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Journal articles on the topic 'Deciduous forest'
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1
Jerabkova, Lucie, Cindy E. Prescott, and Barbara E. Kishchuk. "Nitrogen availability in soil and forest floor of contrasting types of boreal mixedwood forests." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36, no. 1 (January 1, 2006): 112–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x05-220.
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Boreal mixedwood forests with varying proportions of coniferous and deciduous species are found throughout the North American continent. Maintenance of a deciduous component within boreal forests is currently favoured, as deciduous species are believed to promote faster nutrient turnover and higher nutrient availability. Results of comparisons of deciduous and coniferous forests are, however, inconsistent in supporting this generalization. We compared indices of soil nitrogen (N) availability in the forest floor and mineral soil of deciduous, mixed, and coniferous stands of boreal mixedwood forest in northwestern Alberta. Deciduous stands had higher N availability, reflected by higher pools of NH4-N and inorganic N in the forest floor. Forest floors of deciduous stands also tended to have higher concentrations of microbial N but did not have higher levels of NO3-N or higher rates of net nitrification. Mixed stands showed the highest rates of net N mineralization. Soil N availability was more closely related to litter N content than to litter decomposition rate. The variation among the forest types is likely attributable to vegetation, as topography is fairly uniform, stands do not differ in soil texture, and N-availability indices correlated directly with the proportion of deciduous trees.
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Obbard, Martyn E., Melissa B. Coady, Bruce A. Pond, James A. Schaefer, and Frank G. Burrows. "A distance-based analysis of habitat selection by American black bears (Ursus americanus) on the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada." Canadian Journal of Zoology 88, no. 11 (November 2010): 1063–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z10-072.
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Because of their wide-ranging habits, conserving large carnivores such as American black bears ( Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) often depends on understanding habitat needs beyond the boundary of protected areas. We studied habitat selection by black bears in the vicinity of Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario — a small, isolated population whose persistence appears dependent on habitat on lands outside the Park. We used an approach based on Euclidean distances to document seasonal habitat selection at two spatial scales and to identify candidate habitat types for protection. Adult females selected dense mixed forests to establish home ranges within the population range, whereas subadults and yearlings selected dense deciduous forests. Within home ranges, adults selected dense mixed forest in spring–summer and dense deciduous forest in late summer – fall. Subadults selected dense deciduous forest, marsh, dense mixed forest, and water during the spring–summer and avoided developed lands and roads. Yearlings selected dense mixed forest, dense deciduous forest, and sparse forests in spring–summer and dense deciduous forest and dense mixed forest in late summer – fall. The selection of dense deciduous and dense mixed forest stands, especially at the broader scale, suggests that strategies to ensure persistence of this isolated population should focus on protecting the integrity of these stands.
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Yin, Xiwei. "Nitrogen use efficiency in relation to forest type, N expenditure, and climatic gradients in North America." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 24, no. 3 (March 1, 1994): 533–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x94-070.
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Forest nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) values are often compared along N-availability gradients or between forest types, without adjustment for climate. In this study, NUE (leaf-fall mass/leaf-fall N) was examined with concurrent data on forest type, N expenditure (leaf-fall N), foliar life-span, and major climatic gradients. The hypotheses were that (1) NUE is negatively correlated with N expenditure, (2) NUE is positively correlated with climatic factors such as temperature and light availability, and (3) NUE differs between deciduous and evergreen forests. The data set included 76 deciduous broadleaf forests, 52 evergreen coniferous forests, and 6 mixed forests in North America. All three hypotheses are supported by best-fit models. NUE decreases by about 30% for each doubling of N expenditure for both deciduous and evergreen forests. It increases over 50% in deciduous forests and nearly triples in evergreen forests across the climate data range. Evergreen forests tend to have higher NUEs than deciduous forests only in areas with relatively high temperatures and light availability. This climate–forest type interaction is attributed to contrasts between the forest types in terms of growth period, and regional patterns of foliar N concentration and N resorption.
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Beamesderfer, Eric R., M. Altaf Arain, Myroslava Khomik, Jason J. Brodeur, and Brandon M. Burns. "Response of carbon and water fluxes to meteorological and phenological variability in two eastern North American forests of similar age but contrasting species composition – a multiyear comparison." Biogeosciences 17, no. 13 (July 10, 2020): 3563–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3563-2020.
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Abstract. The annual carbon and water dynamics of two eastern North American temperate forests were compared over a 6-year period from 2012 to 2017. The geographic location, forest age, soil, and climate were similar between the two stands; however, stand composition varied in terms of tree leaf-retention and shape strategy: one stand was a deciduous broadleaf forest, while the other was an evergreen needleleaf forest. The 6-year mean annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of the coniferous forest was slightly higher and more variable (218±109 g C m−2 yr−1) compared to that of the deciduous forest NEP (200±83 g C m−2 yr−1). Similarly, the 6-year mean annual evapotranspiration (ET) of the coniferous forest was higher (442±33 mm yr−1) than that of the deciduous forest (388±34 mm yr−1), but with similar interannual variability. Summer meteorology greatly impacted the carbon and water fluxes in both stands; however, the degree of response varied among the two stands. In general, warm temperatures caused higher ecosystem respiration (RE), resulting in reduced annual NEP values – an impact that was more pronounced at the deciduous broadleaf forest compared to the evergreen needleleaf forest. However, during warm and dry years, the evergreen forest had largely reduced annual NEP values compared to the deciduous forest. Variability in annual ET at both forests was related most to the variability in annual air temperature (Ta), with the largest annual ET observed in the warmest years in the deciduous forest. Additionally, ET was sensitive to prolonged dry periods that reduced ET at both stands, although the reduction at the coniferous forest was relatively larger than that of the deciduous forest. If prolonged periods (weeks to months) of increased Ta and reduced precipitation are to be expected under future climates during summer months in the study region, our findings suggest that the deciduous broadleaf forest will likely remain an annual carbon sink, while the carbon sink–source status of the coniferous forest remains uncertain.
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Ling, Yuxiang, Shiwen Teng, Chao Liu, Jadunandan Dash, Harry Morris, and Julio Pastor-Guzman. "Assessing the Accuracy of Forest Phenological Extraction from Sentinel-1 C-Band Backscatter Measurements in Deciduous and Coniferous Forests." Remote Sensing 14, no. 3 (January 31, 2022): 674. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14030674.
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Satellite remote sensing is an important method for forest phenological studies at continental or global scales. Sentinel-1 (S1), a polar orbit satellite with a spatial resolution of 10 m, provides an opportunity to observe high-resolution forest phenology. The sensitivities of S1 C-band backscatter measurements to vegetation phenology, such as crops, meadows, and mixed forests, have been discussed, whereas their performance for different forest types has not yet been quantitatively assessed. It is necessary to evaluate accuracy before adapting S1 datasets in forest phenological studies. This study discusses the seasonal variations in S1 backscatter measurements and assesses the accuracy of S1-based forest phenological metrics in two types of typical forests: deciduous and coniferous. S1 C-band SAR dual-polarization backscatter measurements for the period 2017–2019 were used to extract forest phenology metrics using the Fourier transform (FT) and double logistic (DL) functions. Phenological metrics from the ground-based PhenoCam dataset were used for evaluation. The S1 backscatter VV-VH signal peaks for deciduous and coniferous forests occur in the winter and summer, respectively. The S1 backscatter could reasonably characterize the start of season (SOS) of deciduous forests, with R² values up to 0.8, whereas the R² values for coniferous forest SOS were less than 0.30. Moreover, the retrieved end of season (EOS) was less accurate than the SOS. The differences in accuracy of S1 backscatter phenological metrics between deciduous and coniferous forests can be explained by the differences in seasonal changes in their corresponding canopy structures. To conclude, S1 C-band backscatter has a reasonable performance when monitoring the SOS of deciduous broadleaf forests (R² = 0.8) and relatively poor performance when extracting EOS of deciduous broadleaf forests (R² = 0.25) or phenology of evergreen needleleaf forests (R² = 0.2).
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Entry, James A., and William H. Emmingham. "Influence of vegetation on microbial degradation of atrazine and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in riparian soils." Canadian Journal of Soil Science 76, no. 1 (February 1, 1996): 101–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjss96-014.
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Mineralization of atrazine (2 chloro-4 [ethylamino]-6[isopropylamino]-s-triazine) and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) in the organic layer and the top 10 cm of mineral soil was measured with radiometric techniques seasonally in coniferous forests and deciduous forests and grassland riparian soils. Active bacterial biomass and active fungal biomass, total carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were also measured. In the organic horizon, atrazine mineralization was higher in conifer than in deciduous forests during all seasons. Mineralization of 2,4-D was higher in coniferous than deciduous forests in autumn and spring. Grassland vegetation did not form an organic horizon. In mineral soil, atrazine mineralization was higher in coniferous than deciduous forests in the spring and higher in grassland soils in all seasons of the year. In mineral soil, 2,4-D mineralization was higher in coniferous and deciduous forests than grassland soils in autumn, winter, and spring. 2,4-D mineralization in mineral soils did not differ between coniferous and deciduous forest soils. We found no abiotic variables or active fungal or bacterial biomass that correlated with atrazine or 2,4-D mineralization. We hypothesize that the soil microbial communities that develop under coniferous forests are capable of mineralizing greater amounts of atrazine and 2,4-D than those that develop under deciduous forests or grassland ecosystems. Key words: Forest riparian soils, forest soils, herbicides, microbial biomass
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Goldblum, David, and Lesley S. Rigg. "The Deciduous Forest - Boreal Forest Ecotone." Geography Compass 4, no. 7 (July 2010): 701–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2010.00342.x.
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Wu, Linjia, Qidi Dong, Shixian Luo, Yanling Li, Yuzhou Liu, Jiani Li, Zhixian Zhu, Mingliang He, Yuhang Luo, and Qibing Chen. "An Empirical Study of the Restoration Potential of Urban Deciduous Forest Space to Youth." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 6 (March 15, 2022): 3453. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063453.
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Urban deciduous forests are an important ecological resource and seasonal landscape in the urban environment. However, in the abundant literature on how urban green space promotes human health and well-being, research on urban seasonal deciduous forests is limited. This study aimed to investigate the physiological and psychological recovery potential provided of urban deciduous forest space for youths and the spatial preferences of youths regarding such spaces. We recruited 120 participants to study the restorative potential of two typical urban deciduous forest landscape spaces (experimental groups) and one urban road environment (control group). The results showed that after 15 min of observation, the blood pressure (especially the diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.01)) and pulse of the deciduous forest trail setting (DFTS) group effectively decreased, and the restorative mood significantly increased. Regarding change in emotional parameters, the DFTS group scored higher on “interest” and significantly higher than the other two groups on positive emotion. The correlation results show that density and level are the key factors affecting spatial preferences regarding complex deciduous forests. An increase in density reduces the mood of re-laxation, and an increase in level decreases fatigue and interest. We suggest (1) constructing foot-paths in urban deciduous forests to reduce their spatial density as to improve the relaxation effect and (2) increasing landscape diversity according to the forest space to facilitate user participation and interest. This study provides a scientific basis for the environmental restoration of deciduous landscapes and for urban forestry management decision-makers based on space type construction.
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Anusree, Ajithakumari, Puthiya Karunakaran, and Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy. "Effect of Adult Tree Density and Nearness to the Natural Forest on the Restoration of Degraded Deciduous Forests of Attappady, Western Ghats, Kerala." Indian Journal of Forestry 39, no. 4 (January 12, 2016): 309–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2016-362f4c.
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Studied on the effect of adult tree density and the proximity to the natural forest on restoration success in one of the most exploited tropical deciduous forests, Attappady, Western Ghats. Random quadrats were laid and surveyed for trees and saplings in remnant tropical deciduous forest patches (hereafter called as fragmented forest and the sites being restored here after called as restoration patches) to determine floristic composition, species turnover among sites and the influence of adult tree density on sapling density. Forests composed of deciduous and evergreen trees with an average species richness of 28 and alpha diversity of 2.671 in a 0.2 ha plot. Similarity of restoration patches with natural forest increased as distance between them decreased and regeneration of native species were more efficient in sites with more number of adult trees. Local (adult tree density) and landscape level (isolation of patches) factors are both important in determining the restoration success of deciduous forests of Attappady.
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Wolfe, Brett T., Gabriel E. Saldaña Diaz, and Skip J. Van Bloem. "Fire resistance in a Caribbean dry forest: inferences from the allometry of bark thickness." Journal of Tropical Ecology 30, no. 2 (February 6, 2014): 133–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467413000904.
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Abstract:Trees’ resistance to fire-induced mortality increases with bark thickness, which varies widely among species and generally increases with stem diameter. Because dry forests are more fire-prone than wetter forests, bark may be thicker in these forests. However, where disturbances such as hurricanes suppress stem diameter, trees may not obtain fire-resistant bark thickness. In two hurricane-prone Caribbean dry-forest types in Puerto Rico—deciduous forest and scrub forest—we measured bark thickness on 472 stems of 25 species to test whether tree species obtain bark thicknesses that confer fire resistance, whether bark is thicker in the fire-prone scrub forest than in the deciduous forest, and how bark thickness in Caribbean dry forest compares with other tropical ecosystems. Only 5% of stems within a deciduous-forest stand had bark thickness that would provide < 50% probability of top-kill during low-intensity fire. In contrast, thicker-barked trees dominated the scrub forest, suggesting that fires influenced it. Compared with trees of similar diameter in other regions of the tropics, bark in Caribbean dry forest was thinner than in savanna, similar to other seasonally dry forests, and thicker than moist-to-wet forests. Dry-forest species appear to invest more in fire-resistance than species from wetter forests. However, Caribbean dry forests remain highly vulnerable to fire because the trees rarely reach large enough diameters to be fire resistant.
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Asanok, Lamthai, Rungrawee Taweesuk, and Nitpavaridsa Papakjan. "Woody Species Colonization along Edge-Interior Gradients of Deciduous Forest Remnants in the Mae Khum Mee Watershed, Northern Thailand." International Journal of Forestry Research 2020 (March 9, 2020): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/5867376.
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This study investigated the environmental factors and tree species characteristics that are important for the colonization of edge-interior gradients, for later application to the restoration of edge-transition areas created by highland agriculture in deciduous forests in the Mae Khum Mee watershed, northwest Thailand. Three belt plots (100 × 10 m) were established at the transition from the forest edge to the interior of two deciduous forest types (mixed deciduous forest [MDF] and deciduous dipterocarp forest [DDF]), for a total of six belt plots. The species composition of canopy trees and regenerated seedlings and saplings was assessed, together with several environmental factors. We analyzed the relative importance of the physical environment and recruitment limitation was evaluated in relation to the regeneration traits of tree species. The results indicated that it was difficult for DDF and MDF species to effectively colonize the near-edge areas of the forests, primarily because the key factors related to seedling and sapling colonization (i.e., recruitment limitation, the physical environment, and factors related to forest structure) did not match the edge environment. Generalist species experienced much less recruitment limitation along the edge-interior gradients of both DDFs and MDFs. Generalists such as Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Dalbergia cultrata, and Vitex pinnata exhibited more successful establishment under conditions at the edges of both deciduous forests. These findings suggest that the natural regeneration of generalist species can be utilized as a first step in forest-edge restoration due to their facilitation of subsequent colonization by primary forest species.
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Lasota, Jarosław, Ewa Błońska, and Piotr Pacanowski. "Forest sites and forest types on rendzinas in Poland." Soil Science Annual 69, no. 2 (June 1, 2018): 121–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/ssa-2018-0012.
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Abstract The article discusses the relationship between rendzinas and types of forest sites and plant communities in lowland, upland and mountain areas in Poland. Rendzinas as soils of forest sites play an important role in the uplands of southern Poland. In mountain areas, their preponderance is limited to the area of the Pieniny and the Western Tatras. The site-forming role of rendzinas in the upland areas depends mainly on geomorphological conditions. Typical rendzinas generally form eutrophic sites of multi-species oak-hornbeam forests, fertile beech forests and thermophilous beech forests. Rendzinas with lithological discontinuities usually create poorer form sites of mixed deciduous forests, which correspond to floristically poorer phytocenoses of acidophilous deciduous forests. In mountain areas, the climate and geomorphological processes form the zonation of vegetation and rendzinas. In vertical layout sites, the rendzinas change from fertile sites of fir and beech forests, through mesotrophic mixed forests sites, to spruce forest on limestone in the upper montane zone.
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Reiss, Martin, and Peter Chifflard. "Different forest cover and its impact on eco-hydrological traits, invertebrate fauna and biodiversity of spring habitats." Nature Conservation 27 (July 3, 2018): 85–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.27.26024.
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Headwater springs in the German Low Mountain Ranges are local ecotone habitats and biogeographical islands embedded in and interlinked with their adjacent landscape. The structure of forests reflects the eco-hydrological conditions in substrate type occurrence, microhabitat richness and biodiversity in forest springs. This study considers effects from different forest land cover by comparing spring habitats in deciduous beech forests and coniferous spruce forests on eco-hydrological structures and biodiversity. Study areas include six different forest landscapes in the Low Mountain Ranges in Central Germany in Hesse and Thuringia. Hydro-morphological structure mapping and invertebrate sampling was executed within a multi-habitat sampling regime, which involves sampling plots being allocated according to the cover ratio of the occurring substrata. Aquatic and terrestrial spring zones are considered with respect to an ecotone approach. Some in situ measurements were implemented, such as pH values, to assess the acidity of the spring water. Results show obvious differences in acidity, substrate type cover ratios and biodiversity in deciduous and coniferous forest springs. Conifer forest springs were found tending to acidification while deciduous forest springs were slightly alkaline. Deciduous forest springs had higher cover ratios of organic microhabitats as well as a higher biodiversity in species richness and total number of individuals. Although it was not possible to clearly distinguish one direct key factor of fauna assemblages, negative effects from forest management practices (e.g. monoculture plantations of conifer forest) on spring habitats can be concluded.
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Tran, Anh Tuan, Kim Anh Nguyen, Yuei An Liou, Minh Hang Le, Van Truong Vu, and Dinh Duong Nguyen. "Classification and Observed Seasonal Phenology of Broadleaf Deciduous Forests in a Tropical Region by Using Multitemporal Sentinel-1A and Landsat 8 Data." Forests 12, no. 2 (February 18, 2021): 235. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12020235.
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Broadleaf deciduous forests (BDFs) or dry dipterocarp forests play an important role in biodiversity conservation in tropical regions. Observations and classification of forest phenology provide valuable inputs for ecosystem models regarding its responses to climate change to assist forest management. Remotely sensed observations are often used to derive the parameters corresponding to seasonal vegetation dynamics. Data acquired from the Sentinel-1A satellite holds a great potential to improve forest type classification at a medium-large scale. This article presents an integrated object-based classification method by using Sentinel-1A and Landsat 8 OLI data acquired during different phenological periods (rainy and dry seasons). The deciduous forest and nondeciduous forest areas are classified by using NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) from Landsat 8 cloud-free composite images taken during dry (from February to April) and rainy (from June to October) seasons. Shorea siamensis Miq. (S. siamensis), Shorea obtusa Wall. ex Blume (S. obtusa), and Dipterocarpus tuberculatus Roxb. (D. tuberculatus) in the deciduous forest area are classified based on the correlation between phenology of BDFs in Yok Don National Park and backscatter values of time-series Sentinel-1A imagery in deciduous forest areas. One hundred and five plots were selected during the field survey in the study area, consisting of dominant deciduous species, tree height, and canopy diameter. Thirty-nine plots were used for training to decide the broadleaf deciduous forest areas of the classified BDFs by the proposed method, and the other sixty-six plots were used for validation. Our proposed approach used the changes of backscatter in multitemporal SAR images to implement BDF classification mapping with acceptable accuracy. The overall accuracy of classification is about 79%, with a kappa coefficient of 0.7. Accurate classification and mapping of the BDFs using the proposed method can help authorities implement forest management in the future.
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Lo Monaco, Angela, Giulia Luziatelli, Francesco Latterini, Farzam Tavankar, and Rodolfo Picchio. "Structure and Dynamics of Deadwood in Pine and Oak Stands and their Role in CO2 Sequestration in Lowland Forests of Central Italy." Forests 11, no. 3 (February 26, 2020): 253. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11030253.
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There are many data values describing deadwood in primary forests, however, there is much less information concerning managed forests, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Whole non-living woody biomass (deadwood) is the main component of forest types that plays a vital role in improving and maintaining biodiversity. The dynamics of deadwood and CO2 sequestration by deadwood were examined in three Mediterranean lowland forests: pine forest Pinus pinea L.), evergreen oak forest (Quercus ilex and Quercus suber L.), and deciduous oak forest (Quercus cerris L.). The aim of this study was to carry out a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the deadwood to gather useful information for the Mediterranean forest management, and to provide some useful data that can be integrated into the methods of estimation for carbon stored in dead components of Mediterranean forest types. The investigations focused on the characterization of the deadwood, to determine which traits are dominant and their potentially functionality within the forest type. Results indicated the deciduous oak type had the highest amount of stand volume (379 m3/ha), deadwood volume (161.8 m3/ha), and C storage (31.43 t/ha). The major component of dead wood was the standing dead trees or snags. There was a higher volume of deadwood in the deciduous oak forest than in the pine and evergreen oak forests. In addition, the deciduous oak forest had a higher snag creation index, a higher fallen log creation index, and a higher past management index compared to pine and evergreen oak forest types. Deadwood volume increased as the decay class in the deciduous oak forest increased, while this trend decreased in the evergreen oak and pine forests. The amount of deadwood was affected by the forest type and forest management regime. Dynamic and past management of deadwood indices indicated that their structure was still in the initial phase of creation and decay in the pine and evergreen oak forests. A comparison with other studies on similar forest types brought out that the variation range of the main parameters for the management of deadwood fell within the variation of the parameters studied. However, the values of these parameters cover a broad range. The population of each forest type is extremely sensitive to the different evolutionary periods of the forest dynamics.
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Matuszkiewicz, Jan Marek, Elena Bielonowska, Anna Kowalska, Nadjeżda Cariewska, Jarosław Baranowski, Viera Vinogradowa, Arkadij Tishkov, and Elena Litvinova. "Białowieża Forest (Ne-Poland) and Valday Np ( Nw-Russia) – Biogeographical Characteristics of Eutrophic Deciduous Forests." Quaestiones Geographicae 33, no. 3 (September 1, 2014): 111–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2014-0034.
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Abstract During geobotanical studies in the north-eastern border of hemi-boreal zone, in Valday (NW Russia), rare eutrophic deciduous forests dominated by oak Quercus robur were observed. A comparison of these forests with the model of European deciduous forest in Białowieża National Park (NE-Poland) indicates a great similarity. Therefore, eutrophic deciduous forests in Valday can be classified to the Querco-Fagetea class, the Fagetalia sylvaticae order and to the Capinion betuli alliance, despite the absence of hornbeam Carpinus betulus in the region. Rarity of eutrophic deciduous forests in Valday region results probably from strong anthropogenic pressure in the past.
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Bartlett, R. M., U. Matthes-Sears, and D. W. Larson. "Organization of the Niagara Escarpment cliff community. II. Characterization of the physical environment." Canadian Journal of Botany 68, no. 9 (September 1, 1990): 1931–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b90-254.
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In cliff-edge forests along the Niagara Escarpment, an array of species, including Thuja occidentals, is restricted to the cliff edge while different species, including Acer saccharum, are increasingly dominant away from the cliff on the plateau. This paper presents detailed analyses of 13 components of the physical environment, measured over an 18-month period, as they change across the plateau and towards the cliff edge. Statistically significant differences between the cliff-edge habitat and the adjacent deciduous forest were found in most of the 13 variables, and the results indicate a strong environmental gradient between the cliff edge and deciduous forest habitats. Lower and more rapidly fluctuating soil moisture levels combined with low photosynthetically active radiation at the cliff edge suggest that conditions there are frequently more severe for plants than in the deciduous forest in summer. Additionally, the cliff edge was snow free during the winter and the soils were frozen for a more protracted period than the deciduous forest soils. Soil and litter depths decreased significantly from the deciduous forest toward the cliff edge. The effects of these differences are discussed with reference to the characteristics of species that dominate the deciduous and coniferous cliff-edge zones. Key words: cliff, gradient, Thuja occidentalis, Acer saccharum, microclimate, Niagara Escarpment.
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Naveenkumar, J., and Somaiah Sundarapandian. "Assessment of tree diversity in distinctive deciduous forests of Suruli falls, Southern Western Ghats." Journal of Applied and Natural Science 10, no. 4 (November 26, 2018): 1085–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.31018/jans.v10i4.1879.
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A quantitative inventory was conducted in two distinctive tropical deciduous forests at Suruli falls forest of southern Western Ghats. Two one-hectare plots were established and all trees >10cm DBH measured. Species richness, density, family importance value (FIV) and importance value index (IVI) were calculated and the results varied among the two sites. A total of 777 stems and 52 species were documented in both the sites and moist deciduous forest (MDF) had maximum number species richness and density than dry deciduous forest (DDF). The basal area was higher in MDF (502 stems/ha and 16.52 m2/ha) than in DDF (275 stems/ha and 7.23 m2/ha). However, Shannon and evenness indices showed a negative trend (DDF- 2.62, 0.41 and MDF- 2.37, 0.27). Diameter class-wise distribution of trees showed reverse ‘J shaped’ curve in both the forest types. Pterocarpus marsupium was the mono-dominant species holding one-third of the IVI (113), 27% of the stem density and 30% of the total basal area. DDF site is suspected to recurrence of annual fire. Anogeissus latifolia and Strychnos potatorum were the fire-tolerant species only found in lower diameter class. The maximum species shared contiguous distribution in the deciduous forests. The observed variations in the tree community between the two deciduous forest sites are possibly due to variations in altitude, rainfall, temperature, past disturbance, fire and edaphic characteristics.
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Girard, Caroline, Marcel Darveau, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, and Jean Huot. "Are temperate mixedwood forests perceived by birds as a distinct forest type?" Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34, no. 9 (September 1, 2004): 1895–907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x04-087.
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Forestry practices used in mixedwood forests have led to a reduction of the availability of mixedwood stands and to a simplification of the forest mosaic, with unknown consequences on wildlife. We assessed bird occurrences at different spatial scales (50-, 100-, and 1000-m radius) in response to coniferous, deciduous, and mixedwood stands within the Quebec balsam fir yellow birch domain. Our objective was to evaluate whether birds perceive temperate mixedwood forests as distinct from deciduous and coniferous forests. We quantified bird occurrence at 57 observation points and determined habitat composition from forest maps. At the 50-, 100-, and 1000-m scales, the occurrence of two, four, and four species, respectively, was positively related to mixedwood stands. Among them the Blackburnian Warbler, the Northern Parula, the Black-throated Blue Warbler, and the Ovenbird responded at more than one scale. Some species were also influenced by coniferous and deciduous stands at the three spatial scales. Mixedwood stands were positively associated with the occurrence of many species and moreover were preferred over coniferous or deciduous stands by some species. These results support our hypothesis that mixedwood forests are distinct habitats and provide a new justification for preserving this forest type.
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SABU, THOMAS K., S. NITHYA, and K. V. VINOD. "Faunal survey, endemism and possible species loss of Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in the western slopes of the moist South Western Ghats, South India." Zootaxa 2830, no. 1 (April 22, 2011): 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2830.1.3.
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Species composition, distribution patterns and endemism are outlined for the dung beetles in the ecoregions of the western slopes of the moist South Western Ghats, South India. Among the 142 dung beetle species known, 35 are endemic to the Western Ghats; 29 are endemic to the moist South Western Ghats; 25 are regionally endemic to the South Western Ghats montane rain forests ecoregion; and one each to the Malabar Coast moist deciduous forest ecoregion and the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests ecoregion. Five species, including the 3 flightless species, are local endemics to the upper montane tropical montane cloud forests. The montane rain forests ecoregion has the highest number of endemics in the moist south Western Ghats and the moist deciduous forests ecoregion and Malabar Coast moist deciduous forest ecoregion have the lowest levels of endemism. Of the 137 dung beetle species known prior to the deforestation and habitat modification of the region, only 87 have been collected recently.
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Tamai, K. "Effects of environmental factors and soil properties on topographic variations of soil respiration." Biogeosciences 7, no. 3 (March 26, 2010): 1133–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-1133-2010.
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Abstract. Soil respiration rates were measured along different parts of a slope in (a) an evergreen forest with common brown forest soil and (b) a deciduous forest with immature soil. The effects of soil temperature, soil moisture and soil properties were estimated individually, and the magnitudes of these effects in the deciduous and evergreen forests were compared. In the evergreen forest with common brown forest soil, soil properties had the greatest effect on soil respiration rates, followed by soil moisture and soil temperature. These results may be explained by the fact that different soil properties matured within different environments. It can be argued that the low soil respiration rates in the low parts of the slope in the evergreen forest resulted from soil properties and not from wet soil conditions. In the deciduous forest, soil respiration rates were more strongly affected by soil moisture and soil temperature than by soil properties. These effects were likely due to the immaturity of the forest soil.
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Jung, Jong-Kook, and Joon-Ho Lee. "Trait-Specific Responses of Carabid Beetle Diversity and Composition in Pinus densiflora Forests Compared to Broad-Leaved Deciduous Forests in a Temperate Region." Diversity 12, no. 7 (July 9, 2020): 275. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12070275.
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Since successful reforestation after the 1970s, Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) forests have become the most important coniferous forests in Korea. However, the scarcity of evidence for biodiversity responses hinders understanding of the conservation value of Korean red pine forests. This study was conducted to explore the patterns of carabid beetle diversity and assemblage structures between broad-leaved deciduous forests and P. densiflora forests in the temperate region of central Korea. Carabid beetles were sampled by pitfall trapping from 2013 to 2014. A total of 66 species were identified from 9541 carabid beetles. Species richness in broad-leaved deciduous forests was significantly higher than that in pine forests. In addition, the species composition of carabid beetles in broad-leaved deciduous forests differed from that of P. densiflora forests. More endemic, brachypterous, forest specialists, and carnivorous species were distributed in broad-leaved deciduous forests than in P. densiflora forests. Consequently, carabid beetle assemblages in central Korea are distinctively divided by forest type based on ecological and biological traits (e.g., endemisim, habitat types, wing forms, and feeding guilds). However, possible variation of the response of beetle communities to the growth of P. densiflora forests needs to be considered for forest management based on biodiversity conservation in temperate regions, because conifer plantations in this study are still young, i.e., approximately 30–40-years old.
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Cappellato, Rosanna, Norman E. Peters, and Harvey L. Ragsdale. "Acidic atmospheric deposition and canopy interactions of adjacent deciduous and coniferous forests in the Georgia Piedmont." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23, no. 6 (June 1, 1993): 1114–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x93-142.
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The effects of acidic atmospheric deposition on leaching of base cations from the canopy and the origin of the major ions in throughfall and stemflow were evaluated in a 2-year study of adjacent deciduous and coniferous forests at Panola Mountain Research Watershed in the Georgia Piedmont. In each forest, the NO3− and SO42− in throughfall and stemflow were derived primarily from atmospheric deposition, whereas the base cations Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+ were derived primarily from canopy leaching. Acidic atmospheric deposition was partially neutralized in each forest. Exchange of H+ with base cations appeared to be the major mechanism for the neutralization of atmospheric acidity by the deciduous canopy. Major neutralization mechanisms could not be differentiated in the coniferous canopy. Base-cation leaching accounted for 86% of the base cations in throughfall and stemflow in the deciduous forest and 69% in the coniferous forest. Exchange with H+ accounted for about 30% of base cations in throughfall in the deciduous forest, whereas it could not be clearly estimated in coniferous throughfall. The current level of acidic atmospheric deposition is hypothesized to have caused an increased leaching of base cations of the deciduous canopy, but methods were insufficient to determine its effect on the coniferous canopy.
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Johnson, J. S., and M. J. Lacki. "Habitat associations of Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) and their lepidopteran prey in bottomland hardwood forests." Canadian Journal of Zoology 91, no. 2 (February 2013): 94–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0248.
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Effective conservation of forest bats requires knowledge of daytime and nocturnal habitat use. Although many bat species use different habitats during the daytime and nighttime hours, these data are rarely collected simultaneously. We radio-tagged 48 adult Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii (Lesson, 1827)) in a bottomland hardwood forest in Kentucky from 2009 to 2011. We tracked bats to 64 day roosts over 549 bat-days and found bats roosted almost exclusively in trees located in forested wetlands (n = 59; 92%), and that reproductive females established their home ranges closest to these habitats (P < 0.0001). Although few (n = 4; 6%) roosts were located in deciduous forests on drier soils, these forests were important foraging habitats for pregnant females, which foraged closest to these habitats within their home ranges (P = 0.04). Abundance of Lepidoptera differed among habitats (P = 0.03), with higher abundance in deciduous forests and along forest–field edges. Deciduous forests were the only habitat preferentially selected by any lepidopteran family (Notodontidae), and the only habitat not avoided by any family. These data confirm the importance of forested wetlands to the ecology of Rafinesque’s big-eared bat and demonstrate the benefit of proximally located deciduous forests that provide habitat for their moth prey.
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Lal, Chaman, Lalji Singh, Varun Attri, and S. Sarvade. "Tree species diversity, distribution and population structure in a tropical dry deciduous forests of Chhatisgarh, India." Journal of Applied and Natural Science 7, no. 2 (December 1, 2015): 681–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.31018/jans.v7i2.666.
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Tree species diversity, distribution and population structure of tropical forests of Bharnawapara wildlife sanctuary was investigated. The study analyzed the structure of a tropical dry deciduous forest in Chhatisgarh at different sites i.e. closed natural forest, open natural forest and plantation forests of teak. The study was conducted by laying 30 quadrats, each 10 m × 10 m in size at different sites. In total, 246 trees belonging to 28 species of 17 families were recorded from 0.3 ha sampling area. Density ranged between 520 to 990 trees ha-1 subsequently, basal area ranged between 21.50 to 47.30 m2 ha-1. The dominant tree species was Cleistanthus collinus with an importance value index (IVI) of 57.70. Other important species were Terminalia tometosa (IVI 47.10), Lagerstroemia parviflora (36.92), Diospyros melanoxylon (28.42) and Madhuca indica(26.03). The Shannon-Wiener index (H′) ranged between 0.19 to 3.35 and Simpson’s index (C) between 0.12 to 0.95 indicating high tree species diversity of tropical dry deciduous forests. It is evident from the study that natural forest has an edge over plantation forest in terms of species diversity, dominance and richness. Tree species diversity, distribution and population structure provide baseline information for conservation and management of tropical dry deciduous forests in India. Efforts are needed to conserve the natural forest for their diversity and existence. They can also be supplemented with plantation forests to lower the biotic pressure.
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Kushwaha, S. P. S., G. D. Bhatt, D. M. Tadvi, and S. Nandy. "Ecological and Ethnobotanical Characterisation of Gujarat Forests." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT AND ENVIRONMENT 6, no. 01 (January 31, 2020): 09–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.18811/ijpen.v6i01.02.
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This study focused on the ecological and ethnobotanical characteristics of the natural forests, forest plantations, and forest orchards in the Gujarat state of India through an extensive field survey of trees, shrubs, and herbs over a span of four years. We inventoried 345 tree, 345 shrub, and 1,380 herb plots using a stratified random sampling design. In all, 706 species [trees (224), shrubs (68), and herbs (414)] were recorded. The highest number of species were noted in teak mixed dry deciduous forest (207), followed by scrub (132), thorn forest (91), grassland (78), teak mixed moist deciduous forest (51), forest plantations (34), degraded forest (30), Prosopis juliflora scrub (24), forest orchard (19), ravine thorn forest (16), Anogeissus pendula forest (8), riverain forest (8), Eucalyptus plantation (6), mangrove forest (1), and mangrove scrub (1). Fabaceae was observed to be the dominant family. Out of total species, twenty-nine (29) species were found to be rare (25), endangered (2), and threatened (2). Fabaceae was also the dominant family for rare, endangered, and threatened (RET) species. Six endemic species were recorded. The highest value of Shannon’s Index of plant diversity was noticed in teak mixed dry deciduous forest (3.14), followed by teak mixed moist deciduous forest (2.96), ravine thorn forest (2.08), forest plantations (1.97), thorn forest (1.64), riverine forest (1.41), and degraded forest (1.49). Two hundred fifty-two species, including trees (24), shrubs (101), herbs (123), climbers (3), and bamboo (1) found to be ethnobotanically important. Fabaceae happened to be the dominant family in terms of ethnobotanically important plants too.
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Тихонова, Е. В., and Г. Н. Тихонов. "FOREST COVER MOSAICS OF CONIFEROUS-DECIDUOUS FORESTS IN THE VALUEVSKY FOREST PARK." FOREST SCIENCE ISSUES 4, no. 3 (November 1, 2021): 1–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.31509/2658-607x-202143-88.
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Relevance and purpose. The Russian geobotanical science has a profound tradition of studying the vegetation cover heterogeneities. However, the number of studies on the mosaics in complexly organized coniferous-deciduous forests is very limited, and there is high ambiguity in the obtained results. In addition, there has appeared a need to resolve the “terminological issue”. The aim of this study was to assess the vegetation cover mosaics of widespread forest phytocenoses in the Moskva-Oka Plain. Material and methods. We present a review of publications on the intracenotic heterogeneity of forest cover and make an attempt to systematize the existing terminology. The field studies were carried out on the territory of the Valuevsky forest park (Novomoskovsky AO, Moscow) using classical geobotanical methods. The acquired data was analyzed with various modern methods of statistical data analysis. Results and conclusions. The obtained results indicate that differences in vegetation are much more pronounced at the level of phytocenoses than at the level of microgroups. The most powerful edificatory effect of spruce has been confirmed. We identified the following reasons that determine the weak differentiation of vegetation at the level of microgroups: the co-influence of neighboring microgroups, the lack of individual trees’ impact duration for a noticeable transformation of vegetation, and legacies in the structure and species composition of previous states over a long period of time.
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Tamai, K. "Effects of environmental factors and soil properties on topographic variations of soil respiration." Biogeosciences Discussions 6, no. 6 (November 24, 2009): 10935–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-6-10935-2009.
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Abstract. Soil respiration rates were measured along different parts of a slope in (a) an evergreen forest with mature soil and (b) a deciduous forest with immature soil. The effects of soil temperature, soil moisture, and soil properties on soil respiration rates were estimated individually, and the magnitudes of these effects were compared between the deciduous and evergreen forests. In the evergreen forest with mature soil, soil properties had the greatest effect on soil respiration rates, followed by soil moisture and soil temperature. These results may be explained by different properties of soils that matured under different environments. Thus, we argue that the low soil respiration rates in Plot L of the evergreen forest resulted from soil properties and not from wet soil conditions. In the deciduous forest, soil respiration rates were more strongly affected by soil moisture and soil temperature than by soil properties, which were likely due to the immaturity of the forest soil.
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Kirk, David A., Antony W. Diamond, Keith A. Hobson, and Alan R. Smith. "Breeding bird communities of the western and northern Canadian boreal forest: relationship to forest type." Canadian Journal of Zoology 74, no. 9 (September 1, 1996): 1749–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z96-193.
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We examined the distribution of 80 species of breeding birds across 67 census plots from a variety of sources in the boreal forest of western and northern Canada to obtain information on bird habitat associations for forest management. The sites ranged from upland black spruce (Picea mariana) to riverine deciduous forests and wet, marshy bogs. Axis 1 of an ordination (detrended correspondence analysis) demonstrated a gradient in bird communities from dry to wet sites; axis 2 may have been a black spruce (nutrient poor) to mixed deciduous forest gradient (nutrient rich). Hierarchical classification (twinspan) identified five groups of sites according to their bird communities. Despite geographical variation in bird communities and possible geographical variation in habitat associations, sites were classified according to their forest types rather than regional affinities. Yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata) and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) showed a pronounced gradient of increased abundance from deciduous to coniferous sites. White-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) and alder flycatchers (Empidonax alnorum) showed a reverse gradient. In 22 sites of known-age aspen (Populus tremuloides) – mixedwood forests from central Saskatchewan, an ordination indicated a strong relationship between stand age (and thus the proportion of coniferous cover) and bird community structure. The highest combined densities of Neotropical migrants occurred in old forests, whereas short-distance migrants were most abundant in young forests. The highest abundance of upper-canopy gleaners was found in old forests, whereas ground foragers were most abundant in early successional forests. These findings have important implications for management of boreal forests.
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Baker, Timothy R., David F. R. P. Burslem, and Michael D. Swaine. "Associations between tree growth, soil fertility and water availability at local and regional scales in Ghanaian tropical rain forest." Journal of Tropical Ecology 19, no. 2 (February 6, 2003): 109–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467403003146.
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Relating patterns of species abundance to the processes that determine them at local and regional spatial scales is one of the central aims of ecological research. To examine the relationship between distribution and growth in tropical rain forest, seasonal and annual changes in tree diameter of two tree species with contrasting distribution patterns, Celtis mildbraedii and Strombosia glaucescens, were monitored across topographic gradients in moist semi-deciduous and moist evergreen forest in Ghana over 2 years, 1997-9. Concurrent measurements were made of soil water availability, and during 1997/8, of rainfall, nutrient availability and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The two sites received similar, low, total rainfall during 1997/8, but soil water availability in the dry season at the evergreen site exceeded that at the semi-deciduous forest site. Soil water availability was higher during 1998/9 at both sites. During 1997/8, PAR was similar at the two sites. The evergreen site had soils of lower pH, available P, Mg, Ca and K concentrations than the semi-deciduous forest site. Water availability and the sand content of the soil increased and concentrations of total N and C decreased, from summit to valley positions at both sites. Celtis mildbraedii had significantly faster growth rates than S. glaucescens, and growth of both species was greater at the semi-deciduous than the evergreen forest site during the wet year (1998/9) but not during the dry year (1997/8). Celtis mildbraedii in semi-deciduous forest grew less in valley than summit and slope positions. We conclude that in the absence of a severe dry season, growth is higher in semi-deciduous than evergreen forest, and is related to the higher soil fertility in more seasonal forest. The patterns are consistent with the hypothesis that concentrations of available P and/or cations in the soil limit growth in evergreen forest, while concentrations of N in valley soils limit growth of C. mildbraedii in semi-deciduous forest. There was no evidence that variation in PAR influenced growth rates in these forests. A reduction in growth rate on less fertile soils may be a factor determining the distribution limit of dry forest species, such as C. mildbraedii, in evergreen forest.
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GAUSLAA, Y., H. HOLIEN, M. OHLSON, and T. SOLHØY. "Does snail grazing affect growth of the old forest lichen Lobaria pulmonaria?" Lichenologist 38, no. 6 (October 19, 2006): 587–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0024282906006025.
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Grazing marks from snails are frequently observed in populations of the old forest epiphyte Lobaria pulmonaria. However, grazing marks are more numerous in thalli from deciduous broadleaved forests than in thalli from boreal Picea abies forests, due to higher populations of lichen-feeding molluscs in deciduous stands. Here we tested for deleterious effects of snails on the lichens by transplanting 600 more or less grazed L. pulmonaria thalli from deciduous forests to snail-free P. abies forests. Subsequent measurements showed that growth rates were as high in thalli with many grazing marks as those without, suggesting that growth of mature lobes of L. pulmonaria are not inhibited by the recorded grazing pressure imposed by lichen feeding snails.
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Berrío, Juan Carlos, Henry Hooghiemstra, Bas van Geel, and Beatriz Ludlow-Wiechers. "Environmental history of the dry forest biome of Guerrero, Mexico, and human impact during the last c. 2700 years." Holocene 16, no. 1 (January 2006): 63–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/0959683606hl905rp.
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Two lake sediment cores from Madre del Sur mountain range,Guerrero State, west-central Mexico were studied to examine the pastdynamics of the dry forest biome. Pollen, spores of coprophilousfungi, cyanobacteria and lithological changes are presented. The390-cm Tixtla core (1730'N, 99°24W, 1400 maltitude) represents the last 2700 cal. yr; the 340-cm Huitziltepeccore (17°45N, 99°28W, 1430 m altitude) representsthe last 2050 cal. yr. Pollen shows climate-dependent competitionbetween dry deciduous forest (with Asteraceae, Chamaesyce-type,Bursera, Euphorbia, Myrica and Lysiloma-Pithecellobium-type as main components) and moister(mesophyllous) forest (with Pinus, Quercus, Alnus and Juglans). Human impact on the environment is apparent duringthe entire record, as evidenced by crop cultivation (Zea mays,Amaranthus, Capsicum, Chenopodium), coprophilous fungi (Podospora-type and Sporormiella-type), deforestation (at Tixtla in particular) and lake eutrophication, ie, cyanobacteria blooms. Environmental change at both sites is summarized as follows. Period 1 (2700-2450 cal. yr BP): abundant dry deciduous forest and climate conditions drier than today. Period 2 (2450-1950 cal. yr BP): little change in proportions of dry deciduous and mesophyllous forest but floral composition of the forests differed between sites. Human occupation was low. Period 3 (1950-1550 cal. yr BP): dry deciduous forest decreased while mesophyllous forest increased, indicating more humid climatic conditions. Populations expanded significantly around 1950 cal. yr BP. Period 4 (1550-1070 cal. yr BP): maximum expansion of mesophyllous forest. Climate was more humid than today. Pre-Hispanic populations at Tixtla reached high numbers leading to deforestation and eutrophication. Period 5 (1070-c. 750 cal. yr BP): shows abundant mesophyllous forest and lowest proportions of dry deciduous forest. Climate continued to be humid. There is evidence of forest harvesting, crop cultivation and dense human population. Period 6 (c. 750-225 cal. yr BP): dry deciduous forest expanded and mesophyllous forest decreased. There was significant deforestation by pre-Hispanic people around Lake Tixtla. High population densities and frequent fires at both sites caused eutrophication of the lakes. Domesticated herbivores were introduced ∼ad 1500 and the presence of dung is reflected in the record of coprophilous fungi. Period 7 (the last 225 calendar years): the basins were used intensively by local people and their cattle. Dry deciduous forest continued to increase while mesophyllous forest decreased.
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Liu, Yang, Ronggao Liu, Jan Pisek, and Jing M. Chen. "Separating overstory and understory leaf area indices for global needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests by fusion of MODIS and MISR data." Biogeosciences 14, no. 5 (March 8, 2017): 1093–110. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1093-2017.
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Abstract. Forest overstory and understory layers differ in carbon and water cycle regimes and phenology, as well as ecosystem functions. Separate retrievals of leaf area index (LAI) for these two layers would help to improve modeling forest biogeochemical cycles, evaluating forest ecosystem functions and also remote sensing of forest canopies by inversion of canopy reflectance models. In this paper, overstory and understory LAI values were estimated separately for global needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests by fusing MISR and MODIS observations. Monthly forest understory LAI was retrieved from the forest understory reflectivity estimated using MISR data. After correcting for the background contribution using monthly mean forest understory reflectivities, the forest overstory LAI was estimated from MODIS observations. The results demonstrate that the largest extent of forest understory vegetation is present in the boreal forest zones at northern latitudes. Significant seasonal variations occur for understory vegetation in these zones with LAI values up to 2–3 from June to August. The mean proportion of understory LAI to total LAI is greater than 30 %. Higher understory LAI values are found in needleleaf forests (with a mean value of 1.06 for evergreen needleleaf forests and 1.04 for deciduous needleleaf forests) than in deciduous broadleaf forests (0.96) due to the more clumped foliage and easier penetration of light to the forest floor in needleleaf forests. Spatially and seasonally variable forest understory reflectivity helps to account for the effects of the forest background on LAI retrieval while compared with constant forest background. The retrieved forest overstory and understory LAI values were compared with an existing dataset for larch forests in eastern Siberia (40–75° N, 45–180° E). The retrieved overstory and understory LAI is close to that of the existing dataset, with an absolute error of 0.02 (0.06), relative error of 1.3 % (14.3 %) and RMSE of 0.93 (0.29) for overstory (understory). The comparisons between our results and field measurements in eight forest sites show that the R2 values are 0.52 and 0.62, and the RMSEs are 1.36 and 0.62 for overstory and understory LAI, respectively.
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Bórnez, Kevin, Aleixandre Verger, Adrià Descals, and Josep Peñuelas. "Monitoring the Responses of Deciduous Forest Phenology to 2000–2018 Climatic Anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere." Remote Sensing 13, no. 14 (July 16, 2021): 2806. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13142806.
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Monitoring the phenological responses of deciduous forests to climate is important, due to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events associated with climate change and global warming, which will in turn affect vegetation seasonality. We investigated the spatiotemporal patterns of the response of deciduous forests to climatic anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere, using satellite-derived phenological metrics from the Copernicus Global Land Service Leaf Area Index, and multisource climatic datasets for 2000–2018 at resolutions of 0.1°. Thereafter, we assessed the impact of extreme heatwaves and droughts on this deciduous forest phenology. We assumed that changes in the deciduous forest phenology in the Northern Hemisphere for the period 2000–2018 were monotonic, and that temperature and precipitation were the main climatic drivers. Analyses of partial correlations of phenological metrics with the timing of the start of the season (SoS), end of the season (EoS), and climatic variables indicated that changes in preseason temperature played a stronger role than precipitation in affecting the interannual variability of SoS anomalies: the higher the temperature, the earlier the SoS in most deciduous forests in the Northern Hemisphere (mean correlation coefficient of −0.31). Correlations between the SoS and temperature were significantly negative in 57% of the forests, and significantly positive in 15% of the forests (p < 0.05). Both temperature and precipitation contributed to the advance and delay of the EoS. A later EoS was significantly correlated with a positive Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at the regional scale (~30% of deciduous forests). The timings of the EoS and SoS shifted by >20 d in response to heatwaves throughout most of Europe in 2003, and in the United States of America in 2012. This study contributes to improve our understanding of the phenological responses of deciduous forests in the Northern Hemisphere to climate change and extreme climate events.
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Padalia, H., S. Kumari, S. K. Sinha, S. Nandy, and P. Chauhan. "INTRA- AND INTER-ANNUAL TRENDS OF SUN-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE (SIF) FOR CONTRASTING VEGETATION TYPES OF INDIA." ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLIII-B3-2020 (August 21, 2020): 1047–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b3-2020-1047-2020.
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Abstract. The photosynthesis governs productivity and health of the forests. Traditionally, remote sensing derived reflectance measures have been used to assess forest phenology, productivity and stress. The chlorophyll pigments absorb solar radiation, and emit fluorescence in far red region of electromagnetic spectrum. Chlorophyll fluorescence directly relates to the photosynthetic activity of the plants. Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence from space has recently been achieved in the form of Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF). But SIF response have been found variable with respect to variation in vegetation type, hence, there is a need to study SIF response of tropical forests of India considering their wide extent, contribution to national carbon cycle and climate resilience. In this study, intra- and inter-annual GOME-2 and OCO-2 SIF responses of contrasting Indian tropical forest types viz., dry deciduous (Betul, Madhya Pradesh), moist deciduous (Kalahandi, Orissa) and wet evergreen forests (Uttara Kannada, Karnataka) has been investigated with respect to rainfall, NDVI and GPP trends. The results show that dry, moist and wet forests of India have differences in photosynthetic activity at intra- and inter-annual scale. GOME-2 SIF observations were more variables than OCO-2 SIF, particularly during green-up and senescence phase. SIF explained higher seasonality for dry deciduous followed by moist deciduous and wet evergreen. Annually integrated SIF (proxy of GPP) was in order: wet evergreen > moist deciduous > dry deciduous.
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Small, Christine J., and Brian C. McCarthy. "Effects of simulated post-harvest light availability and soil compaction on deciduous forest herbs." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 32, no. 10 (October 1, 2002): 1753–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x02-099.
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To better understand the response of eastern deciduous forest herbs to microenvironmental changes associated with logging, the effects of experimental light and soil compaction treatments were examined in six herbaceous plant species characteristic of varying successional stages. We found severe growth reductions and increased mortality of Osmorhiza claytonii (Michx.) C.B. Clarke, a shade-tolerant forest perennial, when grown in full sun and greater soil compaction. Deeply shaded conditions, similar to those beneath regenerating forests, resulted in reduced growth of early successional species such as Galium aparine L., and Eupatorium rugosum Houtt. Growth of other species such as Geum canadense Jacq., and Elymus hystrix L. appeared to increase in the patchy, intermediate light treatment mimicking mature eastern deciduous forests. Soil compaction caused severe reductions in height and biomass of Eupatorium rugosum and O. claytonii, early- and late-successional species, respectively. While harvested stands experience relatively uniform light environments, canopy gaps and sunflecks in mature eastern deciduous forests create heterogeneous light environments often correlated with recruitment, growth, and diversity of understory herbs. Therefore, management approaches that minimize alteration of forest environments and mimic natural disturbance patterns may be important to the maintenance and regeneration of forest herbs.
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Трегубов, Oleg Tregubov, Солнцев, Vladimir Solncev, Кочергина, Marina Kochergina, Фурменкова, and Evgeniya Furmenkova. "Characteristic of biosimulation landscape structures of Voronezh biosphere reserve." Forestry Engineering Journal 6, no. 4 (May 3, 2017): 98–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.12737/23440.
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On the basis of the polystructural approach biosimulation landscape structure of the Voronezh biosphere reserve are considered and classified. Distribution of ecosystem delivery to landscape levels are determined. Results on the characterization of ecological systems, their distribution and properties are obtained. Suggested approach has allowed to allocate type of transit, autonomous and accumulative terrestrial ecosystems, belonging to the family of fast flowing rivers and streams, riparian forests and high grass ones, light coniferous forests, meadow steppes, summer-green deciduous forest (oak), summer-green deciduous forest (small-leaved), swamps in the territory of the Voronezh reserve.
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Loucks, Orie L. "The Epidemiology of Forest Decline in Eastern Deciduous Forests." Northeastern Naturalist 5, no. 2 (1998): 143. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3858585.
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Gorodnichev, V. A., M. L. Belov, V. V. Shvygina, and D. S. Sitnikov. "Two-wave Laser Method for Monitoring the Species Composition of Forest." Radio Engineering, no. 2 (May 17, 2020): 27–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.36027/rdeng.0220.0000162.
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Today the monitoring of forests is one of the actual tasks of environmental control. The most important problems of monitoring of forest resources are mapping of forests, determining species and age composition of forests and analysis of sanitary condition of forests.An effective method of monitoring the state of vegetation (including forests) is optical aerospace sensing. The methods of optical sensing of vegetation cover are currently passive, for the most part.However, passive methods are available to use for daylight only. Therefore, laser methods which can be used in wide range of light and atmospheric conditions are of interest.In this article there was carried out the comparative analysis and selection of the most effective sensing wavelengths in atmospheric transparency windows for two-waves laser method for determining forest areas with prevalence of coniferous or deciduous wood species.As an information index (coniferous or deciduous wood species) in this article the ratio of reflection coefficients of parcels of forest at two wavelengths was used. Pairs of wavelengths 1,54μ and 0,532μ; 1,54μ and 0,355μ are the most relevant for detecting forest areas with prevalence of coniferous or deciduous wood species.For quantitative assessment the efficiency of the laser method mathematical modeling was carried out. The results of mathematical modeling show that that the wavelengths of 0.532μm and 1.54μm are the most effective and provide scanning with probability of correct detecting ~ 0.99 and with false-alarm probability ~ 0.04.However, in terms of eye safety it’s better to choose wavelengths of 0.355μm and 1.54μm, because they allow to solve satisfactory the problem of determining forest areas with prevalence of coniferous or deciduous wood species with probability of correct detecting ~ 0.9 and with false-alarm probability ~ 0.14.
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Pattnayak, Subhashree, Rajendra Kumar Behera, Sudam Charan Sahu, and Nabin Kumar Dhal. "Assessment of woody plant species composition in secondary deciduous forests of Odisha, India." Environment Conservation Journal 22, no. 3 (December 19, 2021): 327–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.36953/ecj.2021.22338.
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Plant species composition according to their functional types, distribution pattern are crucial for biodiversity conservation in tropical deciduous forest. The study assessed the woody plant species diversity, stand structure and population density in the secondary deciduous forest of Chandaka wildlife sanctuary, Odisha, India. A total of 70 species belonging to 63 genera and families were documented in this study.The stem density was found to be 1080 stems/ha with reverse J-shaped population structure indicating good regeneration potential of the forests. Shannon diversity Index varied from 0 to 2.31 whereas Simpson's index varied from 0 to 0.85. The correlation study between Importance Value Index and basal area were significant (p=40.63). The present study would be helpful for conservation and management of biodiversity in secondary dry deciduous forests of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctury in particular and tropical dry forests in general.
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Toro Manríquez, Mónica D. R., Víctor Ardiles, Álvaro Promis, Alejandro Huertas Herrera, Rosina Soler, María Vanessa Lencinas, and Guillermo Martínez Pastur. "Forest canopy-cover composition and landscape influence on bryophyte communities in Nothofagus forests of southern Patagonia." PLOS ONE 15, no. 11 (November 24, 2020): e0232922. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232922.
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Bryophytes (liverworts, mosses and hornworts) are one of the most diverse plant groups worldwide but one of the least studied in temperate forests from an ecological perspective. In comparison to vascular plants, bryophytes have a broader distribution and a longer altitudinal gradient, and their influence on the landscape is poorly understood. The objective was to evaluate environmental drivers that can influence bryophyte cover, richness, diversity, and nestedness in different forest canopy compositions in two typical landscapes across the natural distribution of bryophytes in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). Three natural Nothofagus forest types (pure deciduous, pure evergreen, and mixed deciduous-evergreen) in two landscapes (coasts < 100 m.a.s.l. and mountains > 400 m.a.s.l.) were selected (N = 60 plots). In each plot, we established one transect (10 m length) to measure bryophyte cover (point-intercept method). Data were evaluated using generalized linear mixed models and multivariate analyses. The studied environmental drivers were mainly explained by the microclimate, with higher effective annual precipitation and relative air humidity in the coastal forests and higher soil moisture in the mountain forests. Greater liverwort richness was found in evergreen forests at the mountain (9 species) than at the coastal, while mosses showed higher richness in mixed deciduous-evergreen forests at the coastal (11 species) than at the mountain. However, the expected richness according to the rarefaction/extrapolation curves suggested that it is possible to record additional species, except for liverworts in pure deciduous forests on the coasts. Similarities and differences among the studied forest types and among plots of the same forest type and landscape were detected. These differences in the studied indexes (similarity that varied between 0 and 1) ranged from 0.09–0.48 for liverworts and 0.05–0.65 for mosses. Moreover, these results indicated that pure evergreen and mixed deciduous-evergreen forests presented higher moss cover (10.7% and 10.0%, respectively), mainly in the mountains than on the coast. These outputs highlight the need to explore differences at greater altitudinal ranges to achieve sustainability objectives conservation planning for bryophytes in southernmost forests.
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Ramos, WM, and ALB Sartori. "Floristic analysis and dispersal syndromes of woody species of the Serra de Maracaju, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil." Brazilian Journal of Biology 73, no. 1 (February 2013): 67–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842013000100009.
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This paper presents a floristic survey of the wood component of cerrado s.s. (eastern face) and gallery forest (western face) areas carried out in the southern part of the Serra de Maracaju. The dispersal syndromes and floristic relations of this portion of the Serra were compared to those of other formations from different regions of Brazil. Between October 2007 and September 2008, monthly collections identified 144 species. As for dispersal syndromes, zoochory prevails, followed by autochory and anemochory. The gallery forest is a heterogeneous formation that shelters floristic elements shared with the Atlantic rain forest, the Amazonian forest, semi-deciduous seasonal forests and dry forests of the Pantanal. Low similarity between the two areas analyzed makes this region unique and suggests that the Serra de Maracaju is greatly influenced by the semi-deciduous seasonal forests of the southeastern region.
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Walkiewicz, Anna, Andrzej Bieganowski, Adrianna Rafalska, Mohammad I. Khalil, and Bruce Osborne. "Contrasting Effects of Forest Type and Stand Age on Soil Microbial Activities: An Analysis of Local Scale Variability." Biology 10, no. 9 (August 31, 2021): 850. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology10090850.
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Understanding the functioning of different forest ecosystems is important due to their key role in strategies for climate change mitigation, especially through soil C sequestration. In controlled laboratory conditions, we conducted a preliminary study on six different forest soils (two coniferous, two deciduous, and two mixed sites comprising trees of different ages) collected from the same region. The aim was to explore any differences and assess seasonal changes in soil microbial parameters (basal respiration BR, microbial biomass Cmic, metabolic quotient qCO2, dehydrogenase activity DHA, and Cmic:Corg ratio). Indicator- and forest-specific seasonality was assessed. In addition to litter input, soil parameters (pH, nutrient content, texture and moisture) strongly regulated the analyzed microbial indicators. PCA analysis indicated similarity between mature mixed and deciduous forests. Among annual mean values, high Cmic and DHA with simultaneously low qCO2 suggest that the mature deciduous stand was the most sustainable in microbial activities among the investigated forest soils. Research on the interrelationship between soil parameters and forest types with different tree ages needs to be continued and extended to analyze a greater number of forest and soil types.
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Baker, Patrick J., Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, and Andrew P. Robinson. "The impacts of large-scale, low-intensity fires on the forests of continental South-east Asia." International Journal of Wildland Fire 17, no. 6 (2008): 782. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf07147.
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South-east Asia’s tropical forests harbour high levels of species richness and endemism. In continental South-east Asia strong rainfall seasonality driven by the Asian monsoon lead to ground-fires during the dry season in most years. How these fires influence the region’s landscape mosaic of evergreen and deciduous forests and the biodiversity they support is poorly understood. In this paper we report on the impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation-induced 1997–98 fires that burned across much of western Thailand. We compare fire effects in the three common regional forest types – seasonal evergreen (SEG); mixed deciduous (MDF); and deciduous dipterocarp – and use data from a 50-ha study plot to evaluate the impacts of fire on these forests. We found few differences among the forest types. The fires created more large gaps in MDF than the other forest types. The SEG experienced greater fire mortality in the smallest size classes, abundant resprouting, and showed some evidence of lagged mortality among larger trees. The resilience of the SEG to fire and lack of major differences in fire effects among the forest types suggest that infrequent landscape-scale fires may have little effect on biodiversity in the landscape mosaic of seasonal tropical forests of continental South-east Asia.
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King, David A., S. Joseph Wright, and Joseph H. Connell. "The contribution of interspecific variation in maximum tree height to tropical and temperate diversity." Journal of Tropical Ecology 22, no. 1 (December 21, 2005): 11–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467405002774.
Full textAbstract:
Maximum height was assessed for tree species from seven temperate deciduous forests, one subtropical forest and one tropical forest and combined with published tree heights for three other tropical forests. The temperate deciduous forests showed a strong concentration of canopy species and a dearth of subcanopy species. In contrast, the four tropical forests showed more uniform distributions of maximum heights, while the subtropical forest had an intermediate distribution. The tropical and subtropical sites had greater densities of small trees than did the temperate sites and most of these small trees were members of small-to medium-sized species. Sapling recruitment per unit stem basal area increased with declining maximum height in Panama, which is consistent with the criterion for coexistence of species of differing stature derived from Kohyama's forest architecture hypothesis. Greater penetration of light into gaps and favourable conditions for growth over most of the year may allow more smaller-statured species to coexist with canopy trees in tropical vs. temperate forests.
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Rodal, M. J. N., and L. M. Nascimento. "The arboreal component of a dry forest in Northeastern Brazil." Brazilian Journal of Biology 66, no. 2a (May 2006): 479–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1519-69842006000300014.
Full textAbstract:
The dry forests of northeastern Brazil are found near the coastal zone and on low, isolated mountains inland amid semi-arid vegetation. The floristic composition of these dry montane forests, as well as their relationship to humid forests (Atlantic forest sensu stricto) and to the deciduous thorn woodlands (Caatinga sensu stricto) of the Brazilian northeast are not yet well known. This paper sought to determine if the arboreal plants in a dry forest growing on a low mountain in the semi-arid inland region (Serra Negra, 8° 35’ - 8° 38’ S and 38° 02’ - 38° 04’ W) between the municipalities of Floresta and Inajá, state of Pernambuco have the same floristic composition and structure as that seen in other regional forests. In fifty 10 x 20 m plots all live and standing dead trees with trunk measuring > 5 cm diameter at breast height were measured. Floristic similarities between the forest studied and other regional forests were assessed using multivariate analysis. The results demonstrate that the dry forest studied can be classified into two groups that represent two major vegetational transitions: (1) a humid forest/dry forest transition; and (2) a deciduous thorn-woodland/ dry forest transition.
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Gabor, Marian, Pavel Beracko, Vladimir Faltan, Igor Matecny, Lukas Karlik, Frantisek Petrovic, Dusan Vallo, and Ivo Machar. "Drivers of the Distribution of Ecological Species Groups in Temperate Deciduous Managed Forests in the Western Carpathian Mountains." Forests 10, no. 9 (September 12, 2019): 798. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f10090798.
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Managed broadleaf deciduous forests are an important type of forest vegetation in Central Europe, also in the Western Carpathians. These forests are both economically and environmentally valuable. However, little is known about ecological species groups and the inter-specific associations of dominant species in temperate deciduous managed forests in Central Europe. Since the forest stands are in a managed landscape, they are not consistent with the traditionally recognized and used vegetation associations in the Western Carpathians. For these reasons our research contributes to understanding the consequences of broadleaf deciduous forest management. The aim of this research was the determination of ecological species groups and an investigation into the main environmental drivers, in order to explain the distribution of ecological species groups. The numerical TWINSPAN classification was selected to distribute 146 relevés to the five ecological species groups. Of these, 77 relevés were divided into two groups with Fagus sylvatica dominant, while 63 relevés were Quercus petraea dominant. Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata and Fraxinus excelsior were dominant in 19 relevés. Constrained Analysis of Principal Components was used to explain the vegetation–environment relationship on three transects in the Male Karpaty Mountains. Altitude, pH, Ca, C, K and Mg were selected as the significant environmental drivers responsible for a large part of the species group variability (31.8%). The main requirement for sustainable forest management is knowledge of the vegetation–environment relationship and this research was focused on gaining such understanding. This knowledge can be used as a decision support tool for sustainable management in managed deciduous forests.
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Priyadarsini, P., and Boyina Rao. "Standing Biomass and Carbon Stocks Across Forest Types of Southern Andhra Pradesh, India." Indian Journal of Forestry 36, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 309–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2013-0v2x9k.
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The present study assessed standing biomass and carbon stocks of different life forms across five types of tropical forest in southern Andhra Pradesh region of Peninsular India. The assessment was based on a total inventory of all life forms in the sampled area using a nested plot design. A total of ten sites of, 250×250 m2 were established in all the forest types. The total biomass, both above and below ground, was calculated. Aboveground biomass of trees was estimated using allometric equations. As the results, carbon stocks showed varied in different types of forests. Moist deciduous forests show higher carbon stock 297.0±54.66 Mg ha-1 followed by red sanders type forest (64.56±18.57), dry deciduous mixed forest (45.03±39.15), Hardwickia type forest (44.19±8.83) and scrub (22.75±13.42) respectively. The present study provide a better insight on aboveground biomass and carbon stock estimates for tropical peninsular Indian forests and their role in carbon sequestration.
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Erdős, László, Katalin Szitár, Kinga Öllerer, Gábor Ónodi, Miklós Kertész, Péter Török, Kornél Baráth, et al. "Oak regeneration at the arid boundary of the temperate deciduous forest biome: insights from a seeding and watering experiment." European Journal of Forest Research 140, no. 3 (January 23, 2021): 589–601. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10342-020-01344-x.
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AbstractPrevious studies found that pedunculate oak, one of the most widespread and abundant species in European deciduous forests, regenerates in open habitats and forest edges, but not in closed forest interiors. However, these observations usually come from the core areas of the biome, and much less is known about such processes at its arid boundary, where limiting factors may be different. In a full factorial field experiment, we tested the effects of different habitats (grassland, forest edge, forest interior) and increased growing season precipitation on the early regeneration of pedunculate oak in a forest-steppe ecosystem in Central Hungary, at the arid boundary of temperate deciduous forests. In the grassland habitat, seedling emergence was very low, and no seedlings survived by the fourth year. In contrast, seedling emergence was high and similar at forest edges and forest interiors, and was not affected by water addition. Most seedlings survived until the fourth year, with no difference between forest edge and forest interior habitats in numbers, and only minor or transient differences in size. The lack of oak regeneration in the grassland differs from previous reports on successful oak regeneration in open habitats, and may be related to a shift from light limitation to other limiting factors, such as moisture or microclimatic extremes, when moving away from the core of the deciduous forest biome towards its arid boundary. The similar number and performance of seedlings in forest edges and forest interiors may also be related to the decreasing importance of light limitation.
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Obrist, Daniel, Eric M. Roy, Jamie L. Harrison, Charlotte F. Kwong, J. William Munger, Hans Moosmüller, Christ D. Romero, Shiwei Sun, Jun Zhou, and Róisín Commane. "Previously unaccounted atmospheric mercury deposition in a midlatitude deciduous forest." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 29 (July 16, 2021): e2105477118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105477118.
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Mercury is toxic to wildlife and humans, and forests are thought to be a globally important sink for gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) deposition from the atmosphere. Yet there are currently no annual GEM deposition measurements over rural forests. Here we present measurements of ecosystem–atmosphere GEM exchange using tower-based micrometeorological methods in a midlatitude hardwood forest. We measured an annual GEM deposition of 25.1 µg ⋅ m−2 (95% CI: 23.2 to 26.7 1 µg ⋅ m−2), which is five times larger than wet deposition of mercury from the atmosphere. Our observed annual GEM deposition accounts for 76% of total atmospheric mercury deposition and also is three times greater than litterfall mercury deposition, which has previously been used as a proxy measure for GEM deposition in forests. Plant GEM uptake is the dominant driver for ecosystem GEM deposition based on seasonal and diel dynamics that show the forest GEM sink to be largest during active vegetation growing periods and middays, analogous to photosynthetic carbon dioxide assimilation. Soils and litter on the forest floor are additional GEM sinks throughout the year. Our study suggests that mercury loading to this forest was underestimated by a factor of about two and that global forests may constitute a much larger global GEM sink than currently proposed. The larger than anticipated forest GEM sink may explain the high mercury loads observed in soils across rural forests, which impair water quality and aquatic biota via watershed Hg export.