in 32 countries (0.7% of Europe's forest area). Most of these forests were protected (89%), but only 46% of them strictly. Primary forests mostly occurred in mountain and boreal areas and were unevenly distributed across countries, biogeographical regions and forest types. Unmapped primary forests likely occur in the least accessible and populated areas, where forests cover a greater share of land, but wood demand historically has been low. Main conclusions: Despite their outstanding conservation value, primary forests are rare and their current distribution is the result of centuries of land use and forest management. The conservation outlook for primary forests is uncertain as many are not strictly protected and most are small and fragmented, making them prone to extinction debt and human disturbance. Predicting where unmapped primary forests likely occur could guide conservation efforts, especially in Eastern Europe where large areas of primary forest still exist but are being lost at an alarming pace.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Humid tropical forests provide numerous global ecosystem services, but are under continuing threat of clearing from economic drivers. Here, we report primary humid tropical forest extent for the year ...2001, and primary forest loss and distance to loss from 2002-2014 for the largest rainforest countries of Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Indonesia. Brazil's total area of primary forest loss is more than twice that of Indonesia and five times that of DRC. Despite unprecedented success in slowing deforestation along its forest frontier, Brazil's most remote forests are increasingly nearer to loss, as extractive activities such as logging and mining intrude upon previously intact forests. In absolute terms, DRC has the lowest area of primary forest loss; however, its forests are increasingly encroached upon as smallholder agriculturalists move into remaining forests, often to escape conflict and insecurity. The decrease in DRC forests' distance to loss as a function of area of forest loss was five times that of Brazil or Indonesia. In 2014, Indonesia had the least area of remaining primary forest. Despite an announced moratorium on concession licenses in 2011, Indonesia exhibited a rate of primary forest loss twice that of DRC and triple that of Brazil by the end of the study period. Forest loss dynamics in Indonesia range from industrial-scale clearing of coastal peatlands to logging of interior montane rainforests. While results illustrate considerable variation in forest loss dynamics between the three countries, the dominant narrative is of ongoing exploitation of primary humid tropical forests.
•Global primary forest decreased by 2.5% (10% in the tropics) from 1990 to 2015.•98% of primary forest occurred in 25 countries, with half in developed countries.•Additional investment may be needed ...to improve primary forest area data quality.•Formally protected forest areas increased more than 50% from 1990 to 2015.•Changes in protection are positively correlated with changes in forest area.
The global community has recognized the importance of forests for biodiversity, and has prioritized the preservation of forest biodiversity and ecosystem functions through multiple multilateral agreements and processes such as the Convention on Biodiversity’s Aichi Targets and the Millennium Development Goals. The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) provides one mechanism for tracking progress toward such goals in three particular areas: primary forest area, protected forest areas, and areas designated for the conservation of biodiversity. In this paper, we quantify current area and trends in forest areas designated for the conservation of biodiversity, protected forest areas, and primary forests by country and biome; and examine the association between total forest area and measures of protection, per-capita income, and population. The overall findings suggest that countries are increasingly protecting forests of ecological significance at the global scale (7.7% of forests were protected in 1990 rising to 16.3% in 2015), with a strong upward trend in protected areas in the tropical domain (from 12% in 1990 to 26.3% in 2015). However, primary forest area has declined by 2.5% globally and by 10% in the tropics over the period 1990–2015 (using data for countries that reported in all years). Given that many species in the tropics are endemic to primary forests, losses in that climatic domain continue to be of concern, although the rate of decline appears to be slowing.
Using multiple regression analysis, we find that a 1% increase in protected area or area designated for biodiversity conservation within a country is associated with an increase in total forest area in that country of about 0.03% (p<0.05). A 1% within-country increase in population density and per capita GDP are associated with a decrease in forest area of about 0.2% (p<0.01) and an increase in forest area of about 0.08% (p<0.05) respectively. Our findings also indicate that, since FRA is used as one mechanism for tracking progress toward goals like the AICHI Biodiversity Targets, country correspondents may require additional assistance toward reporting on primary forest, protected forest, and biodiversity conservation statistics.
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•Density of Tucuman Amazon nests was significantly higher in NP than in LF.•Food availability is an important factor that affects Tucuman Amazon populations.•Suitable cavities and behavior could ...regulate nest density when food is not limiting.
Secondary cavity nesters, bird species that rely on the presence of existing cavities, are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic and stochastic processes that reduce the availability of cavity bearing trees. The most common logging practice in Neotropical forests is selective logging, where a few valuable tree species are logged, primarily old, large trees that are the most prone to develop cavities and produce larger amounts of fruits and seeds. Tucuman Amazon, Amazona tucumana, is a threatened parrot that relies on the tree-cavities and food provided by large, old trees. Our objective was to evaluate how logging affects 1) stand and nest plot forest structure, 2) nesting site selection, 3) food availability, 4) density of suitable cavities, 5) nest density, and 6) nest spatial pattern of Tucuman Amazon by comparing a mature undisturbed forest in a National Park (NP) vs a logged forest (LF). We determined the availability of suitable cavities and food resources consumed by Tucuman Amazon, and we compared nest density and spatial pattern of nests between NP vs LF. The Index of food availability for all tree species consumed by Tucuman Amazon and for P. parlatorei were significantly higher in NP than in LF (34.5 ± 13.3 m ha−1 vs. 3.5 ± 1.0 m ha−1 and 5.6 ± 2.3 m ha−1 vs. 1.2 ± 1.0 m ha−1, respectively). Density of suitable cavities for nesting in the NP was significantly higher than in the LF: 4.6 cavities ha−1 C.I. 95 %: 3.07 – 7.04 cavities ha−1 vs. 1.1 cavities ha−1 C.I. 95 %: 0.73 – 1.66 cavities ha−1, respectively. Mean density of Tucuman Amazon nests was significantly higher in the NP than in LF (0.25 ± 0.04 vs. 0.06 ± 0.04 nest ha−1, respectively). Food availability is an important factor that affects Tucuman Amazon populations and when food is not limiting, the availability of suitable cavities and territorial behavior could play a role in regulating nest density. When evaluating the limiting factors for secondary cavity-nesting species of conservation concern it is important to evaluate the interplay of a set of potential limiting factors to propose sound forest management recommendations.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•SOC and TN stocks significantly increased after primary forest conversion.•SOC and TN stocks increased due to increases in aggregate (>0.053 mm)-associated OC and TN concentrations.•Primary forest ...conversion enhanced SOC stability.•Litter and fine root might be the main factor affecting SOC and TN stocks and SOC stability.
Numerous studies have addressed the effects of forest conversion on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN); however, knowledge of SOC and TN stocks and SOC stability after primary forest conversion to secondary forest is still lacking. Such an understanding is critical for the accurate estimation of the potential of forest soils to act as carbon sinks. To learn more about the changes in SOC and TN stocks and SOC stability after primary forest conversion, we used a strict paired-plots method and measured bulk-soil and aggregate-associated OC and TN as well as four SOC stability indices, i.e., heterotrophic respiration, alkyl/O-alkyl C ratio, aggregate-occluded OC, and mineral-associated OC, in paired primary and secondary forest plots in Liangshui National Nature Reserve, Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. The SOC and TN stocks at the 0–15 cm depth significantly increased with the conversion of primary to secondary forest, by 17.11 Mg ha−1 and 2.91 Mg ha−1, respectively, which was mainly due to increases in soil aggregate (>0.053 mm)-associated OC and TN concentrations. The primary forests dominated by conifer tree species had more low-quality plant OC in the organic layer (i.e., higher amounts of litter and forest floor and higher litter C/N ratio), while the secondary forests composed of broadleaf tree species with higher litter and fine root TN and lower C/N ratios accumulated more stable OC (as indicated by the reduced respiration per g of SOC and the greater proportion of aggregate-occluded OC) and TN in the mineral soil. We did not observe significant differences in the alkyl/O-alkyl C ratio or the proportion of mineral-associated OC (<50 µm) between the two forest types, reflecting the insensitivity of some stability indicators to decadal-scale shifts in primary forest conversion. Tree species-specific differences in litter and fine root traits (i.e., C and N) might be the main driving factors affecting the accumulation and stability of SOC and TN. Thus, it is important to identify and select tree species that are beneficial for the sequestration of OC in mineral soil for forest management or afforestation from the perspective of ecosystem carbon sequestration.
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La rápida expansión urbana y agrı́cola provoca severos impactos en la capacidad de infiltración del agua en el suelo, pero estos efectos aún no han sido suficientemente investigados, ...especialmente en la Amazonı́a peruana. El estudio tuvo como objetivo comparar la capacidad y velocidad de infiltración del suelo en dos tipos de cobertura vegetal (bosque primario intervenido y pastizal) en la Amazonı́a peruana. La tasa de infiltración de los suelos se midió con el infiltrómetro de anillo simple; se recolectaron tres muestras en los pastizales y seis en el bosque primario. Con los valores obtenidos se construyeron las curvas de infiltración. Para evaluar las diferencias en la capacidad de infiltración entre los tipos de vegetación de cobertura, utilizamos la prueba de t‑Student. Nuestros resultados muestran que la capacidad de infiltración en el bosque primario intervenido fue mayor que en el pastizal (p ≤ 0,01, t‑Student). En cuanto a las caracterı́sticas fisicoquı́micas del suelo, no encontramos diferencias significativas entre los dos tipos de cobertura evaluados. La abundancia, la riqueza de especies y la diversidad de la vegetación se asociaron positivamente con la capacidad de infiltración (p < 0,05). Se concluye que la capacidad de infiltración del agua del suelo en los bosques primarios es mayor que en los pastizales. Esto tendrı́a impactos significativos en el comportamiento hidrológico de los ecosistemas tropicales debido a la transformación de los bosques en pastizales generada por las actividades antropogénicas.
Planiranje šumskih prometnica, kao prva, nezaobilazna i vrlo važna faza uspostavljanja optimalne/najbolje moguće mreže primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture na terenu, može biti na: 1) strateškoj, ...2) taktičkoj te 3) operativnoj razini. Strateško i taktičko planiranje odnose se na planiranje cjelokupne mreže primarnih šumskih prometnica, dok se operativno planiranje odnosi na planiranje pojedinačne šumske ceste. Rezultat taktičkog planiranja primarnih šumskih prometnica je, ili bi bar trebala biti, Studija primarnog otvaranja šuma pojedine gospodarske jedinice (dalje: Studija).
Nepostojanje (pod)zakonske obveze izrade Studije, dokumenta u kojemu bi se objedinili svi rezultati rada pri taktičkom planiranju primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture na razini gospodarske jedinice, predstavlja velik problem pri optimizaciji primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture, poglavito neotvorenih ili nedovoljno otvorenih šuma. Unatoč čestom ukazivanju na navedeni problem, ali i na mogućnosti njegova rješavanja/umanjenja, kroz značajan broj radova različitih autora koji su se u svojem znanstvenom radu bavili problematikom otvaranja šuma, rezultati istraživanja i konkretne preporuke do danas nisu naišle na širu primjenu u operativnome šumarstvu.
Tijekom izrade Programa Ruralnog razvoja Republike Hrvatske za razdoblje 2014.–2020. (dalje: Program), EU je zatražila od Republike Hrvatske da osmisli dokument kojim će se analizirati i ocijeniti kvantiteta i kvaliteta prostornog rasporeda primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture određene gospodarske jedinice, utvrditi potreba daljnjega primarnog otvaranja šuma, definirati položaj idejnih trasa planiranih šumskih prometnica te uskladiti gustoća mreže primarnih šumskih prometnica na taktičkoj razini s preporučenim vrijednostima pojedinog reljefnog područja na strateškoj razini planiranja primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture.
U okviru Pravilnika o provedbi mjere M04 »Ulaganja u fizičku imovinu«, podmjere 4.3. »Potpora za ulaganja u infrastrukturu vezano uz razvoj, modernizaciju i prilagodbu poljoprivrede i šumarstva«, tipa operacije 4.3.3. »Ulaganje u šumsku infrastrukturu« iz Programa ruralnog razvoja Republike Hrvatske za razdoblje 2014.–2020. (NN 106/15) (dalje: Pravilnik) se nalazi prilog 1 – Obrazac za izradu Elaborata učinkovitosti mreže šumskih prometnica – primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture (dalje: Elaborat), koji je u potpunosti zadovoljio postavljene kriterije EU.
U radu se: 1) kritički raščlanjuju osnovne sastavnice Elaborata s posebnim naglaskom na njegovu sastavnicu B. – Analiza postojeće mreže primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture, 2) detaljno pojašnjava metodologija izrade registra primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture, 3) opisuju novodefinirani kriteriji određivanja gustoće primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture, 4) u odnos se radi međusobne usporedbe dovode Elaborat i Studija, te 5) donose se preporuke o budućim aktivnostima usmjerenima ka poboljšanju taktičkog planiranja primarne šumske prometne infrastrukture.
The Effectiveness Study of Primary Forest Road Traffic Infrastructure – an alternative to Study of Primary Forest Opening or just a short-term solution?
Planning forest roads, as the first, inevitable and very important stage in establishing optimal i.e. best possible primary forest traffic infrastructure network, can be on: 1. strategic, 2. tactical and 3. operational level. Strategic and tactical planning level relate to planning of the entire primary forest road network, while operational planning refers to the planning of an individual forest road. The result of the tactical planning of primary forest roads is, or at least should be, the Study of Primary Forest Opening of an individual management units (hereinafter: The Study).
The absence of legal obligation in producing the Study, the document in which all work results of tactical planning primary forest traffic infrastructure, at the management unit level, would be consolidated, is a major problem in the optimization of primary forest traffic infrastructure, particularly in unopened or
insufficiently opened forest areas. Despite frequent emphasizing to this problem and the possibilities of its solving/reduction, a significant number of papers by various authors who have in their scientific work dealt with the issue of forest opening, research results and applicable recommendations are still not used broadly in practical forestry.
While establishing Program of Rural Development in Republic of Croatia in period from 2014 to 2020, EU authorities have requested from Croatian authorities a document which includes analysis and evaluation data, regarding the quantity and quality of the primary forest traffic infrastructure network spatial distribution of a specific management unit, which will determine the need of further primary forest opening, which will also define concept design alignment of planned forest roads and will accord primary forest road density at the tactical level with the recommended values of individual relief area categories on the strategic level of primary forest traffic infrastructure planning.
In the Bylaw on measure implementation M04 »Investments in physical assets«, by-measure 4.3 »Grant for investments in development, modernization and customization of agriculture and forestry«, operation type 4.3.3 »Investments in forest infrastructure« from the Program of Rural Development in Republic of Croatia in period from 2014 to 2020 (NN 106/15) (hereinafter: The Bylaw) holds an appendix No. 1 – Form for the Effectiveness Study of Primary Forest Road Traffic Infrastructure (hereinafter: The Effectiveness Study), which was completely satisfactory to EU authorities’ requests.
This paper will: 1) critically analyze the basic components of the Effectiveness Study with special emphasis on the component B – Analysis of the existing primary forest traffic infrastructure network, 2) explain in details the methodology of primary forest traffic infrastructure registry production, 3) describe the newly defined criteria for determining density of primary forest road infrastructure, 4) define the relationship and differences of the Effectiveness Study and the Study of Primary Forest Opening, and 5) give recommendations on future activities aimed at improving tactical planning of primary forest traffic infrastructure.
•First study comparing disturbance history of adjacent forest types in primary state.•Natural disturbance history was synchronous among different forest types.•Severe disturbances were infrequent, ...but a key part of their dynamics.•Moderate- and low-severity disturbances were asynchronous and random.•A range of natural disturbances ensure spatiotemporal heterogeneity and resilience.
Understanding temporal and spatial variations in historical disturbance regimes across intact, continuous, and altitudinally diverse primary forest landscapes is imperative to help forecast forest development and adapt forest management in an era of rapid environmental change. Because few complex primary forest landscapes remain in Europe, previous research has largely described disturbance regimes for individual forest types and smaller isolated stands. We studied the largest but still largely unprotected mountain primary forest landscape in temperate Europe, the Făgăraș Mountains of Romania. To describe historical disturbance regimes and synchronicity in disturbance activity and trends between two widespread forest community types, dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), we established 191 permanent study plots (70 beech; 121 spruce) across 11 valleys, thereby providing information at both stand and landscape levels. We used a dendrochronological approach to reconstruct and describe the spatiotemporal patterns of historical disturbances. We observed a diverse spectrum of disturbance severities and timing across the forest landscape. High-severity disturbances created periods of synchrony in disturbance activity at the landscape scale, while moderate- and low-severity disturbances were asynchronous and random in both spruce- and beech-dominated primary forests. We detected a peak of canopy disturbance across the region at the end of the nineteenth century, with the most important periods of disturbance between the 1890s and 1910s. At the stand scale, we observed periods of synchronised disturbances with varying severities across both forest types. The level of disturbance synchrony varied widely among the stands. The beta regression showed that spruce forests had significantly higher average synchrony and higher between-stand variability of synchrony than the beech-dominated forests. Synchronised disturbances with higher severity were infrequent, but they were critical as drivers of subsequent forest development pathways and dynamics across both forest types.
Our results provide valuable insight into future resilience to climate-driven alterations of disturbance regimes in spruce- and beech-dominated mountain temperate forests in the Carpathians. We suggest that conservation efforts should recognize strictly protecting large continuous and altitudinally diversified forest landscapes such as Făgăraș Mts. as a necessary measure to tackle climate change and ensure temporal and spatial structural heterogeneity driven by a wide range of disturbances. The diverse and synchronous disturbance activity among two interconnected forest vegetation types highlights the need for complex spatiotemporal forest management approaches that emulate disturbance synchronicity to foster biodiversity across multiple forest vegetation types within forest landscapes.
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