Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest

Sullivan, Thomas P.; Sullivan, Druscilla S.; Lindgren, Pontus M.F.; Ransome, Douglas B.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2004.10.001

Cited by 71 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In addition to ants and termites, other opportunistic invertebrates and small vertebrate species can be found in Eucalyptus plantations possibly due to its relatively fast growth (i.e., biomass production -Benton et al , Pawson et al 2009, Meers et al 2010. These species are possibly food resources for middle to large-sized mammals (Crooks & Soulé 1999, Sullivan et al 2007.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the plantation age on the use of Eucalyptus stands by medium to large-sized wild mammals in south-eastern Brazil

Timo¹,

Lyra-Jorge²,

Gheler‐Costa³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionPatterns of wildlife distribution and abundance have suffered alterations worldwide due to human occupation and related activities (Tilman et al. 2001). The agriculture expansion has replaced the original vegetation and fragmented primary environments, thus affecting wildlife patterns of habitat use (Goodwin & Fahrig 2002, Fahrig 2003. However, studies in agricultural landscapes have shown the use of man-made habitats by the wildlife, such as coffee plantations in Mexico (Moguel & Toledo 1999), banana and coconut plantations in Costa Rica (Harvey et al. 2006, Harvey & González Villalobos 2007, cocoa and Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil (Faria et al. 2006, Lyra-Jorge et al. 2008) and subsistence agriculture in Nepal (Acharya 2006). A great spatial heterogeneity due to different strata and structural complexity exists in native forests, which results in a significant β-diversity (Moffett 2000, Parker & Brown 2000. In an agricultural landscape, a considerable loss of biodiversity occurs where monocultures are spatially more homogenous. However, the environment of Eucalyptus plantations varies dramatically along their commercial cycle. At the first stage, it assumes a bushy structure that later evolves into a forest, which is totally clear-cut at the end of 6-7 years (Turnbull 1995, Wagner et al. 2006. Therefore, these artificial forests present great temporal heterogeneity which may affect patterns of abundance and distribution of resident wildlife, not only for small mammals (Martin et al. 2012), but also for their predators (Verdade et al. 2011). In fact, recent studies show these forests are capable of maintaining a resident wildlife (Penteado 2006, Lyra-Jorge et al. 2008, Dotta & Verdade 2011, Martin et al. 2012). This study aims at assessing the temporal variation of the specific composition and relative abundance of middle to large-sized mammal species found in Eucalyptus plantations in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil.Eucalyptus plantations currently occupy over one million hectares in São Paulo, the richest and most developed state in Brazil. Their main commodities are the pulp and paper (ABRAF 2013). Together with livestock production, the ethanol agroindustry primarily based on sugarcane and the pulp and paper silvicultural industry primarily based on Eucalyptus are the main agroindustrial sectors of São Paulo state. However, unlike the other two agroindustrial sectors, pulp and paper industries follow Brazilian environmental laws relatively well, due to market pressure posed by certification organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC -Verdade et al. 2012). Accordingly, the assessment of the distribution of middle to large-sized mammals in Eucalyptus plantations may give significant advances to both the environmental certification process of this sector and the elaboration of public policies which can result in the inclusion of such landscapes in the context of wildlife conservation. Materials and Methods Study AreaThis study was...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the plantation age on the use of Eucalyptus stands by medium to large-sized wild mammals in south-eastern Brazil

Timo¹,

Lyra-Jorge²,

Gheler‐Costa³

et al. 2015

iForest

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“…During the development in the last 65 years the standard crowns were affected by their neighbours (broadleaved species) recruited from the former lower level originated from resprouts. The crown development seems to depend more on the competitors than on common mensurational variables such as DBH and height (Sullivan et al 2006;Troxel et al 2013), whereas the overall crown architecture is better explained by the actual tree height (Osada et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Crowns of "forgotten" standards in hardwood floodplain forests

Šálek¹,

Machar²,

Sıvacıoğlu³

et al. 2017

J. For. Sci.

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AbstractŠálek L., Machar I., Sivacioğlu A., Zahradník D., Simon J., Jeřábková L. (2017): Crowns of "forgotten" standards in hardwood floodplain forests. J. For. Sci., 63: 538-548.Floodplain forests have traditionally been managed using the coppice-with-standards silvicultural system for centuries. After abandoning this silvicultural system approximately in the 1950s the crown of standards (mature-aged trees) developed gradually under the growing influence of their tree competitors. This study examines the crowns of remnant oak and ash standards in a hardwood floodplain forest along the Morava River in the Czech Republic. 100 oak (Quercus robur Linnaeus) standards and 100 ash (Fraxinus excelsior Linnaeus) standards were randomly selected and the basic mensuration data as well as some ecological data, such as number of large dead branches, cavities, and height of the lowest large dead and green branches, were measured. The four nearest neighbour competitors were identified for each standard, and their height, distance and azimuth were measured. The DBH of the analysed oak standards ranged between 71 and 148 cm, and the projected oak crown area ranged between 125 and 533 m 2 . The ash DBH ranged between 71 and 127 cm, and projected ash crowns between 194 and 620 m 2 . To assess competitive pressure, we calculated an index as a ratio of the tangents of angles of regular and compressed crowns. Distance of competing trees was more important than their height in the ash data set, but not in the oak data set.

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“…Outside Japan, several studies that addressed the effects of thinning on understory vegetation have been conducted in young plantations where thinning was implemented to increase food biomass for deer that would be hunted (Sullivan et al 2007(Sullivan et al , 2010Cole et al 2010). In general, understory vegetation declines with crown canopy closure in young or mature plantations, even if it initially increased after thinning (Kiyono 1990;Suzuki et al 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of understory vegetation over 10 years after thinning in an old-growth cedar and cypress plantation overgrazed by sika deer in eastern Japan

Tamura

Yamane

2017

For. Ecosyst.

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Response of understory vegetation over 10 years after thinning in an old-growth cedar and cypress plantation overgrazed by sika deer in eastern Japan Atsushi Tamura * and Masanobu Yamane Abstract Background: Forest management strategies such as thinning have long been used to enhance ecosystem functions, especially in plantations. Thinning in plantations with high deer density, however, may not yield a desired increase in understory vegetation because deer graze on germinating plants after thinning. Here, we examine the changes in understory vegetation after thinning in plantations that have been overgrazed by sika deer to provide insight into the effects of thinning on ecosystem functions such as soil conservation and biological diversity. Methods: We conducted our survey in the Tanzawa Mountains of eastern Japan. We surveyed the change in understory vegetation within and outside of three deer exclosures on a single slope with three levels of understory vegetation cover: sparse (1%, exclosure "US"), moderate (30%, exclosure "MM"), and dense (80%, exclosure "LD") over 10 years after a 30% thinning of an old-growth cedar and cypress plantation which was overgrazed by sika deer. Results: Understory vegetation cover, biomass and species richness increased within and outside the "US" and "MM" exclosures after thinning, and biomass was greater within than outside the exclosures at 10 years after thinning. Unpalatable species dominated both "US" and "MM" exclosures before thinning, and trees and shrubs dominated within the exclosures over time after thinning. In contrast, unpalatable, grazing-tolerant, perennial, and annual species increased outside the "US" and "MM" exclosures. No noticeable changes were observed within and outside the "LD" exclosure when compared with the "US" and "MM" exclosures. Conclusions: Our results suggest that thinning a stand by 30% based on volume resulted in an increase in understory vegetation cover mainly composed of both unpalatable and grazing-tolerant species in a plantation forest where understory vegetation is sparse or moderate and sika deer density is high. We emphasize that establishing deer exclosures or controlling deer is essential to maintaining similar understory vegetation both within and outside exclosures.

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Long-term responses of ecosystem components to stand thinning in young lodgepole pine forest

Cited by 71 publications

References 34 publications

Effect of the plantation age on the use of Eucalyptus stands by medium to large-sized wild mammals in south-eastern Brazil

Effect of the plantation age on the use of Eucalyptus stands by medium to large-sized wild mammals in south-eastern Brazil

Crowns of "forgotten" standards in hardwood floodplain forests

Response of understory vegetation over 10 years after thinning in an old-growth cedar and cypress plantation overgrazed by sika deer in eastern Japan

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