We present a new method for the classification of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest plots based on discriminant and frequency analysis. This method can be used as a tool to allow experts to stratify beech forests in a simple and precise way. The meth...
We studied species turnover and changes of ecological conditions and plant strategies on forest gaps created by natural disturbances (sleet, windthrow). We studied five forest gaps and a control plot within in the Dinaric silver fir-beech forest in t...
The interest to assess the relationship between forest gap characteristics and topography features has been growing in the last decades. However, such an approach has not been studied in undisturbed mixed sessile oak–beech old-growth forests. T...
Research Highlights: Investigations of evapotranspiration in a mature mixed beech-fir forest stand do not indicate higher resilience towards intensified drying-wetting cycles as compared with pure beech stands. Background and Objectives: Forest manag...
In forested regions, transpiration as a main component of evaporation fluxes is important for evaporation partitioning. Physiological behaviours among various vegetation species are quite different. Thus, an accurate estimation of the transpiration r...
In the near future, it is predicted that the natural distribution range of forest tree species will be reshaped due to the rapid changes in climate conditions. The assisted migration of species in favorable environmental conditions, as future solutio...
Precipitation retained by tree canopies (~25%) is a key part of the forest water cycle, making our understanding of it vital for ecohydrological studies. Canopy interception varies seasonally with changes in canopy storage capacity. While remote sens...
The study investigates the links and interactions between soil properties, soil microorganisms and the structure of a primary beech forest. The study was performed in the reserve Havešová (Bukovské vrchy Mts., Slovakia). On 40 sa...
During the last decade, tree species mixing has been widely supported as a silvicultural approach to reduce drought stress. However, little is known on the influence of tree species mixing on physical properties and the water storage capacity of fore...
Forest understory vegetation is largely influenced by disturbances and given local abiotic conditions. Our research focuses on the early response of understory vegetation to various forest management intensities in Dinaric fir-beech forests in Sloven...
Assessments of synergies and trade-offs between climate change mitigation and forest biodiversity conservation have focused on set-aside areas. We evaluated a more comprehensive portfolio of silvicultural management adaptations to climate change and...
Unmanaged forests are remnants of natural ecosystems that provide a basis for close-to-nature silvicultural research and applications. These forests have high amounts of dead wood, and although this material is being increasingly studied, the diversi...
The environmental, social and economic potential of Dinaric uneven-aged forests along with the complex stand dynamics influenced by different long-term management approaches and environmental factors require comprehensive forest monitoring. This stud...
The availability of new fAPAR satellite products requires simultaneous efforts in validation to provide users with a better comprehension of product performance and evaluation of uncertainties. This study aimed to validate three fAPAR satellite produ...
In this study, a comprehensive analysis of deadwood was conducted in four macro-areas located in two beech forests of public utility in Enciso (La Rioja, Spain). Dendrometric data, as well as qualitative and quantitative characteristics of deadwood,...
Monoculture forests formed by Fagus sylvatica L. belong to one of the most sensitive forest ecosystems, mainly at low altitudes. Cultivation of this species in mixed stands should reduce its sensitivity to drought in the vegetation period, which is w...
The aim of this work was to assess the possible impacts on the forest soil and stand due to silvicultural treatment and forest operations in a beech high forest. Even aged beech forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) in the Municipality of Cappadocia (L’Aquil...
Mycoparasites are a collection of fungicolous eukaryotic organisms that occur on and are antagonistic to a wide range of plant pathogenic fungi. To date, this fungal group has largely been neglected by biodiversity studies. However, this fungal group...
Beech (Fagus spp.) is one of the most common tree species in Europe and Western Asia. The implementation of sustainable forest Operations (SFOs) in beech forests is therefore crucial in terms of sustainable forest management. This review summarises t...
In order to develop adequate adaptation measures for environmental vulnerability, we need detailed knowledge on the climatic performance of forest ecosystems. In this study, we aim to explore climate function variability of lowland beech forest distr...
Beech forests in the Italian peninsula are actively managed and they also support a high level of biodiversity. Hence, biodiversity conservation can be synergistic with timber production and carbon sequestration, enhancing the overall economic benefi...
The regional effects of climate change on forest ecosystems in the temperate climate zone of Europe can be modelled as shifts of forest vegetation zones in the landscape, northward and to higher elevations. This study applies a biogeographical model...
Enzymes play a key-role in organic matter dynamics and strong scientific attention has been given to them lately, especially to their response to climate and substrate chemical composition. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the effects of c...
This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and therefore subjected to different environmental conditions. The research goal was to understand C storage in the forest floor and mineral soil and the maj...
The tree belowground compartment, especially fine roots, plays a relevant role in the forest ecosystem carbon (C) cycle, contributing largely to soil CO2 efflux (SR) and to net primary production (NPP). Beyond the well-known role of environmental dri...
The presented study demonstrates a bi-sensor approach suitable for rapid and precise up-to-date mapping of forest canopy gaps for the larger spatial extent. The approach makes use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) red, green and blue (RGB) images on s...
The distribution of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), similar to other tree species, depends on habitat conditions (climate, soil, and location), which are further affected by forest management. The analysis of...
The European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a tree species common throughout Europe, with the eastern boundary of its range extending across Poland. Samples were collected in several microhabitats of beech stands (e.g., leaf litter, rotting wood, moss...
The promotion of mixed forests represents an adaptation strategy in forest management to cope with climate change. The mixing of tree species with complementary ecological traits may modify forest functioning regarding productivity, stability, or res...
In European mountains most beech forest areas have been managed for timber production. This practice has reduced the availability of biomass for the whole forest-dwelling species assemblage and of deadwood for the saproxylic community. Despite most o...
In southeast Europe, silvicultural measures for improving forest protective effects against rockfall are often based on unsystematic observation and experience. We compared formalised expert assessment of forest protective effects and silvicultural d...
The herbaceous vegetation and forest stand characteristics in European beech forests growing in the Polish part of the Eastern Carpathians have changed over the last 40 years. This has been influenced by many factors, including land-use change, fores...
In this work, we studied the effects of centenary Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) afforestation on topsoil properties conducted in a deforested area that was previously occupied by a natural European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest. Organic layers...
Wind in Europe is the main disturbing factor and the greatest damaging agent of forest stands, causing three times the annual damage caused by fires each year. The amount of trees destroyed by wind annually in Europe is over 38 million cubic meters....
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the complex dependence of herbaceous plant diversity on forest structure and management. However, among the studies presented so far, those in which the chronosequence (approach based on the assu...
A previous study demonstrated that spontaneous forest recovery can result in the development of functional mixed forests in post-mining areas. A critical step in this process is the establishment of climax woody species in the understory of pioneer t...
This study aimed to assess the impact of different biochar (BCH) applications (0%, 10%, 20%, and 50%, v/v) on soil respiration in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest located in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The experiment was conducted...
Biochar (BCH) amendments represent a valuable strategy for increasing forest carbon stock, but their effects on soil respiration of beech forests under climate change are largely unknown. We conducted a short-term mesocosm experiment investigating th...
Early regeneration is a critical life stage that affects the future species composition of forests. Knowledge about regeneration success under different environmental conditions allows better understanding of forest dynamics. We studied the effects o...
This study examines the impact of ungulate browsing on the understory dynamics of the Cansiglio Forest, the only European beech high forest in the Southern Limestone Alps. Utilizing seven pairs of fenced versus unfenced forest stands established over...
Partitioning of evapotranspiration (ET) into transpiration (T) and residual evaporation (E) is a challenging but important task in order to assess the dynamics of increasingly scarce water resources in forest ecosystems. The T/ET ratio has been linke...
Old-growth forests are a unique source of information for close-to-nature silviculture. In the National Nature Reserve Dobročský prales (Slovakia), a remnant of mixed old-growth forests of the Western Carpathians, we analyzed changes in tree s...
An increasing amount of research is focusing on comparing productivity in monospecific versus mixed stands, although it is difficult to reach a general consensus as mixing effects differ both in sign (over-yielding or under-yielding) and magnitude de...
Effective initiatives for forest-based mitigation of climate change rely on continuous efforts to improve the estimation of forest biomass. Allometric biomass models, which are nonlinear models that predict aboveground biomass (AGB) as a function of...
Wood quality has been an ongoing concern for science, having become increasingly important in the current context, in which the demand for wood is increasing and forest fires are more frequent and violent. This study aims to evaluate the quality of w...
The understory of temperate forests harbour most of the plant species diversity present in these ecosystems. The maintenance of this diversity is strongly dependent on canopy gap formation, a disturbance naturally happening in non-managed forests, wh...
In the northern Appalachian region of North America, mortality of mature American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) via the introduced beech bark disease (BBD) can result in dense thickets of beech saplings that inhibit the regeneration of other specie...
In the context of global warming and increasing wildfire occurrence, this study aims to examine, for the first time, the changes in multi-level biodiversity and key soil features related to soil functioning in a burned Mediterranean beech forest. Two...
Research Highlights: Management of the risks forests are exposed to is based on the dynamics of the composition and structure of the stands and the forest. Background and Objectives: This study aimed to document the dynamics of the composition and st...
Several recent studies have reported a marked increase in American beech dominance (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) relative to sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in late successional forests of North America. However, many factors have been proposed to ex...
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