Full text of this article is only available in PDF format.

Tuomo Wallenius (email), Timo Kuuluvainen, Raimo Heikkilä, Tapio Lindholm

Spatial tree age structure and fire history in two old-growth forests in eastern Fennoscandia

Wallenius T., Kuuluvainen T., Heikkilä R., Lindholm T. (2002). Spatial tree age structure and fire history in two old-growth forests in eastern Fennoscandia. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 557. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.557

Abstract

Two near natural old-growth forests, one dominated by Picea abies and the other by Pinus sylvestris, were studied for their fire history, and spatial patterns of trees and tree ages. The spatial tree age structure and the disturbance history of the forests were examined by drawing age class maps based on mapped and aged trees and by dating fires based on fire scars, and by using spatial analyses at tree scale. The tree age structures of the Picea and Pinus dominated forests were different, mainly due to differences in fire history and sensitivity of the dominant tree species to fire. Fire histories and tree age structures of both sites have probably been affected by human in the ancient past. However, in the Picea dominated site, the fires had been severe, killing most of the trees, whereas in the Pinus dominated site the severity of fires had been more variable, leaving some Pinus and even Picea trees alive. In the Pinus dominated site, the tree age distribution was multimodal, consisting of two Pinus cohorts, which were established after fires and a later Picea regeneration. The Picea dominated site was composed of four patches of different disturbance history. In the oldest patch, the tree age distribution was unimodal, with no distinct cohorts, while a single cohort that regenerated after severe fire disturbances dominated the three other patches. In both sites the overall spatial patterns of living and dead trees were random and the proportion of spatially autocorrelated variance of tree age was low. This means that trees of different age grew more or less mixed in the forest without forming spatially distinct regeneration patches, even in the oldest patch of Picea dominated Liimatanvaara, well over 200 years after a fire. The results show that detail knowledge of disturbance history is essential for understanding the development of tree age structures and their spatial patterns.

Keywords
Pinus sylvestris; Picea abies; disturbance dynamics; spatial autocorrelation; spatial pattern

Author Info
  • Wallenius, Department of Ecology and Systematics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland E-mail tuomo.wallenius@helsinki.fi (email)
  • Kuuluvainen, Department of Forest Ecology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland E-mail tk@nn.fi
  • Heikkilä, Research Centre of Friendship Park, Tönölä, FIN-88900 Kuhmo, Finland E-mail rh@nn.fi
  • Lindholm, Finnish Environment Institute, Nature and Land Use Division, P.O. Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland E-mail tl@nn.fi

Received 1 November 2000 Accepted 20 March 2002 Published 31 December 2002

Views 4696

Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.557 | Download PDF

Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0

Register
Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.
Log in
If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.
Contents alert
Sign up to receive alerts of new content

Your selected articles
Your search results
Kuuluvainen T., Leinonen K. et al. (1996) Statistical opportunities for comparing stand st.. Silva Fennica vol. 30 no. 2–3 article id 5598
Hokkanen T. J., Järvinen E. et al. (1995) Properties of top soil and the relationship betw.. Silva Fennica vol. 29 no. 3 article id 5556
Kuuluvainen T., (1989) Branching dynamics in young Scots pine. Silva Fennica vol. 23 no. 3 article id 5385
Kuuluvainen T., Pukkala T. (1989) Effect of Scots pine seed trees on the density o.. Silva Fennica vol. 23 no. 2 article id 5379
Kuuluvainen T., Kanninen M. et al. (1988) Tree architecture in young Scots pine: propertie.. Silva Fennica vol. 22 no. 2 article id 5347
Pukkala T., Kuuluvainen T. (1987) Effect of canopy structure on the diurnal interc.. Silva Fennica vol. 21 no. 3 article id 5316
Kreutz A., Aakala T. et al. (2015) Spatial tree community structure in three stands.. Silva Fennica vol. 49 no. 2 article id 1279
Grenfell R., Aakala T. et al. (2011) Microsite occupancy and the spatial structure of.. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 89
Ylläsjärvi I., Berglund H. et al. (2011) Relationships between wood-inhabiting fungal spe.. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 83
Lännenpää A., Aakala T. et al. (2008) Tree mortality agents in pristine Norway spruce .. Silva Fennica vol. 42 no. 2 article id 468
Lilja-Rothsten S., Chantal M. d. et al. (2008) Microsites before and after restoration in manag.. Silva Fennica vol. 42 no. 2 article id 250
Lilja S., Kuuluvainen T. (2005) Structure of old Pinus sylvestris dominated fore.. Silva Fennica vol. 39 no. 3 article id 377
Larjavaara M., Kuuluvainen T. et al. (2004) Variation in forest fire ignition probability in.. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 3 article id 414
Wallenius T., Kuuluvainen T. et al. (2002) Spatial tree age structure and fire history in t.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 557
Kuuluvainen T., Mäki J. et al. (2002) Tree age distributions in old-growth forest site.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 556
Karjalainen L., Kuuluvainen T. (2002) Amount and diversity of coarse woody debris with.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 555
Rouvinen S., Kuuluvainen T. et al. (2002) Tree mortality in a Pinus sylvestris dominated b.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 554
Brumelis G., Jonsson B. G. et al. (2011) Forest naturalness in northern Europe: perspecti.. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 446
Kuuluvainen T., Aakala T. (2011) Natural forest dynamics in boreal Fennoscandia: .. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 73
Shorohova E., Kneeshaw D. et al. (2011) Variability and dynamics of old-growth forests i.. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 72
Kuuluvainen T., (2002) Natural variability of forests as a reference fo.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 552
Kuuluvainen T., Aapala K. et al. (2002) Principles of ecological restoration of boreal f.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 572
Jonsson B. G., Kouki J. et al. (2011) Northern Primeval Forests – Ecology, Conservatio.. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 5 article id 445
Kuuluvainen T., (2002) Introduction. Disturbance dynamics in boreal for.. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 547