Changes of ground vegetation, soil chemical properties and microbiota following the surface fires in Scots pine forests

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of low severity surface fires on the ground vegetation, soil chemical changes and soil microbiota in Scots pine stands on sandy soils (Arenosols). The study was conducted in the eastern part of Lithuania (55° 35′N, 26° 07′E). The annual investigations in 1–4-year-old burned sites showed that low severity surface fires mostly affected the above-ground part of the ground vegetation. The influence of surface fire on soil chemical properties and soil microbiota was minor. Only slight increases in pH and in the content of total N in soil organic layer were detected. Concentrations of mobile K2O and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn and Fe) slightly increased in the mineral topsoil. The actinobacteria abundance increased in the soil organic layer and the mineral topsoil of the burned sites. The abundance of micromycetes decreased in the mineral topsoil after the surface fires. First published online: 14 Dec 201

Hyvät käytännöt suojavyöhykkeiden muodostamiseen vesistöjen varsille Itämeren alueella – Käsikirja

Lyhennelmä (4.12.2018)Tässä lyhennelmässä tiivistetään tärkeimmät seikat, jotka on hyvä ottaa huomioon muodostettaessa suojavyöhykkeitä vesistöjen varsille. Lyhennelmä pohjautuu laajempaan englanninkieliseen raporttiin "Good practices for forest buffers to improve surface water quality in the Baltic Sea region” (Ring et al. 2018). Molemmat raportit on tuotettu WAMBAF –hankkeessa (Water Management in Baltic Forests), joka on saanut rahoitusta EU:n Itämeren alueen Interreg –ohjelmasta 1.3.2016–28.2.2019. WAMBAF ̶̶hanke perustettiin kehittämään metsätalouden vesiensuojelua ja tarkastelun kohteena ovat olleet erityisesti ravinteiden, kiintoaineen ja elohopean huuhtoutuminen vesistöihin. Suojavyöhykkeet voivat olla monimuotoisuuden kannalta arvokkaita elinympäristöjä. Tässä raportissa keskitytään kuitenkin siihen, miten metsäisiä suojavyöhykkeitä voidaan käyttää vesistöjen veden laadun suojelemiseen. Tämä raportti on pääpiirteiltään samansisältöinen kuin julkaisu Ring ym. (2018), mutta ei sisällä viittauksia. Julkaisu, joka sisältää myös täydellisen viiteluettelon on seuraava: Ring, E., Andersson, E., Armolaitis, K., Eklöf, K., Finér, L., Gil, W., Glazko, Z., Janek, M., Lībiete, Z., Lode, E., Małek, S. and Piirainen, S. 2018. Good practices for forest buffers to improve surface water quality in the Baltic Sea region. Skogforsk Arbetsrapport no. 995-2018, 59 s. https://www.skogforsk.se/english/news/2018/good-practices-for-forest-buffers-to-improve-surface-water-quality-in-the-baltic-sea-region/201

Sustainable forest biomass: a review of current residue harvesting guidelines

http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-physicalsciences/2021/04/15/forest-bioenergy-sustainable/Forest biomass harvesting guidelines help ensure the ecological sustainability of forest residue harvesting for bioenergy and bioproducts, and hence contribute to social license for a growing bioeconomy. Guidelines, typically voluntary, provide a means to achieve outcomes often required by legislation, and must address needs related to local or regional context, jurisdictional compatibility with regulations, issues of temporal and spatial scale, and incorporation of appropriate scientific information. Given this complexity, comprehensive reviews of existing guidelines can aid in development of new guidelines or revision of existing ones. We reviewed 32 guidelines covering 43 jurisdictions in the USA, Canada, Europe and East Asia to expand upon information evaluated and recommendations provided in previous guideline reviews, and compiled a searchable spreadsheet of direct quotations from documents as a foundation for our review. Guidelines were considered in the context of sustainable forest management (SFM), focusing on guideline scope and objectives, environmental sustainability concerns (soils, site productivity, biodiversity, water and carbon) and social concerns (visual aesthetics, recreation, and preservation of cultural, historical and archaeological sites). We discuss the role of guidelines within the context of other governance mechanisms such as SFM policies, trade regulations and non-state market-driven (NSMD) standards, including certification systems. The review provides a comprehensive resource for those developing guidelines, or defining sustainability standards for market access or compliance with public regulations, and/or concerned about the sustainability of forest biomass harvesting. We recommend that those developing or updating guidelines consider (i) the importance of well-defined and understood terminology, consistent where possible with guidelines in other jurisdictions or regions; (ii) guidance based on locally relevant research, and periodically updated to incorporate current knowledge and operational experience; (iii) use of indicators of sensitive soils, sites, and stands which are relevant to ecological processes and can be applied operationally; and (iv) incorporation of climate impacts, long-term soil carbon storage, and general carbon balance considerations when defining sustainable forest biomass availability. Successful implementation of guidelines depends both on the relevance of the information and on the process used to develop and communicate it; hence, appropriate stakeholders should be involved early in guideline development.Peer reviewe

Trilemma of Nordic–Baltic Forestry—How to Implement UN Sustainable Development Goals

Forests are the dominant land cover in Nordic–Baltic countries, and forestry, the management of forests for improved ecosystem-service (ES) delivery, is an important contributor to sustainability. Forests and forestry support multiple United Nations Sustainability Goals (UN SDGs) and a number of EU policies, and can address conflicting environmental goals. Forests provide multiple ecosystem services and natural solutions, including wood and fibre production, food, clear and clean water and air, animal and plant habitats, soil formation, aesthetics, and cultural and social services. Carbon sequestered by growing trees is a key factor in the envisaged transition from a fossil-based to a biobased economy. Here, we highlight the possibilities of forest-based solutions to mitigate current and emerging societal challenges. We discuss forestry effects on forest ecosystems,focusing on the optimisation of ES delivery and the fulfilment of UN SDGs while counteracting unwanted effects. In particular, we highlight the trilemma of (i) increasing wood production to substitute raw fossil materials, (ii) increasing forest carbon storage capacity, and (iii) improving forest biodiversity and other ES delivery

Adaptive root foraging strategies along a boreal–temperate forest gradient

The tree root–mycorhizosphere plays a key role in resource uptake, but also in the adaptation of forests to changing environments. The adaptive foraging mechanisms of ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and fine roots of Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris and Betula pendula were evaluated along a gradient from temperate to subarctic boreal forest (38 sites between latitudes 48°N and 69°N) in Europe. Variables describing tree resource uptake structures and processes (absorptive fine root biomass and morphology, nitrogen (N) concentration in absorptive roots, extramatrical mycelium (EMM) biomass, community structure of root-associated EcM fungi, soil and rhizosphere bacteria) were used to analyse relationships between root system functional traits and climate, soil and stand characteristics. Absorptive fine root biomass per stand basal area increased significantly from temperate to boreal forests, coinciding with longer and thinner root tips with higher tissue density, smaller EMM biomass per root length and a shift in soil microbial community structure. The soil carbon (C) : N ratio was found to explain most of the variability in absorptive fine root and EMM biomass, root tissue density, N concentration and rhizosphere bacterial community structure. We suggest a concept of absorptive fine root foraging strategies involving both qualitative and quantitative changes in the root–mycorrhiza–bacteria continuum along climate and soil C : N gradients.Peer reviewe

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Connecting the multiple dimensions of global soil fungal diversity

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different levels of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of fungi and their ecological groups. We show the impact of precipitation and temperature interactions on local fungal species richness (alpha diversity) across different climates. Our findings reveal how temperature drives fungal compositional turnover (beta diversity) and phylogenetic diversity, linking them with regional species richness (gamma diversity). We integrate fungi into the principles of global biodiversity distribution and present detailed maps for biodiversity conservation and modeling of global ecological processes

The relevance of soil microflora abundance in former arable soils

Lietuvos miškų instituta

Svetimkraščių augalų medynų įtaka dirvožemio cheminėms ir biologinėms savybėms

Lietuvos agrarinių ir miškų mokslų centro filialas Miškų institutasLietuvos miškų instituta

Dispersion of some Motor Transport Pollutants in Lithuania

Bibliogr.: p. 148 (14 pavad.)Vytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij