Maintaining Ecosystem Function by Restoring Forest Biodiversity – Reviewing Decision-Support Tools that link Biology, Hydrology and Geochemistry

Lo, Yueh-Hsin; Blanco, Juan A.; Welham, Clive; Wang, Mike

doi:10.5772/59390

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…FORECAST Climate is able to simulate the movement of water through various forest layers including explicit representations of the balance between inputs from precipitation and seepage, and outputs by canopy interception, evapotranspiration, plant uptake, percolation and runoff. The model has been tested and applied for a wide variety of forest ecosystems (Dordel, Seely, & Simard, 2011;Blanco et al, 2015;Lo, Blanco, Welham, & Wang, 2015;Seely et al, 2015, and references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased complementarity in water‐limited environments in Scots pine and European beech mixtures under climate change

et al. 2017

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Management of mixedwoods is advocated as an effective adaptation strategy to increase ecosystem resiliency in the context of climate change. Although mixedwoods have been shown to have greater resource use efficiency relative to pure stands, considerable uncertainty remains with respect to the underlying ecological processes. We explored species interactions in Scots pine/ European beech mixedwoods with the process-based model FORECAST Climate. The model was calibrated for two contrasting forests in the southwestern Pyrenees (northern Spain): a wet Mediterranean site at 625 m.a.s.l. and a subalpine site at 1335 m.a.s.l. Predicted mixedwood yield was higher than that for beech stands but lower than pine stands. When simulating climate change, mixedwood yield was reduced at the Mediterranean site (−33%) but increased at the subalpine site (+11%). Interaction effects were enhanced as stands developed. Complementarity dominated the Mediterranean stand but neutral or net competition dominated the subalpine stand, which had higher stand density and water availability. Reduced water demand and consumption, increased canopy interception, and improved water-use efficiency in mixtures compared to beech stands, suggest a release of beech intraspecific competition. Beech also facilitated pine growth through better litter quality, nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixation, and aboveand belowground stratification, leading to higher foliar nitrogen content and deeper canopies in pines. In conclusion, mixtures may improve water availability and use efficiency for beech and light interception for pine, the main limiting factors for each species, respectively. Encouraging pine-beech mixtures could be an effective adaptation to climate change in drought-prone sites in the Mediterranean region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased complementarity in water‐limited environments in Scots pine and European beech mixtures under climate change

et al. 2017

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“…Such models describe ecological processes using mathematical equations that relate tree growth with environmental variables such as rain, temperature, nutrients, etc. Although most of this type models were originally designed as research tools to better understand how ecological processes work at different scales (from individuals to ecosystems, from seconds to centuries), in several noticeable cases, they have reached applicability in forest management operations [44,46,47].…”

Section: Ecological Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, regeneration niche models such as TACA or water circulation models such as GOTILWA+ have been proven very useful for the applications that they were designed for, but they do not include nutrient cycling or nontree organisms. Finally, CENTURY is a proven soil model but it has a simple tree simulator, and therefore, it cannot be considered as a forest research and management tool (see reviews by [44,46,47]).…”

Section: Ecological Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants and Tools to Evaluate the Ecological Sustainability of Using Forest Biomass as an Alternative Energy Source

Blanco¹,

Candel-Pérez²,

Lo³

2018

Forest Biomass and Carbon

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Forest biomass, the most ancient of fuels, is again in the center of renewable energy production. This chapter provides an introductory view of the main factors that condition the ecological sustainability of this energy source. The basic concepts of ecological sustainability, ecological rotation, and ecological thresholds (among others) are presented. The state of the art on approaches to assess the sustainability of forest biomass production for heat and electricity is discussed, and tools available for decision-makers to evaluate the sustainability of forest biomass production and management are described. This chapter then describes the main advantages and drawbacks of forest certification, growth and yield tables, and ecological models in relationship to their use in sustainable forest management for biomass and energy production.

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“…Prediction of successional pathways requires an understanding of what it means for one plant species to establish and grow in the shade of another (Weber et al 2014). Basing such predictions only or even mainly on light, as is the case in many process-based forest models (see reviews by Lo et al 2011Lo et al , 2015, and references therein) can lead to erroneous conclusions, if other factors are not accounted for (Kimmins et al 2008, Dybzinski et al 2015). Carbon allocation shifts in response to soil resource availability (Franklin et al 2012, Farrior et al 2013 can have significant effects on interspecific competition and successional pathways (Weber et al 2014).…”

Section: Success Of Both Natural Regeneration and Planting In Partialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival and growth as measures of shade tolerance of planted western redcedar, western hemlock and amabilis fir seedlings in hemlock-fir forests of northern Vancouver Island

Weber

Leckie

Kimmins

et al. 2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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We examined two measures of shade tolerance (survival and growth) of planted 1-year-old seedlings of western redcedar (Thuja plicata (Donn ex D. Don)), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla ([Raf.] Sarg.)) and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis ([Dougl. ex Loud] Dougl. ex Forbes)). Seedlings were planted at two different sites (forest interior: 4.5% mean above canopy photosynthetically active radiation [ACPAR], and forest edge: 41.5% mean ACPAR), in a 90year-old, windthrow origin, unmanaged mesic western hemlock-amabilis fir stand. Seedlings were planted in 1997, and re-measured in 1998 and 2001 (after five growing seasons). To assess the effects of deer browsing on redcedar survival and growth, additional seedlings of this species were planted and protected with Vexar© tubes. To examine for nutrient-light interactions, half of these seedlings were fertilized with N-P-K and micronutrients at planting. Western redcedar had high levels of survival after 4 years (98% in edge plots and 93% in interior plots). Redcedar seedlings in edge plots were more vigorous but were browsed more heavily than in the interior plots. At edge sites, the negative effects of the Vexar© tubes may have been lower than their positive effects. Hemlock survival was about 50% in the stand interior but 80% in the edge plots. Amabilis fir in the interior plots had the lowest survival of the three species, with only 40% of initial seedlings surviving over the next four years, but had high survival in edge plots (95%). Height, biomass, and root collar diameter growth were significantly higher in edge plots for fir and hemlock. However, for redcedar, only biomass was significantly higher and no differences were detected for height and diameter. Our results show that shade tolerance cannot be assessed by simple measures of leaf/light relationships alone, but also requires consideration of light, nutrition, growth and browsing.

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Maintaining Ecosystem Function by Restoring Forest Biodiversity – Reviewing Decision-Support Tools that link Biology, Hydrology and Geochemistry

Cited by 7 publications

References 59 publications

Increased complementarity in water‐limited environments in Scots pine and European beech mixtures under climate change

Increased complementarity in water‐limited environments in Scots pine and European beech mixtures under climate change

Determinants and Tools to Evaluate the Ecological Sustainability of Using Forest Biomass as an Alternative Energy Source

Survival and growth as measures of shade tolerance of planted western redcedar, western hemlock and amabilis fir seedlings in hemlock-fir forests of northern Vancouver Island

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