DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.01.049
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-84896895355
论文题名: When beech strikes back: How strict nature conservation reduces herb-layer diversity and productivity in Central European deciduous forests
作者: Mölder A. ; Streit M. ; Schmidt W.
刊名: Forest Ecology and Management
ISSN: 0378-1127
出版年: 2014
卷: 319 起始页码: 51
结束页码: 61
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Ecosystem engineer
; Ecosystem functioning
; Fagus sylvatica
; Forest plant species
; Silviculture
; Unmanaged vs. managed forests
Scopus关键词: Ecosystem engineer
; Ecosystem functioning
; Fagus sylvatica
; Managed forest
; Plant species
; Silviculture
; Coastal zones
; Conservation
; Ecosystems
; Engineers
; Plants (botany)
; Productivity
; Timber
; Forestry
; deciduous forest
; ecosystem engineering
; forest canopy
; forest management
; herb
; logging (timber)
; nature conservation
; nature-society relations
; productivity
; silviculture
; species diversity
; woodland
; Conservation
; Ecosystems
; Forestry
; Forests
; Plants
; Productivity
; Germany
; Hainich National Park
; Thuringia
英文摘要: Current nature conservation policy is going to alter the tree-layer composition of many Central European deciduous forests. As a consequence of ceasing silvicultural management, the competitive ecosystem engineer European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) will spread and the proportion of secondary tree species will considerably decrease. Thus, changes can also be expected in herb-layer diversity, productivity and composition. To predict these changes, we analysed relationships between tree- and herb-layer diversity and composition along tree-diversity gradients in the Central German woodland areas of the Hainich National Park (unmanaged) and the Göttinger Wald (managed by close-to-nature forestry).The flora of both study areas was dominated by typical forest species. In the Hainich, the herb-layer vegetation in beech-dominated stands was less diverse compared to stands richer in canopy species. Herb-layer productivity was also lower in beech-dominated stands. In the Göttinger Wald, herb-layer diversity and productivity were not related to tree-layer diversity and beech proportion, instead to the light transmissibility of the canopy layer. The different results can be explained by logging effects in the Göttinger Wald, which promoted the light factor as significant for herb-layer diversity and productivity. In the consistently darker stands of the Hainich, soil variables, particularly influenced by the ecosystem engineer beech, were decisive. Areas of high canopy diversity in the Hainich result from former management practices and can, in the future, be expected to decrease with the spread of beech.We conclude that forest management cessation will result in decreasing herb-layer diversity and productivity in many Central European deciduous woodlands, especially in landscapes where historical management practices led to unnaturally low proportions of beech. The short-term consequence of management cessation is a loss of herb-layer diversity due to reduced light availability; in the long-term, herb-layer diversity is expected to decrease due to the expansion of beech.If the key aim of nature conservation policy is to preserve and develop the typical diversity of near-natural beech forests, then a complete cessation of forest management can be advised. However, if the typical forest herb diversity of the semi-natural, century-old cultural landscape is to be maintained, close-to-nature forestry management is necessary. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/66103
Appears in Collections: 影响、适应和脆弱性
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作者单位: Northwest German Forest Research Station, Department A (Forest Growth), Section Forest Conservation and Natural Forest Research, Grätzelstraße 2, D-37079 Göttingen, Germany; Georg-August University Göttingen, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Department of Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Büsgenweg 1, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
Recommended Citation:
Mölder A.,Streit M.,Schmidt W.. When beech strikes back: How strict nature conservation reduces herb-layer diversity and productivity in Central European deciduous forests[J]. Forest Ecology and Management,2014-01-01,319