Download or read book Impact of Tree Species Diversity on Water and Carbon Relations in European Forests written by Charlotte Grossiord and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity is known to support and boost a wide range of forest ecosystem functions and services like productivity and resistance against insect pests and diseases. However, whether tree species diversity also promotes water and carbon acquisition and use in forest ecosystems is still unclear. Furthermore, in the current context of global warming, information on how tree species diversity can influence the response of forest ecosystems to extreme climatic events such as drought are urgently needed. In this framework, the objective of my PhD thesis was to determine how tree species diversity influences important functions of the water and carbon cycle including transpiration, carbon isotope composition and water extraction depth at the tree- and ecosystem-Scale under contrasting soil water conditions. My work was conducted within the FunDivEUROPE project in a network of permanent forest stands and tree plantations across a North-South gradient in Europecovering a wide range of climatic conditions. I found considerable variability among species or forest types in the response of transpiration and carbon isotope composition at the tree- and ecosystem-Scale across Europe. Species diversity did not affect the water and carbon relations of tree species and forest ecosystems under non-Limiting soil water conditions. However, a strong effect of species diversity was observed under drought conditions in some forest types. Based on these data, I discuss the potential mechanisms of species interactions that may explain the observed patterns. I also point out that the influence of species diversity is highly context-Dependent, and changes with local environmental and climatic conditions. In terms of forest management applications, I suggest that, at least in some regions, controlling for tree species diversity along with stand density and total basal area could be recommended to help forests adapt to drier conditions.
Download or read book Effects of Tree Species Diversity and Soil Drought on Productivity Water Consumption and Hydraulic Functioning of Five Temperate Broad leaved Tree Species written by Torben Lübbe and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity is by now widely known to strengthen functioning and services, like primary production and element cycling, for a broad range of ecosystem types. However, it is less clear yet if and how this relationship also applies for forest ecosystems. Moreover, trees are supposed to be highly susceptible to deficient water supply. In this context, it seems to be most interesting whether mixed species forests might be better buffered against the climate change-induced threat of increasing drought events than monocultural stands. Under consideration of these questions a tree diversity exper...
Download or read book Impacts of Global Change on Tree Physiology and Forest Ecosystems written by G.M.J. Mohren and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These proceedings fonn the outcome of an International Conference on "Impacts of Global change on Tree Physiology and Forest Ecosystems ", held from 26-29 November 1996, at Wageningen, The Netherlands. The conference brought together biologists, ecologists, and forest scientist working in the field of impacts of elevated CO and air pollution on tree physiology and forest ecosystems, and marked the 2 completion of a European COST action on "Impacts of Elevated C02 levels and Air Pollutants on Tree Physiology" (ICAT / COST-614), as well as the conclusion of the frrst phase of an EU-funded project entitled "Long-Term Effects of C02 and Climate Change on European Forests (LTEEF) ", that was carried out under the Environment and Climate Programme of the 4th Framework Programme (contract no's EV5V-CT94-0468 and PECOINIS-CT94-0112). The conference aimed to present an overview of current knowledge of effects of air pollution and climate change, at the biophysical, biochemical and physiological level of trees, against the background of climatic conditions and natural stresses. For the proceedings, we have asked the authors to provide an overview of their recent work, providing an entrance to a particular field of research rather than presenting unpublished material. The meeting took place at the International Agricultural Centre (lAC) with fmancial support provided by the COST-614 secretariat in Brussels. We like to thank mrs. A. van der Bunte of lAC for her support in organising the meeting, mr. A. J. H.
Download or read book Causes and Consequences of Species Diversity in Forest Ecosystems written by Aaron M. Ellison and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue Causes and Consequences of Species Diversity in Forest Ecosystems that was published in Forests
Download or read book Forest Diversity and Function written by Michael Scherer-Lorenzen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-12-17 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the central research themes in ecology is evaluating the extent to which biological richness is necessary to sustain the Earth's system and the functioning of individual ecosystems. In this volume, for the first time, the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem processes in forests is thoroughly explored. The text examines the multiple effects of tree diversity on productivity and growth, biogeochemical cycles, animals, pests, and disturbances. Further, the importance of diversity at different scales, ranging from stand management to global issues, is considered. The authors provide both extensive reviews of the existing literature and own datasets. The volume is ideally suited for researchers and practitioners involved in ecosystem management and the sustainable use of forest resources.
Download or read book Water and Carbon Dynamics Ecosystem Stability of Forest and Grassland in Response to Climate Change written by Xiaoming Kang and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2024-04-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forest and grassland ecosystems are the most important carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems. They can maintain or enhance carbon stocks and sinks in biomass, and play vital roles in mitigating climate change. China is taking action to achieve its carbon peak and carbon-neutral targets. Climate change, particularly the increase in the frequency, severity, and extent of drought, will affect the stability of the forest and grassland. How forests and grassland mitigate and adapt to climate change is still a challenge. Exploring the response of the forest and grassland to extreme climate events contributes to improving vegetation quality and enhancing the ability to respond to climate change.
Download or read book Causes and Consequences of Forest Growth Trends in Europe written by Hans-Peter Kahle and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008-05-31 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forest growth in Europe has been increasing during the last decades. The possible causes suggested to explain this have been increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, improved temperature and precipitation climate, increasing nitrogen deposition and better management. In this book complementary approaches are used to discriminate between the importance of each of these factors. Investigations over large geographical areas are used to separate current variability while detailed studies of the growth of individual trees allow historical trends to be evaluated. Four different mechanistic forest ecosystem models supplement the empirical investigations. The major cause of the observed growth increase is attributed to the increased nitrogen availability. In future, direct temperature effects and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are likely to become important determinants of forest growth. Anyone interested in the future of production and health of Europe's forests should benefit form this extensive analysis of the current status and projections of forest growth.
Download or read book Spatiotemporal Effects of Climate on the Relationship Between Tree Diversity and Forest Ecosystem Functioning written by Masumi Hisano and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Worldwide, forest ecosystem functioning and plant diversity have been altered by global environmental change. Understanding the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning with long-term environmental change is important because maintaining diversity can mitigate the impacts of environmental change on ecosystem functioning. Here, I i) developed a concept that can elucidate how enhancing plant diversity may help mitigate global environmental change impacts on ecosystem functioning; ii) empirically tested this concept in natural forest systems by examining whether higher tree diversity enhances and reduces positive and negative impacts of long-term environmental change on forest biomass dynamics (biomass growth, loss, and net biomass change); iii) explored effects of spatial variations in climate on the relationship between tree functional diversity and forest biomass dynamics; and iv) investigated how spatial variations in climate mediate the impacts of long-term environmental change on tree functional composition. In order to establish the concept of how tree diversity can mitigate the impacts of global environmental change on forest ecosystem functioning, I reviewed the field of climate change effects on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning. I found mixed evidence for positive diversity effects on ecosystem functioning persistent before and after experiencing changes in climates within grassland communities, but strong support in the few studies conducted in forest ecosystems which are more stable and resilient at higher levels of diversity. I identify the importance of future research combining investigations into climate change impacts on ecosystem functionality with the B-EF. I concluded that biodiversity can hold certain potential to be a solution to mitigate environmental change impacts. Using inventory data of boreal forests of western Canada from 1958-2011, I revealed that aboveground biomass growth of species-rich forests increased with the calendar year but that of species-poor forests decreased. Moreover, species-rich forests experienced less aboveground biomass loss from tree mortality than species-poor forests. I found that the growth of species-rich forests, but not species-poor forests, was positively associated with elevated CO2. Mortality in species-poor forests increased more with decreasing water availability than species-rich forests. In contrast, growth decreased, and mortality increased as the climate warmed regardless of species diversity. The results of this study suggest that promoting high tree diversity may help reduce the climate and environmental change vulnerability of boreal forests.
Download or read book Ecology of Central European Forests written by Christoph Leuschner and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-09-22 with total page 998 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook in two volumes synthesises our knowledge about the ecology of Central Europe’s plant cover with its 7000-yr history of human impact, covering Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Based on a thorough literature review with 5500 cited references and nearly 1000 figures and tables, the two books review in 26 chapters all major natural and man-made vegetation types with their climatic and edaphic influences, the structure and dynamics of their communities, the ecophysiology of important plant species, and key aspects of ecosystem functioning. Volume I deals with the forests and scrub vegetation and analyses the ecology of Central Europe’s tree flora, whilst Volume II is dedicated to the non-forest vegetation covering mires, grasslands, heaths, alpine habitats and urban vegetation. The consequences of over-use, pollution and recent climate change over the last century are explored and conservation issues addressed.
Download or read book Ecosystem Goods and Services from Plantation Forests written by Jürgen Bauhus and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2010 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plantation forests often have a negative image. They are typically assumed to be poor substitutes for natural forests, particularly in terms of biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, provision of clean drinking water and other non-timber goods and services. Often they are monocultures that do not appear to invite people for recreation and other direct uses. Yet as this book clearly shows, they can play a vital role in the provision of ecosystem services, when compared to agriculture and other forms of land use or when natural forests have been degraded. This is the first book to examine explicitly the non-timber goods and services provided by plantation forests, including soil, water and biodiversity conservation, as well as carbon sequestration and the provision of local livelihoods. The authors show that, if we require a higher provision of ecosystem goods and services from both temperate and tropical plantations, new approaches to their management are required. These include policies, methods for valuing the services, the practices of small landholders, landscape approaches to optimise delivery of goods and services, and technical issues about how to achieve suitable solutions at the scale of forest stands. While providing original theoretical insights, the book also gives guidance for plantation managers, policy-makers, conservation practitioners and community advocates, who seek to promote or strengthen the multiple-use of forest plantations for improved benefits for society. Published with CIFOR
Download or read book European Forests and Global Change written by Paul G. Jarvis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-10-15 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive study of the response of the major European tree species to climate change.
Download or read book Cause effect Relationships of Forest Ecosystems written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fluxes of Carbon Water and Energy of European Forests written by Riccardo Valentini and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-29 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After years of technological development and its important achievements to make our life easier and more comfortable, human society is going to face one of the most difficult challenges of the last century: to stabilize the concentra tion levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to prevent harmful effects on the climate system. Through a delicate balance between photosynthesis and respiration, terres trial ecosystems, and in particular forests, are today thought to take up a sig nificant part of the carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, sometimes called the "terrestrial carbon sink". However, the location, magnitude, and vulnerability of the carbon dioxide sink of the terrestrial biota are still uncer tain. The suite of traditional tools in an ecologist's toolbox for studying ecosys tem productivity and carbon balance include leaf cuvettes, whole-plant and soil chambers for gas exchange, and biomass and soil carbon inventories. While each of the cited methods has distinct advantages, they are limited with regards to their ability to measure net carbon dioxide exchange of the whole ecosystem across a variety of time scales. This book present a compendium of results of a European project (EURO FLUX), funded by the European Commission through its fourth framework program, aiming to elucidate the role of forests in continental carbon balance.
Download or read book Studying Tree Responses to Extreme Events written by Achim Bräuning and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2017-06-05 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trees are among the longest-living organisms. They are sensitive to extreme climatic events and document the effects of environmental changes in form of structural modifications of their tissues. These modifications represent an integrated signal of complex biological responses enforced by the environment. For example, temporal change in stem increment integrates multiple information of tree performance, and wood anatomical traits may be altered by climatic extremes or environmental stress. Recent developments in preparative tools and computational image analysis enable to quantify changes in wood anatomical features, like vessel density or vessel size. Thus, impacts on their functioning can be related to climatic forcing factors. Similarly, new developments in monitoring (cambial) phenology and mechanistic modelling are enlightening the interrelationships between environmental factors, wood formation and tree performance and mortality. Quantitative wood anatomy is a reliable indicator of drought occurrence during the growing season, and therefore has been studied intensively in recent years. The variability in wood anatomy not only alters the biological and hydraulic functioning of a tree, but may also influence the technological properties of wood, with substantial impacts in forestry. On a larger scale, alterations of sapwood and phloem area and their ratios to other functional traits provide measures to detect changes in a tree’s life functions, and increasing risk of drought-induced mortality with possible impacts on hydrological processes and species composition of plant communities. Genetic variability within and across populations is assumed to be crucial for species survival in an unpredictable future world. The magnitude of genetic variation and heritability of adaptive traits might define the ability to adapt to climate change. Is there a relation between genetic variability and resilience to climate change? Is it possible to link genetic expression and climate change to obtain deeper knowledge of functional genetics? To derive precise estimates of genetic determinism it is important to define adaptive traits in wood properties and on a whole-tree scale. Understanding the mechanisms ruling these processes is fundamental to assess the impact of extreme climate events on forest ecosystems, and to provide realistic scenarios of tree responses to changing climates. Wood is also a major carbon sink with a long-term residence, impacting the global carbon cycle. How well do we understand the link between wood growth dynamics, wood carbon allocation and the global carbon cycle? Papers contribution to this Research Topic will cover a wide range of ecosystems. However, special relevance will be given to Mediterranean-type areas. These involve coastal regions of four continents, making Mediterranean-type ecosystems extremely interesting for investigating the potential impacts of global change on growth and for studying responses of woody plants under extreme environmental conditions. For example, the ongoing trend towards warmer temperatures and reduced precipitation can increase the susceptibility to fire and pests. The EU-funded COST Action STREeSS (Studying Tree Responses to extreme Events: a SynthesiS) addresses such crucial tree biological and forest ecological issues by providing a collection of important methodological and scientific insights, about the current state of knowledge, and by opinions for future research needs.
Download or read book Dynamics Silviculture and Management of Mixed Forests written by Andrés Bravo-Oviedo and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The capacity of mixed forests to mitigate climate change effects by increasing resilience and lowering risks is pinpointed as an opportunity to highlight the role of tree species rich forests as part of complex socio-ecological systems. This book updates and presents the state-of-the-art of mixed forest performance in terms of regeneration, growth, yield and delivery of ecosystem services. Examples from more than 20 countries in Europe, North Africa and South America provide insights on the interplay between structure and functionining, stability, silviculture and optimization of management of this type of forests. The book also analyses the role of natural mixed forests and mixed plantations in the delivery of ecosystem services and the best modelling strategy to study mixed forest dynamics. The book is intended to serve as a reference tool for students, researchers and professionals concerned about the management of mixed forests in a context of social and environmental change.
Download or read book Quantifying Functional Biodiversity written by Laura Pla and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-11-02 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book synthesizes current methods used to quantify functional diversity, providing step-by-step examples for defining functional groups and estimating functional indices. The authors show how to compare communities, and how to analyze changes of diversity along environmental gradients, using real-life examples throughout. One section of the book demonstrates the selection of traits, and the standardization and characterization of ecosystem data. Another section presents methods used to quantify functional diversity, shows how to relate functional diversity with environmental variables and how to connect these to ecosystem services. The concluding section introduces FDiversity, a free program developed by the authors. The reader is guided through every step from software installation and basic functions, to sample and database design, to graphical projection methods, employing case study data to illustrate key concepts.
Download or read book Global Climate Change and Human Impacts on Forest Ecosystems written by J. Puhe and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inclusion of forests as potential biological sinks in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1997 has attracted international attention and again has put scientific and political focus on the world's forests, regarding their state and development. The international discus sion induced by the Kyoto Protocol has clearly shown that not only the tropical rain forests are endangered by man's activities, but also that the forest ecosystems of boreal, temperate, mediterranean and subtropical regions have been drastically modified. Deforestation on a large scale, burning, over-exploitation, and the degra dation of the biological diversity are well-known symptoms in forests all over the world. This negative development happens in spite of the already existing knowledge of the benefits of forests on global energy and water regimes, the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and other elements as well as on the biological and cultural diversity. The reasons why man does not take care of forests properly are manifold and complex and there is no easy solution how to change the existing negative trends. One reason that makes it so difficult to assess the impacts of human activity on the future development of forests is the large time scale in which forests react, ranging from decades to centuries.
