Structural diversity of abandoned chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) dominated forests: Implications for forest management

Zlatanov, Tzvetan; Schleppi, Patrick; Velichkov, Ivaylo; Hinkov, Georgi; Георгиева, Маргарита; Eggertsson, Ólafur; Zlatanova, Magdalena; Vacik, Harald

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.11.015

Cited by 44 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…), has reduced the interest in the management of these forests (Amorini et al 2000;Gallardo 2001;Conedera and Krebs 2008;San Roman Sanz et al 2013;Seijo et al 2015). As a result, chestnut stands tend to become invaded by other species and to evolve toward mixed deciduous forests (Conedera et al 2000(Conedera et al , 2001(Conedera et al , 2016Zlatanov et al 2013). However, in recent decades, naturally occurring hypovirulent strains of C. parasitica with attenuated pathogenesis has allowed C. sativa to become again a viable species for timber and nut production (Milgroom and Cortesi 2004;Waldboth and Oberhuber 2009;Zlatanov et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the recruitment dynamics have been inferred from studies carried out on managed forests, where C. sativa trees exhibit vigorous sprouting after being cut (Cutini 2001;Giudici and Zingg 2005). The few studies that have addressed C. sativa seedling dynamics found that low shade tolerance limits successful recruitment under close canopies, where the low level of regeneration of C. sativa seedlings is outcompeted by more shade-tolerant species (Pridnya et al 1996;Sevilla 2008;Pividori et al 2005;Zlatanov et al 2013). Furthermore, the lack of pristine mixed temperate forests in the Mediterranean basin, due to centuries of human intervention, is a relevant limitation in the study of C. sativa regeneration dynamics (Scarascia-Mugnozza et al 2000;Conedera et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

Silla

Camisón

Solana

et al. 2018

Annals of Forest Science

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& Key message Quercus secondary forests show a gradual transition toward mixed forests, with sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) becoming increasingly abundant in the western Spanish Central System. Additionally, in chestnut-dominated stands, it shows a certain resistance to competitive displacement by Quercus pyrenaica. Our results partially refute the traditional view that C. sativa is unable to recruit in the absence of cultural inputs. & Context Sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, is a component of European broadleaf forests and is one of the most managed trees. Due to a reduction in cultural inputs, chestnut-dominated stands tend to be invaded by other species, and it is unclear how chestnut is able to persist in natural mixed forests. & Aims Our work aimed to identity the main factors that limit the establishment of C. sativa and to analyze the recruitment and mortality processes of C. sativa trees. & Methods The age, growth ring patterns, regeneration density, and the spatial structure of trees and saplings in 11 plots in the Spanish Central System were analyzed. & Results Chestnut seedling density increased with C. sativa basal area, but transition toward the sapling stage appeared limited owing to light availability. In Quercus pyrenaica secondary forests, sparse canopies did not constrain chestnut regeneration, and in old chestnut stands, C. sativa showed a certain resistance to competitive displacement. By contrast, mixed young coppices showed a high mortality, most likely due to competition with other vigorous resprouters. & Conclusion Quercus secondary forests showed a gradual transition toward mixed forests with sweet chestnut becoming increasingly more abundant. In old stands, C. sativa is likely to persist under a gap-phase mode of regeneration. Our results partially refute the traditional view that C. sativa is unable to recruit in the absence of cultural inputs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

Silla

Camisón

Solana

et al. 2018

Annals of Forest Science

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“…Heterogeneity in energy distribution on forest habitats is regarded as one of the most important factors maintaining and driving plant structural diversity12, a type of diversity commonly measured as species diversity and size diversity, i.e., species richness, number of individuals, and tree size34. Higher habitat heterogeneity is associated with higher heterogeneity in energy distribution, which results in higher variation in woody plant structural diversity5.…”

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confidence: 99%

Topography-associated thermal gradient predicts warming effects on woody plant structural diversity in a subtropical forest

Zhong

Sun

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Understanding global warming effects on forest ecosystems will help policy-makers and forest managers design forest management and biodiversity conservation strategies. We examined the change in woody plant structural diversity in response to topography-associated thermal gradients in a subtropical forest with diverse abundance patterns. We found that energy distribution in a warming trend across slopes had significant effects on woody plant structural diversity. Except for total basal area of the adult trees, plant structural diversity significantly decreased with the increase of heat load. Heat load is significantly and negatively correlated with number of stems, number of species, and the number of stems of the most abundant species (Nmax) for seedlings, saplings, and individuals of all sizes. For the adult trees, heat load is significantly and positively correlated with number of stems and Nmax, and negatively but not significantly with number of species, indicating that large trees may not be as sensitive as seedlings and saplings to warming. Partial correlation analysis, having controlled for elevation, strengthened those relations in most cases. Our results reveal that warming will increase community productivity by enhancing the growth of large trees, but decrease species diversity and inhibit the regeneration of tree seedlings and saplings.

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“…Our results suggest that sanitation cuts did not improve the growth of chestnut seedlings. Zlatanov et al (2013), using hemispherical photographs in chestnut dominated forests, found that they have the potential to rapidly fill newly opened canopy gaps, mainly due to the rapid growth of the species-rich shrub storey, which usually remains intact during harvest operations. Therefore, the sanitation cuts did not serve as a proper seeding felling in the sense of the "shelterwood system", as expected at the time of their implementation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does management improve the state of chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) on Belasitsa Mountain, southwest Bulgaria?

Zlatanov¹,

Velichkov²,

Георгиева³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionFor many centuries European chestnut forests have been mostly managed as short rotation coppices and orchards for nut production (Bourgoise 1987, Lauteri et al. 2009). During the second half of the 20 th century chestnut cultivation substantially decreased because rural populations fell and the species became less important as a staple food. Chestnut trees also sustained substantial damage from chestnut blight caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (Murrill) Barr (Cutini 2001, Pividori et al. 2004 and from ink-disease caused by Phytopthora spp. Abandoned open-structured chestnut stands and coppices have both been partially replaced by climax communities associated with various Quercus or Fagus species (Paci 1992, Romane et al. 1995, Pridnya et al. 1996, Gallardo-Lancho 2001, Lushaj & Tabaku 2009, Pezzi et al. 2009).In recent years, biological control of chestnut blight and the natural spread of hypovirulence throughout most of Europe (Milgroom & Cortesi 2004) allowed chestnut to be again a viable species for wood production. The increasing demand for high-quality wood production has fostered a discussion about identifying appropriate management techniques to assure sustainable forest management for sawlog production (Heiniger & Rigling 1994, Amorini et al. 1997, Manetti et al. 2009). As a result, the production of high-value chestnut timber is now being enhanced in some parts of Europe where growing conditions are appropriate ). However, this was mainly achieved by extending the rotation of coppices up to 30 or 50 years rather than by management of chestnut in high forests originating from seed (Bourgoise 1987, Amorini et al. 2000. Currently, there are few experiments into how chestnut regenerates and grows under high-forest silvicultural methods, even though these methods are extensively used in most mixed deciduous forests in Europe (Cutini 2001). Hence, little is known of how the behavioral patterns of chestnut could be managed to secure its future survival in species-rich mixed forests under a high-forest system.After a period of abandonment in the first half of the 20 th century, interest in the management of chestnut stands on the Belasitsa Mountain (southwest Bulgaria) rose again in the 1990s, as a consequence of the spread of the chestnut blight disease. The first documented identification of C. parasitica on Belasitsa Mountain was in 1993 (Petkov & Rossnev 2000). Management response was confined to the implementation of sanitation cuttings through the harvesting of trees with heavily damaged crowns (degree of damage > 60%). The first sanitation cuttings in chestnut-dominated and co-dominated stands on the mountain were carried out in 1989. More than 2700 m 3 of chestnut wood were harvested up to 1992. From 1993, the magnitude of wood harvested in sanitation cuttings substantially increased. To 2006 more than 30 000 m 3 of chestnut wood were harvested. Since 2006, the intensity of sanitation cuttings abruptly decreased and they were replaced by c...

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Structural diversity of abandoned chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) dominated forests: Implications for forest management

Cited by 44 publications

References 34 publications

Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

Topography-associated thermal gradient predicts warming effects on woody plant structural diversity in a subtropical forest

Does management improve the state of chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) on Belasitsa Mountain, southwest Bulgaria?

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