Particulate matter (PM) is an air contaminant in urban and industrial areas that often exceeds limit values, creating serious problems due to its harmful effects on health. Planting trees and shrubs ...as air filters is a way to improve air quality in these areas. However, further knowledge on species effectiveness in air purification is essential. This study compared four species of tree (Acer campestre L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Platanus × hispanica Mill. ex Muenchh. ‘Acerifolia’, Tilia cordata Mill.), three species of shrub (Forsythia × intermedia Zabel, Physocarpus opulifolius (L.) Maxim., Spiraea japonica L.), and one climber species (Hedera helix L.) that are commonly cultivated along streets in Poland to capture fine, coarse and larger particles from air. Separate gravimetric analyses were performed to quantify PM deposited on surfaces and trapped in waxes. Significant differences were found between the plant species tested. The distribution of different particle size fractions differed between and within species and also between leaf surfaces and in waxes.
Environmental health is an essential component of the quality of life in modern societies. Monitoring of environmental quality and the assessment of environmental risks are often species based on the ...elemental concentration of deposited dust. Our result suggested that stomata size and distribution were the most important factors influencing the accumulation of air contaminants in leaves. We found that the leaves' surfaces of Acer negundo and Celtis occidentalis were covered by a large number of trichomes, and these species have proven to be suitable biomonitors for atmospheric pollution difficult; these can be overcome using bioindicator species. Leaves of Padus serotina, Acer campestre, A. negundo, Quercus robur and C. occidentalis were used to assess the amount of deposited dust and the concentration of contaminants in deposited dust in and around the city of Debrecen, Hungary. Samples were collected from an urban, suburban and rural area along an urbanization gradient. The concentrations of Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sr and Zn were determined in deposited dust using ICP–OES. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to explore the morphological structure and dust absorbing capacity of leaves. We found significant differences in dust deposition among species, and dust deposition correlated with trichomes' density. Principal component analysis (PCA) also showed a total separation of tree.
•Dust is used as indicators of the accumulation of inorganic pollutants.•Scanning EM was used to explore the morphological structure of leaves.•Amount of dust deposited of leaves correlated with trichomes' density.•A. negundo, C. occidentalis and Q. robur are suitable to indicate air contaminants.•A. negundo and C. occidentalis are suitable to decrease the amount of dust in air.
Aim: To estimate the relative importance of climate and soil nutritional variables for predicting the distribution of Acer campestre (L.) in French forests. Location: France. Methods: We used ...presence/absence information for A. campestre in 3286 forest plots scattered all over France, coupled with climatic and edaphic data. More than 150 climatic variables (temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, evapotranspiration, water balance) were obtained using a digital elevation model (DEM) and a geographical information system (GIS). Six direct soil variables (pH, C/N ratio, base saturation rate, concentrations of calcium, magnesium and potassium) were available from EcoPlant, a phytoecological data base for French forests. Using a forward stepwise logistic regression technique, we derived two distinct predictive models for A. campestre; the first with climatic variables alone and the second with both climatic and edaphic variables. Results: The distribution of A. campestre was poorly modelled when including only climatic variables. The inclusion of edaphic variables significantly improved the quality of predictions for this species, allowing prediction of patches of presence/absence within the study region. Main conclusion: Soil nutritional variables may improve the performance of fine-scale (grain) plant species distribution models.
The presence of Psallus assimilis Stichel, 1956 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) is reported for the first time from Hungary. Specimens were collected from the canopy of field maple (Acer campestre ...L.) trees in Budapest, Diósd and Törökbálint in spring of 2015, 2016 and 2017. Our study indicates that P. assimilis is one of the most abundant heteropteran species in the canopy of field maple trees not only in suburban and urban forests but also on individual stree
Display omitted
•We calculated the deadwood residence time of 5 main alluvial hardwood tree species.•Large-sized logs of pedunculate oak have the longest residence time – 73years.•In the category of ...large-sized logs elm have the fastest decomposition – 24years.•Maple, hornbeam and ash reach advanced decay stage up to 20years for 50% of logs.•Time to reach advanced decay stage for 50% of logs is recommended for CWD restoration.
There are hundreds of scientific papers dealing with the issues of biodiversity and extinction debt in temperate forests, both of which are partly related to the absence of deadwood. Some studies have derived habitat thresholds for deadwood (according to species, size, spatial distribution) as baselines for management recommendations. But a majority of studies have one important knowledge gap – how long does it take for deadwood to decompose? To derive the residence time of deadwood, we used a 40-year time series of 4 censuses in European lowland hardwood temperate forests. The deadwood residence of 2252 logs of 5 main tree species was calculated using Bayesian Survival Trajectory Analysis. Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) had the longest residence time, with the largest logs decomposing for an average of 62years. Next was narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) with a residence time of about 42years. Field maple (Acer campestre) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) had a similar residence time – with the largest logs averaging 37–39years. Elm (Ulmus sp.) had the fastest decomposition of large-sized logs – estimated at 24years. Generally, small-sized logs of all investigated species decomposed quickly. Conversely, large-sized logs of hornbeam and ash decomposed as quickly as their intermediate-sized logs. Large-sized logs of elm decayed even faster than intermediate-sized logs. An analysis of the position of field maple logs during decomposition showed that those decomposing in the air or in water decomposed slower than logs “on the ground”, with a half-life of 40years (compared to 28years on the ground) and a residence time of 54years (44years on the ground). Our results suggest that the management of deadwood should focus on (i) leaving the largest logs, which took the longest time to reach advanced decay stages, and (ii) a diversified approach regarding the individual residence time of different tree species.
Questions
There is growing evidence on how density‐dependent drivers of plant performance are influenced by habitat heterogeneity such as variation in understorey light availability. How these ...processes operate in temperate forests still remains an open question, however. We examined the interactive effects of density dependence and light availability on woody seedling mortality across multiple species, two size stages and growth forms.
Location
Alluvial old‐growth temperate forest, southeastern Czech Republic.
Methods
We mapped seedlings of woody species (≥10 cm tall) and recorded their mortality over a two‐year period on 21 square seedling plots (25 m2) within one large square plot with all trees mapped (≥1 cm diameter at breast height). Seedling mortality was studied using a combined approach of generalised linear mixed models and spatial point pattern analyses.
Results
Density‐dependent effects of tree and seedling neighbours influenced seedling mortality at different spatial scales, depending on their size class, growth form and by taxon. Conspecific inhibition raised the mortality of seedlings other than Acer campestre at low light levels, indicating that host‐specific enemies and/or intraspecific competition may be important in unfavourable habitats. While small seedlings experienced conspecific inhibition at low light levels, tall seedlings were additively affected by low‐light conditions and competition with trees. Both conspecific and heterospecific neighbours tended to affect tree seedlings at low light levels, whereas shrub seedlings experienced light‐ and density‐independent mortality. Some negative interspecific interactions indicated ongoing expansion of species like Acer campestre in currently flood‐free habitats.
Conclusions
How density‐dependent effects translate into demographic outcomes for woody seedling populations may be largely determined by variation in understorey light availability. Given that seedlings differ in size, growth form and taxa, we also demonstrate that both seedling and tree neighbours may contribute to the strength and spatial variation in density‐dependent effects at seedling neighbourhood scales.
How density‐dependent effects translate into demographic outcomes for woody seedling populations may be largely determined by variation in understorey light availability. Given that seedlings differ in size, growth form and by taxon, we also demonstrate that both seedling and tree neighbours may contribute to the strength and spatial variation in density‐dependent effects at seedling neighbourhood scales.
Key message
Considering their drought tolerance and growth characteristics, rare native tree species are well-suited admixed species for the development of climate-stable forests in Central Europe.
...In our study, we assessed the growth and drought reaction of the four rare native tree species European hornbeam (
Carpinus betulus
L.), European white elm (
Ulmus laevis
Pall.), field maple (
Acer campestre
L.), and wild service tree (
Sorbus torminalis
(L.) Crantz). Based on tree-ring data, we (I) evaluated their species-specific growth characteristics and variability and examined the influencing site and tree characteristics on annual growth. (II) We quantified their reaction to single drought events, also depending on site and tree variables. (III) We compared our results to oak (
Quercus robur
L.,
Quercus petraea
(Matt.) Liebl.) and European beech (
Fagus sylvatica
L.). As they are well-known Central European tree species, there is a broad knowledge about their growth and drought response across wide geographical ranges available. Bringing the results of European beech and oak in relation with the rare native species, it allows to categorise their growth and drought reaction and to contextualise their performance. Our results show, that besides European white elm, the rare species showed an overall lower annual growth with a higher variability than European beech and oak. However, especially field maple and wild service tree were better adapted to drought than European beech and partially even recovered better than oak. Combining the aspects of growth stability and drought tolerance, we conclude that rare native tree species are well suited as admixed species in future forest stands. European hornbeam is a suitable match for European beech on wetter sites, while field maple and wild service tree are a sensible complement for the climate stable oak on drier sites.
Urbanization can affect arthropod abundance in different ways. While species with narrow habitat range and low dispersal ability often respond negatively to urban environments, many habitat ...generalist species with good dispersal ability reach high densities in city centers. This filtering effect of urban habitats can strongly influence predator-prey-mutualist interactions and may therefore affect the abundance of predatory and phytophagous species both directly and indirectly. Here, we assessed the effect of urbanization on aphids, predatory arthropods, and ants on field maple (
Acer campestre
) trees in and around the city of Budapest, Hungary. We used the percentage of impervious surfaces within a 500 m radius of each site as an index of the degree of urbanization. We found that the abundance of aphids increased with increasing level of urbanization. However, abundance of predatory arthropods and occurrence of poorly dispersing species within the predator community were negatively related to urbanization, and we identified these two independent factors as significant predictors of aphid abundances. The abundance of ants decreased with urbanization, and contrary to our expectations, did not affect the abundance pattern of aphids. Our results suggest that urbanization, by altering the abundance and composition of predator communities, can disrupt biological control of aphid populations, and thus may contribute to the aphid outbreaks on urban trees.
PDF
