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The 'home‐field advantage (HFA)' for decomposition means that leaf litter decomposes faster on soils under the conspecific species (i.e. the home field) than on soils under different species (i.e. 'away'). Many previous studies have demonstrated the HFA, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a reciprocal litter‐decomposition experiment using two species with different leaf traits: Abies mariesii, an evergreen conifer, and Fagus crenata, a deciduous broad‐leaved tree. Dominance of these species shifts along an elevation gradient with a transition zone where both species coexist. In mixed forests of the transition zone along the elevation gradient, we explored how the magnitude of HFA between these two species was influenced by temperature, soil properties, or leaf litter traits which could directly affect the decomposition rate. The magnitude of HFA observed between the two species varied widely from −3.89 to 28.3%. Our modeling showed that the magnitude of HFA increased with decreasing soil pH and leaf litter N, i.e. in more acidic soil and for less decomposable litter. Soil pH affected leaf litter decomposition in the home plots of each species, whereas leaf litter N did not. The magnitude of the HFA increased as the difference in soil pH between the F. crenata and A. mariesii plots at the same elevation became greater, but decreased as the difference in soil C became greater. Thus, the response of leaf litter decomposition to environmental changes might vary not only through direct effects of vegetation traits but also through indirect effects of the HFA. This highlights the importance of considering HFA for accurately predicting the response of local carbon and nutrient cycles to climate change, particularly in communities where a replacement of dominant species by others is expected due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance forest health and quality in Beijing's mountainous areas and strengthen their role as ecological barriers, this research takes Mentougou District as a case study and utilizes data from Beijing's 9th Forest Resources Survey. Through methods such as field data collection, literature review, and on-site investigations, the study systematically analyzes and evaluates the current status, resource changes, and existing issues in forest management within Mentougou. Based on these analyses and considering factors like regional functional positioning, forest resource structure, management level, and socio-economic conditions, the study proposes strategies for mountain forest management in four aspects: classification-based forest management, ecological restoration, forest protection, and multi-functional forest resource utilization. These strategies provide scientific foundations and theoretical support for sustainable forest development and healthy forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We motivated mountain hikers to survey high-altitude occurrences of selected tree and shrub species in the Bavarian Alps in a citizen science portal and compared the observations with historical data collected by the botanist Otto Sendtner at the end of the Little Ice Age. For nine of ten species with sufficient numbers of historical and citizen science observations, currently uppermost outpost occurrences were verified after data curation and subsampling. Tree species of montane (Sorbus aucuparia: 342 m, Abies alba: 324 m, Acer pseudoplatanus: 273 m, Fagus sylvatica: 141 m) and of lower subalpine distribution (Betula pubescens: 278 m, Picea abies: 55 m) climbed significantly, whereas species found at the high subalpine tree line ecotone ascended less (Pinus mugo: 21 m, Larix decidua: 13 m, Alnus alnobetula: 6 m) or even appeared to lose elevation (Pinus cembra: −57 m). We explain the gap between realized and potential upslope shift of ca. 500 m suggested by the thermal elevation gradient by the lack of mature soils at high altitudes and low summit heights in the Bavarian Alps.

Mountainous forests are pivotal in the global carbon cycle, serving as substantial reservoirs and sinks of carbon. However, generating a reliable estimate remains a considerable challenge, primarily due to the lack of representative in situ measurements and proper methods capable of addressing their complex spatial variation. Here, we proposed a deep learning-based method that combines Residual convolutional neural networks (ResNet) with in situ measurements, microwave (Sentinel-1 and VOD), and optical data (Sentinel-2 and Landsat) to estimate forest biomass and track its change over the mountainous regions. Our approach, integrating in situ measurements across representative elevations with multi-source remote sensing images, significantly improves the accuracy of biomass estimation in Tibet's complex mountainous forests (R2 = 0.80, root mean squared error = 15.8 MgC ha−1). Moreover, ResNet, which addresses the vanishing gradient problem in deep neural networks by introducing skip connections, enables the extraction of complex spatial patterns from limited datasets, outperforming traditional optical-based or pixel-based methods. The mean value of forest biomass was estimated as 162.8 ± 21.3 MgC ha−1, notably higher than that of forests at comparable latitudes or flat regions in China. Additionally, our findings revealed a substantial forest biomass carbon sink of 3.35 TgC year−1 during 2015–2020, which is largely underestimated by previous estimates, mainly due to the underestimation of mountainous carbon stock. The significant carbon density, combined with the underestimated carbon sink in mountainous regions, emphasizes the urgent need to reassess mountain forests to better approximate the global carbon budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the extraordinary biodiversity richness of South-East Asian countries is concentrated in the national parks and other Protected Areas, with species-rich turtle communities surviving mostly in these reserves where their natural habitats are better preserved. However, very few studies have documented the turtle species richness of the various Protected Areas in Vietnam, which is not only one of the hotspots of chelonian diversity in the world but also one of the countries where their exploitation is the highest. Here, the diversity of turtles is studied in the Bach Ma National Park in central Vietnam, mainly characterised by forested hills and mountains, with ponds and streams of various shapes and structures. The study was carried out by conducting (i) semi-structured interviews of hunters recruited through a snow-ball procedure in local villages, (ii) inspection of turtle individuals in their hands, (iii) field surveys along random transects inspecting the various microhabitats used by these reptiles. We observed a total of 15 species, out of which 14 (93.3%) are threatened, based on IUCN Red List. A natural hybrid of Cuora bourreti × C. mouhotii obsti (Cuora «serrata») was observed. Three species (Cuora bourreti, Manouria impressa, Platysternon megacephalum) were the most frequently encountered species according to our interviewees. We conclude that, in order to enhance the conservation status of the turtle communities at the local level, it would be important (i) to increase the number of rangers patrolling the study area in the rainy season (from April to September) and (ii) to list the hunter's names in the villages surrounding the Bach Ma National Park and to convince them to sign an agreement with the local authorities to avoid hunting turtles within the Protected Area.

Mountainous forests are pivotal in the global carbon cycle, serving as substantial reservoirs and sinks of carbon. However, generating a reliable estimate remains a considerable challenge, primarily due to the lack of representative in situ measurements and proper methods capable of addressing their complex spatial variation. Here, we proposed a deep learning-based method that combines Residual convolutional neural networks (ResNet) with in situ measurements, microwave (Sentinel-1 and VOD), and optical data (Sentinel-2 and Landsat) to estimate forest biomass and track its change over the mountainous regions. Our approach, integrating in situ measurements across representative elevations with multi-source remote sensing images, significantly improves the accuracy of biomass estimation in Tibet’s complex mountainous forests (R2 = 0.80, root mean squared error = 15.8 MgC ha−1). Moreover, ResNet, which addresses the vanishing gradient problem in deep neural networks by introducing skip connections, enables the extraction of complex spatial patterns from limited datasets, outperforming traditional optical-based or pixel-based methods. The mean value of forest biomass was estimated as 162.8 ± 21.3 MgC ha−1, notably higher than that of forests at comparable latitudes or flat regions in China. Additionally, our findings revealed a substantial forest biomass carbon sink of 3.35 TgC year−1 during 2015–2020, which is largely underestimated by previous estimates, mainly due to the underestimation of mountainous carbon stock. The significant carbon density, combined with the underestimated carbon sink in mountainous regions, emphasizes the urgent need to reassess mountain forests to better approximate the global carbon budget.

The forest floor is a critical component in maintaining the life cycles of forest ecosystems. It normally includes organic soil horizons, known as duff and litter, which are prone to be rapidly consumed after flaming and smoldering fires. This work aims to understand the legacy effects of surface and ground fires on the infiltration capacity of a volcanic forest soil. We studied five sites with fires recorded in the last 20 years. All of them are located in pine-oak forests of the volcanic mountain region in central Mexico with a temperate climate and Andic soil properties. Tension-infiltration tests were carried out to determine hydraulic conductivity and the number of active macropores. After each test, cores were taken to evaluate in a laboratory setting, where soil water repellency at different moisture concentrations and the integrative dynamic repellency index were determined. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity was moderately high in all sites, with mean values of 13 and 42 mm·h−1 for burned and control plots, respectively. A non-linear relationship was found between recurrence and type of fires with the concentration of active pores and several dynamic water repellency parameters. This work confirmed the presence of latent combustion in these temperate neotropical forests. The changes in soil water repellency and hydraulic conductivity detected do not necessarily imply an exceeded soil infiltration capacity. However, many of the fires in this region are associated with increasing agricultural activities, so further studies are needed to determine if higher fire frequencies could exceed the resilience capacity of the soils triggering land degradation.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have demonstrated their efficacy in remote sensing applications for mountain forest classification. However, two-dimensional convolutional neural networks (2D CNNs) require a significant manual involvement in the visual interpretation to obtain continuous polygon label data. To reduce the errors associated with manual visual interpretation and enhance classification efficiency, it is imperative to explore alternative approaches. In this research, we introduce a novel one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D CNN) methodology that directly leverages field investigation data as labels for classifying mountain forest types based on multiple remote sensing data sources. The hyperparameters were optimised using an orthogonal table, and the model's performance was evaluated on Mount Emei of Sichuan Province. Comparative assessments with traditional classification methods, namely, a random forest (RF) and a support vector machine (SVM), revealed superior results obtained by the proposed 1D CNN. Forest type classification using the 1D CNN achieved an impressive overall accuracy (OA) of 97.41% and a kappa coefficient (Kappa) of 0.9673, outperforming the U-Net (OA: 94.45%, Kappa: 0.9239), RF (OA: 88.99%, Kappa: 0.8488), and SVM (OA: 88.79%, Kappa: 0.8476). Moreover, the 1D CNN model was retrained using limited field investigation data from Mount Wawu in Sichuan Province and successfully classified forest types in that region, thereby demonstrating its spatial-scale transferability with an OA of 90.86% and a Kappa of 0.8879. These findings underscore the effectiveness of the proposed 1D CNN in utilising multiple remote sensing data sources for accurate mountain forest type classification. In summary, the introduced 1D CNN presents a novel, efficient, and reliable method for mountain forest type classification, offering substantial contributions to the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical forests are major sources of global terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET), but these heterogeneous landscapes pose a challenge for continuous estimates of ET, so few studies are conducted, and observation gaps persist. New spaceborne products such as ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) are promising tools for closing such observation gaps in understudied tropical areas. Using ECOSTRESS ET data across a large, protected tropical forest region (2250 km2) situated on the western slope of the Andes, we predicted ET for different days. ET was modeled using a random forest approach, following best practice workflows for spatial predictions. We used a set of topographic, meteorological, and forest structure variables from open-source products such as GEDI, PROBA-V, and ERA5, thereby avoiding any variables included in the ECOSTRESS L3 algorithm. The models indicated a high level of accuracy in the spatially explicit prediction of ET across different locations, with an r2 of 0.61 to 0.74. Across all models, no single predictor was dominant, and five variables explained 60% of the models' results, thus highlighting the complex relationships among predictor variables and their influence on ET spatial predictions in tropical mountain forests. The leaf area index, a forest structure variable, was among the three variables with the highest individual contributions to the prediction of ET on all days studied, along with the topographic variables of elevation and aspect. We conclude that ET can be predicted well with a random forest approach, which could potentially contribute to closing the observation gaps in tropical regions, and that a combination of topography and forest structure variables plays a key role in predicting ET in a forest on the western slope of the Andes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversitas Journal is the property of Diversitas Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Makyta Nature Reserve (Beskydy Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic) is a diverse area comprising ecologically valuable spruce-beech forests with remnants of flowery meadows. A survey conducted in 2018 recorded 284 species of Lepidoptera, including 17 endangered and 2 legislatively protected species. Among the most significant species were Gesneria centuriella – confirming its presence in Moravia after 100 years, Alucita desmodactyla – a species significant for the Czech Republic with its main occurrence in the Beskydy Mountains, Euplagia quadripunctaria, Eupithecia expallidata and E. immundata, Cosmotriche lobulina, Diachrysia chryson – a species significant for the Beskydy Mountains, Phlogophora scita, and Drymonia obliterata – a typical species for preserved beech forests. Among the butterflies, notable species in ecotones include Boloria euphrosyne with a numerous population and two declining species: Satyrium w-album and Erebia ligea. In the vicinity of the Makyta Nature Reserve, Parnassius mnemosyne and Pieris bryoniae were identified, finding suitable conditions for life within the reserve. The Makyta Nature Reserve requires careful management as a complex of forest and meadow ecosystems. It is essential to respect proposed measures, especially regarding the maintenance of forest meadows and the veteranization of trees in stands lacking deadwood in various forms. The care plan should be adjusted and updated based on the identified Lepidoptera fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One consequence of climate change is the rapid extinction of spruce monocultures in the Carpathians. Therefore, the need has arisen to replace spruce with other highly productive species that ensure the stability and biodiversity of mountain forests, such as the Abies alba and Larix decidua. These co-occurring conifers show different successional and phenological characteristics: L. decidua is a light-demanding species that dominates in the early successional stages, while A. alba is a shade-tolerant tree. This study attempts to identify climatic factors that determine the tree-ring width of fir and larch in order to assess the growth prospects of these species in the context of the ongoing climate change. As a measure of the vitality of trees, tree-ring widths of 42 sub-populations of fir and 36 of larch from the area of the Western Carpathians were used. Regional growth patterns for each species were used to estimate the relationship between temperature/precipitation and radial growth. Linear correlation analyses and nonlinear Random Forest models were used. Fir growth was significantly positively influenced by the high temperature of January–March and July and the high precipitation of February and July of the year of tree-ring formation. Larch growth was positively affected by the high temperature of May and the low precipitation of April and September of the year of tracheid formation. Unlike larch, fir growth increased if May and June of the preceding year were warm. The dominant climatic factor influencing fir growth was February temperature, whereas for larch growth, it was the May temperature of the year of tree-ring formation. Most of the recently observed changes in climatic factors that are important for the growth of both species are favorable. Thus, increasing their share in the Carpathian forests seems fully justified, as this will contribute to the stability, productivity, and biodiversity of the region's forests. [Display omitted] • Identification of the factors that impact the tree-ring growth of Silver fir and European larch in the Western Carpathians. • An extensive network of site tree-ring width chronologies of fir and larch from Western Carpathians was used. • Detailed regional, spatial, and temporal analyses of the relationships between climatic factors and tree-ring growth. • Fir and larch in Western Carpathians have positive growth prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work concern the distribution of epiphytic Pteridophytes and their relationship with phorophytes in the mountain zone of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP) in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We conducted 10 transects and 20 plots on an altitudinal gradient from 1712 to 3326 meters of altitude. The inventories were made following the pattern of epiphyte distribution on phorophytes according to the method of Johansson (1974). The smallest area necessary for most species to be represented in the survey was 200 centimeters around the trunk of the phorophyte. Pteridophyte diversity indices were measured as well as the relationships between floristic variation of pteridophytes and ecological variation using principal component analysis (PCA). The 63 epiphytic Pteridophytes were recorded out of 842 phorophytes belonging to 20 species. Hemi-epiphytes (34.9%) followed by semi-strict epiphytes (25.4%) are predominant in the montane forest (1700-2600 meters of altitude) while semi-strict epiphytes dominated in the afro-subalpine forest (17.5%). The montane forest records a large number of epiphytic Pteridophytes with a sequence of I > II > III > IV > V, while the afro-subalpine forest shows a sequence of I > II > III according to the Johansson scale. Phorophyte diameter and environmental conditions are two main factors that influence epiphyte abundance. In addition, the nature of the bark of trees has a strong influence on the relationship between Pteridophytes epiphytes and phorophytes.

Nocturnal temperature inversion (NTI) is an important factor characterizing the local climate in mountainous areas. In central Japan, most of the mountain slopes are covered by forests, but the effects of their leaf expansion/fall on the NTI variations in basins have not been clarified. According to a 3-year leaf area index observation in the mixed forest of the Sugadaira Highland (1320 m a.s.l), Nagano Prefecture, Japan, we identified weakening of the NTI associated with leaf expansion and strengthening after leaf fall in a small basin. Using digital elevation and land-cover data, we defined the distribution of the deciduous and mixed forests in the catchment area of nocturnal cold-air drainage. The estimated timings of leaf expansion/fall at the catchment scale based on the effective cumulative temperature almost coincided with the NTI changes. Micrometeorology observations showed that NTI at the forest floor and downslope winds at the adjacent grassland strengthened during the dormant (leafless) season in the nighttime when the radiative cooling is strong. Calm and clear nights were selected during the spring dormant season and the summer growing season for 22 nights and 30 nights, respectively. The heat loss during the cold-air pool development was estimated and converted to storage heat flux in the forest areas. The storage heat flux was 3.8 W m-2 more on average in the growing season than in the dormant season, and it was less than that of forests estimated in previous studies (several 10 W m-2), indicating that an increase in storage heat flux of the forests with leaf expansion could cancel nocturnal radiative cooling and weaken gravity currents at the forest floor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canopy height is a fundamental parameter for determining forest ecosystem functions such as biodiversity and above-ground biomass. Previous studies examining the underlying patterns of the complex relationship between canopy height and its environmental and climatic determinants suffered from the scarcity of accurate canopy height measurements at large scales. NASA's mission, the Global Ecosystem Dynamic Investigation (GEDI), has provided sampled observations of the forest vertical structure at near global scale since late 2018. The availability of such unprecedented measurements allows for examining the vertical structure of vegetation spatially and temporally. Herein, we explore the most influential climatic and environmental drivers of the canopy height in tropical forests. We examined different resampling resolutions of GEDI-based canopy height to approximate maximum canopy height over tropical forests across all of Malaysia. Moreover, we attempted to interpret the dynamics underlining the bivariate and multivariate relationships between canopy height and its climatic and topographic predictors including world climate data and topographic data. The approaches to analyzing these interactions included machine learning algorithms, namely, generalized linear regression, random forest and extreme gradient boosting with tree and Dart implementations. Water availability, represented as the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, annual mean temperature and elevation gradients were found to be the most influential determinants of canopy height in Malaysia's tropical forest landscape. The patterns observed are in line with the reported global patterns and support the hydraulic limitation hypothesis and the previously reported negative trend for excessive water supply. Nevertheless, different breaking points for excessive water supply and elevation were identified in this study, and the canopy height relationship with water availability observed to be less significant for the mountainous forest on altitudes higher than 1000 m. This study provides insights into the influential factors of tree height and helps with better comprehending the variation in canopy height in tropical forests based on GEDI measurements, thereby supporting the development and interpretation of ecosystem modeling, forest management practices and monitoring forest response to climatic changes in montane forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reforested areas can act as important carbon (C) sinks. In China, extensive reforestation has been carried out in mountainous regions, with resulting C storage affected by forest age, forest type and environmental settings. Evaluations of forest C sequestration therefore require a detailed spatio-temporal analysis of C storage dynamics. Here, we used aboveground biomass (AGB) of trees as a proxy for overall forest C storage to investigate spatiotemporal patterns and changes in AGB of 136,988 individual trees distributed over 1399 permanent plots in the forests of Sichuan province, China. Mean AGB of young plantation forests increased more rapidly at 5.25 ± 1.15 Mg ha−1 year−1 than that of natural forest (2.56 ± 0.38 Mg ha−1 year−1). Forest stand age, tree species diversity and tree density were superior predictors of AGB when compared to environmental and climatic factors. Linear Mixed Effect models accounting for stand age showed significant AGB storage increases with increasing soil depth as well as with decreasing longitude and altitude. Stocks in plantation forests also increased with southerly exposition and decreasing slope steepness, while in natural forests, slope steepness showed positive correlations. Warming temperatures depressed AGB increases across all forests, while decreasing annual precipitation negatively affected AGB increases in natural forest, only. Our study highlights that, to sustain forest AGB gains into the future, management especially of forest plantations needs to promote species-rich, unevenly-aged, climate-adapted forests stands.

Site conditions (topography, aspect, moisture availability, humus thickness, light exposure, and grazing activities) play a vital role in the germination and regeneration process. The research was conducted in the Himalayan moist temperate forest. The research site was divided based on the silvicultural system (group selection system and single-tree selection system) into 148 plots and 150 plots, respectively. The group selection system was examined on the site of 2 ha which was clear-felled under a project in the 1980's. The present study examined the impact of silvicultural systems on regeneration. The frequency table was used, and relative frequency was calculated for the species and silvicultural system, density per m2 was also calculated. Diversity indices were calculated through taxa, dominance, Simpson's index, Shannon index, evenness, equitability, and fisher alpha. Ten taxa were found in both silvicultural systems, with individual repetition of 17 and 15 taxa, respectively. Group selection is more compact visibly as compared to the single-tree selection system. The single-tree selection system is more diversified in species composition, stand structure, moisture availability, and less humus availability. The study also highlights future predictions for the conservation of these forests, which are highly sensitive and a hotspot for wildlife and climate change phenomena. Silvicultural practices such as silvicultural system, cleaning, weeding, thinning operations are regularly practiced, which can reduce the negative impact on these productive forests.

Tropical forests are major sources of global terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET), but these heterogeneous landscapes pose a challenge for continuous estimates of ET, so few studies are conducted, and observation gaps persist. New spaceborne products such as ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) are promising tools for closing such observation gaps in understudied tropical areas. Using ECOSTRESS ET data across a large, protected tropical forest region (2250 km2) situated on the western slope of the Andes, we predicted ET for different days. ET was modeled using a random forest approach, following best practice workflows for spatial predictions. We used a set of topographic, meteorological, and forest structure variables from open-source products such as GEDI, PROBA-V, and ERA5, thereby avoiding any variables included in the ECOSTRESS L3 algorithm. The models indicated a high level of accuracy in the spatially explicit prediction of ET across different locations, with an r2 of 0.61 to 0.74. Across all models, no single predictor was dominant, and five variables explained 60% of the models’ results, thus highlighting the complex relationships among predictor variables and their influence on ET spatial predictions in tropical mountain forests. The leaf area index, a forest structure variable, was among the three variables with the highest individual contributions to the prediction of ET on all days studied, along with the topographic variables of elevation and aspect. We conclude that ET can be predicted well with a random forest approach, which could potentially contribute to closing the observation gaps in tropical regions, and that a combination of topography and forest structure variables plays a key role in predicting ET in a forest on the western slope of the Andes.

Key message: Recently observed temporal changes in the climate-growth relationship of larch in the Polish Sudetes suggest growth limitations in the future. Larches in the Sudetes are very sensitive to the currently changing climatic factors, and an extreme negative response to drought is observed. In this study, temporal changes in the climate-growth relationship of European larch were analyzed using moving-window correlation. Change-point detection analysis was performed to determine whether there is a temporal connection between tree-ring growth responses and changes in climatic factors trends. The Random Forest predictor importance determination method was used to establish the set of climatic factors that influence larch tree-ring growth the most and to show how this set changes over time. Additionally, cluster analysis was applied to find spatial growth patterns and to generalize the growth response of larch. The results indicate that the main clustering factor is altitude. Nevertheless, an increasing unification of the larch's response to dominant climatic factors is observable throughout the whole study area. This unification is expressed in the increasingly positive and recently dominant effect of May temperature. A progressively negative influence of the temperature in the summer and late autumn of the year preceding growth was observed, as was an increasing influence of water availability in the summer months. The study indicates that there is a connection between the observed changes and the recent rapid rise in temperature, which has consequently had a negative influence on water availability. The growth of this tree species in the Sudetes is expected to be very limited in the future due to its sensitivity to drought, the predicted increase in temperatures and thermal extremes, and the decrease of the share of summer precipitation in the annual total. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest bathing is considered an economical, feasible, and sustainable way to solve human sub-health problems caused by urban environmental degradation and to promote physical and mental health. Mountain forests are ideal for providing forest baths because of their large area and ecological environment. The regulatory mechanism of a mountain forest plant community in a microenvironment conducive to forest bathing is the theoretical basis for promoting physical and mental health through forest bathing in mountain forests. Based on field investigations and measurements, differences in the daily universal thermal climate index (UTCI), negative air ion (NAI), and airborne particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) levels in nine elevation gradients, six plant community types, and six plant community canopy parameter gradients were quantitatively analyzed. In addition, the correlations between these variables and various canopy parameters were further established. The results showed the following: (1) Altitude had a significant influence on the daily UTCI, NAI, PM2.5, and PM10 levels in the summer. The daily UTCI, NAI, PM2.5, and PM10 levels gradually decreased with the increase in altitude. For every 100 m increase in altitude, the daily UTCI decreased by 0.62 °C, the daily NAI concentration decreased by 108 ions/cm3, and the daily PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations decreased by 0.60 and 3.45 µg/m3, respectively. (2) There were significant differences in the daily UTCI, NAI, PM2.5, and PM10 levels among different plant communities in the summer. Among the six plant communities, the Quercus variabilis forest (QVF) had the lowest daily UTCI and the best thermal comfort evaluation. The QVF and Pinus tabuliformis forest (PTF) had a higher daily NAI concentration and lower daily PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. (3) The characteristics of the plant community canopy, canopy density (CD), canopy porosity (CP), leaf area index (LAI), and sky view factor (SVF), had significant effects on the daily UTCI and NAI concentration, but had no significant effects on the daily PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in the summer. The plant community with higher CD and LAI, but lower CP and SVF, showed a higher daily UTCI and a higher daily NAI concentration. In conclusion, the QVF and PTF plant communities with higher CD and LAI but lower CP and SVF at lower elevations are more suitable for forest bathing in the summer in mountainous forests at lower altitudes. The results of this study provide an economical, feasible, and sustainable guide for the location of forest bathing activities and urban greening planning to promote people's physical and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Prataculturae Sinica is the property of Acta Prataculturae Sinica Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background. Fine roots play a crucial in ecosystem functioning as they supply nutrients and water to plants and represent one of the main pathways for carbon transfer to the soil. Objective. This study assessed the vertical distribution of fine root density and analyzed its relationship with soil properties from a land use change perspective in three vegetation cover types (tropical mountain cloud forest, grassland, coffee crop). Methodology. Soil samples of known volume per horizon were extracted from the soil profile. In laboratory, fine roots (≤ 2 mm in diameter) were tweezers picked, rinsed with water and subsequently oven-dried (70 °C), and weighed. While, the soil was air-dried for chemical analysis. Results. In all soil profiles, average fine root density was greater in grassland (16.06 kg m-3 ± 3.5, average ± SE) than in tropical mountain cloud forest (8.45 kg m-3 ± 1.3), and coffee crop (2.73 kg m-3 ± 0.44). On average, grassland, tropical mountain cloud forest, and coffee crop showed 78.4%, 73.2%, and 65%, respectively, of fine root density on the first soil horizon. Implications. Soil properties were strong predictors of fine root density variation. For example, there was a significant positive correlation between fine root density and soil organic carbon, total soil nitrogen, and effective cation exchange capacity (nutrient availability) in all vegetation covers. A significant negative correlation was observed between fine root density and pH in tropical mountain cloud forest but was not correlated in grassland and coffee crop. In all vegetation covers, there was a significant negative correlation between fine root density and soil bulk density and a strong positive correlation between it and soil water content at field capacity. Conclusion. This research contributes data that will improve our understanding of fine root density-soil interactions in a changing regional environment.

In the recent decades, regeneration patterns of forest species have played an important role in mitigating future climate impacts. This study analysed impact of disturbances due to grazing on the regeneration status of temperate reserve forest species in Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, located in Western Himalaya of India spanning a wide range of altitudes. For analysis of vegetation, quadrat method was used to assess regeneration status and level of disturbance (grazing intensity). We found that seedling and sapling density and species richness decreased with increasing altitude. Overall, a fairly good regeneration potential was observed for tree species, and few of them reported poor regeneration exclusively due to grazing disturbances at higher altitudes. The forest growing at lower altitudes showed better regeneration than the forests growing at higher altitudes. Majority of dominant and co-dominant tree species showed a reverse j-shaped curve, but Quercus semecarpifolia and Rhododendron arboreum showed an inverse j-shaped curve. The study concluded that poor regeneration of species at higher altitude could be attributed to grazing and harsh environmental factors and, therefore, recommends adoption of suitable management measures at different phases of forest reproduction for successful forest establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canopy height is a fundamental parameter for determining forest ecosystem functions such as biodiversity and above-ground biomass. Previous studies examining the underlying patterns of the complex relationship between canopy height and its environmental and climatic determinants suffered from the scarcity of accurate canopy height measurements at large scales. NASA’s mission, the Global Ecosystem Dynamic Investigation (GEDI), has provided sampled observations of the forest vertical structure at near global scale since late 2018. The availability of such unprecedented measurements allows for examining the vertical structure of vegetation spatially and temporally. Herein, we explore the most influential climatic and environmental drivers of the canopy height in tropical forests. We examined different resampling resolutions of GEDI-based canopy height to approximate maximum canopy height over tropical forests across all of Malaysia. Moreover, we attempted to interpret the dynamics underlining the bivariate and multivariate relationships between canopy height and its climatic and topographic predictors including world climate data and topographic data. The approaches to analyzing these interactions included machine learning algorithms, namely, generalized linear regression, random forest and extreme gradient boosting with tree and Dart implementations. Water availability, represented as the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, annual mean temperature and elevation gradients were found to be the most influential determinants of canopy height in Malaysia’s tropical forest landscape. The patterns observed are in line with the reported global patterns and support the hydraulic limitation hypothesis and the previously reported negative trend for excessive water supply. Nevertheless, different breaking points for excessive water supply and elevation were identified in this study, and the canopy height relationship with water availability observed to be less significant for the mountainous forest on altitudes higher than 1000 m. This study provides insights into the influential factors of tree height and helps with better comprehending the variation in canopy height in tropical forests based on GEDI measurements, thereby supporting the development and interpretation of ecosystem modeling, forest management practices and monitoring forest response to climatic changes in montane forests.

The increasing impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems have triggered multiple model‐based impact assessments for the future, which typically focused either on a small number of stand‐scale case studies or on large scale analyses (i.e., continental to global). Therefore, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the local impacts over large areas (i.e., regions to countries), which is particularly problematic for forest management. We provide a comprehensive, high‐resolution assessment of the climate change sensitivity of managed Swiss forests (~10,000 km2), which cover a wide range of environmental conditions. We used a dynamic vegetation model to project the development of typical forest stands derived from a stratification of the Third National Forest Inventory until the end of the 22nd century. Two types of simulations were conducted: one limited to using the extant local species, the other enabling immigration of potentially more climate‐adapted species. Moreover, to assess the robustness of our projections, we quantified and decomposed the uncertainty in model projections resulting from the following sources: (1) climate change scenarios, (2) local site conditions, and (3) the dynamic vegetation model itself (i.e., represented by a set of model versions), an aspect hitherto rarely taken into account. The simulations showed substantial changes in basal area and species composition, with dissimilar sensitivity to climate change across and within elevation zones. Higher‐elevation stands generally profited from increased temperature, but soil conditions strongly modulated this response. Low‐elevation stands were increasingly subject to drought, with strong negative impacts on forest growth. Furthermore, current stand structure had a strong effect on the simulated response. The admixture of drought‐tolerant species was found advisable across all elevations to mitigate future adverse climate‐induced effects. The largest uncertainty in model projections was associated with climate change scenarios. Uncertainty induced by the model version was generally largest where overall simulated climate change impacts were small, thus corroborating the utility of the model for making projections into the future. Yet, the large influence of both site conditions and the model version on some of the projections indicates that uncertainty sources other than climate change scenarios need to be considered in climate change impact assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Site conditions (topography, aspect, moisture availability, humus thickness, light exposure, and grazing activities) play a vital role in the germination and regeneration process. The research was conducted in the Himalayan moist temperate forest. The research site was divided based on the silvicultural system (group selection system and single-tree selection system) into 148 plots and 150 plots, respectively. The group selection system was examined on the site of 2 ha which was clear-felled under a project in the 1980's. The present study examined the impact of silvicultural systems on regeneration. The frequency table was used, and relative frequency was calculated for the species and silvicultural system, density per m2 was also calculated. Diversity indices were calculated through taxa, dominance, Simpson’s index, Shannon index, evenness, equitability, and fisher alpha. Ten taxa were found in both silvicultural systems, with individual repetition of 17 and 15 taxa, respectively. Group selection is more compact visibly as compared to the single-tree selection system. The single-tree selection system is more diversified in species composition, stand structure, moisture availability, and less humus availability. The study also highlights future predictions for the conservation of these forests, which are highly sensitive and a hotspot for wildlife and climate change phenomena. Silvicultural practices such as silvicultural system, cleaning, weeding, thinning operations are regularly practiced, which can reduce the negative impact on these productive forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Although the conservation of tropical biodiversity depends on protected areas, there is still a very large ‘gap’ of knowledge on the flora of Brazilian reserves, especially in the Northeast region of Brazil. Field and herbarium surveys of the phanerogamic flora of the Ubajara National Park, located on the Brazilian Northeast, were made and analyses on phenology and dispersal syndromes were performed. 418 taxa (213 trees and shrubs, 100 terrestrial herbs, 68 climbing plants, 33 sub-shrubs, two epiphytes, one hemiparasite and one aquatic herb) were recorded. The most representative families were: Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Asteraceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae. The annual flowering / fruiting peak hypothesis was not fully confirmed, therefore, the forest may be an important food resource for the fauna all year long (especially in the moister region). Zoochory was the predominant dispersal syndrome in the moister area, whereas, autochory and anemochory together, predominated in the drier area.

The layering of the soil profile can influence the accumulation of infiltrated water and the way in which subsurface runoff is formed. This paper examines a mountain podzol characterized by clearly developed soil horizons. After these horizons had been identified, distinct soil layers were defined (the eluvial horizon, the spodic horizon (undifferentiated), and weathered bedrock). Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), particle size distribution and bulk density were measured in these layers. A visualization of the distribution of infiltrated water in the podzolic profile was performed using a dye tracer experiment. The accumulation of dyed water and a distinct lateral flow were detected in the eluvial layer. Only limited entry of water into the spodic layer was observed. These effects were caused by changes in soil hydraulic properties (SHP) among the investigated layers. For the spodic horizons, the measured Ks value (crucial SHP) was significantly lower than the Ks values for the other tested horizons. The probable reason for the lower Ks was an accumulation of fine particles and various substances in the spodic horizons, and corresponding changes in the porous system. The observed effects of layering indicate that water can be accumulated and subsurface runoff can be formed over the spodic layer during intensive rain or snow melting.

Keywords: Aspromonte; conservation biology; habitat tree; life-history trait; longevity; mountain forest; nature conservation; old tree; Quercus; radiocarbon dating; sessile oak; sustainable development; tree dating EN Aspromonte conservation biology habitat tree life-history trait longevity mountain forest nature conservation old tree Quercus radiocarbon dating sessile oak sustainable development tree dating 1 4 4 12/03/20 20201201 NES 201201 The longevity of trees is a major life-history trait that could provide crucial information about ecological history, forest dynamics, and the carbon cycle. Moreover, tree age determination based on SP 14 sp C has been successfully used for dating tree species lacking annual growth rings, such as those from the tropics (Chambers et al. 1998). Dating Aspromonte sessile oaks has proven that radiocarbon dating might be a better approach for accurately estimating tree longevity when the inner part of the trunk is rotten, as has been done previously for other old English oaks in Romania (Appendix S2: Section S2). [Extracted from the article]

Species range limits are expected to be dramatically altered under future climate change and many species are predicted to shift their distribution upslope to track their suitable conditions (i.e. based on their niche). However, there might be large discrepancies between the speed of the upward shift of the climatic niche and the actual migration velocity of the species, especially in long‐lived organisms such as trees. In fact, most studies did not find any significant upward shift of the distributional limits of temperate forest trees over the last decades. It therefore beckons the questions why trees are moving upslope much slower than their bioclimatic envelope and what are the implications for ecosystem functioning.Here, we compared the simulations of the upslope displacement of the bioclimatic envelope of 16 tree species inhabiting temperate mountain forests under ongoing and future climate change obtained by correlative species distribution models (SDMs) to those from a dynamic forest model accounting for dispersal, competition and demography. We then partitioned the discrepancy in upslope migration velocity between the SDMs and the dynamic forest model into different components by manipulating dispersal limitation, interspecific competition and demography.Tree species in the dynamic forest model migrated only slowly upslope in contrast to the SDMs. Most of the difference in migration velocity can directly be attributed to tree's demography (long life cycle), followed by effects of competition and only a marginal contribution of dispersal limitation. Additionally, lower elevation species ('non‐treeline') shifted slower upslope than high elevation species ('treeline') indicating a strong effect of interspecific competition at their leading edge.Synthesis. Forests have a high inertia to climate change because of their longevity and ability to acclimatize to high climatic fluctuations. Lower elevation tree species (deciduous) only slowly establish in stands at higher elevation where coniferous species dominate and likely profit from facilitation by disturbance events. Therefore, forest ecosystems seem to persist, even if climate becomes unfavourable, until they approach a tipping point at which an extreme event (e.g. drought, storm or insect attack) leads to a large dieback and resource change enabling new suitable species to spread and establish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain forest managers face the challenge to anticipate climate change (CC) impacts across large elevational ranges. For management planning, information on site-specific long-term responses to CC as well as the consequences for protection functions is particularly crucial. We used the process-based model ForClim to provide projections of forest development and their protective function as decision support for a large forest enterprise in the Northern Pre-Alps. Specifically, we investigated the impact of three climate scenarios (present climate, low- and high-impact CC) at five representative sites along an elevational gradient (700–1450 m a.s.l.). Relatively small changes to current forest structure and composition were evident under present climate, but divergent trajectories occurred under CC: while the low-elevation sites (≤ 1000 m) were affected by drought-related mortality, high-elevation sites benefited from the warming. Changes at low-elevation sites were accompanied by shifts in species composition, favouring in particular Tilia ('low-impact' CC) and Pinus sylvestris ('high-impact' CC). Forest management accelerated the shift towards climate-adapted tree species, thereby reducing detrimental effects of the 'low-impact' CC scenario. Under the 'high-impact' scenario, however, drastic decreases in protective function occurred for the late twenty-first century at low elevations. A set of exemplary disturbance scenarios (windthrow and bark beetle) demonstrated the importance of forest management and low browsing for the resilience of mountain forests. Overall, our results underline the potential of process-based forest models as decision support tools for forest enterprises, providing local projections of CC impacts across large elevational ranges at the site-specific resolution required by forest managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snowpacks and forests have complex interactions throughout the large range of altitudes where they co‐occur. However, there are no reliable data on the spatial and temporal interactions of forests with snowpacks, such as those that occur in nearby areas that have different environmental conditions and those that occur during different snow seasons. This study monitored the interactions of forests with snowpacks in four forest stands in a single valley of the central Spanish Pyrenees during three consecutive snow seasons (2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018). Daily snow depth data from time‐lapse cameras were compared with snow data from field surveys that were performed every 10–15 days. These data thus provided information on the spatial and temporal changes of snow–water equivalent (SWE). The results indicated that forest had the same general effects on snowpack in each forest stand and during each snow season. On average, forest cover reduced the duration of snowpack by 17 days, reduced the cumulative SWE of the snowpack by about 60% and increased the spatial heterogeneity of snowpack by 190%. Overall, forest cover reduced SWE total accumulation by 40% and the rate of SWE accumulation by 25%. The forest‐mediated reduction of the accumulation rate, in combination with the occasional forest‐mediated enhancement of melting rate, explained the reduced duration of snowpacks beneath forest canopies. However, the magnitude and timing of certain forest effects on snowpack had significant spatial and temporal variations. This variability must be considered when selecting the location of an experimental site in a mountainous area, because the study site should be representative of surrounding areas. The same considerations apply when selecting a time period for study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seed germination is a key part of plants' life cycle and is mostly affected by the genetic background, the environmental conditions experienced by the mother plant and the seedbed conditions. The germination response to light is essential to optimize germination and seedling establishment in space and time. In addition, the germination response to light is a trait often related to the response of the seeds to their position in the soil (uncovered/buried). Here, we studied the germination response to light of four key tree species of the Yungas forest (Anadenanthera colubrina, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Handroanthus impetiginosus) sampled along an elevational and environmental gradient with contrasting vegetation cover and disturbance. Relative light germination (RLG) and mean germination time (MGT) were determined. Final germination was tested under cycles of light (8 h) and darkness (16 h) versus complete darkness (24 h) and elevation, and MGT was tested as a function of elevation of the provenance. The RLG increased from smaller to larger‐seeded species. The MGT of three of the studied species was affected by the elevation of the provenance. Complete darkness negatively affected final germination, while two species exhibited a significant interaction between the provenance and light. The variable germination responses to light along the elevational gradient highlights the influence of the environment on germination as a key factor that should be considered for forest management, conservation and restoration projects. The germination response to light is essential to optimize germination and seedling establishment in space and time. Here, we studied the germination response to light of four key tree species of the Yungas forest (Anadenanthera colubrina, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Handroanthus impetiginosus) sampled along an elevational gradient. The variable germination responses to light along the elevational gradient can be an indication that the species' capacity to colonize gaps is influenced by the provenance and should be taken into account for forest management and restoration and conservation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the coming decades, the predicted increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events such as droughts is likely to have a strong effect on forest functioning. Recent studies have shown that species mixing may buffer the temporal variability of productivity. However, most studies have focused on temporal stability of productivity, while species mixing may also affect forest resilience to extreme events. Our understanding of mechanisms underlying species mixing effects on forest stability and resilience remains limited because we ignore how changes from intraspecific to interspecific interactions in the neighbourhood of a given tree might affect its stability and resilience to extreme drought (i.e. response during and after this drought). This is crucial to better understand forests' response to climate change and how diversity may help maintain forest functioning.Here we analysed how local intra‐ or interspecific interactions may affect the temporal stability and resilience to drought of individual trees in French mountain forests, using basal area increment data over the previous 20 years for Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba and Quercus pubescens. We analysed the effect of interspecific competition on (a) the temporal stability and (b) the resilience to drought (resistance and recovery) of individual tree radial growth.We found no significant interspecific competition effect on temporal stability, but species‐specific effects on tree growth resilience to drought. There was a positive effect of heterospecific proportion on the drought resilience of Q. pubescens, a negative effect for A. alba and no effect for F. sylvatica. These differences may be related to interspecific differences in water use or rooting depth.Synthesis: In this study, we showed that stand composition influences individual tree growth resilience to drought, but this effect varied depending on the species and its physiological responses. Our study also highlighted that a lack of biodiversity effect on long‐term stability might hide important effects on short‐term resilience to extreme climatic events. This may have important implications in the face of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The contribution of forest understory to the temperate forest carbon sink is not well known, increasing the uncertainty in C cycling feedbacks on global climate as estimated by Earth System Models. Objectives: We aimed at quantifying the effect of woody and non-woody understory vegetation on net ecosystem production (NEP) for a forested area of 158 km2 in the European Alps. Methods: We simulated C dynamics for the period 2000–2014, characterized by above-average temperatures, windstorms and a subsequent bark beetle outbreak for the area, using the regional ecosystem model LandscapeDNDC. Results: In the entire study area, woody and non-woody understory vegetation caused between 16 and 37% higher regional NEP as compared to a bare soil scenario over the 15-year period. The mean annual contribution of the understory to NEP was in the same order of magnitude as the average annual European (EU-25) forest C sink. After wind and bark beetle disturbances, the understory effect was more pronounced, leading to an increase in NEP between 35 and 67% compared to simulations not taking into account these components. Conclusions: Our findings strongly support the importance of processes related to the understory in the context of the climate change mitigation potential of temperate forest ecosystems. The expected increases in stand replacing disturbances due to climate change call for a better representation of understory vegetation dynamics and its effect on the ecosystem C balance in regional assessments and Earth System Models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Eight ecosystem services from three ecosystem services categories were identified. • Ecosystem services were mapped by using ordinary kriging interpolation. • Ecosystem services in the study area clustered in two different geographical areas. • Twelve natural and anthropogenic factors were analyzed. • Woody vegetation density and altitude were more important than species diversity. Mapping forest ecosystem services (ES) and identifying both natural and anthropogenic factors influencing their supply and distribution is a key step for sustainable and climate-smart forest management planning. This is particularly important for dry and mountain forests which are among the most threatened and neglected ecosystems globally. These forests are facing increasing demands for different land uses and ES with rising conflicts with each other. This study identifies, quantifies, and maps the spatial distribution of one supporting, three regulating, and four provisioning forest ES. Furthermore, a set of potential natural and anthropogenic factors influencing ES distribution in Desa'a forest, a dry Afromontane Forest in Tigray, Ethiopia, was assessed. The supply of some of the assessed ES depended on vegetation density, while the supply of others depended on woody species diversity, which resulted in a clustering of ES in two different geographical areas. Both natural and anthropogenic factors were important for explaining variations in the spatial distribution of ES, of which altitude and vegetation density were the most influential factors. Our findings can contribute to the development of sustainable forest management strategies for dry and mountain forests by providing knowledge on the spatial supply of ES. The ES maps can be used as a basis for developing dedicated zoning plans which could improve forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 17 Norway spruce stands located in the Krkonoše Mts. in the Czech Republic a long-term assessment of defoliation, height increment, foliage concentration of nutrients (N, P, Ca, K, Mg) and stress elements (S, F) was carried out. The results show a decrease of defoliation and a slight increase of height increment, which occur in accordance with the decreasing concentration of sulphur in spruce needles. However, neither sulphur concentration nor height increment trends are significant, suggesting that both the main pollution abatement and the growth resumption took place already in the 1990's. During the late 1990's the average spruce defoliation was greater than 35%, while since 2007 it has fluctuated between 18 and 25%, which corresponds with the figures for the forest stands located in the other regions of the Czech Republic. The evaluation of single nutrient concentrations detected occasional deficiencies of P and Mg at individual plots. The good N nutrition (> 15 mg N.g-1) in combination with a significantly decreasing trend of P, K and Ca concentrations in Norway spruce needles may potentially constitute a problem in regard to both the future health and the stability of forest stands in the studied region.

Forest fires are expected to be more frequent and more intense with climate change, including in temperate and mountain forest ecosystems. In the Alps, forest vulnerability to fire resulting from interactions between climate, fuel types, vegetation structure and tree resistance to fire is little understood. This paper aims at identifying trends in the vulnerability of Alpine forest ecosystems to fire at different scales (tree species, stand level and biogeographic level) and according to three different climatic conditions (cold season, average summer and extremely dry summer). To explore Alpine forest vulnerability to fire, we used surface fuel measurements, forest inventory and fire weather data to simulate fire behaviour and ultimately post-fire tree mortality across 4438 forest plots in the French Alps. The results showed that cold season fires (about 50% of the fires in the French Alps) have a limited impact except on low-elevation forests of the Southern Alps (mainly Oak, Scots pine). In average summer conditions, mixed and broadleaved forests of low elevations suffer the highest mortality rates (up to 75% in coppices). Finally, summer fires occurring in extremely dry conditions promote high mortality across all forest communities. Lowest mortality rates were observed in high forest stands composed of tree species presenting adaptation to surface fires (e.g. thick bark, high canopy) such as Larch forests of the internal Alps. This study provides insights on the vulnerability of the main tree species and forest ecosystems of the French Alps useful for the adaptation of forest management practices to climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires differentially affect specimens of the same woody species, depending, among other factors, on tree size and microenvironment. This has implications for the structuring of forest landscapes, as forest recovery depends, in part, on the severity of fire on woody specimens. We aimed at analyzing how microenvironment and tree size affect fire damage and survival in two woody species common in the Chaco Serrano forest, along an altitudinal gradient in Córdoba Mountains (Argentina). We studied two wildfires that occurred in July and August 2007. We selected 163 espinillos (Vachellia caven) and 48 molles (Lithraea molleoides) located between 800 and 1700 m a. s. l. For each individual, we estimated pre-fire height and volume on the basis of the remaining woody tissues, and microenvironmental characteristics as plant cover, rock proportion under the crown, slope, aspect and insolation by interception. After three months we estimated the fire damage for each individual and three years later we evaluated survival. The espinillos with higher plant cover in their surroundings were more damaged, and this effect was more pronounced at lower altitudes. Additionally, individuals were more damaged in steep southern slopes than in northern slopes, while smaller individuals were more damaged than larger ones. Taller molles experienced less fire damage than shorter molles. The 94% of the espinillos and 92% of the molles survived the wildfire, with higher death probability for smaller individuals in the case of espinillo. We concluded the system becomes less susceptible to fire as succession proceeds, mainly because of the increasing size of woody individuals and the reduction of herbaceous cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion affects extensive areas worldwide and must be urgently reduced promoting plant cover and beneficial microorganisms associated with plants, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In mountain environments, plant cover is difficult to enhance due to harsh conditions during the dry season and steep slopes. Our objective was to evaluate the percentage of the soil surface covered by plants and the AMF community associated with trees 12.5 years after planting during forest restoration efforts in microsites at different levels of soil degradation. The study was performed in the first montane forest restoration initiative of Central Argentina, where one of the trials consisted of planting Polylepis australis saplings at microsites with different levels of soil degradation: high, intermediate, and low. After 12.5 years, percentage of bare soil cover was significantly reduced by 36 and 37% in the high and intermediate degradation microsites, respectively. Low degradation microsites were initially very low in bare soil and did not significantly change. Mycorrhizal colonization, hyphae, vesicles, arbuscules, AMF diversity, and community structure were similar among microsite types. Percentage of hyphal entry points was higher at microsites with low degradation, number of spores was higher in high and intermediate degradation, and species richness was higher in high degradation. Acaulospora and Glomus were the most abundant genera in all microsites. We conclude that even in the most degraded microsites around 2.8% of the bare soil is covered by vegetation each year and that the arbuscular mycorrhizal community is highly tolerant and adapted to soils with different disturbance types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Extensive areas of tropical land have been deforested and degraded, leading to declines in ecosystem services, biodiversity, and farm productivity over time in these post-frontier environments. Conservation and development organizations are promoting community-based tree planting for forest restoration as a means to conserve biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve farmland. This multi-site study examines household-level participation in tree planting in a biodiversity hotspot, the Ecuadorian Andes. We ask: who participates in tree planting, why, and how do practices differ on private and communal land? We interviewed 120 households, conducted oral histories and focus groups, and observed communal workdays. We found that ranchers and farmers (land-reliant households) with a history of community engagement were most likely to plant trees. Farmers planted more trees, more kinds of trees, and more native trees than wage and salary earners, integrating them into farming systems. In contrast to previous studies, we did not find that wealth or the total area of land holdings explained household level participation in tree planting; instead, land-reliant households with a vested interest in their communities were the most likely to participate. After planting on communal land, many households applied newly acquired arboricultural knowledge and techniques on their own farms, implementing innovative tree-based systems to restore soils and water availability. On-farm planting tended to be production-focused, whereas on communal land people planted with a wide range of native trees to restore diverse cloud forest and hydrological services. However, the ultimate aim of both was to restore ecosystem services essential to farming. Driven by local ecosystem service scarcity, this 'crisis restoration' was an integral part of a local movement to renew and sustain farming culture, and created forests for which people feel a sense of stewardship, ownership and pride. This model of restoration holds considerable potential to benefit rural farmers and restore biodiversity across the many heavily deforested regions of the Andes. Highlights • In Andean Ecuador, smallholders perceptions of environmental crisis following forest loss motivated people to (re)plant trees. • Land-reliant households planted the most trees and tree species, and saw it as an investment in farming and the community. • Planting trees on communal land provided the skills and hands-on experience to motivate tree planting on private land. • In post-frontier environments we should re-frame restoration as a forward-looking solution to local environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Deforestation of mountainous areas is a common problem in almost all mountain regions in Central Europe. • The growth of altitude above sea level increases the probability of damage to stands in mountain areas. • The size of damage grows along with the increase in the share of spruce in forest compartments. • The age of tree stands is negatively correlated with the probability of damage to stand. Abstract Forest dieback of mountainous areas is a common problem in almost all regions of the world. This process is characterized by high variability and is independent of whether the process is caused by climate changes, insect pests or human impact on the environment, particularly environmental pollution. This state of affairs is probably influenced not only by unusual atmospheric conditions, unusual stressors or species composition but also by many factors that have not been identified to date. Even in the case of relatively small mountainous areas in Central Europe with similar species composition, climatic conditions, and stressors, the process of tree dieback might have different characteristics and causes. During the analyses of such phenomena, remote sensing technologies, such as LiDAR and aerial imagery, which have become increasingly popular and precise, are helpful. Additionally, access to geographic information systems has become common by forest owners. Using previous research, as well as airborne laser scanning data, aerial imagery and Polish State Forests IT system (SILP) data, it was possible to analyze almost 200,000 dead trees inventoried in the areas of the Western Sudety, Eastern Sudety, Beskid Śląski and Beskid Żywiecki mountain ranges. Despite the fact these areas are located relatively close to each other, they differ in terms of forest structure and in terms of period of mass deforerstation. The impact of detailed landform, age, and species composition were considered, and complemented many other factors, which eventually enabled the development of three different models for each of the analyzed areas. The models depict the influence of the respective factors of the environment on Norway spruce dieback in the Central Europe mountains. The obtained results show that there are certain factors, such as e.g. age or stocking, which increase the probability of damage in all three areas, but certain ones are significant exclusively for one or two areas, such as e.g. altitude, which has an influence on the likelihood of damage only in the Western Sudety and the Western Beskidy Mountains. What is interesting, the altitude does not impact unequivocally on the share of dead spruces itself, since in the case of the Western and Eastern Sudety, the increase of altitude is positively correlated with the share, whereas in the case of the Western Beskidy Mountains, the correlation is negative. An important fact is that the increase of deciduous species' share impacts positively on the forest dieback of spruces on all analyzed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: How are epiphytic macrolichen assemblages shaped by forest habitat quality as reflected by the availability of late‐developmental forest attributes (i.e., stand maturity) and the temporal continuity of the wooded state (i.e., forest continuity)? Are these two forest habitat features the main drivers of lichen assemblages, and if so, at which spatial scale? Study Site: Temperate mountain forests in the French Northern Alps. Methods: In our sampling design, we defined treatments by crossing forest continuity (ancient vs recent) and stand maturity (mature vs overmature), then quantified lichen response to the treatments at the stand (n = 70) and tree scales (n = 420). We distinguished between total macrolichen and Lobarion species alone. Finally, we assessed the influence of tree‐, stand‐ and landscape‐scale variables, as well as climatic variables. Results: Neither total macrolichen nor Lobarion diversity and composition were influenced by forest continuity, stand maturity or by stand‐ or landscape‐associated variables. Instead, climatic variables, light availability at the stand scale and host tree characteristics were the major drivers of lichen assemblages. In our mountain forests, this clearly shows that macrolichen were more influenced by local abiotic and biotic factors than by present or past human‐induced activities. Conclusions: Overall, we show that assemblage patterns in forest ecosystems may be driven by parameters that are not directly related to habitat quality. The influences of forest continuity and stand maturity on diversity and composition thus appear to be context‐dependent. In the ecological context of alpine forests, these findings highlight the benefits of selective‐cutting practices and illustrate the importance of structural heterogeneity, in terms of both improved accessibility to light and tree diameter diversity. Finally, the importance of temperature in shaping assemblage patterns suggests that global warming is probably the most significant threat to macrolichen conservation in temperate mountain forests. Epiphytic macrolichen assemblages in temperate mountain forests were more influenced by local abiotic and biotic factors than by present or past human‐induced activities. Forest continuity and stand maturity factors, as well as stand‐ and landscape‐associated variables, were poor predictors of species richness and composition. Instead, temperature, light availability and host tree characteristics were the major drivers of lichen assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While forests' contributions to people are intimately linked to their soil biodiversity, little is known about how forest soil biodiversity is structured and influenced by forest characteristics. Living and dead trees influence the quantity and the diversity of resources (e.g. litter content) and habitats (e.g. microclimate) available for soil organisms. In this study, we explored the effects of forest characteristics and their relative importance to regional climate and local soil conditions in explaining forest soil biodiversity. We characterised forest quantity (abundance of living and dead trees, and dominant tree leaves C/N), and diversity characteristics (tree sizes, deadwood and tree species diversities). We assessed the response of the diversity of 34 soil trophic groups to climate, soil properties and forest characteristics using environmental DNA metabarcoding data along 16 elevational gradients in the French Alps. Overall, we showed that climate and soil characteristics explained most of the diversity of soil trophic groups. For the diversity of some groups, however, forest characteristics were important drivers (e.g. ectomycorrhizal fungi). In general, forest diversity characteristics had a positive effect on the diversity of soil trophic groups, in agreement with the resource-heterogeneity hypothesis. We also found that the effects of forest characteristics can percolate to high trophic level groups or to groups that do not have a direct link with living or dead trees (e.g. fungivore mites). Forest characteristics can have complex indirect effects that branch out throughout the whole soil food web. Even if mountain forests span large climatic gradients, forest structure and composition can be additional key drivers of soil biodiversity. Thus forest management, by driving forest structure and composition, can have important effects on soil biodiversity in managed forests. • Climate & soil characteristics explain most of soil trophic groups diversity of mountain forests. • However, forest characteristics can be important drivers for some soil trophic groups. • Diversity of alive and dead trees positively impacts soil trophic groups. • Trees effects can percolate to high trophic level or to groups that do not interact directly with them. • Forest management by influencing alive and dead trees can impact soil biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Slovenia, the Natura 2000 network covers more than 37% of the country. Forests dominate more than 70% of this area, and forest management is a significant driver of diversity. Depending on the options applied, forest management may enhance or decrease forest biodiversity. Dinaric fir-beech forests (part of Natura 2000 habitat type) with remarkable nature-conservation interest and timber production functions were selected for this study. With the aim of testing the effects of different silvicultural measures on plant diversity in these forests, and consequently on biodiversity in a broader sense, three sites in the Slovenian part of a Dinaric fir-beech forest range were studied. The plant species diversity was assessed before and after the implementation of silvicultural measures of three intensities: (1) control plots - no logging; (2) logging of 50% of the growing stock; and (3) logging of 100% of the growing stock. Before the implementation of the silvicultural measures, the mean number of plant species per 400 m² vegetation plots was 48.8, and the mean value of the Shannon’s diversity index was 2.41. Two years after the measures were implemented, different magnitudes of plant species turnover were observed. There were no significant changes in plant diversity status and vegetation composition in the control plots. Two years after 50% of the growing stock was logged, the mean number of species was 73.3, and the mean value of the Shannon index was 3.21. In the plots where all the trees were removed, the mean number of species was 87.4, and the mean value of the Shannon index was 3.42. In parallel with the increases in the diversity parameters, the cover of the herbaceous layer increased significantly with an increase in the silvicultural intensity, indicating that short-term species turnover can mostly be attributed to herbaceous plant species. As a result of changed stand and ecological conditions, an increased plant diversity, a greater biodiversity in a broader sense and an improved habitat suitability for different animal species could be expected.

Forest stand decomposition of the Silesian Beskids which is followed by the tree cutting has been observed since the beginning of the 21st century. Changes in forest management due to the introduction of heavy machines for forest work mainly for skidding have been observed in the Silesian Beskids for the last decade. The paper presents results of a three-year investigation of erosion gullies forming in mountain forest after the skidding performed with use of heavy equipment. In the Wilczy Potok catchment comprising an area of above 100 ha 40 gullies were identified. The measurement of the length and depth of gullies showed that the total volume of soil and rock material removed from the catchment area due to erosion accelerated by skidding exceeded 9 000 m3. The year erosion rate for deep gullies was found to be 10%. The presented results show that necessary protective actions and preventive measures should be taken to mitigate the soil degradation processes.