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Ohranjanje gozdnih genskih virov, spoznavanje prilagoditveno pomembnih genskih znakov in pomen izvajanja genetskega monitoringa gozdov
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Causes, consequences, and the future of forest mortality due to climate change
No full textMortality of forest trees is growing at an accelerating rate due in part to increasing severity and frequency of droughts. The consequences of increasing forest mortality range from impacts on timber and tourism revenue, reductions in fuelwood availability and carbon storage, and feedbacks that accelerate climate changes. Unfortunately, our understanding of where, when, and how forests die is extremely limited, precluding us from forecasting future changes in forest composition and services. Here we review the state of current knowledge regarding mortality processes, and highlight the urgent scientific challenges that must be overcome if we are to adequately plan for future changes in forest survival and mortality. We suggest that forest monitoring through inventory networks and newly emerging remote sensing techniques should be a high priority for maintenance and development, because only through these observations can we determine what regions and species are most vulnerable to climate change. These datasets are also critical for evaluation of regional to global models of forest dynamics. Without accurate models, forecasts of future forest composition cannot be considered reliable. Furthermore, experimental tests of how the dominant global forest species die are needed to enable models to simulate mortality correctly. Lastly, experimental tests of forest management strategies that can alleviate stress under the novel climate regimes the globe is now experiencing are essential to allow planning for mitigation options in the forestry sector. Increasing forest mortality is now inevitable given the global energy portfolio; however, the ability of science and forestry to quantify, understand, predict, and mitigate impacts on forests remains a viable option to allow planning for future forest management to minimize impacts on the Earth’s forests
Influence of soil temperature on growth traits of European beech seedlings
No full textEuropean beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is an economically and ecologically important forest tree species in Europe.
Expected future temperature increases due to global climate change may significantly affect growth of beech trees and consequently
influence carbon cycling in beech forests. We tested the hypothesis that soil temperature influences the growth of both
belowground and aboveground parts of beech seedlings. One-year-old seedlings were transferred into rhizotrons and subjected
to two different soil temperatures for 2 years while the soil moisture level was kept constant. The main effect of the soil
temperature was a changed biomass of the woody part of the seedlings. Soil temperature significantly influenced the biomass of
shoots and roots and diameter of the stem, which were the highest for the seedlings grown in conditions of soil temperatures
maintained in the range of summer soil temperatures from the site of origin of the seedlings. Increased soil temperature also
resulted in increased specific root length and specific root tip density. Root-to-shoot ratio and leaf parameters (leaf mass, number
of leaves, and specific leaf area), except for leaf area ratio, were not influenced by soil temperatur
Consistency of stand density estimates and their variability in forest inventories in Slovenia
No full textThe national estimates of forest resources in Slovenia are based on data aggregation from forest inventories conducted in forest management units of Slovenia Forest Service (SFS) and on the parallel forest inventory established within the Forest and Forest Ecosystem Condition Survey (FECS) as a continuation of international forest monitoring programme. Since the difference in sampling design and temporal dynamics of data collection is of key importance for inventories at the level of forest management units compared to large-area forest inventories, the consistency of stand densities was checked in both concepts. Comparing growing stock estimates in FECS on the systematic 4-km grid of sampling plots from SFS forest management planning, no overall significant differences in temporally comparable periods have been detected. We propose a basis enabling consistent estimates of structural forest characteristics at the national level for the process of forest inventory harmonization in Slovenia
Simulating ectomycorrhizal fungi and their role in carbon and nitrogen cyclingin forest ecosystems
No full textAlthough ectomycorrhizal fungi play an important role in forest ecosystem functioning, they are usually not included
in forest growth or ecosystem models. Simulation is hampered by two main issues: a lack of understanding of the ecological functioning of the ectomycorrhizal fungi and a lack of adequate basic data for parameterization and validation. Concerning these issues, much progress has been made during the past few years, but this information has not found its way into the forest and soil models. In this paper, state-of-the-art insight into ectomycorrhizal functioning and basic values are described in a manner transparent to nonspecialists and modelers, together with the existing models and model strategies. As such, this paper can be the starting point and the motivator to include ectomycorrhizal fungi into existing soil and forest ecosystem models