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Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 29797

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Prof. Dr. Helge Walentowski

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Faculty of Resource Management, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst - Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Hildesheim, Germany
Interests: forest ecology; maintaining ecological functions and managing biodiversity under global change conditions; natural risks; disturbance ecology; sustainable land use; forest bioeconomy; nature-based solutions; renewable raw materials; cooperative research
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Prof. Dr. Christoph Leuschner

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Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg August University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Interests: ecophysiology of temperate and tropical trees (carbon, water and nutrient relations); forest dynamics research; climate change effects on temperate and tropical forests; biodiversity and ecosystem function in forests; vegetation ecology of Central Europe
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Upcoming forestry decisions on the choice of the most suitable tree species and adequate management concepts in a future warmer world require bringing biological knowledge, silvicultural experience, and economic expertise together and interlocking theory and practice. Due to the long-term impact of forestry decisions, nothing is more fatal than choosing a tree species that turns out to be a fiasco after a few decades. This Special Issue would like to address three fields that require action:

(1) Insufficient knowledge: We invite contributions that improve our knowledge of the influence of climatic factors on the growth and vitality of indigenous tree species and their stress tolerance in order to enable science-based predictions about their performance in a warmer and drier climate. In the focus are not the well-studied main timber species, but the secondary timber species and those which have minor or no economic value at present. We encourage submissions that can lay foundations on which to base authors’ choice of tree species for the “forest of the future”.

(2) Inadequate consideration of research results: Existing knowledge on the stress tolerance and growth physiology of tree species is still not sufficiently used in forestry planning or not adequately transferred to forestry practitioners. We welcome work that opens avenues to better transfer existing international research results on the stress tolerance and biology of important commercial tree species to silvicultural planning.

(3) Gaps in existing forest research capacities and strategies for the future: Interdisciplinarity and the link between basic and applied research are often not well developed, and not much capacity exists to develop innovative concepts beyond the beaten track. We welcome conceptional papers, which outline the goals and structure of interdisciplinary research concepts and research networks focusing on the challenges that forestry is facing because of climate change.

Prof. Dr. Helge Walentowski
Prof. Dr. Christoph Leuschner
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Indigenous tree species
Forest crisis management
Improved knowledge sharing
Capacity optimization
Interdisciplinary research

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Retreat of Major European Tree Species Distribution under Climate Change—Minor Natives to the Rescue?

by Olef Koch, Angela Luciana de Avila, Henry Heinen and Axel Tim Albrecht

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5213; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095213 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3698

Abstract

Climate change is projected to trigger strong declines in the potential distribution of major tree species in Europe. While minor natives have moved into the spotlight as alternatives, their ecology is often poorly understood. We use an ensemble species distribution modelling approach on a set of promising native tree species to gain insights into their distribution potential under different climate change scenarios. Moreover, we identify the urgency and potential of altered species distributions in favor of minor natives by comparing the niche dynamics of five major native tree species with the set of six minor natives in a case study. Our models project stark range contractions and range shifts among major tree species, strongly amplified under high emission scenarios. Abies alba, Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica are affected the strongest. While also experiencing range shifts, the minor European natives Castanea sativa, Sorbus torminalis, and Ulmus laevis all considerably expand their range potential across climate change scenarios. Accompanied by Carpinus betulus, with a stable range size, they hold the potential to substantially contribute to sustainably adapting European forest to climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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30 pages, 81810 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Assessment of Drought-Tolerant Provenances of Austria’s Indigenous Tree Species

by Gerhard Karrer, Gabriele Bassler-Binder and Wolfgang Willner

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2861; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052861 - 1 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3551

Abstract

(1) Background: Forestry will have to react to climate change because many tree species suffer. Mitigation can be realized either by planting non-native trees from regions with high climatic stress or by utilizing native tree provenances already adapted to stressful environments. Non-native trees have often generated problems in the past due to uncontrolled invasiveness. The use of native trees pre-adapted to the prospective climatic conditions is far less risky for the respective ecosystems. We offer a tool for selecting ecotypes of native trees as provenances for future forestry. (2) Methods: We propose the selection of tree species native to Middle Europe from a database of vegetation relevés of ± natural forest stands. By calculating the mean ecological indicator values of stands from their vegetation, cover sites can be elected that can provide seeds of provenances well adapted to future climatic conditions. (3) Results: By selecting the 10% partition of the most extreme stands of European tree species, seeds can be sampled and propagated for re-cultivating forests fit for future climate. (4) Conclusions: One can expect ecotypes of tree species that grow well on dry sites, since generations have faced evolutionary selection, for survival under stressful environments. This approach helps to avoid ecological risks of non-native trees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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13 pages, 2655 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Impact of the Neophyte Tree Fraxinus pennsylvanica [Marshall] on Beetle Diversity under Climate Change

by Andreas Floren, Peter J. Horchler and Tobias Müller

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1914; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031914 - 8 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5519

Abstract

We studied the impact of the neophyte tree Fraxinus pennsylvanica on the diversity of beetles in floodplain forests along the river Elbe in Germany in 2016, 2017 and in 2020, where 80% of all Fraxinus excelsior trees had died following severe droughts. Beetles were collected by insecticidal knock-down from 121 trees (64 F. excelsior and 57 F. pennsylvanica) and identified to 547 species in 15,214 specimens. The trees sampled in 2016 and 2017 showed no signs of drought stress or ash dieback and serve as a reference for the comparison with the 2020 fauna. The data proved that F. excelsior harbours the most diverse beetle community, which differed also significantly in guild composition from F. pennsylvanica. Triggered by extremely dry and long summer seasons, the 2020 ash dieback had profound and forest-wide impacts. Several endangered, red-listed beetle species of Saxonia Anhalt had increased in numbers and became secondary pests on F. excelsior. Diversity decreased whilst numbers of xylobionts increased on all trees, reaching 78% on F. excelsior. Proportions of xylobionts remained constant on F. pennsylvanica. Phytophages were almost absent from all trees, but mycetophages increased on F. pennsylvanica. Our data suggest that as a result of the dieback of F. excelsior the neophyte F. pennsylvanica might become a rescue species for the European Ash fauna, as it provides the second-best habitat. We show how difficult it is to assess the dynamics and the ecological impact of neophytes, especially under conditions similar to those projected by climate change models. The diversity and abundance of canopy arthropods demonstrates their importance in understanding forest functions and maintenance of ecosystem services, illustrating that their consideration is essential for forest adaptation to climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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20 pages, 3963 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Potential for Future Shifts in Tree Species Distribution Provided by Dispersal and Ecological Niches: A Comparison between Beech and Oak in Europe

by Maximilian Axer, Robert Schlicht, Rico Kronenberg and Sven Wagner

Sustainability 2021, 13(23), 13067; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313067 - 25 Nov 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2873

Abstract

(1) Due to global warming, distribution ranges of temperate tree species are shifting northwards and upslope to cooler areas. Shifts in distribution first become visible through changes in regeneration dynamics. However, the future distribution of tree species in the face of rapid climate change depends not only on the climatic suitability of the tree species, but also on its ability to disperse into new habitats. The aim of the study was therefore to examine how the distribution of European beech and European oak shifts and how species can spread from fragmented seed trees. (2) In order to investigate the shift in distribution of beech and oak, the bioclimatic envelopes of the old trees and different size classes of the natural regeneration were compared. Subsequently, a simulation of the potential distribution for the present climate, as well as for the climate for the reference period 2091–2100, for three different representative concentration pathways (RCP) scenarios was determined. In order to determine which of these areas can actually be colonised, a dispersal potential for the species was determined using a quantile regression, taking habitat fragmentation into account. (3) The results of the present study demonstrate range shifts of the tree species regeneration distribution (B0, B1 and B2) compared to the overstorey distribution (OST). While oak regeneration shows an expansion of its distribution in the cold-wet range, beech regeneration shows a reduction of its distribution in the dry-warm range. As the dispersal potential of oak exceeds that of beech, it is expected that oak will be better able to spread from fragmented seed trees. However, the results also indicate that many areas, despite climatic suitability, cannot be colonised due to too large dispersal distances. (4) For the forest management, this results in an important planning tool for future tree species composition, as climatic suitability, habitat connectivity and dispersal ability are taken into account. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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23 pages, 2292 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Tilia tomentosa Moench on Plant Species Diversity and Composition in Mesophilic Forests of Western Romania–A Potential Tree Species for Warming Forests in Central Europe?

by Steffi Heinrichs, Veronika Öder, Adrian Indreica, Erwin Bergmeier, Christoph Leuschner and Helge Walentowski

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7996; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147996 - 17 Jul 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2585

Abstract

Climate change challenges important native timber species in Central Europe. The introduction of non-native tree species originating from warmer climates is one option to make Central European forests compatible to global warming. This, however, requires an assessment of the species’ growth requirements, and of its impact on biodiversity in its native ranges. Silver lime (Tilia tomentosa), a moderately drought-tolerant, thermophilous tree species of South-eastern Europe is considered suitable for the future. Along three elevational transects in western Romania, we assessed the impact of changing climate and local site conditions on the abundance of this tree species and contrasted plant species diversity and composition of lime-dominated forests with mesophytic oak and beech forests. Local site conditions and disturbance histories shaped the distribution pattern of silver lime. When dominant, it reduced plant species diversity within stands due to its dense canopy. For shade-tolerant, mesophytic species, though, lime forests provided an additional habitat and extended their range into warmer environments. Thus, silver lime may have the potential as an admixed tree species forming a transitory meso-thermophilous habitat in the future. At the same time, silver lime may be limited under increasing drought frequency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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17 pages, 6760 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Variables Influence over Active Restoration Strategies of Nothofagus Forests Degraded by Invasive Castor canadensis in Tierra del Fuego

by Guillermo J. Martínez Pastur, Juan M. Cellini, María V. Lencinas, Yamina M. Rosas, Jonathan J. Henn and Pablo L. Peri

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7541; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147541 - 6 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2433

Abstract

North American beavers (Castor canadensis) are responsible for the major changes in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, altering riparian forests for the long-term. Passive restoration of the areas affected was ineffective in the medium-term (up to 20 years), being necessary active strategies. Plantations in abandoned ponds were made with Nothofagus pumilio and N. antarctica tree species across Tierra del Fuego island (Argentina). In the first experiment, we analysed the influence of biotic and abiotic factors in three micro-habitats in the impacted areas: front and tail of ponds, and cut not-flooded forest areas. Five-years-old N. pumilio seedlings had 39% survival in front, 21% in tails, and 46% in cut areas at year-3 of the restoration experiments, being negatively influenced by plant cover and soil moisture. Lower growth was recorded during year-1 (0.7–0.9 cm yr⁻¹), but increased on time (1.9 cm yr⁻¹ front, 1.6 cm yr⁻¹ tail, 4.3 cm yr⁻¹ cut areas). A second experiment explores the alternative to substitute the tree species to face the harder conditions of the impact and climate change. For this, we conducted a new plantation at four locations across the main bioclimatic zones, where 10–40 cm N. antarctica plants attained 17% survival in meadows (front and tail) and 30% in cut areas, being higher with larger than smaller plants (25% vs. 18%), and where they are mainly influenced by rainfall (4% in sites <400 mm yr⁻¹ and 41% in >400 mm yr⁻¹). The main damage was detected in the above-ground biomass due to dryness, but root survival allowed the emergence of new shoots in the following growing season. It is necessary to monitor different Nothofagus species across natural environments in the landscape to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of different strategies in restoration plans, considering the selection of climate-resilient tree species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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21 pages, 1896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Analogues for Temperate European Forests to Raise Silvicultural Evidence Using Twin Regions

by Tobias Mette, Susanne Brandl and Christian Kölling

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6522; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126522 - 8 Jun 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4110

Abstract

Climate analogues provide forestry practice with empirical evidence of how forests are managed in “twin” regions, i.e., regions where the current climate is comparable to the expected future climate at a site of interest. As the twin regions and their silvicultural evidence change with each climate scenario and model, we focus our investigation on how the uncertainty in future climate affects tree species prevalence. We calculate the future climate from 2000 to 2100 for three ensemble variants of the mild (representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5) and hard (RCP 8.5) climate scenarios. We determine climatic distances between the future climate of our site of interest ‘Roth’ and the current climate in Europe, generating maps with twin regions from 2000 to 2100. From forest inventories in these twin regions we trace how the prevalence of 23 major tree species changes. We realize that it is not the ‘how’ but the ‘how fast’ species’ prevalence changes that differs between the scenario variants. We use this finding to develop a categorization of species groups that integrates the uncertainty in future climate. Twin regions provide further information on silvicultural practices, pest management, product chains etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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16 pages, 1623 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intensified Interspecific Competition for Water after Afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia into a Native Shrubland in the Taihang Mountains, Northern China

by Wanrui Zhu, Wenhua Li, Peili Shi, Jiansheng Cao, Ning Zong and Shoubao Geng

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020807 - 15 Jan 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2674

Abstract

Understanding how soil water source is used spatiotemporally by tree species and if native species can successfully coexist with introduced species is crucial for selecting species for afforestation. In the rocky mountainous areas of the Taihang Mountains, alien Robinia pseudoacacia L. has been widely afforested into the native shrublands dominated by Ziziphus jujuba Mill var. spinosa and Vitex negundo L. var. heterophylla to improve forest coverage and soil nutrients. However, little is known about the water relation among species, especially seasonal water use sources in different microsites. We selected the soil and plant xylem samples of two opposite microtopographic sites (ridge and valley) monthly in the growth season to analyze isotope composition. The proportions of water sources were quantified by the MixSIAR model and compared pairwise between species, microsites and seasons. We found that deep subsoil water at a depth of 40–50 cm contributed up to 50% of the total water uptake for R. pseudoacacia and Z. jujuba in the growing season, indicating that they stably used deeper soil water and had intense water competition. However, V. negundo had a more flexible water use strategy, which derived more than 50% of the total water uptake from the soil layer of 0–10 cm in the rainy season, but majorly captured soil water at a depth of 30–50 cm in the dry season. Therefore, high niche overlaps were shown in V. negundo with the other two species in the dry season, but niche segregation was seen in the rainy season. The microtopographic sites did not shift the seasonal dynamic of the water source use patterns of the three studied species, but the water use niche overlap was higher in the valley than in the ridge. Taken together, the introduced species R. pseudoacacia intensified water competition with the native semi-arbor species Z. jujuba, but it could commonly coexist with the native shrub species V. negundo. Therefore, our study on seasonal water use sources in different microsites provides insight into species interaction and site selection for R. pseudoacacia afforestation in the native shrub community in rocky mountainous areas. It is better to plant R. pseudoacacia in the shrubland in the valley so as to avoid intense water competition and control soil erosion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selecting Climate Resilient Tree Species for Forest Restoration – What Is Necessary and What Is Possible?)

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