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.
Objectives
We examined canopy gap structure and regeneration patterns at the landscape scale using a combination of remote sensing and field-based surveys.
Methods
The study was carried out in the ...forest reserve of Lom, an old-growth
Fagus-Abies-Picea
forest located within the Dinaric Alps in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A high-resolution (1-m panchromatic and 4-m multispectral) Kompsat-2 satellite image was orthorectified and classified through an unsupervised pixel-based classification using an artificial neural network method.
Results
This approach allowed the identification of 650 canopy gaps, ranging in size from 32 to 1,776 m
2
. Only 20 intermediate to large gaps (>250 m
2
) were identified, and they were mainly present near the perimeter of the reserve. The origin of these large openings was associated with past human-caused disturbances or topographic conditions. The species composition of regeneration within large, human-caused gaps differed markedly from small gaps and non-gap sites in the core area of the reserve. Shade-intolerant species dominated the seedling and sapling layers in large openings. The landscape approach employed in this study confirmed the hypothesis that small gaps predominate at Lom, especially within the core area of the reserve.
In order to assess the impact of climate variations on Austrian pine forest in the Belgrade area, the radial growth of artificially-established Austrian pine trees and its dependence on temperature ...and precipitation was studied using dendroclimatological methods. The site is classified as Quercetum-frainetto cerris Rudski. Standard and residual chronologies were established and several common statistics were calculated. A dendroclimatic study was carried out using the correlation and response function analysis. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the chronology indices and 13 seasonal (3-month period) precipitation and temperature data were calculated for the period from 1959 to 2014. The applied response function analysis included 24 precipitation and temperature variables from October of the prior year to September of the current year. The results of the correlation analysis pointed out that there was a strong tendency towards a positive response to the summer and late summer/early autumn precipitation and a weak significant negative response to the spring and summer temperatures. Climate-growth relationships were further first studied using the response functions for the significant seasons that were detected from the correlation analysis and then for individual months from previous October to current September. These results also highlighted the findings that higher precipitation in the current summer months has a beneficial effect on the tree-ring width. The conducted correlation between the residual chronology and the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index indicated that a high summer value of this drought index had a positive impact on the pine growth and reinforced the previously detected relevance of September as an important month for the Austrian pine growth. These preliminary results point out that some additional climate-Austrian pine growth studies (application of various tree-ring features, growth data with a much longer time span, more sites/stands, etc.) should be performed to obtain new and valuable knowledge important for the sustainable management of Austrian pine forests.
Old-growth forests have an important role in maintaining animal and plant diversity, are important carbon (C) reservoirs and are privileged sites to study long-term plant physiological responses, ...long-term forest dynamics and climate change impact on forest ecosystems. Several studies have highlighted how old-living trees undergo age-related declines with hydraulic limitations and reduction in photosynthesis, though some recent works have suggested that such a decline is not always observed. Our study aims at understanding the role of atmospheric CO2 increase on tree C uptake and stomatal conductance (gs) in old-living trees by analysing the long-term patterns of tree growth and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) in three old-growth forests in the Balkans (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro), using dendrochronology and isotopic analysis. We hypothesised a long-term increase in iWUE in the studied old-growth forests, mostly related to enhanced photosynthesis rather than reduced stomatal conductance. Tree cores were sampled from dominant silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) trees in each forest. Tree-ring widths were measured and basal area increments (BAI) were assessed for each sampled tree and, from the six longest chronologies, five decades were chosen for cellulose extraction, its isotopic analysis (δ13C, δ18O), iWUE and leaf water 18O evaporative enrichment above the source water (Δ18OL) determination. We observed a continuous and significant increase in iWUE from 1800 to 2010 in the sampled dominant trees at all the three old-growth forests. Our BAI data and our estimates of Δ18OL across the study period support the idea that enhanced photosynthesis rather than reduced stomatal conductance is the major driver of the measured iWUE increase. Thus, our results support some recent findings challenging the hypothesis that iWUE in forests is primarily the result of a CO2-induced reduction in stomatal conductance as well as the so called hydraulic limitation hypothesis.
Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is the most common conifer species in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper describes the development of a silver fir master tree-ring chronology from Kozara National Park ...and analyzes the influence of the climate conditions on tree-ring widths. The knowledge concerning the effect of climate on cambium activity and, as a result, on tree growth is of great importance for silviculture, which is particularly complex in terms of deterioration of health condition. Four sites were selected for sampling at Kozara National Park. At each sampling site, 15 dominant trees were drilled with Pressler’s increment borer at breast height. The development of chronology included three steps: i) cross-dating of a series of tree-ring width and checking of their quality using the COFECHA program, ii) data standardization in the ARSTAN program, and iii) master chronology development. Correlation analysis was performed in order to determine the links between tree-ring width and climate (primarily temperature and precipitation). In the 88-year-long master chronology, pointer years analysis identified five positive and nine negative years. Correlation analysis revealed that precipitation had stronger and more significant impact on silver fir radial growth, particularly at the beginning of the growing season, in April and May (r=0.175 and r=0.318, respectively), and in the crucial July−September period (r in the range of 0.143−0.222). The highest negative correlation coefficient with temperature was determined for September of the previous year (r=-0.282) and then for summer months (July and August) of the current year (r=-0.184 and r=-0.272, respectively). In addition, statistically significant correlation between radial growth and the Forestry Aridity Index was determined (r=-0.390). The results of tree-ring width climate analysis obtained in this study are in accordance with other studies carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the surrounding area.
Small scattered plots of a few hundred square meters well reflect structural variability at stand level, but not at small spatial scales as the data between plots is missing. Information about ...structural similarities between managed and unmanaged stands, especially based on large sample plots, is still scarce. Our first objective was to quantify and illustrate structural variability of a selection-managed stand and a corresponding old-growth (OG) stand at small spatial scales. The second goal was to find out if there is a positive autocorrelation among neighboring patches in these stands regarding tree density (N) and basal area (BA). Tree positions and their diameters were recorded in 1.5 ha plots. Structural variation was examined at scales from 0.01 ha to 0.36 ha. Spatial correlation of N and BA was examined by applying experimental semivariograms. The variability of N was similar in both stands, whereas it significantly differed regarding BA (α = 0.05). Semivariance did not detect positive spatial autocorrelation of BA, while adjacent plots appeared to be more similar (autocorrelated) regarding N in both stands. Despite statistical difference regarding BA variability, the selection-managed stand exhibited many structural similarities to the OG stand, which makes it potentially suitable for modulating, if needed, to bring it step closer to an old-growth structure.
The paper presents the results of testing the bending stress of Serbian spruce wood from natural stands. In testing the samples, in addition to the modulus of rupture, the bending stress at the ...proportionality limit, the ratio between the stress at the proportionality limit and the modulus of rupture as well as the modulus of elasticity of wood were determined. The study included nine trees from natural stands, and a total of 261 samples were tested. Regression analysis determined the dependences of these mechanical properties on the annual ring width, the proportion of late wood and wood density, as well as the dependence of the modulus of elasticity on the modulus of rupture.
U radu su prikazani rezultati ispitivanja naprezanja pri savijanju drva Pančićeve omorike podrijetlom iz prirodnih sastojina. Osim modula loma, pri ispitivanju uzoraka utvrđeni su i savojno naprezanje u točki proporcionalnosti, odnos čvrstoće na savijanje u točki proporcionalnosti i modula loma, kao i modul elastičnosti drva. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo devet stabala iz prirodnih sastojina, a ispitan je ukupno 261 uzorak. Regresijskom su analizom utvrđeni odnosi navedenih mehaničkih svojstava i širine goda, udjela kasnog drva i gustoće drva, kao i odnos modula elastičnosti i modula loma.
Knowledge on the range of variability of montane European forests is hampered by limited data on the natural disturbance regime and by the small size of old-growth remnants. We studied the mixed ...Fagus-Abies-Picea Lom forest reserve (55.8 ha) in Bosnia and Herzegovina at three different scales: a grid of 40 sampling points to describe the structural characteristics and their range of variability, three transects to analyse gap size and gap fraction, and a 1.1 ha permanent plot to reconstruct age structure and disturbance history. The forest is characterized by a high volume of living trees (763 m3·ha-1 in the 55.8 ha core area and 1160 m3·ha-1 in the permanent plot) and of coarse woody debris (327 and 383 m3·ha-1, respectively). The percentages of forest area in canopy and expanded gaps are 19% and 41%, respectively. The median canopy gap size is 76.9 m2 and ranges from 11.1 to 708.0 m2. There are large (up to 120 cm diameter at breast height) and very old trees (441, 432, and 416 years for silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), respectively). During the last three centuries, the disturbance patterns have been characterized by single-tree or small group mortality. In central Europe, this forest is at the end of a gradient from forests characterized by intermediate disturbances to those where very small-scale processes predominate.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are tariff tables used for estimating the volume of sessile oak trees in high forests, which were created on the basis of two-entry volume tables for oak trees from ...the area of Germany, authored by Schwappach in 1905. There are indications that the application of the aforementioned tariffs in forest management practice results in certain differences in the estimated amount of merchantable wood volume compared to the real situation. The material for creation of volume tables was the data concerning the measurement of 2,413 model trees in different habitat and stand conditions. A large number of widely used regression models was tested to equalize the volume of merchantable wood volume as a dependent variable in terms of the diameter at breast height and height of the tree as independent variables. Regression models such as Schumacher-Hall and Spurr II provide satisfactory accuracy, that is, they can be used to estimate the merchantable wood volume of sessile oak trees in high forests (pure and mixed) in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a permissible deviation. By introducing the third variable into the model, diameter at seven meters height, the accuracy of the tree volume estimation increases significantly, but due to the significant increase in the volume of work on collecting the necessary data, this model is not suitable for use in forest inventories.
U Bosni i Hercegovini za procjenu volumena stabala hrasta u visokim šumama koriste se uređajne tarife, koje su izrađenene na temelju dvoulaznih volumnih tablica za hrast s područja Njemačke autora Schwappach iz 1905. godine. Postoje indicije da se primjenom navedenih tarifa u uređajnoj praksi dobivaju određene razlike u količini procijenjenog volumena krupnog drva u odnosu na stvarno stanje. Materijal za izradu volumnih tablica odnosno modela regresije predstavljali su podaci izmjere i izračuna stvarnog volumena drva 2.413 modelnih stabala u različitim stanišnim i sastojinskim uvjetima. Na osnovi raspodjele stabala po debljinskim stupnjevima možemo zaključiti da je relativno mali broj stabala koja su deblja od 70 cm, u ostalim debljinskim stupnjevima broj stabla veći je od 100, odnosno u intervalu od 111 do 316. Testirani su modeli koji imaju široku primjenu za izjednačenje volumena krupnog drva stabla kao zavisne varijable u ovisnosti o prsnom promjeru i visini stabla kao nezavisnim varijablama. Za usporedbu i analizu upotrebljivosti modela regresije korišten je veći broj kriterija (Srednja apsolutna greška, Korijen prosječne kvadratne pogreške, Koeficijent determinacije i Akaike informacijski kriterij). Uz navede kriterije, testirane su značajnosti razlika pomoću t-testa parova uzoraka između stvarnih i procijenjenih volumena krupnog drveta stabala te utvrđeni postoci odstupanja procijenjenih od stvarnih volumena, po debljinskim stupnjevima i ukupno. Modeli kao što su Schumacher-Hall i Spurr II daju zadovoljavajuću točnost, s obziron na to da su u pitanju općeniti modeli namijenjeni za procjenu volumena stabala na području cijele Bosne i Hercegovine. Uvođenjem u model i treće varijable, promjer debla na sedam metara visine, povećava se značajno točnost procjene volumena stabala. Zbog izmjere promjera na sedam metara visine povećava se značajno i količina rada na terenu na prikupljanju potrebnih podataka, pa ovaj model nije pogodan za primjenu u operativnim inventurama šuma. Uvođenjem visine baze krošnje stabla kao treće varijable, nije se povećala točnost procjene volumena stabla u odnosu na analizirane dvoulazne modele.
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