Effects of traditional coppice practices and microsite conditions on tree health in a European beech forest at its southernmost range

European beech (Fagus sylvatica) grows at the southern limit of its range in the mountain-Mediterranean vegetation belt up to the timberline. The southernmost beech forests of Sicily (southern Italy) show peculiar ecological, structural and silvicultural characteristics, growing in fragmented and isolated stands near the timberline and in topographically marginal unfavorable habitats. Past silvicultural practices increased the heterogeneity of stand structure at these sites. We compared stand structural characteristics and tree health in coppice-cut and control beech stands with respect to the local topographic gradient (bottom, slope and ridge) and canopy cover (clearing/border vs. interior trees). Our results clearly showed a correlation between declining tree health (crown and bark damage, higher percentage of dead trees and lower seedling density) and recent coppice-cuts, poor (marginal) site quality (on ridges and slopes) and reduced canopy cover (in clearing/border trees). The decrease of tree health indicate an increasing threat to the long-term viability of beech stands facing multiple environmental stress factors (such as those related to southern latitude and topographic position). Declining tree health in the control plots also supports this hypothesis. We concluded that traditional forest management practices, such as coppice-cuts applied regardless to the specific microenvironmental conditions, may pose a risk to beech forest health at the southernmost edge of the species’ range

POPOLAMENTI MARGINALI DI FAGGIO E CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI IN SICILIA: CRITICITÀ ED EFFETTI DELL’APPLICAZIONE DI PRATICHE SELVICOLTURALI TRADIZIONALI NON-SOSTENIBILI AL VARIARE DELLE CONDIZIONI MICRO-STAZIONALI

Il faggio (Fagus sylvatica) è una tipica specie medio-Europea; in Sicilia si rinvengono i boschi di faggio più meridionali d’Europa. La marginalità ecologica di questi boschi è particolarmente evidente nei pattern frammentati e isolati di questi soprassuoli, in prossimità del limite della vegetazione arborea e/o localizzati nelle condizioni topografiche meno favorevoli. Nel presente lavoro si mettono a confronto i parametri dendrometricostrutturali e lo stato di salute delle piante in soprassuoli delle Madonie, confrontando cedui di faggio recentemente sottoposti a pratiche di taglio e aree di controllo non trattate da tempo. Inoltre, questi aspetti sono stati messi in relazione con il gradiente topografico locale ed alla frammentazione della copertura.Sulla base delle condizioni topografiche marginali (crinali, versanti) e della frammentazione della copertura (alberi al margine/radura), i risultati mostrano chiaramente una forte riduzione dello stato di salute delle piante (maggiori danni alla corteccia e alla chioma, una percentuale più alta di alberi morti, una minore densità di rinnovazione) correlate all’intervento di taglio del ceduo. Il chiaro deperimento delle piante può determinare in futuro una minaccia crescente per queste faggete multi-marginali (per latitudine, topografia e frammentazione della copertura). Inoltre, i risultati ottenuti fanno ipotizzare che, anche se l’effetto degli interventi selvicolturali è evidente nei due gruppi a confronto (aree tagliate e aree controllo), la riduzione dello stato di salute di queste piante sia ulteriormente accelerata dagli effetti che il cambiamento climatico generale sta determinando in queste condizioni stazionali di marginalità ecologica. Il ridotto stato di salute delle piante anche nelle aree di controllo avvalora questa ipotesi.Marginal fragmented beech stands and climate change in Sicily: effects of non-sustainable traditional silviculture practices in relation to micro-topographic gradient In Sicily where the southernmost beech forests of Europe are located, beech stands show peculiar ecological, characters. The ecological marginality of these forests is particularly evident in the fragmented and isolated beech stands, near the timberline and/or located on less favourable topographic conditions. In this study we analyzed stand-structural parameters and tree health comparing recently coppice felled beech stands and control plots. Additionally, these aspects have been related also to the local topographic gradient and the cover fragmentation. Results clearly show a pronounced tree health reduction (more crown and bark damages, higher percentage of dead trees, lower seedling density) related to cut coppice, as far as to marginal topographic condition (on ridges and slopes) and stand-cover fragmentation (in clearing/border trees). The clear decreased tree health may lays an increasing future threat for these multi-marginal (for latitude, topography and cover fragmentation) beech stands. In addition, our results could also support the hypothesis that, although the silviculture effects originated by the human actions is quite evident in the two compared groups (coppice-cut and control), hastening the tree health reduction, a general climate change effect is going on these marginal beech stands. The reduced tree health status also in control plots seems to show this way

Effects of plant materials, cutting positions, rooting media and IBA on rooting of Shorea leprosula (Dipterocarpacea) cuttings

Vegetative propagation by cuttings of seedlings of Shorea leprosula can be an effective, easy and economical means for raising quality planting stock. This study examined the possibility of raising planting stocks of S. leprosula from different plant materials (coppice and seedlings), cutting positions (upper tip, middle and basal), using concentrations of IBA (control, 50 pg, 100 pg, 150 pg and Seradix 3) and in rooting media (sand, paddy husk and coconut fibre). Basal cuttings of coppice gave the highest rooting percentage, 100% when treated with 100 pg IBA and grown in sand rooting medium. Analysis of variance based on survival and rooting percentages showed high significant differences (p<O.OO1) among and between the treatments. Coppice cuttings produced better root growth than seedling cuttings

Traditional coppice in South East England: the importance of workforce engagement for development

This paper describes research into the historic importance of the coppice industry, now largely restricted to south east England and the relevance of this to current rural development policy. The economic and social contexts have altered significantly over time with product substitution and changing consumer aspirations, and particularly the availability of alternative fuel sources. Over the last fifty years "value" attached to coppiced woodlands has shifted away from resource exploitation and towards a greater appreciation of them for wildlife, recreation, amenity and cultural heritage. This has increased wider public awareness of and appreciation for coppicing as a management technique and, consequently rising concern over the reduction in area managed. This was assumed to be due market failure but attempts to reverse this by creating new outlets failed. The reason for this has been explored by engaging directly with the workforce, both individually and in focus groups. Coppice workers were found to be more numerous active and enterprising than previously thought and many were found to be working in family groups servicing traditional markets. They were unaware of concerns about decline in the area coppiced or initiatives to address it. Issues currently affecting their businesses included housing costs, rural crime, harvesting restrictions, loss of yards and training needs. It is concluded that Government policies to promote woodfuel are not likely to succeed without active engagement with the workforce to understand their perspectives and enabling them to participate in policy decisions is recommended

Socio-economics and business organisation in the chestnut industry: a comparison between Italy (Tuscany) and England (Kent)

Report of an STSM carried out as part of COST Action 1301 EuroCoppice

The Potential Barriers to Persistence and Development of Small Scale Coppice Forest Management in Europe

Coppice is considered to be the oldest form of sustainable forest management and is still abundant with an estimated resource of more than 20 million hectares of forest currently managed as coppice across Europe and even more was formerly managed in this way. In the past the Roundwood was important, particularly for fuel, but, from early in the 20th century the most prevalent form of management changed to favour high forest systems, driven by increased use of fossil fuels, demand for larger timber and advances in technology. As a result, many coppices were converted to high forest, over planted or abandoned. There has been a resurgence of interest in coppice management as a component of sustainable forest management and it is increasingly recognised that coppice provides a diverse range of products and services of value to The EuroCoppice COST Action set out to consider how this traditional practice could developed into a modern multifunctional system to increase the benefits from this currently under-utilised resource with representatives from member states contributing to different working groups to consider how this could be achieved. This paper has been produced by members of Working Group (WG) 5, “Ownership and Governance” who had the task of looking at potential barriers to increasing coppice management and how these could be overcome. The first step towards achieving this goal was to find out the current situation regarding coppice management in the countries involved in the Action

Tree Density and Species Decline in the African Sahel Attributable to Climate

Increased aridity and human population have reduced tree cover in parts of the African Sahel and degraded resources for local people. Yet, tree cover trends and the relative importance of climate and population remain unresolved. From field measurements, aerial photos, and Ikonos satellite images, we detected significant 1954-2002 tree density declines in the western Sahel of 18 +/- 14% (P = 0.014, n = 204) and 17 +/- 13% (P = 0.0009, n = 187). From field observations, we detected a significant 1960-2000 species richness decline of 21 +/- 11% (P = 0.0028, n = 14) across the Sahel and a southward shift of the Sahel, Sudan, and Guinea zones. Multivariate analyses of climate, soil, and population showed that temperature most significantly (P < 0.001) explained tree cover changes. Multivariate and bivariate tests and field observations indicated the dominance of temperature and precipitation, supporting attribution of tree cover changes to climate variability. Climate change forcing of Sahel climate variability, particularly the significant (P < 0.05) 1901-2002 temperature increases and precipitation decreases in the research areas, connects Sahel tree cover changes to global climate change. This suggests roles for global action and local adaptation to address ecological change in the Sahel

A vertically discretised canopy description for ORCHIDEE (SVN r2290) and the modifications to the energy, water and carbon fluxes

Since 70% of global forests are managed and forests impact the global carbon cycle and the energy exchange with the overlying atmosphere, forest management has the potential to mitigate climate change. Yet, none of the land surface models used in Earth system models, and therefore none of today’s predictions of future climate, account for the interactions between climate and forest management. We addressed this gap in modelling capability by developing and parametrizing a version of the land surface model ORCHIDEE to simulate the biogeochemical and biophysical effects of forest management. The most significant changes between the new branch called ORCHIDEE-CAN (SVN r2290) and the trunk version of ORCHIDEE (SVN r2243) are the allometric-based allocation of carbon to leaf, root, wood, fruit and reserve pools; the transmittance, absorbance and reflectance of radiation within the canopy; and the vertical discretisation of the energy budget calculations. In addition, conceptual changes were introduced towards a better process representation for the interaction of radiation with snow, the hydraulic architecture of plants, the representation of forest management and a numerical solution for the photosynthesis formalism of Farquhar, von Caemmerer and Berry. For consistency reasons, these changes were extensively linked throughout the code. Parametrization was revisited after introducing twelve new parameter sets that represent specific tree species or genera rather than a group of often distantly related or even unrelated species, as is the case in widely used plant functional types. Performance of the new model was compared against the trunk and validated against independent spatially explicit data for basal area, tree height, canopy strucure, GPP, albedo and evapotranspiration over Europe. For all tested variables ORCHIDEE-CAN outperformed the trunk regarding its ability to reproduce large-scale spatial patterns as well as their inter-annual variability over Europe. Depending on the data stream, ORCHIDEE-CAN had a 67% to 92% chance to reproduce the spatial and temporal variability of the validation data.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

Lantana: Current Management Status and Future Prospects

Crop Production/Industries,