Minna Malmivaara 
,
Irja Löfström,
Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa
Anthropogenic effects on understorey vegetation in Myrtillus type urban forests in southern Finland
Malmivaara M., Löfström I., Vanha-Majamaa I. (2002). Anthropogenic effects on understorey vegetation in Myrtillus type urban forests in southern Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 568. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.568
Abstract
The growth of urban population in Finland has resulted in increased fragmentation of urban forests and consequently increased recreational pressure on these forests. The effects of fragmentation and trampling on the ground and field layer vegetation were studied in mesic Myrtillus type Norway spruce-dominated urban forest stands of varying size in the greater Helsinki area. The number of residents living in the vicinity of the forest stands was an important factor affecting the understorey vegetation in urban forests. The cover of understorey vegetation in urban forests was remarkably lower than in rural areas, especially the ground layer cover, e.g. cover of Pleurozium schreberi, was significantly lower in urban forests than in the reference areas. Thus, the ground layer proved to be most susceptible to trampling. In the field layer, the cover of dwarf shrubs, especially of Vaccinium myrtillus, was lower in deteriorated than in undeteriorated urban forest stands.
Keywords
fragmentation;
GNMDS;
trampling;
vegetation monitoring;
wear
-
Malmivaara,
Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland
E-mail
minna.malmivaara@metla.fi
- Löfström, Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail il@nn.fi
- Vanha-Majamaa, Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail ivm@nn.fi
Received 6 February 2001 Accepted 30 January 2002 Published 31 December 2002
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Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.568 | Download PDF
