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Forest Management, Stand Dynamics and Modelling

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Earth Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 5262

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Matemática, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Centro de Investigação em Matemática e Aplicações, (CIMA), Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Universidade de Évora, Colégio Luís Verney, Rua Romão Ramalho, 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Interests: statistical modeling; mathematical statistics; mathematical programming; environmental modeling

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Guest Editor
MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada, Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7002-544 Évora, Portugal
Interests: forestry; silviculture; modeling; biomass; stand structure
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests occupy vast areas around the world and provide a wide range of products and services. The perpetuity and sustainability of the stands and forests as well as their products and services imply their continuity in time and space. The new directions of forest management, which place emphasis on forest systems with several productions and services, entail several challenges to management. Additionally, stands and forests are characterized by their long cycles; thus, stand dynamics and modeling are of primordial importance to evaluate and predict the development of the stands as well as their sustainability and productions, especially in the frame of climate change.

Interactions in forest systems range from relatively simple to extremely complex, deriving from a wide range of modeling approaches to stand dynamics and forest management. Modeling is of utmost importance as models and simulators enable both the evaluation of growth, stand dynamics, and forest management practices and the development of new management approaches. Due to the forest stands’ complexity, a multidisciplinary approach is frequently necessary to bridge the features under evaluation.

Overall, it is intended that the studies of this Special Issue encompass the following subjects: stand structure, silvicultural practices (from regeneration to harvest), conversion and transformation, modeling, growth, competition, production, spatial distribution, diversity, sustainability, system resilience, abiotic agents, and biotic agents. These may be addressed using the full range of statistical models (e.g., regression methods, design of experiments, cluster analysis, mixed models, artificial intelligence, artificial neural networks). 

This Special Issue receives the support of the MSCA-RISE-2020 - Research and Innovation Staff Exchange project DecisionES Decision Support for the Supply of Ecosystem Services under Global Change (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101007950)

Prof. Manuela Oliveira
Prof. Ana Cristina Gonçalves
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Stand structure
  • Silvicultural practices (from regeneration to harvest)
  • Conversion and transformation
  • Modeling
  • Growth
  • Competition
  • Production
  • Spatial distribution
  • Diversity
  • Sustainability
  • System resilience
  • Abiotic agents
  • Biotic agents

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2429 KiB  
Article
Is Cork Growth a Reliable Proxy for Stem Diameter Growth in Cork Oak (Quercus suber L.)? Implications for Forest Management under Climate Change in Mediterranean Regions
by Augusta Costa and Paolo Cherubini
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11998; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112411998 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2751
Abstract
Cork-ring widths have been extensively used in dendroecological studies assessing the relationship between cork growth patterns and climate (precipitation and temperature). Generally, cork growth is assumed as a proxy for stem diameter growth to address cork oak (Quercus suber L.) growth sensitivity [...] Read more.
Cork-ring widths have been extensively used in dendroecological studies assessing the relationship between cork growth patterns and climate (precipitation and temperature). Generally, cork growth is assumed as a proxy for stem diameter growth to address cork oak (Quercus suber L.) growth sensitivity to climate and cork yield modeling. Cork growth represents a large part of stem radial increment in this species due to the enhanced activity of phellogen when compared to the cambium activity; thus, similar inter-annual variations of cork-ring widths and tree diameter growth might be expected. However, so far, the influence of rainfall and temperature on stem diameter growth has scarcely been addressed; moreover, it is still not clear whether tree size relates, and in what way, to the variations in radial growth of cork and stem diameter and whether these reflect (proportional) quantitative variations in stem basal area growth. In this study, we computed the annual growth of cork and of stem diameter at breast-height in data series of 47 trees, from 2000 to 2012, corresponding to a full cork production cycle. Results showed a tight link between cork-ring width and stem diameter growth indices. However, while cork growth strongly correlated with climate conditions in autumn–winter prior to the growing season, stem diameter growth correlated with climate conditions of the current growing season, and, more importantly, it was tree size-related. The extrapolation from cork-ring increments to stem basal area growth is likely to progressively underestimate tree growth and biomass increment in larger cork oaks and to further bias it due to climate change effects in the Mediterranean region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Management, Stand Dynamics and Modelling)
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Review

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15 pages, 305 KiB  
Review
Stand Structure Impacts on Forest Modelling
by Ana Cristina Gonçalves
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(14), 6963; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12146963 - 9 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1568
Abstract
Modelling is essential in forest management as it enables the prediction of productions and yields, and to develop and test alternative models of silviculture. The allometry of trees depends on a set of factors, which include species, stand structure, density and site. Several [...] Read more.
Modelling is essential in forest management as it enables the prediction of productions and yields, and to develop and test alternative models of silviculture. The allometry of trees depends on a set of factors, which include species, stand structure, density and site. Several mathematical methods and techniques can be used to model the individual tree allometry. The variability of tree allometry results in a wide range of functions to predict diameter at breast height, total height and volume. The first functions were developed for pure even-aged stands from crown closure up to the end of the production cycle. However, those models originated biased predictions when used in mixed, uneven-aged, young or older stands and in different sites. Additionally, some modelling methods attain better performances than others. This review highlights the importance of species, stand structure and modelling methods and techniques in the accuracy and precision of the predictions of diameter at breast height, total height and volume. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Management, Stand Dynamics and Modelling)
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