P. Kjučukov, J. Hofmeister, R. Bače, L. Vítková, M. Svoboda
{"title":"The effects of forest management on biodiversity in the Czech Republic: an overview of biologists’ opinions","authors":"P. Kjučukov, J. Hofmeister, R. Bače, L. Vítková, M. Svoboda","doi":"10.3832/ifor3953-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3953-015","url":null,"abstract":"Europe has been dominated by cultural landscape and rather intensively managed forests. It is thus no surprise that the ongoing global biodiversity crisis as well as the consequences of climate change have been apparent. In recent years, forestry in Central Europe has been going through a crisis caused by extensive disturbances primarily in commercial monocultures; this phenomenon is particularly striking in the Czech Republic. Given the significance of the situation, it is essential to review and optimise the current forest management practices in relation to biodiversity protection. Therefore, a survey among Czech biologists was conducted in an effort to provide specific feedback to foresters and other stakeholders based on scientific and empirical knowledge of the survey respondents. The survey assessed the forest habitat (in terms of light conditions and the structure of the forest environment), forest management tools and conceptual approaches regarding specific species and groups of organisms. The respondents negatively perceived the current forestry practices, especially in terms of creating homogeneity across the forest environment and eliminating important habitats. Structurally diverse old-growth forests as well as the open forests with the presence of old and habitat trees were emphasised by the survey respondents as essential environments. Large-scale non-intervention within protected areas is necessary to support the presence of old-growth forests. On the other hand, there is an urgent need to restore open forests which requires (but not exclusively) the active efforts of man. These two basic appeals are essential in order to diversify the landscape through a combination of segregative and integrative forest management tools that aim to support biodiversity.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76407771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Lukić, A. Baumgertel, S. Obradovic, R. Kadović, J. Beloica, D. Pantić, P. Miljković, S. Belanović Simić
{"title":"Assessment of land sensitivity to degradation using MEDALUS model - a case study of Grdelica Gorge and Vranjska Valley (southeastern Serbia)","authors":"S. Lukić, A. Baumgertel, S. Obradovic, R. Kadović, J. Beloica, D. Pantić, P. Miljković, S. Belanović Simić","doi":"10.3832/ifor3871-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3871-015","url":null,"abstract":"Land degradation is a complex issue caused by diverse drivers, each of which should be considered in the analysis of land sensitivity to degradation. This study identifies the areas most sensitive to land degradation in the Grdelica Gorge and Vranjska Valley, which are unique in terms of natural and socioeconomic conditions. Land-use changes and inappropriate land management have led to serious degradation in this region. The flexible and multifactorial approach of the Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) model allowed comprehensive land degradation sensitivity analysis in the study area. The main factors driving soil degradation were assessed by estimating climate quality index, soil quality index, and vegetation quality index, and the main socioeconomic indicators by management quality index and social quality index. The results showed that forest cover is the main factor to contrast land degradation, and even minor adverse changes in forest characteristics, such as structure, canopy cover, health, and quality, could trigger degradation processes. The vegetation quality index was defined in terms of the current vege-tation’s capacity to protect soil from erosion, drought resistance, and fire risk. Detailed data on forest vegetation cover was obtained from the National Forest Inventory (NFI). The environmentally sensitive area (ESA) index generated through the analysis classified 26.11% of the total study area as critical, 69.53% as fragile, and 2.70% as either prone to or unaffected by degradation processes. According to the ESA index, the areas covered by forests with optimal species composition and high canopy cover were the least susceptible to degradation. The areas under intensive agricultural production without any application of conservation measures were the most susceptible to degradation. Future strategies for optimal land-use patterns are discussed, such as the in-tergration of woody species in croplands to protect soil against degradation and meet human needs in the areas prone to degradation.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87294007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Mechergui, S. Naghmouchi, M. Alsubeie, W. Jaouadi, Y. Ammari
{"title":"Biomass, radial growth and regeneration capacity of Aleppo pine, and its possible use as rootstock in arid and degraded areas","authors":"K. Mechergui, S. Naghmouchi, M. Alsubeie, W. Jaouadi, Y. Ammari","doi":"10.3832/ifor3954-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3954-015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78417720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Vestin, M. Mölder, N. Kljun, Z. Cai, A. Hasan, J. Holst, L. Klemedtsson, A. Lindroth
{"title":"Impacts of stump harvesting on carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide fluxes","authors":"P. Vestin, M. Mölder, N. Kljun, Z. Cai, A. Hasan, J. Holst, L. Klemedtsson, A. Lindroth","doi":"10.3832/ifor4086-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4086-015","url":null,"abstract":"During 2010-2013, we investigated the effects of stump harvesting on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous ox- ide (N 2 O) with the flux-gradient technique at four experimental plots in a hemiboreal forest in Sweden. All plots were clear-cut and soil scarified and two of the plots were additionally stump harvested. The two clear-cut plots served as control plots. Due to differences in topography, we had one wetter and one drier plot of each treatment. All plots exhibited substantial emissions of GHGs and we noted significant effects of wetness on CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes within treatments and significant effects of stump harvesting on CO 2 and N 2 O fluxes at the dry plots. The CO 2 emissions were lower at the dry stump harvested plot than at the dry control, but when estimated emissions from the removed stumps were added, total CO 2 emissions were higher at the stump harvested plot, indicating a small enhancement of soil respiration. In addition, we noted significant emissions of N 2 O at this plot. At the wet plots, CO 2 emissions were higher at the stump harvested plot, also suggesting a treatment effect but differences in wetness and vegetation cover at these plots make this effect more uncertain. At the wet plots, we noted sustained periods (weeks to months) of net N 2 O uptake. During the year with simultaneous measurements of the abovementioned GHGs, GHG budgets were 1.224×10 3 and 1.442×10 3 gm -2 of CO 2 -equivalents at the wet and dry stump harvested plots, respectively, and 1.070×10 3 and 1.696×10 3 gm -2 of CO 2 -equivalents at the wet and dry control plots, respectively. CO 2 fluxes dominated GHG budgets at all plots but N 2 O contributed with 17% at the dry stump harvested plot. For the full period 2010-2013, total carbon (CO 2 +CH 4 ) budgets were 4.301×10 3 and 4.114×10 3 g m -2 of CO 2 -eqvivalents at the wet and dry stump harvest plots, respectively and 4.107×10 3 and 5.274×10 3 gm -2 of CO 2 -equivalents at the wet and dry control plots, respectively. Our results support recent studies suggesting that stump harvesting does not result in substantial increase in CO 2 emissions but uncertainties regarding GHG fluxes (especially N 2 O) remain and more long-term measurements are needed before robust conclusions can be drawn.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"63 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76691063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Soil of the parent plant and AMF mix improve Cerrado’s seedlings growth in forest nurseries","authors":"GM Abreu, Hnd Paiva, MC Megumi Kasuya, Sdd Paula, BD Guirardi, Gdm Araújo","doi":"10.3832/ifor3833-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3833-015","url":null,"abstract":"The soil microbiota plays an extremely important role in the growth and survival of plants. The presence of some microorganisms can positively and significantly impact the growth of tree species, which can improve the performance of seedlings after planting for commercial purposes and/or for ecosystem restoration. The present study aimed to evaluate the initial growth of seedlings of Hancornia speciosa and Brosimum gaudichaudii associated with microorganisms from the soil of the parent tree and/or inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Four substrates were tested: T1 (control) = Autoclaved dystrophic Red-Yellow Latosol (Aut-dRYL) + autoclaved commercial substrate (Aut-CS); T2 = Aut-dRYL + Aut-CS + inoculum of AMF (Mix); T3 = Aut-dRYL + Aut-CS + soil of the parent plant (SPP); and T4 = Aut-dRYL + Aut-CS + SPP + Mix. The AMF inoculum comprised a mix of the species Gigaspora decipiens, Rhizophagus clarus, and Scutellospora heterogama . Seedling growth was determined 270-350 days after transplanting by measuring the following parameters: mycorrhizal colonization rate (MC), abundance of spores (AS), height (H), stem diameter (D), H/D ratio, volume of roots (VR), dry matter of shoot (SDM), roots (RDM), total (TDM), shoot / root dry matter ratio (SDM/RDM), height / shoot dry matter ratio (H/SDM), and Dickson quality index (DQI). The results showed that the addition of SPP improved the growth and DQI of the seedlings, while the AMF mix minimally changed both growth and DQI. The use of symbiotic microorganisms in the nursery in Brazil is scarse due to the difficulty of acquiring these microorganisms and the lack of commercialization of specific isolates for species native to the Cerrado biome. The present study evaluated the use of soil from naturally occurring areas as a source of inoculum. The higher growth and biomass production of inoculated plants support the use of SPP as a form of inoculum and/or inoculation with native AMF to produce seedlings of H. speciosa and B. gaudichaudii .","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82063680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stem profile of red oaks in a bottomland hardwood restoration plantation forest in the Arkansas Delta (USA)","authors":"N. Tian, J. Gan, M. Pelkki","doi":"10.3832/ifor4057-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4057-015","url":null,"abstract":"Bottomland hardwoods are among the most diverse and productive forest ecosystems in the southeastern United States and are critically important for the provision of timber and non-timber ecosystem services. Red oaks, the dominant species in this group of forests, are of high ecological and economic value. Stem profile models are essential for accurately estimating the merchantable volume of oak trees, which is also closely indicative of total tree biomass and other ecosystem services given their allometric relationships. This study aims to develop and compare stem profiles among three red oak species in an 18-year old plantation forest using destructive sampling. Sixty trees randomly selected from an oak restoration plantation in the Arkansas Delta were felled for measuring the diameter-outside-bark (DOB) and diame-ter-inside-bark (DIB) at different stem heights. These sample composed of twenty trees from each of three species: cherry bark oak (CBO – Quercus pagoda Raf), Nuttall oak (NUT – Quercus texana Buckley), and Shumard oak (SHU – Quercus shumardii Buckl). Multiple models, including the segmented-profile model, form-class profile model, and second-and third-order polynomial models were fitted and compared. Results demonstrate that the form-class profile model was the best fitted for CBO and NUT, whereas the third-order polynomial model was the best for SHU. CBO tends to grow taller and has a higher wood density than NUT and SHU. These findings will inform restoration and management decisions of bottomland hardwood forests, especially red oaks in the region.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85237111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maria Elvira Murazzi, P. Cherubini, I. Brunner, R. Kägi, M. Saurer, Paula Ballikaya, F. Hagedorn, Maya Al Sid Cheikh, G. Onandía, A. Gessler
{"title":"Can forest trees take up and transport nanoplastics?","authors":"Maria Elvira Murazzi, P. Cherubini, I. Brunner, R. Kägi, M. Saurer, Paula Ballikaya, F. Hagedorn, Maya Al Sid Cheikh, G. Onandía, A. Gessler","doi":"10.3832/ifor4021-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4021-015","url":null,"abstract":"Plastic contamination of ecosystems has increased dramatically over the last decades, raising concerns about the negative impacts of plastic particles on aquatic and terrestrial systems. In recent years, the focus of most research has shifted from large fragments (macroplastic) to micro- (<5 mm) and more recently to nano-plastic (<1000 nm) particles as more evidence has come to light about their ubiquity in water, soils, and living systems, and their effects on ecosystem and human health. In this study, we investigate nanoplastic uptake in the roots of seedlings (1-2 years old) of three different tree species and assess their transport to different tissues. Parts of the main roots of silver birch ( Betula pendula Roth), sessile oak ( Quercus petraea Matt. [Liebl.]), and Norway spruce ( Picea abies [L.] Karst.) were immersed for one or four days in a suspension containing 13 C-labelled nano-sized polystyrene particles ( 13 C-nPS; 99% 13 C, d = 28 ± 8 (1 σ) nm). Carbon stable isotope analysis showed significant 13 C enrichment ( P < 0.05) in the immersed part of the root after one day of treatment in all three species, and after four days in Q. petraea alone. Signals of significant 13 C enrichment were also found in the aboveground tissues of the trees. The stem of B. pendula in particular showed a significant 13 C enrichment after one day of treatment ( P < 0.01). This indicates that nanoplastic particles can be taken up through tree roots into the tree’s central cylinder, where they are subsequently conveyed through the tree by acropetal transport via the xylem.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78428948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vicente Jurado Doña, Javier López-Jurado, Antonio González Román, R. Sánchez‐Salguero, Luis Matías, Fernando Díaz Del Olmo
{"title":"Influence of site conditions and land management on Quercus suber L. population dynamics in the southern Iberian Peninsula","authors":"Vicente Jurado Doña, Javier López-Jurado, Antonio González Román, R. Sánchez‐Salguero, Luis Matías, Fernando Díaz Del Olmo","doi":"10.3832/ifor3753-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3753-015","url":null,"abstract":"During recent decades, tree mortality and dieback have been reported in forest ecosystems across global biomes. Although numerous forest species, including those of the genus Quercus , have been affected by hotter and drier conditions in the Mediterranean Basin during the last decades, there is scarce information regarding the interactive role of past management and climate across large areas of south-western Europe. Here, we examined the influence of several climatic factors (mean annual temperature, annual precipitation) over the last 3 decades, latitude, land management and site conditions on the cork oak ( Quercus suber L.) population dynamics given their high ecological and economic relevance. We sampled 20 plots across contrasting environmental conditions in SW Iberian Peninsula with different land property (public vs. private) to characterize cork oak tree size, stand density, mortality ratio and regeneration. We observed widespread effects of latitude (8.9% at northern vs. 15.6% at southern plots) and land property (6.9% in private properties vs. 13.9% in public ones) on tree mortality. Tree density and basal area differed with latitude, with higher values (307.2 trees ha -1 and 38.4 m 2 ha -1 , respectively) at northern populations. In addition, the more intense cork-focused productive management resulted in higher tree sizes in private (mean DBH = 47.3 cm) than in public (mean DBH = 37.8 cm) plots. Tree regeneration was higher in northern forests (94.9 ± 25.2 vs. 26.0 ± 6.1 saplings ha -1 for the southern location), being this difference more pronounced in public plots. These findings highlight the importance of sustainable forest management in public and private forests for further reduction of mortality processes, as well as for enhancing the regeneration aimed to the conservation of cork oak under forecasted drier conditions of these economically invaluable Mediterranean forests.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73976346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The physicomechanical and thermal properties of Algerian Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) wood as a component of sandwich panels","authors":"N. Lakreb, U. Şen, B. Bezzazi, H. Pereira","doi":"10.3832/ifor3952-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3952-015","url":null,"abstract":"Aleppo pine ( Pinus halepensis Mill.) is the main forest species of Algeria occu-pying more than 35% of the total forest area of the country. However, the physicomechanical and thermal characteristics of Algerian P. halepensis wood are not well-known. This research investigates the physical (moisture, density, swelling, and shrinkage), mechanical (bending strength and modulus of elastic-ity), and thermal (mass loss under combustion and pyrolysis as well as thermal conductivity) properties of P. halepensis wood from the Darguina (Bejaia) forest in Algeria. The results showed that Algerian P. halepensis wood with a mean density of 540 kg m -3 has good dimensional stability in swelling and shrinkage, with 116.43 MPa bending strength and a modulus of elasticity of 17,520 MPa. The wood shows a good thermal resistance under low-tempera-ture range and has a thermal conductivity of 0.21 W m -1 K -1 . The overall results indicate that Algerian P. halepensis wood may be commercially exploited for construction and insulation applications, namely in the production of sandwich composites.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"63 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90968604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tectona grandis Linn. f. secondary metabolites and their bioactive potential: a review","authors":"LP Chávez-Salgado, V. Vandenbossche, G. Vilarem","doi":"10.3832/ifor3714-015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor3714-015","url":null,"abstract":"Tectona grandis Linn. f. (teak) is one of the most appreciated high-quality timber all over the world due to its economic value and wide array of applications. This tropical hardwood presents outstanding characteristics like pleasing aesthetic appearance, strength, lightness, ease of working, dimensional stability, and decay resistance. The latter quality is mainly ascribed to its extractives, which contain biologically active compounds (mainly quinones and anthraquinones) that confer a natural resistance against termites and fungi. This review focuses on teak secondary metabolites and the bioactivity potential of heartwood extractives. Furthermore, it covers the generalities of the teak tree and gives an overview on the approaches aimed to valorize the wastes from woodworking enterprises as a possible source of functional extractives and as an eco-friendly raw material. Notwithstanding the efforts made to elu-cidate the compounds present in teak wood, further research is needed to un-derstand the chemical bases of its natural resistance to decay. Moreover, there is a lack of economic, technical, and ecotoxicity feasibility studies regarding extractives as a source of bioactive molecules for pharmaceutical, food, or cosmetics purposes.","PeriodicalId":13323,"journal":{"name":"Iforest - Biogeosciences and Forestry","volume":"92 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79850732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}