The influence of gaps on tree regeneration : a case study of the mixed lime-hornbeam (Tilio-Carpinetum Tracz. 1962) communities in the Białowieża Primeval Forest

• Autorzy: Bobiec A.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Tree stand regeneration in ten natural gaps, ranging in size from 250 to 1610 m[^2], and three artificial clearings of 650.1150 m[^2] was compared to the undergrowth in the adjacent stands representing mesic lime-hornbeam (Tilio-Carpinetum Tracz. 1962) assemblages of the Białowieża Primeval Forest. The purpose of the study was to find how gaps influence the tree regeneration in such forests, regarding sapling density and composition. Most of the gaps were formed by the decline of groups of spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) trees. In the largest openings spruce logs contributed to more than 80% of the volume of fallen trees. Having four times higher all saplings density and eight times higher tall saplings (h> 1.3 m) density, comparing to the canopy-sheltered undergrowth, gaps play an important role of successful tree regeneration centres. Pioneering, intolerant species such as birch (Betula pendula Roth), aspen (Populus tremula L.), goat willow (Salix caprea L.), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.), and alder (Alnus glutinosa L.), regenerate almost solely in gaps. The gap size had no influence on the gap-filler composition. The most successful gap-fillers, both in small and large gaps were tolerant species: hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) and lime (Tilia cordata Mill.). Spruce, the third dominant canopy species of the neighbouring stands was absent in the gap-filling regeneration. The study showed that under the current environmental conditions only hornbeam reveals a continuous mode of regeneration giving it a big competitive advantage both under canopy and in gaps. Other species, including lime, oak (Quercus robur L.) as well as pioneering birch and aspen seem to regenerate in a discrete and irregular manner. It was hypothesised that their regeneration depends on ephemeral opportune circumstances occurring at the initial phase of gap filling, such as presence of layering fresh logs, sprouting stumps and roots, spots of exposed mineral material, as well as inaccessibility to browsers. Artificial openings, created by forestry operations, considerably differ from natural gaps, mimicking a 'catastrophic mode' of dynamics, quite uncommon in the observed forest assemblages, favouring abundant regeneration of pioneering species. Further research necessary to explain important structural and dynamic characteristics of natural stands should address the following questions: - overall gap size structure; - mechanisms determining successful regeneration of less competitive and intolerant species; - history of the gap dynamics (dendrochronology) and its future development (modelling); - average rate of disturbance and turnover time in Tilio-Carpinetum; - minimal conservation area.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

artificial gaps; developmental gaps; mesic deciduous forest; regeneration mode; spruce decline

PL

Białowieża; regeneracja; spadek; świerk

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2007
• Tom: Vol. 55, nr 3
• Strony: 441--455
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 44 poz.,Rys., tab., wykr.,

Twórcy

autor

Bobiec A.

• Faculty of Biology and Agriculture, Rzeszów University Ćwiklińskiej 2, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland,

Bibliografia

• Abe S., Masaki T., Nakashizuka T. 1995 – Factors influencing sapling composition in canopy gaps of a temperate deciduous forest – Vegetatio, 120: 21–32.
• Battles J.J., Fahey T.J. 2000 – Gap dynamics following forest decline: a case study of red spruce forests – Ecol. Appl. 10: 760–774.
• Bernadzki E., Bolibok L., Brzeziecki B., Zajączkowski J., Żybura H. 1998 – Compositional dynamics of natural forests in the Białowieża National Park, northeastern Poland – J. Veg. Sci. 9: 229–238.
• Bobiec A. 2003 – Preservation of a natural and historical heritage as a basis for sustainable development: A multidisciplinary analysis of the situation in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland – Society for Protection of the Białowieża Priemeval Forest (TOPB), Białowieża, Syracuse, Narewka.
• Bobiec A., Van der Burgt H., Meijer K., Zuyderduyn C., Haga J., Vlaanderen B. 2000 – Rich deciduous forests in Białowieża as a dynamic mosaic of developmental phases: premises for nature conservation and restoration management – For. Ecol. Manage. 130: 159–175.
• Brokaw N., Busing R.T. 2000 – Niche versus chance and tree diversity in forest gaps – Tree, 15: 183–188.
• Busing R.T. 1994 – Canopy cover and tree regeneration in old-growth cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains – Vegetatio, 115: 19–27.
• Castelli J.P., Casper B.B., Sullivan J.J., Latham R.E. 1999 – Early understory succession following catastrophic wind damage in a deciduous forest – Can. J. For. Res. 29: 1997–2002.
• Cho D.-S., Boerner R.E.J. 1991 – Canopy disturbance patterns and regeneration of Quercus species in two Ohio old-growth forests – Vegetatio, 93: 9–18.
• Connel J.H. 1978 – Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests and Coral Reefs – Science, 199: 1302–1310.
• Cook J.E. 2000 – Disturbance history of two natural areas in Wisconsin: implications for management – Nat. Areas J. 20: 24–35.
• Dahir S.E., Lorimer C.G. 1996 – Variation in canopy gap formation among developmental stages of northern hardwood stands – Can. J. For. Res. 26: 1875–1892.
• Diaci J. 2002 – Gap disturbance patterns in a beech virgin forest remnant Krokar in the Mountain Vegetation Belt of Slovenia – Nature-based Management of Beech in Europe, Forest & Landscape Denmark, http://www.flec.kvl.dk/natman/html/getfile.asp?vid=578.
• Dickinson M.B. Whigham D.F., Hermann S.M. 2000 – Tree regeneration in felling and natural treefall disturbances in a semdideciduous tropical forest in Mexico – For. Ecol. Manage. 134: 137–151.
• Falinski J.B. 1986 – Vegetation Dynamics in Temperate Lowland Primeval Forests. Ecological studies in Białowieża Forest – Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster, 537 pp.
• Gray A.N., Spies T.A. 1996 – Gap size, within-gap position and canopy structure effects on conifer seedling establishment – J. Ecol. 84: 635–645.
• Grassi G., Minotta G., Tonon G., Bagnaresi U. 2004 – Dynamics of Norway spruce and silver fir natural regeneration in a mixed stand under uneven-aged management – Can. J. For. Res. 34: 141–149.
• Kneeshaw D.D., B ergeron Y. 1998 – Canopy gap characteristics and tree replacement in the southeastern boreal forest – Ecology, 79: 783–794.
• Koop H. 1989 – Forest Dynamics. SILVISTAR: A comprehensive monitoring system – Springer, Berlin, pp. 229.
• Leemans R. 1991 – Canopy gaps and establishment patterns of spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) in two old-growth coniferous forests in central Sweden – Vegetatio, 93: 157–165.
• Lertzman K.P., Sutherland G.D., Inselberg A., Saunders S.C. 1996 – Canopy gaps and the landscape mosaic in a coastal temperate rain forest – Ecology, 77: 1254–1270.
• Lewis K.J., Lindgren B.S. 2000 – A conceptual model of biotic disturbance ecology in the central interior of B.C.: How forest management can turn Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde – The Forestry Chronicle, 76: 433–443.
• Masaki T., Tanaka H., Tanouchi H., Sakai T., Nakashizuka T. 1999 – Structure, dynamics and disturbance regime of temperate broad-leaved forests in Japan – J. Veg. Sci. 10: 805–814.
• McCarthy J. 2001 – Gap dynamics of forest trees: a review with particular attention to boreal forests – Environmental Reviews, 9: 1–59.
• McClure, J.W., Lee, T.D. 1993 – Small-scale disturbance in a northern harwoods forests: effects on tree species abundance and distribution – Can. J. For. Res. 23: 1347–1360.
• McClure J.W., Lee T.D., Leak, W.B. 2000 – Gap capture in northern hardwoods: patterns of establishment and height growth in four species – For. Ecol. Manage. 127: 181–189.
• Mountford P. (ed.) 2001 – Natural Canopy Gap Characteristics in European Beech Forests – NAT-MAN Nature-based Management of Beech in Europe, http://www.flec.kvl.dk/natman/html/getfile.asp?vid=574.
• Nakashizuka T., Iida S., Tanaka H., Shibata M., Abe S., Masaki T., Niiyama K. 1992 – Community dynamics of Ogawa Forest Reserve, a species rich deciduous forest, central Japan – Vegetatio, 103: 105–112.
• NAT-MAN 2005 – Nature-based Management of Beech in Europe – Forest & Landscape Denmark, www.flec.kvl.dk/natman
• Oldeman R.A.A. 1990 – Forests: Elements of Silvology – Springer-Verlag, Berlin–Barcelona, 624 pp.
• Olszewski J.L. 1986 – The role of forest ecosystems in modifying local climate of the Białowieża Primeval Forest, as revealed by air temperature characteristics – Ossolineum, Wrocław–Łódź, 222 pp. (in Polish with English summary).
• Qinghong L., Hytteborn H. 1991 – Gap structure, disturbance and regeneration in a primeval Picea abies forest – J. Veg. Sci. 2: 391–402.
• Paczoski J. 1930 – Die Waldtypen von Białowieża – Państwowa Rada Ochrony Przyrody, Kraków, 575 pp. (in Polish with German summary).
• Pawlaczyk P. 1991 – Linden (Tilia cordata Mill.) vegetative regeneration and its ecological role in the Tilio-Carpinetum community of the Białowieża National Park – Phytocoenosis 3 (N.S.) Seminarium Geobotanicum, 1: 161–172 (in Polish with English summary).
• Runkle J.R. 1982 – Patterns of disturbance in some old-growth mesic forests of eastern North America – Ecology, 63: 1533–1546.
• Runkle J.R. 1985 – Disturbance regimes in temperate forests (In: The ecology of natural disturbances and patch dynamics, Eds. S.T.A. Pickett, P.S. White) – Academic Press, Inc., New York, pp. 17–33.
• Runkle J.R., Yetter T.C. 1987 – Treefalls revisited: gap dynamics in the southern Appalachians – Ecology, 68: 417–424.
• Sokołowski A.W. 1993 – Phytosociological characteristics of forest communities in the Białowieża National Park – Parki Narodowe i Rezerwaty Przyrody, 12: 5–190 (in Polish with English summary).
• Splechtna B.E., Gratzer G. 2005 – Natural disturbances in Central European forests: approaches and preliminary results from Rothwald, Austria – For. Snow Landsc. Res. 79: 57–67.
• StatSoft Inc. 1997 – STATISTICA for Windows (Computer program manual) – StatSoft, Inc., Tulsa, OK.
• Valverde T., Silvertown J. 1997 – Canopy closure rate and forest structure – Ecology, 78: 1555–1562.
• Veblen T.T. 1992 – Regeneration dynamics (In: Plant succession: theory and prediction, Eds. D.C. Glenn-Lewin, R.K. Peet, T.T. Veblen) – Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 152–187.
• Wijdeven S.M.J. 2003 – Stand dynamics in Fontainebleau. Dynamics in beech forest structure and composition over 17 years in La Tillaie forest reserve, Fontainebleua, France – Wageningen, Alterra, Green World Research, 56 pp.
• Ziegler S.S. 2000 – A comparison of structural characterstics between old-growth and postfire second-growth hemlock-hardwood forests in Adirondack Park – New York, U.S.A. – Global Ecol. Biogeogr., 9: 373–389.