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Muise ER, Andrew ME, Coops NC, Hermosilla T, Burton AC, Ban SS. Disentangling linkages between satellite-derived indicators of forest structure and productivity for ecosystem monitoring. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13717. [PMID: 38877188 PMCID: PMC11178816 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64615-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The essential biodiversity variables (EBV) framework has been proposed as a monitoring system of standardized, comparable variables that represents a minimum set of biological information to monitor biodiversity change at large spatial extents. Six classes of EBVs (genetic composition, species populations, species traits, community composition, ecosystem structure and ecosystem function) are defined, a number of which are ideally suited to observation and monitoring by remote sensing systems. We used moderate-resolution remotely sensed indicators representing two ecosystem-level EBV classes (ecosystem structure and function) to assess their complementarity and redundancy across a range of ecosystems encompassing significant environmental gradients. Redundancy analyses found that remote sensing indicators of forest structure were not strongly related to indicators of ecosystem productivity (represented by the Dynamic Habitat Indices; DHIs), with the structural information only explaining 15.7% of the variation in the DHIs. Complex metrics of forest structure, such as aboveground biomass, did not contribute additional information over simpler height-based attributes that can be directly estimated with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) observations. With respect to ecosystem conditions, we found that forest types and ecosystems dominated by coniferous trees had less redundancy between the remote sensing indicators when compared to broadleaf or mixed forest types. Likewise, higher productivity environments exhibited the least redundancy between indicators, in contrast to more environmentally stressed regions. We suggest that biodiversity researchers continue to exploit multiple dimensions of remote sensing data given the complementary information they provide on structure and function focused EBVs, which makes them jointly suitable for monitoring forest ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan R Muise
- Department of Forest Resource Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Margaret E Andrew
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Murdoch University, 90 South St, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Nicholas C Coops
- Department of Forest Resource Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Txomin Hermosilla
- Canadian Forest Service (Pacific Forestry Centre), Natural Resources Canada, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, BC, V8Z 1M5, Canada
| | - A Cole Burton
- Department of Forest Resource Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Stephen S Ban
- BC Parks, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Stn Prov Govt, PO Box 9360, Victoria, BC, V8V 9M2, Canada
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2
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Kang P, Cheng J, Hu J, Jing Y, Wang J, Yang H, Ding X, Yan X. Quercus wutaishanica shrub affects temperate forest community composition and soil properties under different restoration stage. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0294159. [PMID: 37976250 PMCID: PMC10655981 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Quercus wutaishanica is the dominant tree species in the natural ecosystem restoration of temperate forests in China, and it plays an active role in maintaining ecological balance. However, little is known about how ecosystem versatility develops during the restoration of forest ecosystems dominated by Q. wutaishanica. In this study, we investigated the species composition of the Q. wutaishanica community, soil nutrients, and their functional traits at various restoration stages, and comprehensively analyzed the correlations among them. At the early stage of restoration (10 years of restoration), there were Spiraea pubescens and Syringa pubescens in Q. wutaishanica community (87% of the total species), while had a larger niche width. In the middle of restoration (30 years of restoration), shannon and evenness indices were the largest, while soil total carbon, ammonium nitrogen and chlorophyll content of Q. wutaishanica leaves were the highest; among them, soil total carbon was 15.7% higher than that in 10 years of restoration, 32.4% higher than that in 40 years of restoration, ammonium nitrogen was 71.7% higher than that in 40 years of restoration, and chlorophyll content was 217.9% higher than that in 10 years of restoration, and 51.8% higher than that in 40 years of restoration. At the later stage of restoration (40 years of restoration), Lonicera ferdinandii occupied the dominant ecological niche, and soil available nitrogen, available phosphorus content and leaf thickness were the largest; while AN was 10.9% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 16.5% higher than that of 30 years of restoration, AP was 60.6% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 21.6% higher than that of 30 years of restoration, leaf thickness was 22.3% higher than that of 10 years of restoration, 84.9% higher than that of 30 years of restoration. However, the restriction of various soil nutrients was reduced. Our study highlighted the effectiveness of soil resource availability in plant communities during restoration, reduced competition for light among plants, and altered species richness. Furthermore, changes in the interrelationship between plant community composition and leaf functional traits of the dominant species responded positively to community restoration. These results further deepen our understanding of forest management and restoration of forest communities. In the future, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the influence of various factors on forest community restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Kang
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Yinchuan, China
| | - Jiming Cheng
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Jinpeng Hu
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yongshun Jing
- Forest Tree Breeding Center, Liupanshan Forestry Bureau, Guyuan, China
| | - Jing Wang
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Yinchuan, China
| | - Hui Yang
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xiaodong Ding
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xingfu Yan
- College of Biological Sciences and Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China
- Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection of Agro-Pastoral Ecotones in the Yellow River Basin, National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Yinchuan, China
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3
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Yao Z, Yang X, Wang B, Shao X, Wen H, Deng Y, Zhang Z, Cao M, Lin L. Multidimensional beta-diversity across local and regional scales in a Chinese subtropical forest: The role of forest structure. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10607. [PMID: 37881223 PMCID: PMC10597745 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Beta-diversity, or the spatio-temporal variation in community composition, can be partitioned into turnover and nestedness components in a multidimensional framework. Forest structure, including comprehensive characteristics of vertical and horizontal complexity, strongly affects species composition and its spatial variation. However, the effects of forest structure on beta-diversity patterns in multidimensional and multiple-scale contexts are poorly understood. Here, we assessed beta-diversity at local (a 20-ha forest dynamics plot) and regional (a plot network composed of 19 1-ha plots) scales in a Chinese subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. We then evaluated the relative importance of forest structure, topography, and spatial structure on beta-diversity and its turnover and nestedness components in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic dimensions at local and regional scales. We derived forest structural parameters from both unmanned aerial vehicle light detection and ranging (UAV LiDAR) data and plot inventory data. Turnover component dominated total beta-diversity for all dimensions at the two scales. With the exception of some components (taxonomic and functional turnover at the local scale; functional nestedness at the regional scale), environmental factors (i.e., topography and forest structure) contributed more than pure spatial variation. Explanations of forest structure for beta-diversity and its component patterns at the local scale were higher than those at the regional scale. The joint effects of spatial structure and forest structure influenced component patterns in all dimensions (except for functional turnover) to some extent at the local scale, while pure forest structure influenced taxonomic and phylogenetic nestedness patterns to some extent at the regional scale. Our results highlight the importance and scale dependence of forest structure in shaping multidimensional beta-diversity and its component patterns. Clearly, further studies need to link forest structure directly to ecological processes (e.g., asymmetric light competition and disturbance dynamics) and explore its roles in biodiversity maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiliang Yao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xin Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- School of Ecology and EnvironmentHainan UniversityHaikouChina
| | - Bin Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences & Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded EnvironmentsYunnan UniversityKunmingChina
- School of the EnvironmentUniversity of WindsorWindsorCanada
| | - Xiaona Shao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Handong Wen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at AilaoshanJingdongYunnanChina
| | - Yun Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at XishuangbannaMenglaYunnanChina
| | - Zhiming Zhang
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences & Yunnan Key Laboratory for Plateau Mountain Ecology and Restoration of Degraded EnvironmentsYunnan UniversityKunmingChina
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Luxiang Lin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest EcologyXishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
- National Forest Ecosystem Research Station at XishuangbannaMenglaYunnanChina
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Multi-model approach to integrate climate change impact on carbon sequestration potential of afforestation scenarios in Quebec, Canada. Ecol Modell 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.110144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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5
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Aszalós R, Thom D, Aakala T, Angelstam P, Brūmelis G, Gálhidy L, Gratzer G, Hlásny T, Katzensteiner K, Kovács B, Knoke T, Larrieu L, Motta R, Müller J, Ódor P, Roženbergar D, Paillet Y, Pitar D, Standovár T, Svoboda M, Szwagrzyk J, Toscani P, Keeton WS. Natural disturbance regimes as a guide for sustainable forest management in Europe. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2596. [PMID: 35340078 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In Europe, forest management has controlled forest dynamics to sustain commodity production over multiple centuries. Yet over-regulation for growth and yield diminishes resilience to environmental stress as well as threatens biodiversity, leading to increasing forest susceptibility to an array of disturbances. These trends have stimulated interest in alternative management systems, including natural dynamics silviculture (NDS). NDS aims to emulate natural disturbance dynamics at stand and landscape scales through silvicultural manipulations of forest structure and landscape patterns. We adapted a "Comparability Index" (CI) to assess convergence/divergence between natural disturbances and forest management effects. We extended the original CI concept based on disturbance size and frequency by adding the residual structure of canopy trees after a disturbance as a third dimension. We populated the model by compiling data on natural disturbance dynamics and management from 13 countries in Europe, covering four major forest types (i.e., spruce, beech, oak, and pine-dominated forests). We found that natural disturbances are highly variable in size, frequency, and residual structure, but European forest management fails to encompass this complexity. Silviculture in Europe is skewed toward even-aged systems, used predominately (72.9% of management) across the countries assessed. The residual structure proved crucial in the comparison of natural disturbances and silvicultural systems. CI indicated the highest congruence between uneven-aged silvicultural systems and key natural disturbance attributes. Even so, uneven-aged practices emulated only a portion of the complexity associated with natural disturbance effects. The remaining silvicultural systems perform poorly in terms of retention compared to tree survivorship after natural disturbances. We suggest that NDS can enrich Europe's portfolio of management systems, for example where wood production is not the primary objective. NDS is especially relevant to forests managed for habitat quality, risk reduction, and a variety of ecosystem services. We suggest a holistic approach integrating NDS with more conventional practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Réka Aszalós
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Dominik Thom
- Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
- Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
- Institute of Silviculture, Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Tuomas Aakala
- School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Per Angelstam
- School for Forest Management, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Koppang, Norway
| | | | | | - Georg Gratzer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Tomáš Hlásny
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Klaus Katzensteiner
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - Bence Kovács
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Thomas Knoke
- Institute of Forest Management, School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Laurent Larrieu
- University of Toulouse, INRAE, UMR DYNAFOR, Castanet-Tolosan, France
- CNPF-CRPF Occitanie, Tarbes, France
| | - Renzo Motta
- Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Jörg Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany
| | - Péter Ódor
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Dušan Roženbergar
- Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Yoan Paillet
- University Grenoble - Alpes, INRAE, LESSEM, Saint-Martin-D'Hères, France
| | - Diana Pitar
- National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Dracea", Voluntari, Romania
| | - Tibor Standovár
- Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miroslav Svoboda
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jerzy Szwagrzyk
- Department of Forest Biodiversity, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
| | - Philipp Toscani
- Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Economics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
| | - William S Keeton
- Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
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Mina M, Messier C, Duveneck MJ, Fortin M, Aquilué N. Managing for the unexpected: Building resilient forest landscapes to cope with global change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:4323-4341. [PMID: 35429213 PMCID: PMC9541346 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Natural disturbances exacerbated by novel climate regimes are increasing worldwide, threatening the ability of forest ecosystems to mitigate global warming through carbon sequestration and to provide other key ecosystem services. One way to cope with unknown disturbance events is to promote the ecological resilience of the forest by increasing both functional trait and structural diversity and by fostering functional connectivity of the landscape to ensure a rapid and efficient self-reorganization of the system. We investigated how expected and unexpected variations in climate and biotic disturbances affect ecological resilience and carbon storage in a forested region in southeastern Canada. Using a process-based forest landscape model (LANDIS-II), we simulated ecosystem responses to climate change and insect outbreaks under different forest policy scenarios-including a novel approach based on functional diversification and network analysis-and tested how the potentially most damaging insect pests interact with changes in forest composition and structure due to changing climate and management. We found that climate warming, lengthening the vegetation season, will increase forest productivity and carbon storage, but unexpected impacts of drought and insect outbreaks will drastically reduce such variables. Generalist, non-native insects feeding on hardwood are the most damaging biotic agents for our region, and their monitoring and early detection should be a priority for forest authorities. Higher forest diversity driven by climate-smart management and fostered by climate change that promotes warm-adapted species, might increase disturbance severity. However, alternative forest policy scenarios led to a higher functional and structural diversity as well as functional connectivity-and thus to higher ecological resilience-than conventional management. Our results demonstrate that adopting a landscape-scale perspective by planning interventions strategically in space and adopting a functional trait approach to diversify forests is promising for enhancing ecological resilience under unexpected global change stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Mina
- Centre for Forest ResearchUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontréalQCCanada
- Institute for Alpine EnvironmentEurac ResearchBozen/BolzanoItaly
| | - Christian Messier
- Centre for Forest ResearchUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontréalQCCanada
- Institut des Sciences de la Forêt TempéréeUniversité du Québec en OutaouaisRiponQCCanada
| | - Matthew J. Duveneck
- Harvard ForestHarvard UniversityPetershamMassachusettsUSA
- Liberal Arts DepartmentNew England ConservatoryBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Marie‐Josée Fortin
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Núria Aquilué
- Centre for Forest ResearchUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontréalQCCanada
- Forest Sciences and Technology Centre of Catalonia CTFCSolsonaSpain
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Predicting Species and Structural Diversity of Temperate Forests with Satellite Remote Sensing and Deep Learning. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14071631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenically-driven climate change, land-use changes, and related biodiversity losses are threatening the capability of forests to provide a variety of valuable ecosystem services. The magnitude and diversity of these services are governed by tree species richness and structural complexity as essential regulators of forest biodiversity. Sound conservation and sustainable management strategies rely on information from biodiversity indicators that is conventionally derived by field-based, periodical inventory campaigns. However, these data are usually site-specific and not spatially explicit, hampering their use for large-scale monitoring applications. Therefore, the main objective of our study was to build a robust method for spatially explicit modeling of biodiversity variables across temperate forest types using open-access satellite data and deep learning models. Field data were obtained from the Biodiversity Exploratories, a research infrastructure platform that supports ecological research in Germany. A total of 150 forest plots were sampled between 2014 and 2018, covering a broad range of environmental and forest management gradients across Germany. From field data, we derived key indicators of tree species diversity (Shannon Wiener Index) and structural heterogeneity (standard deviation of tree diameter) as proxies of forest biodiversity. Deep neural networks were used to predict the selected biodiversity variables based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images from 2017. Predictions of tree diameter variation achieved good accuracy (r2 = 0.51) using Sentinel-1 winter-based backscatter data. The best models of species diversity used a set of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 features but achieved lower accuracies (r2 = 0.25). Our results demonstrate the potential of deep learning and satellite remote sensing to predict forest parameters across a broad range of environmental and management gradients at the landscape scale, in contrast to most studies that focus on very homogeneous settings. These highly generalizable and spatially continuous models can be used for monitoring ecosystem status and functions, contributing to sustainable management practices, and answering complex ecological questions.
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