Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2017) | Viewed by 37900

Special Issue Editor

Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 W. Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Interests: plant physiological and ecosystem ecology; disturbance ecology; ecological succession; carbon and nitrogen cycling; biogeochemistry; urban forestry; tree–soil interactions; global change biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest structure and function change considerably over the course of ecological succession, with wide-ranging implications for biogeochemical cycling, biomass quantity and distribution, primary and ecosystem production, plant community and physical structure, plant and animal competition, and habitat quality and quantity. A rich and extensive body of literature offers a strong, evolving foundation for understanding ecosystem structural and functional changes over decade to century timescales, but, until recently, new advances were limited by a paucity of long-term ecological data for empirically examining, and challenging or improving theoretical and simulation models of forest successional dynamics. Today, however, several long-running, broadly distributed research sites and networks, and remote sensing platforms have amassed a decade or more of ecosystem structure and function data, offering unprecedented opportunities to use long-term datasets to advance theoretical, empirical, and model-based understanding of forest successional dynamics. For this Forests Special Issue, we invite manuscript submissions that aim to improve knowledge of ecosystem structural and/or functional change, of any kind, in natural or managed forests. We are particularly interested in contributions using high quality long-term datasets or space-for-time substitution (i.e., chronosequence) approaches to enhance understanding of decadal, or longer, forest structure-function change.  

Dr. Christopher Gough
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Forest succession
  • Structure-function
  • Ecosystem development
  • Community and ecosystem structure
  • Ecosystem function
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Primary production
  • Long-term ecological processes
  • Decade to century timescales

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

2836 KiB  
Article
Using Linear Mixed-Effects Models with Quantile Regression to Simulate the Crown Profile of Planted Pinus sylvestris var. Mongolica Trees
by Yunxia Sun, Huilin Gao and Fengri Li
Forests 2017, 8(11), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8110446 - 17 Nov 2017
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5578
Abstract
Crown profile is mostly related to the competition of individual trees in the stands, light interception, growth, and yield of trees. A total of 76 sample trees with a total number of 889 whorls and 3658 live branches were used to develop the [...] Read more.
Crown profile is mostly related to the competition of individual trees in the stands, light interception, growth, and yield of trees. A total of 76 sample trees with a total number of 889 whorls and 3658 live branches were used to develop the outer crown profile model of the planted Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica trees in Heilongjiang Province, China. The power-exponential equation, modified Kozak equation, and simple polynomial equation were used and the model which showed the best performance was used as the basic model. The dummy variable approach was used to analyze the effect of stand age and stand density on the crown profile. Quantile regression for linear mixed-effects model, where the correlations between the series measurements on the same subject were considered, was used to model the outer crown profile. The results indicated that the power-exponential equation had the smallest error and was used as the basic model. Based on the dummy variable approach, stand age and stand density showed significant effects on the crown profile on the whole. Thus, they were directly included into the linear form of the power-exponential equation by a natural logarithm transformation to develop the quantile regression for the linear mixed-effects model. The 0.95th quantile regression model performed best in modeling the outer crown profile when compared to other quantiles. The prediction accuracy of the 0.95th quantile regression model by adding the random effects increased when compared to the quantile regression without random effect. The quantile regression for the linear mixed-effects model also showed an excellent performance in the largest crown radius prediction when compared to the quantile regression model. From suppressed trees to dominant trees, the crown radius increased, with tree size increasing for the same stand age and stand density increases. The crown radius of the suppressed trees from 21 to 40 year stands was the largest and the smallest was from older (>40 years) stands. The crown radius for both the intermediate and dominant trees from 21 to 40 year stands were similar and were larger than the younger (10–20 years) stands. The crown radius increased with tree size when the stand variables were constant. Furthermore, the crown radius increased with the increase of stand age, decreased with increasing stand density, and decreased with increased ratio of tree height to diameter at the breast height (HD) for trees with the same tree variables. Stand density had a weaker effect on the crown profile when compared to the HD. The growth rate of the crown radius of planted Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica trees increased with increasing stand age, and decreased with decreasing stand density. The growth rate of the crown radius decreased with increasing HD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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2224 KiB  
Article
Patterns of Early Postfire Succession of Alpine, Subalpine and Lichen-Woodland Vegetation: 21 Years of Monitoring from Permanent Plots
by François Girard, Serge Payette and Ann Delwaide
Forests 2017, 8(9), 346; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8090346 - 15 Sep 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4537
Abstract
Field observations using chronosequences are helpful to study vegetation succession. This method allows to establish comparisons based on soil composition, stand structure, micro- and macrofossil remains from sites of different ages but on similar edaphic and topographic conditions. In the boreal forest, post-fire [...] Read more.
Field observations using chronosequences are helpful to study vegetation succession. This method allows to establish comparisons based on soil composition, stand structure, micro- and macrofossil remains from sites of different ages but on similar edaphic and topographic conditions. In the boreal forest, post-fire succession through time is triggered by climate, disturbance history (insect epidemics, fire and logging), latitude and altitude. The main objective of this research is to identify the main patterns of early post-fire succession, including similarities and differences in vegetation composition and attributes, of three contrasted ecosystems distributed along an altitudinal gradient. To do so, we have monitored the successional development of the alpine, subalpine and boreal lichen-woodland sites during the first 21 years (1991 to 2011) of post-fire sequence in eastern Canada 1991 to 2011. Each site was characterized by a different functional group that became established following fire. A rapid resurgence of ericaceous shrubs and lichens was observed in the lichen woodland and subalpine sites. Bryophyte and lichen species were not an important component of vegetation communities during the earlier stages of post-fire succession. For all three sites monitored, lichens were the last functional group to establish in the chronosequences. Herbs and mosses characterized the post-fire succession in alpine areas, the latter functional group established late in the chronosequence to cover >25% of the site after 15 years. Post-fire chronosequences in the three contrasted environments indicate that plant succession is a repetitive process often involving similar resilient plant assemblages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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2148 KiB  
Article
Coordination and Determinants of Leaf Community Economics Spectrum for Canopy Trees and Shrubs in a Temperate Forest in Northeastern China
by Feng Jiang, Yanhan Xun, Huiying Cai and Guangze Jin
Forests 2017, 8(6), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060202 - 09 Jun 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4851
Abstract
Upscaling the leaf economics spectrum (LES) from the species level to community level is an important step to understand how assemblages are constructed based on functional traits and how these coordinated traits for a community respond to the environmental gradients and climate change. [...] Read more.
Upscaling the leaf economics spectrum (LES) from the species level to community level is an important step to understand how assemblages are constructed based on functional traits and how these coordinated traits for a community respond to the environmental gradients and climate change. In a 9-ha temperate forest dynamics plot located in northeastern China, we collected four LES traits and three other leaf traits from 28 tree species and 13 shrub species. We then related the LES traits at the community level to topographical and soil factors. We observed that the coordination of LES at the community level was stronger than at the species level. Soil nutrients were the primary drivers of distribution of leaf community economics spectrum with acquisition strategy communities in the resource-rich locations. We also observed that different environmental factors affected the distributions of leaf community economics spectrums for trees and shrubs. Our results provided novel evidence for the existence of leaf community economics spectrum in the continental monsoon climate zone. Both abiotic filtering and niche differentiation determined their distributions across different growth forms at the local spatial scale. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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1728 KiB  
Article
Spatial Analysis of a Haloxylon Ammodendron Plantation in an Oasis-Desert Ecotone in the Hexi Corridor, Northwestern China
by Ying Zheng, Wenzhi Zhao and Gefei Zhang
Forests 2017, 8(6), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8060200 - 08 Jun 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5475
Abstract
Haloxylon ammodendron is a commonly used sand-fixing species in the desert area of northwestern China; it has been abundantly planted in areas where annual precipitation is about 120 mm in the Hexi Corridor since the 1970s. Spatial patterns and associations of an H. [...] Read more.
Haloxylon ammodendron is a commonly used sand-fixing species in the desert area of northwestern China; it has been abundantly planted in areas where annual precipitation is about 120 mm in the Hexi Corridor since the 1970s. Spatial patterns and associations of an H. ammodendron plantation in five stages of community development were analyzed in an oasis-desert ecotone to gain insights into population dynamics over a course of succession. Five 0.3-ha (50 m × 60 m) permanent plots were established in each of five developmental stages; H. ammodendron was classified as seedlings, juvenile and mature trees, and all individuals were measured and stem-mapped. The univariate spatial analysis by the L-function and the bivariate L12-function were used to describe the spatial patterns of all trees and examine the spatial association among trees between different tree size-classes. Results showed that at scales >2 m, the spatial pattern of H. ammodendron shifted from initially clustered to random, and back to clustered; at scales <2 m, a transition from uniform to clustered was observed with stand age. In 5–10-year, 10–20-year and 20–30-year stages, competition between conspecifics may be the dominant factor which influenced plant survival. In 30–40-year and >40-year stages, interactions between conspecifics may be the dominant factor in conditions of tree-size-asymmetric competition, but abiotic stress may be more important in tree-size-symmetric competition. The H. ammodendron plantation experienced highest mortality at the 5–10-year stage as a result of fierce competition for soil water, while with respect to growth, it entered into a relatively stable stage, where the gaps generated due to mortality of adult trees and improved soil conditions provided opportunities for regeneration. In the >40-year stage, the regeneration experienced a decline under enhanced competition for water, and the plantation showed a clustered pattern at all scales due to water stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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2161 KiB  
Article
Spatial Heterogeneity of the Forest Canopy Scales with the Heterogeneity of an Understory Shrub Based on Fractal Analysis
by Catherine K. Denny and Scott E. Nielsen
Forests 2017, 8(5), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8050146 - 27 Apr 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5396
Abstract
Spatial heterogeneity of vegetation is an important landscape characteristic, but is difficult to assess due to scale-dependence. Here we examine how spatial patterns in the forest canopy affect those of understory plants, using the shrub Canada buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.) as [...] Read more.
Spatial heterogeneity of vegetation is an important landscape characteristic, but is difficult to assess due to scale-dependence. Here we examine how spatial patterns in the forest canopy affect those of understory plants, using the shrub Canada buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt.) as a focal species. Evergreen and deciduous forest canopy and buffaloberry shrub presence were measured with line-intercept sampling along ten 2-km transects in the Rocky Mountain foothills of west-central Alberta, Canada. Relationships between overstory canopy and understory buffaloberry presence were assessed for scales ranging from 2 m to 502 m. Fractal dimensions of both canopy and buffaloberry were estimated and then related using box-counting methods to evaluate spatial heterogeneity based on patch distribution and abundance. Effects of canopy presence on buffaloberry were scale-dependent, with shrub presence negatively related to evergreen canopy cover and positively related to deciduous cover. The effect of evergreen canopy was significant at a local scale between 2 m and 42 m, while that of deciduous canopy was significant at a meso-scale between 150 m and 358 m. Fractal analysis indicated that buffaloberry heterogeneity positively scaled with evergreen canopy heterogeneity, but was unrelated to that of deciduous canopy. This study demonstrates that evergreen canopy cover is a determinant of buffaloberry heterogeneity, highlighting the importance of spatial scale and canopy composition in understanding canopy-understory relationships. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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2772 KiB  
Article
Spatial Patterns of Canopy Disturbance, Structure, and Species Composition in a Multi-Cohort Hardwood Stand
by Scott Ford, Jonathan Kleinman and Justin Hart
Forests 2017, 8(3), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8030093 - 21 Mar 2017
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6103
Abstract
Multi-cohort stands are increasingly recognized and valued because of their biological functioning, biological diversity, and resistance and resiliency to perturbations. These forest ecosystems are epitomized by multiple age classes, and often contain multiple canopy layers, a range of tree size classes, and large [...] Read more.
Multi-cohort stands are increasingly recognized and valued because of their biological functioning, biological diversity, and resistance and resiliency to perturbations. These forest ecosystems are epitomized by multiple age classes, and often contain multiple canopy layers, a range of tree size classes, and large amounts of woody debris. Disturbance history reconstructions in multi-cohort stands provide an understanding of the processes that create these systems. In this study, we documented structure and composition, and used dendroecological techniques to reconstruct disturbance history on a 1 ha plot in a multi-cohort hardwood stand in the Fall Line Hills of Alabama. The stand was dominated by Quercus alba L. and Liriodendron tulipifera L. Mingling index and stem maps indicated that most species were well dispersed throughout the stand, with the exception of L. tulipifera and Carya tomentosa (Poiret) Nuttal, which were relatively clustered. The oldest trees in the stand established in the 1770s, however, the largest recruitment event occurred ca. 1945 in conjunction with a stand-wide canopy disturbance. We posit that spatial heterogeneity of canopy removal during this event was largely responsible for the observed compositional and spatial complexity documented in the stand. In addition to the 1945 event, we recorded another stand-wide canopy disturbance in 1906 and 84 gap-scale disturbance events from 1802 to 2003. The conditions documented in the stand can be used as a benchmark to guide the creation and maintenance of complex multi-cohort stand characteristics, an increasingly popular management goal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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3718 KiB  
Article
Prevalence of Inter-Tree Competition and Its Role in Shaping the Community Structure of a Natural Mongolian Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) Forest
by Hongxiang Wang, Pan Wan, Qianxue Wang, Ling Liu, Gongqiao Zhang and Gangying Hui
Forests 2017, 8(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/f8030084 - 16 Mar 2017
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5238
Abstract
Inter-tree competition is considered one of the most important ecological processes of forest development. However, its importance in structuring the spatial patterns of plant communities remains controversial. We collected observational data from two plots in a natural Mongolian Scots pine forest to study [...] Read more.
Inter-tree competition is considered one of the most important ecological processes of forest development. However, its importance in structuring the spatial patterns of plant communities remains controversial. We collected observational data from two plots in a natural Mongolian Scots pine forest to study the contribution of competition to tree growth, mortality, and size inequality. We used the nearest neighbour method to determine the presence of competition, and unmarked and marked spatial point pattern analyses to test the density-dependent mortality effects and the spatial autocorrelation of tree size. We identified significant positive correlations between tree canopy diameter and nearest neighbour distance in both plots, which were more evident in the denser plot. The pair correlation functions of both plots indicated regular distribution patterns of living trees, and trees living in more crowded environments were more likely to die. However, the mark differentiation characteristics showed weak evidence of a negative spatial autocorrelation in tree size, particularly in the high-density plot. The high mortality rate of suppressed trees and weak asymmetric competition may have accounted for the lack of dissimilarity in tree size. This study showed that inter-tree competition is an important determinant of the development of Mongolian Scots pine forests.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Successional Dynamics of Forest Structure and Function)
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