Search Results (4)

Effective forest management is essential for mitigating climate change effects. This is why understanding forest growth dynamics is critical for its sustainable management. Thus, characterizing forest plot deadwood levels is vital for understanding forest dynamics, and for assessments of biomass, carbon stock, and biodiversity. For the first time, this study used the leaf area index (LAI) and L-moments to characterize and model forest plot deadwood levels in the Bavarian Forest National Park from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. This study proposes methods that can be tested for forests, especially those in temperate climates with frequent cloud coverage and limited access. The proposed method is practically significant for effective planning and management of forest resources. First, plot decay levels were characterized based on their canopy leaf area density (LAD). Then, the deadwood levels were modeled to assess the relationships between the vegetation area index (VAI), gap fraction (GF), and the third L-moment ratio (T3). Finally, we tested the rule-based methods for classifying plot decay levels based on their biophysical structures. Our results per the LAD vertical profiles clearly showed the declining levels of decay from Level 1 to 5. Our findings from the models indicate that at a 95% confidence interval, 96% of the variation in GF was explained by the VAI with a significant negative association (VAIslope = −0.047; R² = 0.96; (p < 0.001)), while the VAI explained 92% of the variation in T3 with a significant negative association (VAIslope = −0.50; R² = 0.92; (p < 0.001)). Testing the rule-based methods, we found that the first rule (Lcv = 0.5) classified Levels 1 and 2 at (Lcv < 0.5) against Levels 3 to 5 at (Lcv > 0.5). However, the second rule (Lskew = 0) classified Level 1 (healthy plots) as closed canopy areas (Lskew < 0) against Levels 2 to 5 (deadwood) as open canopy areas (Lskew > 0). This approach is simple and more convenient for forest managers to exploit for mapping large forest gap areas for planning and managing forest resources for improved and effective forest management. Full article

Deforestation and degradation of mangrove forests can be categorized as key environmental problems in Indonesia. These problems are majorly driven by overexploitation and the conversion of mangroves into brackish water aquaculture areas. One of the most common aquaculture systems traditionally developed in the coastal areas is the mangrove-fish pond system that combines fish production with existing trees. This study aims to analyze the environmental and economic aspects of mangrove-fish pond aquaculture in different levels of mangrove cover in the coastal area of Subang District, West Java, Indonesia. The spatial analysis method was used to analyze mangrove distribution and identify the current coverage in the aquaculture area. The economic aspect was analyzed, based on the costs and revenue from fish production, while the environmental aspect was represented by carbon storage, which is among the crucial mangrove ecosystem services. This study estimated carbon storage in the four-carbon pools: above- and below-ground biomass, deadwood, and litterfall. Based on the combination of visual interpretation of Sentinel 2A satellite images and field observations, approximately 667 ha of mangrove-fish pond was identified. This study found that there were no significant differences in fish production and net income from mangrove-fish pond aquaculture at various levels of mangrove cover. Meanwhile, the ponds with high mangrove cover stored higher carbon than those with medium and low mangrove covers. This indicates that maintaining carbon storage does not reduce fish production from mangrove-fish pond aquaculture. Full article

Deadwood is an important component of forests that fulfils many ecosystem functions. The occurrence, amount and spatial distribution of deadwood in forest ecosystems depend on tree species composition, historical development and past management. In this presented study, we assessed the total amount of deadwood, including fine and coarse woody debris at five areas of predominantly broadleaved forests within the University Forest Enterprise of the Technical University in Zvolen, Slovakia that had been disturbed by windstorm Žofia in 2014. Windthrown wood was salvaged between May 2014 and October 2015. In the year 2018, we performed an inventory of deadwood that remained on-site after salvage logging. The mean volume of deadwood recorded at sample plots fluctuated between 35.96 m³/ha and 176.06 m³/ha and mean deadwood coverage values at individual disturbed areas ranged from 7.27 to 17.91%. In the work, we derived several models for the estimation of deadwood volume based on deadwood coverage and/or diameter, which showed that these characteristics are good proxies of deadwood volume. The tests, involving close-range photogrammetry methods for deadwood quantification, revealed that the number of pieces and the coverage of deadwood recorded in photos was significantly lower than the values derived from field measurements. Full article

Stand-replacing disturbance and post-disturbance salvage-logging influence forest succession in different ways; however, limited knowledge regarding how salvage-logging affects vegetation patterns compared to natural development of forest ecosystems is still lacking. In this study, we described the diversity pattern of understory vegetation and tree regeneration in mountain spruce forest of Tatra Mountains, northern Slovakia, where a high severity windstorm affecting over 10,000 ha occurred in 2004. The area was consequently subjected to salvage-logging. We asked how the species composition, vegetation diversity, and its spatial heterogeneity were modified by severe salvage-logging. Vascular plants, deadwood coverage, and tree species densities were monitored on non-intervention (NI; n = 108) and salvage-logged (SL; n = 95) experimental plots (spatially nested design, sample plot area 3.14 m²) six and seven years after disturbance, respectively. The NI sites were structurally more diverse with post-windstorms legacies such as deadwood and pit and mound topography being recorded. The NI plots contained more late-successional plant and moss species that are commonly found in the pre-disturbance forest. The NI plots were also more diverse in terms of alpha- and beta-diversity with abundant natural regeneration of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst). The structure of SL site was more homogeneous and its species composition shifted towards being dominated by grasses, although the site accommodated a higher number of plant species due to newly established pioneer plant- and tree species. The retreat of late-successional species in favour of grasses can lead to structural and functional homogenization of habitat and to delayed succession towards establishment of spruce forest. We conclude that the removal of wind-disturbance legacies significantly diverts natural successional pathways. We recommend avoiding salvage-logging in protected areas since large-scale application of salvage-logging reduces beta-diversity of the landscape. Full article