Forest Ecosystems最新文献

{"title":"Optimal integration of forest inventory data and aerial image-based canopy height models for forest stand management","authors":"Ardalan Daryaei ,&nbsp;Zoran Trailovic ,&nbsp;Hormoz Sohrabi ,&nbsp;Clement Atzberger ,&nbsp;Eduard Hochbichler ,&nbsp;Markus Immitzer","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100299","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100299","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate, reliable, and regularly updated information is necessary for targeted management of forest stands. This information is usually obtained from sample-based field inventory data. Due to the time-consuming and costly procedure of forest inventory, it is imperative to generate and use the resulting data optimally. Integrating field inventory information with remote sensing data increases the value of field approaches, such as national forest inventories. This study investigated the optimal integration of forest inventory data with aerial image-based canopy height models (CHM) for forest growing stock estimation. For this purpose, fixed-area and angle-count plots from a forest area in Austria were used to assess which type of inventory system is more suitable when the field data is integrated with aerial image analysis. Although a higher correlation was observed between remotely predicted growing stocks and field inventory values for fixed-area plots, the paired <em>t</em>-test results revealed no statistical difference between the two methods. The <em>R</em>² increased by 0.08 points and the RMSE decreased by 7.7 percentage points (24.8 ​m³·ha⁻¹) using fixed-area plots. Since tree height is the most critical variable essential for modeling forest growing stock using aerial images, we also compared the tree heights obtained from CHM to those from the typical field inventory approach. The result shows a high correlation (<em>R</em>² ​= ​0.781) between the tree heights extracted from the CHM and those measured in the field. However, the correlation decreased by 0.113 points and the RMSE increased by 4.2 percentage points (1.04 ​m) when the allometrically derived tree heights were analyzed. Moreover, the results of the paired <em>t</em>-test revealed that there is no significant statistical difference between the tree heights extracted from CHM and those measured in the field, but there is a significant statistical difference when the CHM-derived and the allometrically-derived heights were compared. This proved that image-based CHM can obtain more accurate tree height information than field inventory estimations. Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that image-based CHM can be integrated into the forest inventory data at large scales and provide reliable information on forest growing stock. The produced maps reflect the variability of growth conditions and developmental stages of different forest stands. This information is required to characterize the status and changes, e.g., in forest structure diversity, parameters for volume, and can be used for forest aboveground biomass estimation, which plays an important role in managing and controlling forest resources in mid-term forest management. This is of particular interest to forest managers and forest ecologists.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100299"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Demystifying field application of Critical Height Sampling in estimating stand volume","authors":"Hsiao-Chi Lo,&nbsp;Tzeng Yih Lam","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100298","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100298","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Critical Height Sampling (CHS) estimates stand volume free from any model and tree form assumptions. Despite its introduction more than four decades ago, CHS has not been widely applied in the field due to perceived challenges in measurement. The objectives of this study were to compare estimated stand volume between CHS and sampling methods that used volume or taper models, the equivalence of the sampling methods, and their relative efficiency. We established 65 field plots in planted forests of two coniferous tree species. We estimated stand volume for a range of Basal Area Factors (BAFs). Results showed that CHS produced the most similar mean stand volume across BAFs and tree species with maximum differences between BAFs of 5–18 ​m³·ha⁻¹. Horizontal Point Sampling (HPS) using volume models produced very large variability in mean stand volume across BAFs with the differences up to 126 ​m³·ha⁻¹. However, CHS was less precise and less efficient than HPS. Furthermore, none of the sampling methods were statistically interchangeable with CHS at an allowable tolerance of ≤55 ​m³·ha⁻¹. About 72% of critical height measurements were below crown base indicating that critical height was more accessible to measurement than expected. Our study suggests that the consistency in the mean estimates of CHS is a major advantage when planning a forest inventory. When checking against CHS, results hint that HPS estimates might contain potential model bias. These strengths of CHS could outweigh its lower precision. Our study also implies serious implications in financial terms when choosing a sampling method. Lastly, CHS could potentially benefit forest management as an alternate option of estimating stand volume when volume or taper models are lacking or are not reliable.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100298"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143071604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drought resilience and legacy effects in two forest tree species on Loess Plateau of China: Growth and water-use efficiency under different drought conditions","authors":"Lu Han ,&nbsp;J. Julio Camarero ,&nbsp;Guodong Jia ,&nbsp;Zhiqiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Lixin Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As droughts become more frequent and severer, understanding tree resilience and its role in mediating drought legacy effects (LEs) is critical for predicting forest ecosystem responses to future droughts and informing forest management. Both <em>Pinus tabuliformis</em> and <em>Populus davidiana</em> are widely distributed in the Loess Plateau region of western China and play important roles in provision of ecosystem services. In this study we quantified the LEs and resilience, including resistance (Rt) and recovery (Rc), of radial growth (BAI, basal area increment) and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) of the two species, determined the external and internal factors influencing Rt and Rc, and disentangled the respective contribution of Rt and Rc to LEs in the these two tree species. We found either negative or positive legacy effects in BAI (LE_BAI) and iWUE (LE_iWUE) in both species, mostly lasting for 1–3 years. Species differences were only detected in LE_iWUE during the severer drought event. But species variation in resilience did not differ. <em>P</em>. <em>tabuliformis</em> exhibited lower Rt but higher Rc than <em>P. davidiana</em>. Tree diameter and drought intensity were negatively correlated with Rt and Rc; whereas tree age and growth variability positively influenced both resilience components. In <em>P. tabulaeformis</em>, the influence of Rt was stronger on LE than on Rc during the milder droughts, whereas during the severer droughts LE was affected by Rc. The reversed patterns of the effects were exhibited by <em>P. davidiana</em>. Our findings help advance current understanding on the factors driving resilience and how trees use different resilience strategies under different drought conditions to alleviate negative LEs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100297"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143402727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of the Eurasian beaver's gnawing activity on the structure of riparian forests in three Italian rivers","authors":"Giovanni Trentanovi ,&nbsp;Thomas Campagnaro ,&nbsp;Alessandro Campanaro ,&nbsp;Alessio Giovannelli ,&nbsp;Silvia Gisondi ,&nbsp;Alice Lenzi ,&nbsp;Giuseppe Mazza ,&nbsp;Maria Laura Traversi ,&nbsp;Andrea Viviano ,&nbsp;Emiliano Mori","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Eurasian beaver (<em>Castor fiber</em> Linnaeus, 1758) can be considered a hydrological ecosystem engineer as it shapes environmental characteristics through its building activities and feeding behaviour. Even if several studies have so far reported beaver impact on multi-taxon biodiversity and forest regeneration, there is a lack of research on forest stand structure evolution following beaver direct activity on trees. This represents a pivotal topic for predicting restoration outcomes and reccommending sound silvicultural and management practices to maintain specific forest conditions. Specifically, the study aims at investigating forest stand structure and tree species diversity changes considering river variability, distance from the riverbank and beaver's gnawing activity intensity. The Eurasian beaver is only recently recolonising the three analysed Mediterranean rivers, but stand structure seems to be already significantly impacted by the species. The number of trees was reduced, increasing mean diameter at breast height at stand level, as most of the youngest and/or smaller trees are entirely cut down. Strongest structural variations can be detected in intensively impacted stands and in the forest portions closer to the riverbank. The absence of a significant effect on most of the diversity indices is likely due to the initially homogeneous composition of the tree layer in each stand and to the limited variety of beaver's diet within the sites. Future resprouting of secondary tree shoots, as well as beaver gnawing activity changes in intensity over time and space, can further produce variations in structural parameters and woody species diversity in the medium- and long-term period. Therefore, it will be crucial to further monitor the long-term effects, as structural shifts can produce significant effects on riparian ecosystem functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100296"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Species-specific influences of competition and tree size on drought sensitivity and resistance for three planted conifers in northern China","authors":"Rui Deng ,&nbsp;Jinglei Liao ,&nbsp;Tim Rademacher ,&nbsp;Zhongqi Xu ,&nbsp;Mingchao Du ,&nbsp;Jianwei Zheng ,&nbsp;Lihua Fu ,&nbsp;Xianliang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Droughts have caused tree growth decline and high tree mortality across temperate forests, however, how to manage planted forests to alleviate drought stress is still challenging. We used tree-ring and forest inventory data from different density stands to investigate how competition, tree diameter at breast height (DBH), tree age, and their interactions influence drought sensitivity and resistance for three widely-distributed and planted conifer species (<em>Larix principis-rupprechtii</em>, <em>Picea meyeri</em>, and <em>Pinus sylvestris</em> var. <em>mongolica</em>). Our results showed that the drought sensitivity of the three species was influenced by competition, tree size, and their interactions. Large <em>L.</em> <em>principis-rupprechtii</em> trees were particularly sensitive to drought during the growing season in medium to high-density stands, while the growth of large <em>P. sylvestris</em> var. <em>mongolica</em> was most affected by precipitation at low to medium density stands. Drought resistance of <em>L. principis-rupprechtii</em> trees decreased as tree size increased. Large <em>L.</em> <em>principis-rupprechtii</em> trees had lower drought resistance than small trees in all stands. Drought resistance of large <em>P. meyeri</em> trees exhibited high resistance to drought only in high-density stands. However, drought resistance of <em>P. sylvestris</em> var. <em>mongolica</em> trees was affected by tree size, competition, and their interactions. These results indicated that targeted silvicultural interventions, such as thinning, can be implemented to enhance drought resistance specifically for large <em>L. principis-rupprechtii</em> trees and small <em>P. sylvestris</em> var. <em>mongolica</em> trees in medium and high competition stands, and small <em>P. meyeri</em> trees in high competition stands. Our results highlight that properly conducted thinning can in some cases enhance growth resistance to droughts, depending on stand density, tree size, and tree species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100295"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143035223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Increased positive tree species mixture effects on the abundance and richness of Collembola with stand development in Canadian boreal forests","authors":"Yakun Zhang ,&nbsp;Sai Peng ,&nbsp;Zilong Ma ,&nbsp;Chen Chen ,&nbsp;Bilei Gao ,&nbsp;Xinli Chen ,&nbsp;Han Y.H. Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>It is well established that species mixtures could enhance ecosystem functioning in diverse ecosystem types, with these benefits increasing over time. However, the impact of tree mixtures on Collembola communities following stand development in natural forests remains unclear, despite the critical roles Collembola plays in litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. We investigated the effects of tree species mixtures on Collembola abundance, diversity, and community structure by sampling pure and mixed jack pine (<em>Pinus banksiana</em> Lamb.) and trembling aspen (<em>Populus tremuloides</em> Michx.) of 15-year-old and 41-year-old stands in natural boreal forest. In total, 6,620 individuals of Collembola were identified as belonging to 39 species/morphospecies. Our results showed significant effects of stand types on Collembola with higher abundance and richness in conifer and mixed stands than in broadleaf stands. Additionally, with stand development, we observed increased Collembola abundance and richness. In 15-year-old stands, Collembola abundance, richness, and evenness in mixed-species stands were comparable to those in single-species stands. However, as stands developed, tree mixture effects became more pronounced, resulting in higher Collembola abundance and richness in mixed-species stands compared to the average of single-species stands in 41-year-old stands. Further, we observed positive associations between the mixture effects on Collembola abundance and richness with soil nutrient contents. We conclude that tree species mixtures can significantly enhance Collembola abundance and diversity, particularly in older stands and those with elevated soil nutrient levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100294"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143183227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatio-temporal dynamics of future aboveground carbon stocks in natural forests of China","authors":"Yixuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Kai Cheng ,&nbsp;Zekun Yang ,&nbsp;Yuling Chen ,&nbsp;Haitao Yang ,&nbsp;Yu Ren ,&nbsp;Jianhua Wan ,&nbsp;Qinghua Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100293","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural forests are the primary carbon sinks within terrestrial ecosystems, playing a crucial role in mitigating global climate change. China has successfully restored its natural forest area through extensive protective measures. However, the aboveground carbon (AGC) stock potential of China's natural forests remains considerably uncertain in spatial and temporal dynamics. In this study, we provide a spatially detailed estimation of the maximum AGC stock potential for China's natural forests by integrating high-resolution multi-source remote sensing and field survey data. The analysis reveals that China's natural forests could sequester up to 9.88 ​± ​0.10 ​Pg ​C by 2030, potentially increasing to 10.46 ​± ​0.11 ​Pg ​C by 2060. Despite this, the AGC sequestration rate would decline from 0.19 ​± ​0.001 to 0.08 ​± ​0.001 ​Pg ​C·yr⁻¹ over the period. Spatially, the future AGC accumulation rates exhibit marked heterogeneity. The warm temperate deciduous broadleaf forest region with predominantly young natural forests, is expected to exhibit the most significant increase of 26.36% by 2060, while the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Alpine region comprising mainly mature natural forests would exhibit only a 0.74% increase. To sustain the high carbon sequestration capacity of China's natural forests, it is essential to prioritize protecting mature forests alongside preserving and restoring young natural forest areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"13 ","pages":"Article 100293"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variable growth responses of four tree species to climate and drought in a Madrean pine-oak forest","authors":"Marín Pompa-García ,&nbsp;J. Julio Camarero ,&nbsp;Cristina Valeriano ,&nbsp;Eduardo Daniel Vivar-Vivar","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2025.100292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The tolerance of tree growth to drought in diverse mixed forests subjected to seasonal water shortage is understudied despite their ecological and economic relevance. By combining intra- and inter-annual analyses of radial growth responses to climate and drought at daily and monthly scales, different strategies to acclimate to hydroclimate variability of coexisting conifers and broadleaves were unveiled. We analyzed the growth patterns and responses to hydroclimate variability in two conifers (<em>Pinus engelmannii</em>, <em>Juniperus deppeana</em>) and two broadleaves (<em>Quercus grisea</em>, <em>Arbutus arizonica</em>) co-occurring in a Madrean pine-oak forest located in NW México. The strongest positive response to daily precipitation was found in the two conifers, but this response peaked earlier in <em>J. deppeana</em> than in <em>P. engelmannii</em>, which presented a more delayed formation of radially-enlarging tracheids. The latest negative response to temperature was found in <em>Q. grisea</em>, which agrees with its more delayed xylogenesis than <em>A. arizonica</em>. <em>P. engelmannii</em> presented the highest responsiveness to water shortage, driven by lower precipitation and high maximum temperatures, responding to longer droughts ending in autumn (<em>r</em> ​= ​0.72), whilst <em>A. arizonica</em> showed the lowest responsiveness to short spring droughts (<em>r</em> ​= ​0.39). Growth of <em>P. engelmannii</em> was linked to climate-atmospheric circulation patterns over the near Pacific Ocean. Overall, <em>P. engelmannii</em> and <em>A. arizonica</em> showed high growth rates and earlier growth onset, whilst <em>J. deppeana</em> and <em>Q. grisea</em> showed slower growth rates and later growth onset. The Vaganov-Shashkin growth model evidenced that winter-spring soil moisture was the key driver of growth. Under more arid conditions and more frequent and hotter droughts, pine stands could rapidly shift towards mixed pine-oak forests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100292"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142967826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The patterns of forest soil particulate and mineral associated organic carbon characteristics with latitude and soil depth across eastern China","authors":"Yunlong Hu ,&nbsp;Gukailin Ao ,&nbsp;Jiguang Feng ,&nbsp;Xiao Chen ,&nbsp;Biao Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100291","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100291","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forest ecosystems function as the largest carbon (C) sink in terrestrial ecosystems, and nearly half of the C in forest ecosystems is stored in forest soils. However, the patterns of two main fractions of soil organic C, particulate organic C (POC) and mineral-associated organic C (MAOC), across various types of forest ecosystems remain unclear. In this study, soil samples were collected from depths of 0–100 ​cm at eight sites located between 18° and 48° north latitude in eastern China. The soil samples were then separated into particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) based on particle size to analyze the distribution of C within each fraction. The results showed that the C stored as POC increased with latitude and decreased with soil depth. Specifically, 28.1%, 38.5% and 55.6% of C was stored as POC in the topsoil (0–30 ​cm) of tropical, subtropical and temperate forests, respectively, while 24.0%, 24.3% and 38.9% of C was stored as POC in the subsoil (30–100 ​cm) of the corresponding forests, respectively. MAOC experienced a higher degree of microbial processing (indicated by differences in δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C:N between POM and MAOM) than POC, with a more pronounced difference in microbial processing between MAOC and POC at lower latitudes than at higher latitudes. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of forest SOC and offer potential strategies for enhancing forest C sequestration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100291"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142925337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the combined effects of forest management and climate change on carbon and water fluxes in European beech forests","authors":"Vincenzo Saponaro ,&nbsp;Miquel De Cáceres ,&nbsp;Daniela Dalmonech ,&nbsp;Ettore D'Andrea ,&nbsp;Elia Vangi ,&nbsp;Alessio Collalti","doi":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100290","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fecs.2024.100290","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The consequences of climate change continue to threaten European forests, particularly for species located at the edges of their latitudinal and altitudinal ranges. While extensively studied in Central Europe, European beech forests require further investigation to understand how climate change will affect these ecosystems in Mediterranean areas. Proposed silvicultural options increasingly aim at sustainable management to reduce biotic and abiotic stresses and enhance these forest ecosystems' resistance and resilience mechanisms. Process-based models (PBMs) can help us to simulate such phenomena and capture early stress signals while considering the effect of different management approaches. In this study, we focus on estimating sensitivity of two state-of-the-art PBMs forest models by simulating carbon and water fluxes at the stand level to assess productivity changes and feedback resulting from different climatic forcings as well as different management regimes. We applied the 3D-CMCC-FEM and MEDFATE forest models for carbon (C) and water (H₂O) fluxes in two sites of the Italian peninsula, Cansiglio in the north and Mongiana in the south, under managed vs. unmanaged scenarios and under current climate and different climatic scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). To ensure confidence in the models’ results, we preliminary evaluated their performance in simulating C and H₂O flux in three additional beech forests of the FLUXNET network along a latitudinal gradient spanning from Denmark to central Italy. The 3D-CMCC-FEM model achieved <em>R</em>² values of 0.83 and 0.86 with RMSEs of 2.53 and 2.05 for C and H₂O fluxes, respectively. MEDFATE showed <em>R</em>² values of 0.76 and 0.69 with RMSEs of 2.54 and 3.01. At the Cansiglio site in northern Italy, both models simulated a general increase in C and H₂O fluxes under the RCP8.5 climate scenario compared to the current climate. Still, no benefit in managed plots compared to unmanaged ones, as the site does not have water availability limitations, and thus, competition for water is low. At the Mongiana site in southern Italy, both models predict a decrease in C and H₂O fluxes and sensitivity to the different climatic forcing compared to the current climate; and an increase in C and H₂O fluxes when considering specific management regimes compared to unmanaged scenarios. Conversely, under unmanaged scenarios plots are simulated to experience first signals of mortality prematurely due to water stress (MEDFATE) and carbon starvation (3D-CMCC-FEM) scenarios. In conclusion, while management interventions may be considered a viable solution for the conservation of beech forests under future climate conditions at moister sites like Cansiglio, in drier sites like Mongiana conservation may not lie in management interventions alone.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54270,"journal":{"name":"Forest Ecosystems","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100290"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143172608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}