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Forests
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Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests
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Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2019)

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jozef Šibík

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant Science & Biodiversity Center of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, SK-845 23, Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: biodiversity; ecology and evolution; climate change; conservation; ecotones; biodiversity monitoring; remote sensing; vegetation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The biodiversity of forest ecosystems is affected by climatic, edaphic and geographic factors, together with natural disturbances and human-controlled forest management. In recent decades, upcoming climate change and intensification of land use have brought new challenges for forest adaptation. Global climate change causes weather anomalies, including severe droughts, shifts in precipitation patterns and intense storms that are reflected by the diversity and variability of forest ecosystems. Large scale-disturbances together with fragmentation of forest areas, intensive management, especially non-native tree planting, and invasion of alien species are contributing to biodiversity loss and the disappearance of rare forest species and thus, the homogenization of forest vegetation. In the past, forests were thought to be resistant to alien plant invasion, but nowadays, they are known to be affected by invasion processes. However, the mechanisms controlling invasion success are different and still not fully understood. The long-life cycles of trees contribute to the lag-phase in the invasion of forest habitats, as it can take a few decades for a tree to mature and reproduce, slowing local adaptation. Spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity, which influence diversity at different scales, is crucial for the preservation of the forest ecosystem under a changing environment. Thus, improvement of the understanding of the processes that shape forest diversity, resistance to invasions, and regeneration after natural disturbances is essential. The goal of this Special Issue is to gather knowledge about the diversity, variability and habitat characteristics of forests to determine how these ecosystems react under stress and to improve predictions of the effects of climate and land-use changes on ecosystems.

Dr. Jozef Šibík
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • disturbances
  • invasions
  • forest habitats
  • forest management
  • monitoring
  • regeneration
  • succession
  • variability drivers
  • vegetation dynamics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3084 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Effects of Pressure Indicators on Riparian Zone Health Conditions in the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir, China
by Muhammad Arif, Songlin Zhang, Zheng Jie, Wokadala Charles, Pinky Sanelisiwe Mzondi and Changxiao Li
Forests 2020, 11(2), 214; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11020214 - 13 Feb 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3184
Abstract
The possible negative impacts of flow regulation on riparian zone conditions can be observed due to the disruption of the natural flow regime in reservoirs. In spite of considerable literature on the qualitative effects of external disturbances on riparian health indicators (RHIs), quantitative [...] Read more.
The possible negative impacts of flow regulation on riparian zone conditions can be observed due to the disruption of the natural flow regime in reservoirs. In spite of considerable literature on the qualitative effects of external disturbances on riparian health indicators (RHIs), quantitative evaluations of such changes induced by pressure are rare in the literature. Our study evaluated the effects of pressure indicators on the RHIs, and the responses of RHIs relevant to the riparian zones of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR), China, by using the field-based approach. This paper is a component of a large project—rapid appraisal of riparian condition for the TGDR, China. The analysis has compared pressures (13 indicators) and RHIs (27 indicators) determined from the transects (259) identified throughout the TGDR (within 15 counties) by categorizing into upstream, midstream, and downstream. By using basic statistical techniques (Kruskal-Wallis tests and Pearson’s correlation), pressure indicators were found to significantly differently influence RHIs for the categorized three sections of the riparian zones of the TGDR. The correlation analysis confirmed that the pressure indicators correlated (range of r = −0.496–0.971) with the RHIs (enlisted as habitat, plant cover, regeneration, erosion, and exotic parameters). Moreover, pressure indicators were found to have a highly significant influence on erosion and habitat parameters, but moderate effects on plant cover, exotic and regeneration parameters. In addition, the highest relative effect of the pressure indicators was detected in the upstream transects, whereas the lowest was in the downstream transects. Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster analysis also confirmed the substantial dissimilarity in the upstream transects, whereas significant similarities were identified between midstream and downstream transects. These results may be particularly important in the planning stages, to help administrators and planners form better priorities and treatments for reach-scale conservation and restoration of wide-ranging riparian zones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests)
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11 pages, 2330 KiB  
Article
Diversity of Understory Communities in Boreal Forests: Influences of Forest Type, Latitude, and Spatial Scale
by Yu-Song Jin, Yu-Kun Hu, Jing Wang, Dan-Dan Liu, Ying-Hua Lin, Guang Liu, Yun-Hui Zhang and Zhi-Qiang Zhou
Forests 2019, 10(11), 1003; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10111003 - 9 Nov 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2579
Abstract
Understory vegetation hosts high biodiversity and plays a critical role in the ecosystem processes of boreal forests. However, the drivers of understory plant diversity in this high-latitude ecosystem remain uncertain. To investigate the influences of forest type and latitude on understory beta diversity [...] Read more.
Understory vegetation hosts high biodiversity and plays a critical role in the ecosystem processes of boreal forests. However, the drivers of understory plant diversity in this high-latitude ecosystem remain uncertain. To investigate the influences of forest type and latitude on understory beta diversity at different scales, we quantified the species composition of Vaccinium uliginosum Linnaeus communities under broadleaf and coniferous forests at two latitudes at the quadrat (2 × 2 m) and plot (10 × 10 m) scales in the Greater Xing’an Mountains, NE China. At the quadrat scale, species alpha diversity of V. uliginosum communities was higher in broadleaf forests than that in coniferous forests at both latitudes. The differences in species beta diversity (the Sørensen’s dissimilarity) in two forest types depended on the latitude: beta diversity in broadleaf forests was higher than that in coniferous forests at the higher latitude, while beta diversity in coniferous forests was higher at the lower latitude. At the plot scale, alpha and beta diversity of V. uliginosum communities decreased from broadleaf forests to coniferous forests at the higher latitude, and they did not show significant differences between forest types at the lower latitude. These results indicate the interactive effects of forest type and latitude on beta diversity of understory vegetation. Moreover, the influences of forest type and latitude on species alpha and beta diversity were different across the two spatial scales, suggesting that the assembly mechanisms underlying species diversity may be different at different scales. Understanding the maintenance of understory vegetation diversity will benefit the conservation and management of boreal forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests)
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16 pages, 2111 KiB  
Article
Quantifying the Relationship among Impact Factors of Shrub Layer Diversity in Chinese Pine Plantation Forest Ecosystems
by Boheng Wang, Yuankun Bu, Yanjie Li, Weizhong Li, Pengxiang Zhao, Yanzheng Yang, Ning Qi and Ruikun Gou
Forests 2019, 10(9), 781; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10090781 - 9 Sep 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3011
Abstract
Shrub layer diversity is an essential component of the forest ecosystem diversity, that contributes significantly to structuring the community and maintaining diversity, especially in plantation forests. In previous studies, researchers have reported the strong relationship among various factors (i.e., soil composition, mean annual [...] Read more.
Shrub layer diversity is an essential component of the forest ecosystem diversity, that contributes significantly to structuring the community and maintaining diversity, especially in plantation forests. In previous studies, researchers have reported the strong relationship among various factors (i.e., soil composition, mean annual temperature, etc.) and shrub diversity. However, how these factors jointly influence shrub diversity and which factors could be considered the key factors is still unknown. In this study, we attempted to quantify the effect among environmental factors, soil factors and forest stand factors on shrub diversity. Twenty-seven variables were selected from 57 Chinese pine plantation plots in Huanglong Mountain, Yanan City, Shaanxi Province, China. The path models showed that latent variable of soil properties is the main effective factor of latent variable of shrub diversity (directly effect, path coefficient = 0.344) and the latent variable of site conditions is another effective factor of latent variable of shrub diversity (indirectly effect, path coefficient = 0.177); Besides, the latent variable of site conditions and forest properties directly affect the latent variable of soil properties (path coefficient = 0.514 and 0.326, respectively). Among the latent variable of soil properties, soil water content (SWC) has the biggest weight of 0.666, which indicated the most significant contribution of SWC to latent variables of shrub diversity. Total nitrogen, weighted 0.375, and total phosphorus, weighted 0.308, are also important factors and make a similar contribution to latent variable of shrub diversity. Soil organic matter (SOM) has a minimal impact (lowest weight, 0.059); among the objective variables of site condition, altitude contributes the most and is followed by litter thickness, weighted at 0.722 and 0.448, respectively. Furthermore, among all the variables affecting the latent variable of forest properties, forest age is recognized as the maximum impactor of soil property change, which weighted −0.941; and is followed by forest stock volume and diameter at breast height (DBH), weighted 0.795 and 0.788, respectively. The crowding index (C) has the lowest weight (−0.235) and demonstrated that spatial distribution and crowding of trees have minimal impact on the latent variable of Soil properties. diversity Overall, our study provides new insights into quantifying the relationships among different driving factors that potentially play a significant role in determining shrub layer diversity within the plantation forest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests)
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16 pages, 4547 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Non-Native Black Pine (Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold) Plantations on Environmental Conditions and Undergrowth Diversity
by Katarína Mikulová, Ivan Jarolímek, Tomáš Bacigál, Katarína Hegedüšová, Jana Májeková, Jana Medvecká, Denisa Slabejová, Jozef Šibík, Iveta Škodová, Mária Zaliberová and Mária Šibíková
Forests 2019, 10(7), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10070548 - 29 Jun 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4442
Abstract
The cover of introduced tree species in Europe has recently increased, due to several factors. Attempts to understand the impact of non-native edificator trees on the environmental conditions and diversity of undergrowth have so far been limited to a few studies. In this [...] Read more.
The cover of introduced tree species in Europe has recently increased, due to several factors. Attempts to understand the impact of non-native edificator trees on the environmental conditions and diversity of undergrowth have so far been limited to a few studies. In this paper, we analyse the effect of one of the most commonly planted non-native tree species–black pine (Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold) in the Carpathian-Pannonian region, north of the border of its native occurrence. The objectives of our study were to determine the following: (i) How does black pine, as a non-native edificator, change the forest structure and environmental conditions in comparison to those of native communities? (ii) How does black pine change the species composition of undergrowth in comparison to that of native communities? (iii) Which factors are associated with the impact of black pine on diversity? To answer these questions, we used the twin plot method, sampling two neighbouring plots with the same environmental conditions in which one plot of the pair is in a forest with native tree species composition and the second plot is in a planted non-native Pinus nigra plantation. We found that in forests dominated by the non-native black pine, (a) the tree canopy is significantly more open; (b) the cover of the shrub layer is significantly higher; (c) the needles of black pine form a significantly thicker litter layer and (d) the cover of the herb layer is significantly lower than that in the native forest. (e) Black pine plays a vital role in modifying local climate by altering air temperature and humidity; (f) there were no significant differences in the soil pH between black pine plantations and native forests; (g) the plantations of black pine cause changes in diversity at both the species and the community level and (h) the dissimilarity between black pine plantations and neighbouring native forests decreases at higher altitudes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Main Drivers Affecting/Shaping the Diversity and Variability of Forests)
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