Use of the process-based models in forest research: a bibliometric review

Abstract

Background: Process-based modeling is made to simulate the interactions of the soil-plantatmosphere system providing information and estimates for forest management and services. Through bibliometric evaluation we identify the quantitative state of the art on the use of Process-Based Models (PBMs) applied in forestry studies, contextualizing research fronts, and analyzing the main topics and emerging themes. Data from the Web of Science and Scopus were used for the bibliometric survey of 533 scientific records. Results:We verified that (i) the number of publications related to the PBMs was boosted in the year 2000, and is growing; (ii) Forest Ecology and Management (74 publications) is the journal that most publishes on the subject; (iii) Annikki Mäkelä is the most productive researcher (20 publications) and most cited (h-index: 12); (iv) The USA (131 records) is the country with the highest number of research; (v) there are eight collaborative networks between the authors, three workings together, and five producing in isolation; (vi) the keywords are grouped into five clusters: (a) the effect of climate change on forests; (b) carbon studies; (c) physiology of trees; (d) silvicultural practices and; (e) analysis of model uncertainties. The separation of themes showed that the new search hotspots are the PBMs using of remote detection tools. Conclusion:The results presented can be a fundamental theoretical tool for understanding the trends and development perspectives of this research line in future studies.

Latest Trends in Modelling Forest Ecosystems: New Approaches or Just New Methods?

“…It is not surprising that climate change is at the center of current forest modelling efforts, a pattern already noticed in other recent reviews [14]. This result could just reflect the generalized wish by forest researchers to link their work to the current widespread scientific polices focused on addressing climate change, but it could also genuinely indicate the need for understanding how complex systems such as forests will behave under unknown climate conditions.…”

The Choice of a Set of Operations for Forest Landscape Restoration Technology

“…Biological (ecophysiological, genetic, etc. )-study of the ontogenesis of seedlings, the influence of external factors on young forest stands, biomass accumulation [11,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69], and patterns between phenotypic and genetic variations of forest trees [70]; 3.…”

PDG-Arena: An ecophysiological model for characterizing tree-tree interactions in heterogeneous and mixed stands

“…For some authors (Fontes et al, 2010; Cuddington et al, 2013; Korzukhin et al, 1996), process-based models, because of their supposed greater versatility, seem more relevant for simulating ecosystem functioning undergoing climate change. As a result, they now play an important role in research into the functioning and predicting of forest ecosystem dynamics (Gonçalves et al, 2021). When it comes to simulate mixed stands, models that simulate elementary processes theoretically have a better ability to reproduce the mechanisms that lead to interspecific interactions, bringing us closer to understanding them (Forrester and Bauhus, 2016).…”

“…For some authors (Fontes et al, 2010;Cuddington et al, 2013;Korzukhin et al, 1996), process-based models seem more relevant for simulating ecosystem functioning undergoing climate change because they can theoretically be applied to a larger range of environmental conditions than empirical ones. As a result, they now play an important role in research on the ecophysiological functioning and prediction of forest dynamics (Gonçalves et al, 2021;Barbosa et al, 2023). However, compared to empirical models, processbased models are more difficult to parameterize and rely on more assumptions about the ecological functioning of forests (e.g., the hypothesis that growth is primarily driven by photosynthetic activity, Fatichi et al, 2014).…”