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Forests
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Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century
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Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2018) | Viewed by 20928

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yude Pan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
USDA Forest Service, Durham, NH, USA

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest structure, the complex, three-dimensional arrangement of trees and vegetation, both vertically and spatially, is a foundation and driver of ecosystem processes and biodiversity. Some key structural attributes, such as leaf area and tree density, profoundly affect forest functioning and are crucial to forest productivity and carbon budgets. On landscape scales, forest structures are diverse and dynamic, subject to natural and human-induced disturbances which alter structural features and create different legacies affecting subsequent forest development. In temperate regions, for instance, most forest structures have been substantially modified on various scales of landscapes by human activities over the last few centuries. Upon entering the 21st century, we may anticipate even greater dynamics in forest structure because of increasing impacts of environmental changes and pressure. Shifts in forest structure can be caused by direct disruptions such as deforestation or land-use change; by consequences of intensified natural disturbances as in the case of wildfires or droughts, and even by subtle modifications through changes in tree physiology or species composition. Here, we invite papers addressing broad issues regarding forest structural dynamics in the recent decades and perspectives for the future. We welcome studies from all relevant fields; studies detecting forest structural attributes and dynamics and exploring causes and consequences of change based on ground measurements, monitoring networks, remote sensing, modeling, or analytic methods. We hope the information and knowledge gathered through this Special Issue will improve our understanding of future forest structural and functional dynamics and prove useful to forest management under increasing environmental challenges.

Dr. Yude Pan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forest Structural Dynamics
  • Ecosystem Processes
  • Biodiversity
  • Forest Carbon Budget
  • Disturbances
  • Deforestation
  • Land-Use Change
  • Environmental Changes
  • Tree Physiology
  • Species Composition
  • Monitoring Network
  • Remote Sensing

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4783 KiB  
Article
Determinants of Above-Ground Biomass and Its Spatial Variability in a Temperate Forest Managed for Timber Production
by María De los Ángeles Soriano-Luna, Gregorio Ángeles-Pérez, Mario Guevara, Richard Birdsey, Yude Pan, Humberto Vaquera-Huerta, José René Valdez-Lazalde, Kristofer D. Johnson and Rodrigo Vargas
Forests 2018, 9(8), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9080490 - 11 Aug 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6431
Abstract
The proper estimation of above-ground biomass (AGB) stocks of managed forests is a prerequisite to quantifying their role in climate change mitigation. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial variability of AGB and its uncertainty between actively managed pine and [...] Read more.
The proper estimation of above-ground biomass (AGB) stocks of managed forests is a prerequisite to quantifying their role in climate change mitigation. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial variability of AGB and its uncertainty between actively managed pine and unmanaged pine-oak reference forests in central Mexico. To investigate the determinants of AGB, we analyzed variables related to forest management, stand structure, topography, and climate. We developed linear (LM), generalized additive (GAM), and Random Forest (RF) empirical models to derive spatially explicit estimates and their uncertainty, and compared them. AGB was strongly influenced by forest management, as LiDAR-derived stand structure and stand age explained 80.9% to 89.8% of its spatial variability. The spatial heterogeneity of AGB varied positively with stand structural complexity and age in the managed forests. The type of predictive model had an impact on estimates of total AGB in our study site, which varied by as much as 19%. AGB densities varied from 0 to 492 ± 17 Mg ha−1 and the highest values were predicted by GAM. Uncertainty was not spatially homogeneously distributed and was higher with higher AGB values. Spatially explicit AGB estimates and their association with management and other variables in the study site can assist forest managers in planning thinning and harvesting schedules that would maximize carbon stocks on the landscape while continuing to provide timber and other ecosystem services. Our study represents an advancement toward the development of efficient strategies to spatially estimate AGB stocks and their uncertainty, as the GAM approach was used for the first time with improved results for such a purpose. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century)
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15 pages, 1676 KiB  
Article
Structural Attributes of Old-Growth and Partially Harvested Northern White-Cedar Stands in Northeastern North America
by Nathan Wesely, Shawn Fraver, Laura S. Kenefic, Aaron R. Weiskittel, Jean-Claude Ruel, Michael E. Thompson and Alan S. White
Forests 2018, 9(7), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9070376 - 22 Jun 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3608
Abstract
Forestry practitioners often need to identify old-growth stands because of their high conservation value. To identify the structural and compositional characteristics potentially unique to old-growth northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) stands, we compared 16 old-growth stands and 17 partially harvested stands in [...] Read more.
Forestry practitioners often need to identify old-growth stands because of their high conservation value. To identify the structural and compositional characteristics potentially unique to old-growth northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) stands, we compared 16 old-growth stands and 17 partially harvested stands in Maine, USA and New Brunswick, Canada. Potential old-growth predictors included common structural metrics such as basal area (BA), quadratic mean diameter (QMD), large tree (≥40 cm diameter at breast height) density, and volumes of coarse woody debris (CWD), along with six structural indices. Using generalized linear mixed-models, we identified two significant structural predictors that differentiate old-growth from partially harvested stands when used in combination: Volume of advanced-decay CWD and live tree QMD. None of the structural indices were useful in distinguishing between old-growth and partially harvested stands, nor did the two types differ with respect to tree species composition. Our results demonstrate that two metrics easily derived from standard inventory data—decayed CWD volume and QMD—effectively characterize the old-growth white-cedar stands sampled in this study. Taken together, these results can improve management decision making for white-cedar, particularly in the context of certification, while also shedding light on the effects of past partial harvesting on current forest structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century)
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28 pages, 5156 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Patterns of Trees Species in Miombo Forest and Management Perspectives for Sustainable Production—Case Study in Huambo Province, Angola
by Vasco Chiteculo and Peter Surovy
Forests 2018, 9(6), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9060321 - 04 Jun 2018
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5869
Abstract
This paper aims to assess important forest parameters, including tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH), and age distribution, investigate the dynamic growth of miombo tree species, and employ this information to design a management framework in miombo forests. The delineation of the [...] Read more.
This paper aims to assess important forest parameters, including tree density, diameter at breast height (DBH), and age distribution, investigate the dynamic growth of miombo tree species, and employ this information to design a management framework in miombo forests. The delineation of the management zones was based on unsupervised land cover classification that began with three zones where ground data was collected and increased to five zones. Eighteen circular plots (25.2 m radius) were randomly distributed over the study areas to assess the current situation and potential growth patterns for each species. The patterns of the six most representative tree species of miombo in Angola were described and we used KORFiT 2.4 software to fit data and develop growth curves for at least three miombo species. Growth function fitness was evaluated by root mean squared error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2), significance of the parameters (p < 0.05), and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC). The diameter distribution of miombo tree species resembled a typical distribution of uneven-aged forest stands; higher DBH classes had lower abundances of tree species. Logistic and Gompertz growth functions were the best fits for miombo tree species. Brachystegia spiciformis Benth., is suggested as a potential species for timber management in the region because they displayed high growth potential to more quickly reach an assumed minimum DBH of 20 cm. This study concluded that miombo forest stands present an irregular structure in which DBH distribution illustrated only two patterns: many small stems and a bimodal forest structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century)
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25 pages, 7172 KiB  
Article
Decadal-Scale Reduction in Forest Net Ecosystem Production Following Insect Defoliation Contrasts with Short-Term Impacts of Prescribed Fires
by Kenneth L. Clark, Heidi J. Renninger, Nicholas Skowronski, Michael Gallagher and Karina V. R. Schäfer
Forests 2018, 9(3), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/f9030145 - 16 Mar 2018
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4599
Abstract
Understanding processes underlying forest carbon dynamics is essential for accurately predicting the outcomes of non-stand-replacing disturbance in intermediate-age forests. We quantified net ecosystem production (NEP), aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and the dynamics of major carbon (C) pools before and during the decade [...] Read more.
Understanding processes underlying forest carbon dynamics is essential for accurately predicting the outcomes of non-stand-replacing disturbance in intermediate-age forests. We quantified net ecosystem production (NEP), aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and the dynamics of major carbon (C) pools before and during the decade following invasive insect defoliation and prescribed fires in oak- and pine-dominated stands in the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, USA. Gross ecosystem production (GEP) recovered during the year following defoliation at the oak stand, but tree mortality increased standing dead and coarse woody debris, and ecosystem respiration (Re) accounted for >97% of GEP. As a result, NEP averaged only 22% of pre-disturbance values during the decade following defoliation. At the pine stand, GEP also recovered to pre-disturbance values during the year following understory defoliation by gypsy moth and two prescribed fires, while Re was nearly unaffected. Overall, defoliation and tree mortality at the oak stand drove a decadal-scale reduction in NEP that was twofold greater in magnitude than C losses associated with prescribed fires at the pine stand. Our study documents the outcomes of different non-stand-replacing disturbances, and highlights the importance of detrital dynamics and increased Re in long-term measurements of forest C dynamics following disturbance in intermediate-age forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Structural Dynamics in the 21st Century)
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