A survey of symptoms of phytophthora root and collar rot of common ( Alnus glutinosa ) and grey alder ( A. incana ) in riparian and forest stands in Bavaria was conducted by the Bavarian State Forestry and river authorities. Symptoms were seen in 1041 out of 3247 forest alder stands. The majority of the affected stands (80·9%) were less than 21 years old; 46% of these young stands were growing on nonflooded sites and 92% had been planted. The riparian survey showed that symptoms were widespread along more than 50% of the river systems. Along some rivers the disease incidence exceeded 50%. The 'alder Phytophthora ' was recovered from 166 of 185 riparian and forest alder stands with symptoms. In 58 of the 60 rivers and streams investigated in detail, the source of inoculum was traced back to infested young alder plantations growing on the river banks or on forest sites that drain into the rivers. Once introduced to a river system, the 'alder Phytophthora ' infects alders downstream. Baiting tests showed that the 'alder Phytophthora ' was present in rootstocks of alders from three out of four nurseries which regularly bought in alder plants for re-sale, but not in rootstocks from four nurseries that grew their own alders from seed. In addition, the infected nurseries used water from infested water courses for irrigation. The Bavarian State Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry has developed a code of practice for producing healthy alder plants in forest nurseries. This includes a 3-year fallow period between bare-rooted alder crops because of poor survival of the 'alder Phytophthora ' in soil.

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Major environmental gradients co‐vary with elevation and have been a longstanding natural tool allowing ecologists to study global diversity patterns at smaller scales, and to make predictions about the consequences of climate change. These analyses have traditionally studied taxonomic diversity, but new functional diversity approaches may provide a deeper understanding of the ecological mechanisms driving species assembly. We examined lichen taxonomic and functional diversity patterns on 195 plots (200 m²) together with forest structure along an elevational gradient of 1000 m in a temperate low mountain range (Bohemian Forest, Germany). Along this elevation gradient temperature decreased and precipitation increased, two macroclimatic variables critical for lichens. Elevation was more important than forest structure in driving taxonomic and functional diversity. While species richness increased with elevation, functional diversity decreased and revealed that community patterns shift with elevation from random to clustered, reflecting selection for key shared traits. Higher elevations favored species with a complex growth form (which takes advantage of high moisture) and asexual reproductive mode (facilitating establishment under low temperature conditions). Our analysis highlights the need to examine alternative forms of diversity and opens the avenue for community predictions about climate change. For a regional scenario with increasing temperature and decreasing availability of moisture, we expect a loss of specialized species with a complex growth form and those with vegetative organs at higher elevations in low mountain ranges in Europe.

Abstract. The growth behavior of coexisting tree species under climate change is important from an ecological, silvicultural and economic perspective. While many previous studies are concerned with climatic limits for species occurrence, we focus on climate related shifts in interspecific competition. A landmark for these changes in competition is the 'climatic turning point' (CTP): those climate conditions under which a rank reversal between key tree species occurs. Here, we used a common type of temperate mixed forest in Central Europe with European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) to explore the CTP under a future climate projection of increasing temperature and aridity. We selected a dry region where the prerequisite of differential climate sensitivity in mixed beech-oak forests was fulfilled: In-situ dendrochronological analyses demonstrated that the currently more competitive beech was more drought sensitive than sessile oak. We then used two complementary forest growth models, namely SILVA and LandClim, to investigate the climate induced rank-reversal in species dominance and to quantify it as the CTP from beech to oak by simulating future forest development from the WETTREG 2010 A1B climate projection. Utilizing two models allowed us to draw conclusions robust against the assumptions of a particular model. Both models projected a CTP at a mean annual temperature of 11-128C (July temperature .188C) and a precipitation sum of 500-530 mm. However, the change in tree species composition can exhibit a time-lag of several decades depending on past stand development and current stand structure. We conclude that the climatic turning point is a simple yet effective reference measure to study climate related changes in interspecific competition, and confirm the importance of competition sensitivity in climate change modeling.

Forestry-based carbon sequestration projects demand a comprehensive quantification of the different climate change mitigation effects. In our study, we modeled a life cycle of managed pure stands consisting of the four main tree species in Bavaria (spruce, pine, beech and oak). For spruce and beech, an unmanaged stand was additionally integrated in order to analyze the differences in climate change mitigation effects compared to the managed stands. We developed a climate change mitigation model, where stand development and silvicultural treatments including harvested timber volumes were conducted using the tree growth model Silva 2.3. The harvested wood products (HWP), including their substitution effects were calculated with a subsequent model. For unmanaged beech forests, we compiled measured data from the literature, and Bavarian strict forest reserves for validating our model results. The results for the managed stands reveal that spruce provides the highest total climate change mitigation effects. After a simulation period of 180 years, one hectare leads to a mean mitigation benefit of 13.5 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1. In comparison, results for pine, beech and oak reveal lesser benefits with 10.1 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1 , 9.1 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1 and 7.2 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1 , respectively. However, these results assume current growing conditions. Considering climate change, it is very likely that spruce will not be suitable in several regions of Bavaria in the future. Furthermore, excessive disturbances could affect spruce more drastically than OPEN ACCESS Forests 2013, 4 44 the other tree species. In that case, the order could change and beech could exceed spruce. Thus the results cannot be seen as a general recommendation to establish spruce stands in order to achieve optimal climate change mitigation benefits. Nevertheless, results for spruce illustrate that high increment and especially wood use in long-lived products is crucial for high climate change mitigation effects. Mitigation effects in unmanaged spruce and beech stands do not differ in the first decades from their managed counterparts, but are below them in the long term with a total climate change mitigation benefit of 8.0 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1 and 7.2 Mg CO 2 ha −1 year −1 , respectively. These differences are mainly caused by the missing substitution effects in the unmanaged stands. However, the precise dimensions of substitution effects still remain uncertain and the lack of data should be reduced via additional life cycle assessments for more products and product classes. However, neglecting substitution effects in climate change mitigation models leads to severe underestimations of the mitigation effects in managed forests.

Current silvicultural treatments in beech forests are aimed at achieving thick logs without discoloured hardwood. Therefore intensive thinning is applied already in younger stands with the objective of large-sized trunks at an age of 100 years. However, this approach bears the risk that dead wood structures and broken trees are completely removed from the forest. The impact of three different silvicultural management intensity levels on wood-inhabiting fungi over decades was investigated in a large beech forest (>10,000 ha) in southern Germany in 69 sampling plots: A Intensive Thinning and Logging with high-value trees, B Conservation-Oriented Logging with integration of special structures such as dead wood and broken trees and C Strict Forest Reserves with no logging for 30 years. The analysis of community showed marked differences in the fungus species composition of the three treatments, independent of stand age. The relative frequencies of species between treatments were statistically different. Indicator species for naturalness were more abundant at sites with low silvicultural management intensity. Fomes fomentarius, the most common fungus in virgin forests and strict forest reserves, is almost missing in forests with highmanagement intensity. The species richness seemed to be lower where intensive thinning was applied (P = 0.051). Species characteristic for coarse woody debris were associated to low management intensity, whereas species with a significant preference for stumps became more frequent with increasing management intensity. A total amount of dead wood higher than 60 m 3 /ha was found to enable significantly higher numbers of species indicators of naturalness (P = 0.013). In conclusion, when applying intensive silvicultural treatment, the role of dead wood needs to be actively considered in order to maintain the natural biocoenosis of beech forests.

Aim European temperate forests have lost dead wood and the associated biodiversity owing to intensive management over centuries. Nowadays, some of these forests are being restored by enrichment with dead wood, but mostly only at stand scales. Here, we investigated effects of a seminal dead‐wood enrichment strategy on saproxylic organisms at the landscape scale. Location Temperate European beech forest in southern Germany. Methods In a before–after control–impact design, we compared assemblages and gamma diversities of saproxylic organisms in strictly protected old‐growth forest areas (reserves) and historically moderately and intensively managed forest areas before and a decade after starting a landscape‐wide strategy of dead‐wood enrichment. Results Before enrichment with dead wood, the gamma diversity of saproxylic organisms in historically intensively managed forest stands was significantly lower than in reserves and historically moderately managed forest stands; this difference disappeared after 10 years of dead‐wood enrichment. The species composition of beetles in forest stands of the three historical management intensities differed before the enrichment strategy, but a decade thereafter, the species compositions of previously intensively logged and forest reserve plots were similar. However, the differences in fungal species composition between historical management categories before and after 10 years of enrichment persisted. Main conclusions Our results demonstrate that intentional enrichment of dead wood at the landscape scale is a powerful tool for rapidly restoring saproxylic beetle communities and for restoring wood‐inhabiting fungal communities, which need longer than a decade for complete restoration. We propose that a strategy of area‐wide active restoration combined with some permanent strict refuges is a promising means of promoting the biodiversity of age‐long intensively managed Central European beech forests.

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