Determining the rate of change in a mixed deciduous forest monitored for 50 years

Introduction : Trees in two compartments of the mixed deciduous forest Draved Forest have been monitored regularly for 50years. Materials and methods : This data set was used to study the rate of change in forest structure and composition applying the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics, chi-square test for the goodness of fit, and principal component analysis. We also correlated the specific test statistics with other forest properties to elucidate the importance of various factors for the observed changes in forest structure. Results : After 50years, the still significant changes in the forest structure and species composition indicate that the compartments have not reached the state of an old growth forest. Although some measures indicated that the compartments were approaching this stage, other showed the opposite response and even an increasing rate of change. Conclusion : As the three statistical methods contributed in different ways, we recommend the combination of several statistical methods to assess changes in the forest structur

Future changes in vegetation and ecosystem function of the Barents Region

The dynamic vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS) is used to project transient impacts of changes in climate on vegetation of the Barents Region. We incorporate additional plant functional types, i.e. shrubs and defined different types of open ground vegetation, to improve the representation of arctic vegetation in the global model. We use future climate projections as well as control climate data for 1981-2000 from a regional climate model (REMO) that assumes a development of atmospheric CO2-concentration according to the B2-SRES scenario [IPCC, Climate Change 2001: The scientific basis. Contribution working group I to the Third assessment report of the IPCC. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2001)]. The model showed a generally good fit with observed data, both qualitatively when model outputs were compared to vegetation maps and quantitatively when compared with observations of biomass, NPP and LAI. The main discrepancy between the model output and observed vegetation is the overestimation of forest abundance for the northern parts of the Kola Peninsula that cannot be explained by climatic factors alone. Over the next hundred years, the model predicted an increase in boreal needle leaved evergreen forest, as extensions northwards and upwards in mountain areas, and as an increase in biomass, NPP and LAI. The model also projected that shade-intolerant broadleaved summergreen trees will be found further north and higher up in the mountain areas. Surprisingly, shrublands will decrease in extent as they are replaced by forest at their southern margins and restricted to areas high up in the mountains and to areas in northern Russia. Open ground vegetation will largely disappear in the Scandinavian mountains. Also counter-intuitively, tundra will increase in abundance due to the occupation of previously unvegetated areas in the northern part of the Barents Region. Spring greening will occur earlier and LAI will increase. Consequently, albedo will decrease both in summer and winter time, particularly in the Scandinavian mountains (by up to 18%). Although this positive feedback to climate could be offset to some extent by increased CO2 drawdown from vegetation, increasing soil respiration results in NEE close to zero, so we cannot conclude to what extent or whether the Barents Region will become a source or a sink of CO

Impact of non-outbreak insect damage on vegetation in northern Europe will be greater than expected during a changing climate

Background insect herbivory, in addition to insect outbreaks, can have an important long term influence on the performance of tree species. Since a projected warmer climate may favour insect herbivores, we use a dynamic ecosystem model to investigate the impacts of background herbivory on vegetation growth and productivity, as well as distribution and associated changes in terrestrial ecosystems of northern Europe. We used the GUESS ecosystem modelling framework and a simple linear model for including the leaf area loss of Betula pubescens in relation to mean July temperature. We tested the sensitivity of the responses of the simulated ecosystems to different, but realistic, degrees of insect damage. Predicted temperature increases are likely to enhance the potential insect impacts on vegetation. The impacts are strongest in the eastern areas, where potential insect damage to B. pubescens can increase by 4-5%. The increase in insect damage to B. pubescens results in a reduction of total birch leaf area (LAI), total birch biomass and birch productivity (Net Primary Production). This effect is stronger than the insect damage to leaf area alone would suggest, due to its second order effect on the competition between tree species. The model's demonstration that background herbivory may cause changes in vegetation structure suggests that insect damage, generally neglected by vegetation models, can change predictions of future forest composition. Carbon fluxes and albedo are only slightly influenced by background insect herbivory, indicating that background insect damage is of minor importance for estimating the feedback of terrestrial ecosystems to climate chang

The relative importance of land use and climatic change in Alpine catchments

Carbon storage and catchment hydrology are influenced both by land use changes and climatic changes, but there are few studies addressing both responses under both driving forces. We investigated the relative importance of climate change vs. land use change for four Alpine catchments using the LPJ-GUESS model. Two scenarios of grassland management were calibrated based on the more detailed model PROGRASS. The simulations until 2100 show that only reforestation could lead to an increase of carbon storage under climatic change, whereby a cessation of carbon accumulation occurred in all catchments after 2050. The initial increase in carbon storage was attributable mainly to forest re-growth on abandoned land, whereas the stagnation and decline in the second half of the century was mainly driven by climate change. If land was used more intensively, i.e. as grassland, litter input to the soil decreased due to harvesting, resulting in a decline of soil carbon storage (1.2−2.9kgC m-2) that was larger than the climate-induced change (0.8-1.4kgC m−2). Land use change influenced transpiration both directly and in interaction with climate change. The response of forested catchments diverged with climatic change (11-40mm increase in AET), reflecting the differences in forest age, topography and water holding capacity within and between catchments. For grass-dominated catchments, however, transpiration responded in a similar manner to climate change (light management: 23-32mm AET decrease, heavy management: 29-44mm AET decrease), likely because grassroots are concentrated in the uppermost soil layers. Both the water and the carbon cycle were more strongly influenced by land use compared to climatic changes, as land use had not only a direct effect on carbon storage and transpiration, but also an indirect effect by modifying the climate change response of transpiration and carbon flux in the catchments. For the carbon cycle, climate change led to a cessation of the catchment response (sink/source strength is limited), whereas for the water cycle, the effect of land use change remains evident throughout the simulation period (changes in evapotranspiration do not attenuate). Thus we conclude that management will have a large potential to influence the carbon and water cycle, which needs to be considered in management planning as well as in climate and hydrological modellin

Dr. Dietrich Heidecke zum 65. Geburtstag

Selten ist ein Biologe seiner Heimat Sachsen-Anhalt so treu geblieben wie Dietrich Heidecke. Am 4. Juni 1945 in Köthen (Anhalt) geboren, wurde bereits in seinem Elternhaus durch die Nutria- und Nerzzucht seines Vaters der Grundstein für die spätere Beschäftigung mit semiaquatischen Säugetieren gelegt. Von 1970 bis 1984 arbeitete er als wissenschaftlicher Assistent an der Biologischen Station Steckby des Instituts für Landschaftsforschung und Naturschutz (ILN). Hier galt sein Interesse vor allem dem Schutz und der Erforschung vom Aussterben bedrohter Wirbeltierarten. Praktisch vor seiner Haustür wohnten die letzten Elbebiber, die ab sofort Gegenstand seiner wissenschaftlichen Arbeit wurden. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit bildeten die Grundlage für seine Dissertation zum Thema „Untersuchungen zur Ökologie und Populationsentwicklung des Elbebibers, Castor fiber albicus, Matschie 1907“. Den (Elbe)Bibern ist Dietrich Heidecke bis heute treu geblieben. Dank seiner Initiative ist die Bestandsentwicklung des Elbebibers im heutigen Sachsen-Anhalt seit 1970 lückenlos dokumentiert. Der Biberschutz lebte und lebt ganz wesentlich von seinem Engagement. Nun wurde Dietrich Heidecke in den Ruhestand verabschiedet, der (wer ihn kennt, weiß es) zu einem Unruhestand werden kann. So hat er sich schon längere Zeit um die Organisation der Bearbeitung einer Säugetierfauna des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt verdient gemacht und möchte diese Arbeit jetzt fortsetzen. Die große Anerkennung seiner Arbeit beschreibt wohl am besten die Meinung seiner Studenten: „Herr Heidecke ist toll“. Dem können sich die vielen ehrenamtlichen Naturschützer, die er im Laufe der Jahre begeisterte, nur anschließen. Alles Gute, Herr Dr. Heidecke

In memoriam Dr. Dietrich Heidecke

Zum Gedenken an Dr. Dietrich Heidecke. Plötzlich und für alle noch unfassbar verstarb am 24.10.2011 der ehemalige Kustos der Zoologischen Sammlungen der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg und international bekannte Biberforscher Dr. Dietrich Heidecke

Successional pathways in Swiss mountain forest reserves

Knowledge on the natural dynamics of Norway spruce-European silver fir forests is scarce, but is of high importance for the sustainable management of these ecosystems. Using a unique data set from five forest reserves in the Swiss Alps that covers up to 35years, we elucidated communalities and differences in stand structure and species composition across the reserves and over time and investigated the role of site conditions versus intrinsic forest dynamics. For the early and late successional phases, we found a clear relationship between stand structure (diameter distributions) and species composition. Two pathways of early succession were evident as a function of the disturbance regime. Thus, the spatial extent of disturbances in spruce-fir forests strongly determines the pathway in early succession. Contrary to earlier descriptions of clearly distinguishable optima phases, our data did not reveal a relationship between stand structure and species composition for the early, mid-, and late optimum phases. Although the reserves investigated here are characterized by highly different climatic and soil conditions, their temporal development was found to fit well into a single successional scheme, suggesting that in spruce-fir mountain forests, the life-history strategies of the tree species may have a stronger influence on successional trajectories than site conditions per s

Quantifying disturbance effects on vegetation carbon pools in mountain forests based on historical data

Although the terrestrial carbon budget is of key importance for atmospheric CO2 concentrations, little is known on the effects of management and natural disturbances on historical carbon stocks at the regional scale. We reconstruct the dynamics of vegetation carbon stocks and flows in forests across the past 100years for a valley in the eastern Swiss Prealps using quantitative and qualitative information from forest management plans. The excellent quality of the historical information makes it possible to link dynamics in growing stocks with high-resolution time series for natural and anthropogenic disturbances. The results of the historical reconstruction are compared with modelled potential natural vegetation. Forest carbon stock at the beginning of the twentieth century was substantially reduced compared to natural conditions as a result of large scale clearcutting lasting until the late nineteenth century. Recovery of the forests from this unsustainable exploitation and systematic forest management were the main drivers of a strong carbon accumulation during almost the entire twentieth century. In the 1990s two major storm events and subsequent bark beetle infestations significantly reduced stocks back to the levels of the mid-twentieth century. The future potential for further carbon accumulation was found to be strongly limited, as the potential for further forest expansion in this valley is low and forest properties seem to approach equilibrium with the natural disturbance regime. We conclude that consistent long-term observations of carbon stocks and their changes provide rich information on the historical range of variability of forest ecosystems. Such historical information improves our ability to assess future changes in carbon stocks. Further, the information is vital for better parameterization and initialization of dynamic regional scale vegetation models and it provides important background for appropriate management decision

Soil carbon pools in Swiss forests show legacy effects from historic forest litter raking

Globally, forest soils contain twice as much carbon as forest vegetation. Consequently, natural and anthropogenic disturbances affecting carbon accumulation in forest soils can alter regional to global carbon balance. In this study, we evaluate the effects of historic litter raking on soil carbon stocks, a former forest use which used to be widespread throughout Europe for centuries. We estimate, for Switzerland, the carbon sink potential in current forest soils due to recovery from past litter raking (‘legacy effect'). The year 1650 was chosen as starting year for litter raking, with three different end years (1875/1925/1960) implemented for this forest use in the biogeochemical model LPJ-GUESS. The model was run for different agricultural and climatic zones separately. Number of cattle, grain production and the area of wet meadow have an impact on the specific demand for forest litter. The demand was consequently calculated based on historical statistical data on these factors. The results show soil carbon pools to be reduced by an average of 17% after 310years of litter raking and legacy effects were still visible 130years after abandonment of this forest use (2% average reduction). We estimate the remaining carbon sink potential in Swiss forest due to legacy effects from past litter raking to amount to 158,000 tC. Integrating historical data into biogeochemical models provides insight into the relevance of past land-use practices. Our study underlines the importance of considering potentially long-lasting effects of such land use practices for carbon accountin

The impact of climate change and its uncertainty on carbon storage in Switzerland

Projected future climate change will alter carbon storage in forests, which is of pivotal importance for the national carbon balance of most countries. Yet, national-scale assessments are largely lacking. We evaluated climate impacts on vegetation and soil carbon storage for Swiss forests using a dynamic vegetation model. We considered three novel climate scenarios, each featuring a quantification of the inherent uncertainty of the underlying climate models. We evaluated which regions of Switzerland would benefit or lose in terms of carbon storage under different climates, and which abiotic factors determine these patterns. The simulation results showed that the prospective carbon storage ability of forests depends on the current climate, the severity of the change, and the time required for new species to establish. Regions already prone to drought and heat waves under current climate will likely experience a decrease in carbon stocks under prospective ‘extreme' climate change, while carbon storage in forests close to the upper treeline will increase markedly. Interestingly, when climate change is severe, species shifts can result in increases in carbon stocks, but when there is only slight climate change, climate conditions may reduce growth of extant species while not allowing for species shifts, thus leading to decreases in carbon stocks