Predicting the spatial and temporal dynamics of species interactions in Fagus sylvatica and Pinus sylvestris forests across Europe

Forrester, David I.; Ammer, Ch.; Annighöfer, Peter; Avdagić, Admir; Barbeito, Ignacio; Bielak, Kamil; Brazaitis, Gediminas; Coll, Lluís; Rı́o, Miren del; Drößler, Lars; Heym, Michael; Hurt, Václav; Löf, Magnus; Matović, Bratislav; Meloni, Fabio; Ouden, J. den; Pach, Maciej; Pereira, Mário; Ponette, Quentin; Pretzsch, Hans; Skrzyszewski, Jerzy; Stojanović, Dejan; Svoboda, Miroslav; Ruíz-Peinado, Ricardo; Vacchiano, Giorgio; Verheyen, Kris; Zlatanov, Tzvetan; Bravo‐Oviedo, Andrés

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.09.029

Cited by 39 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…According to the estimates of our mixed model, the strongest effect, which explained most of the growth variation, was actually derived from the variation in DBH among trees and sites (note that size differences in our study are mainly due to age differences and not due to differences in canopy status). Our finding that mixing benefits increased with tree size in beech is in agreement with results of two recent studies, which reported increasing mixing benefits for beech with tree size/stand age in combination with spruce (Houpert et al, 2018) and pine (Forrester et al, 2017).…”

Section: Mixing Benefits For Both Species Increase With Tree Size Andsupporting

confidence: 93%

Benefits of Mixtures on Growth Performance of Silver Fir (Abies alba) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Increase With Tree Size Without Reducing Drought Tolerance

Schwarz

Bauhus

2019

Front. For. Glob. Change

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To mitigate negative impacts of drought stress in the face of climate change, mixtures of tree species such as those between European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and silver fir (Abies alba) are assumed to lower risks in forest management. This study investigates the influence of mixing beech and fir on tree growth in general and in particular on tree species responses to the extreme drought event of 2003. For this purpose, we analyzed basal area increment series and carbon isotope composition (δ 13 C) in wood of ∼160 trees from three mixed-species sites in Germany and one site in Croatia. Overall growth performance for both fir and beech increased with proportions of the admixed species when accounting for the interactions with tree size and competition intensity. Mixing improved growth of large trees for both species irrespective of neighborhood density, whereas smaller trees benefitted only in denser neighborhoods. Positive mixing effects on radial growth were more pronounced in fir compared to beech, yet the latter benefitted by admixture of fir with regard to growth recovery following drought. Both the resistance of radial growth against reduction during drought as well as the variation of isotopic composition throughout the drought period were not affected by mixing, indicating that water-use in these two species was not complementary under drought stress. Although trees from both species exhibited growth reductions during the drought, fir maintained higher absolute growth levels than beech during the drought. Both species benefited from growing in mixed neighborhoods but complementary effects depended on tree size and neighborhood density. Mixing fir and beech leads to positive or neutral effects on growth performance of trees, also in response to an extreme drought event. Since increasing tree species richness also spreads the risks associated with extreme events, mixtures of beech and fir can be recommended as a possible alternative for more drought-sensitive stands such as spruce monocultures.

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Section: Mixing Benefits For Both Species Increase With Tree Size Andsupporting

confidence: 93%

Benefits of Mixtures on Growth Performance of Silver Fir (Abies alba) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Increase With Tree Size Without Reducing Drought Tolerance

Schwarz

Bauhus

2019

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…According to Forrester et al (2017), for example, mixed and unmixed stands can vary considerably in the productivity, function, and stability, the extent and direction of these differences being very heterogeneous. In the context of higher structural diversity, correlation with the production of above-ground biomass has been confirmed for the pine stands (Balvanera et al, 2006;Szwagrzyk & Gazda, 2007;Ercanli & Kahriman, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand dynamics in natural Scots pine forests as a model for adaptation management?

Vacek¹,

Vacek²,

Bílek³

et al. 2020

Dendrobiology

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The paper deals with the dynamics of structure, diversity and growth of natural pine stands without direct human impact during the ten-year period in Nature Reserve (NR) Kostelecké bory, Czech Republic. The objective was to determine the main characteristics of the spontaneous development of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest stands in relation to their naturalness, ecological stability and adaptation to climate change and air pollution stress. Horizontal and vertical structure and species diversity of the tree layer, dead wood and natural regeneration of each permanent research plot (PRP) were evaluated (n = 6, 50 × 50 m /0.25 ha/, Northern Bohemia, 410-425 m above sea level). The average ring series of PRPs were correlated with the climatic data (precipitation, temperature) according to individual years from the Doksy climatic station, and the air pollution data (SO 2 in 1988-2015, NO X and AOT40F-ozone exposure in 1992-2015) from Radimovice station. In 2016, the stand volume increased by 26.0% to 136 m 3 ha −1 (108 m 3 ha −1 in 2006) and the volume of dead wood increase by 127.2% to 27 m 3 ha −1 (12 m 3 ha −1 in 2006). The horizontal structure of tree layer and natural regeneration was predominantly aggregated to random. More distinct changes in biodiversity and structural characteristics occurred in the natural regeneration (21.5%) compared to tree layer (2.8%). The precipitation had a significantly higher effect on radial growth compared to temperature. The lack of precipitation in growing season and high temperature in previous autumn and winter were limiting factors for growth. Climatic factors had significant effect on diameter increment in July of the current year (P < 0.01) and June of the current and previous year (P < 0.05). Radial growth was negatively correlated with SO 2 concentrations (P < 0.01) and ozone exposure (P < 0.05). NO X concentrations had low effect on radial growth. The natural stand dynamics had positive effect on biodiversity and functional integrity of natural pine ecosystems.

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“…At very young development stages, the growth of European beech suffered from the mixture but at medium and old development stages, European beech benefitted from the mixture. Similarly, the mixing effect for European beech with Pinus sylvestris (L.) was predicted to increase with stand age as the early dominance of Pinus sylvestris, in terms of height, was lost [56]. The mixture therefore not only affects the productivity of the mixed stands but also the temporal dynamics of the tree species interactions [19].…”

Section: Mixing Effects In Norway Spruce-european Beech Standsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixing Effects in Norway Spruce—European Beech Stands Are Modulated by Site Quality, Stand Age and Moisture Availability

Houpert

Rohner

Forrester

et al. 2018

Forests

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Abstract:Although mixing tree species is considered an efficient risk-reduction strategy in the face of climate change, the conditions where mixtures are more productive than monocultures are under ongoing debate. Generalizations have been difficult because of the variety of methods used and due to contradictory findings regarding the effects of the species investigated, mixing proportions, and many site and stand conditions. Using data from 960 plots of the Swiss National Forest Inventory data, we assessed whether Picea abies (L.) Karst-Fagus sylvatica L. mixed stands are more productive than pure stands, and whether the mixing effect depends on site-or stand-characteristics. The species proportions were estimated using species proportion by area, which depends on the maximum stand basal area of an unmanaged stand (BA max ). Four different alternatives were used to estimate BA max and to investigate the effect of these differing alternatives on the estimated mixture effect. On average, the mixture had a negative effect on the growth of Picea abies. However, this effect decreased as moisture availability increased. Fagus sylvatica grew better in mixtures and this effect increased with site quality. A significant interaction between species proportions and quadratic mean diameter, a proxy for stand age, was found for both species: the older the stand, the better the growth of Fagus sylvatica and the lower the growth of Picea abies. Overyielding was predicted for 80% of the investigated sites. The alternative to estimate BA max weakly modulated the estimated mixture effect, but it did not affect the way mixing effects changed with site characteristics.

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Predicting the spatial and temporal dynamics of species interactions in Fagus sylvatica and Pinus sylvestris forests across Europe

Cited by 39 publications

References 69 publications

Benefits of Mixtures on Growth Performance of Silver Fir (Abies alba) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Increase With Tree Size Without Reducing Drought Tolerance

Benefits of Mixtures on Growth Performance of Silver Fir (Abies alba) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Increase With Tree Size Without Reducing Drought Tolerance

Stand dynamics in natural Scots pine forests as a model for adaptation management?

Mixing Effects in Norway Spruce—European Beech Stands Are Modulated by Site Quality, Stand Age and Moisture Availability

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