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Articles containing the keyword 'understory'

Category : Research article

article id 10334, category Research article
Annija Kārkliņa, Guntis Brūmelis, Iluta Dauškane, Didzis Elferts, Lāsma Freimane, Māra Kitenberga, Zane Lībiete, Roberts Matisons, Āris Jansons. (2020). Effect of salvage-logging on post-fire tree establishment and ground cover vegetation in semi-natural hemiboreal forests. Silva Fennica vol. 54 no. 5 article id 10334. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10334
Keywords: management; forest fire; natural disturbance; legacies; understory vegetation
Highlights: Effect of salvage logging on post-fire understory vegetation was assessed; Effect of salvage logging differed depending on forest types; In dry-poor stands, Calluna vulgaris was hindering other plant species; In wet stands, logging had positive effect on understory vegetation diversity; Salvage logging enhanced the effect of natural disturbance in dry-rich stands.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Fire is a common disturbance in boreal forests causing changes in biological diversity at various spatial scales. In the past 100 years, forest management has limited fire outbreaks, but in the future, the fire-affected forest area is expected to increase in many regions due to climate change. Burned forests are typically salvage-logged, but the effect of this type of management versus natural regeneration on biological diversity is not well understood, particularly the mid-term effect to tree establishment and understory vegetation composition and diversity. Various management methods were used after a large fire in 1992 in a peatland-forest complex and neighbouring managed forests, which created an experimental setup for study of the effect of management after fire in the Sliteres National park, northwestern Latvia. Understory vegetation was described in plots using a design of four forest and three management types: natural regeneration (unmanaged) and managed sites with salvage logging followed by no further human intervention and salvage logging with planting. Post-fire management had different effect in each forest type. Species richness was higher in forest types with salvage logging than in natural regenerated sites on rich wet and rich dry forest types, but not for the poor forest types. Tree regeneration was generally greater in salvage-logged stands, but differed between forest types. Species composition was related to tree regeneration and canopy openness. In contrast to other studies, salvage logging had a positive mid-term effect to ground vegetation diversity and tree establishment in the studied stands, implying potential for concomitant management and conservation of ground cover vegetation in semi-natural stands.

  • Kārkliņa, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: annija.karklina@silava.lv (email)
  • Brūmelis, University of Latvia, Faculty of Biology, Jelgavas street 1, LV-1004, Riga, Latvia E-mail: guntis.brumelis@lu.lv
  • Dauškane, University of Latvia, Faculty of Biology, Jelgavas street 1, LV-1004, Riga, Latvia E-mail: iluta.dauskane@lu.lv
  • Elferts, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia; University of Latvia, Faculty of Biology, Jelgavas street 1, LV-1004, Riga, Latvia E-mail: didzis.elferts@lu.lv
  • Freimane, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: lasma.freimane@silava.lv
  • Kitenberga, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: mara.kitenberga@silava.lv
  • Lībiete, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: zane.libiete@silava.lv
  • Matisons, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: robism@inbox.lv
  • Jansons, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: aris.jansons@silava.lv
article id 10150, category Research article
Petri Forsström, Jouni Peltoniemi, Miina Rautiainen. (2019). Seasonal dynamics of lingonberry and blueberry spectra. Silva Fennica vol. 53 no. 2 article id 10150. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10150
Keywords: understory; remote sensing; boreal forest vegetation; berries; flowers; goniometer; FIGIFIGO
Highlights: Seasonal series of multiangular spectra for lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.); Decidous blueberry has strong seasonal pattern while temporal variations of evergreen lingonberry were linked to phenological stages of flowering and berrying; Detection of flowers and berries from shrub spectra was possible; Collected spectral data are openly available through SPECCHIO Spectral Information System.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Accurate mapping of the spatial distribution of understory species from spectral images requires ground reference data which represent the prevailing phenological stage at the time of image acquisition. We measured the spectral bidirectional reflectance factors (BRFs, 350–2500 nm) at varying view angles for lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) throughout the growing season of 2017 using Finnish Geospatial Research Institute’s FIGIFIGO field goniometer. Additionally, we measured spectra of leaves and berries of both species, and flowers of lingonberry. Both lingonberry and blueberry showed seasonality in visible and near-infrared spectral regions which was linked to occurrences of leaf growth, flowering, berrying, and leaf senescence. The seasonality of spectra differed between species due to different phenologies (evergreen vs. deciduous). Vegetation indices, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), moisture stress index (MSI), plant senescence reflectance index (PSRI), and red-edge inflection point (REIP2), showed characteristic seasonal trends. NDVI and PSRI were sensitive to the presence of flowers and berries of lingonberry, while with blueberry the effects were less evident. Off-nadir observations supported differentiating the dwarf shrub species from each other but showed little improvement for detection of flowers and berries. Lingonberry and blueberry can be identified by their spectral signatures if ground reference data are available over the entire growing season. The spectral data measured in this study are reposited in the publicly open SPECCHIO Spectral Information System.

  • Forsström, Aalto University, School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2357-2517 E-mail: petri.forsstrom@aalto.fi (email)
  • Peltoniemi, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), Department of Geodesy and Geodynamics, Geodeetinrinne 2, FI-02430 Masala, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4701-128X E-mail: jouni.peltoniemi@nls.fi
  • Rautiainen, Aalto University, School of Engineering, Department of Built Environment, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; Aalto University, Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6568-3258 E-mail: miina.a.rautiainen@aalto.fi
article id 96, category Research article
Scott R. Abella. (2011). How well do U.S. Forest Service terrestrial ecosystem surveys correspond with measured vegetation properties? Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 4 article id 96. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.96
Keywords: ecosystem classification; Pinus ponderosa; potential natural vegetation; reference conditions; understory
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info
Reliable estimates of species composition that forest sites are capable of supporting – specific to ecosystem mapping units across landscapes – are useful for many purposes in forest science and management. Like forestry agencies in numerous countries, the U.S. Forest Service has invested in ecological land classification (termed terrestrial ecosystem survey [TES] in the study region of Arizona) that includes ecosystem-explicit species lists taken to be estimated potential natural vegetation (PNV). Using multivariate community analyses, PNV in the TES was compared to measured species composition on 66 sites representing among the least-disturbed vegetation (considered this study’s measured PNV) spanning 11 ecosystem types on a Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson landscape in northern Arizona, USA. Agreement between the TES PNV and measured species composition was lowest for forbs and shrubs (compared to graminoids), and species composition differed significantly between the TES and this study for at least one plant lifeform in 73% of ecosystems. Reasons for differences between the TES and this study are difficult to resolve, but in some cases appear to result from identification of different species pools in the region. This study suggests that the TES is a useful starting point in understanding vegetation-environment relationships, but further work is needed to refine species lists and more thoroughly account for the influences of fire, grazing, and climate that can influence both PNV and current vegetation. Refining and updating ecosystem-specific species lists may benefit existing forest site classifications and could be planned for when new site classifications are developed, especially with changing climates.
  • Abella, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-3064 USA E-mail: scott.abella@unlv.edu (email)
article id 567, category Research article
Sonia Légaré, Yves Bergeron, David Paré. (2002). Influence of forest composition on understory cover in boreal mixedwood forests of western Quebec. Silva Fennica vol. 36 no. 1 article id 567. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.567
Keywords: biomass; understory; canopy; composition; nutrient availability
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info
Forest overstory composition influences both light and nutrient availability in the mixed boreal forest. The influence of stand composition on understory cover and biomass was investigated on two soil types (clay and till deposits). Four forest composition types were considered in this study: aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and a mixture of balsam-fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). The cover of all understory species was recorded while the biomass of two important and ubiquitous species was measured: mountain maple (Acer spicatum Lam.) of the shrub layer and large-leaved aster (Aster macrophyllus L.) of the herb layer. Soil analyses were conducted to evaluate the influence of overstory composition on understory biomass through its influences on soil characteristics. Analyses of variance showed a significant effect of forest canopy type on mountain maple biomass, understory cover and shrub cover but not on herb cover and large-leaved aster biomass. Path analysis was performed to explore the relationships between canopy type, nutrient availability and understory biomass. Contrary to what was expected, the variation in plant biomass associated with forest composition was weakly related to soil nutrient availability and more strongly related to stand structural attributes.
  • Légaré, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Groupe de recherche en écologie forestière interuniversitaire, 445, boulevard de l'Université, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada J9X 5E4 E-mail: sonia.legare@uqat.uquebec.ca (email)
  • Bergeron, NSERC-UQAT-UQAM, Industrial Chair in sustainable forest management, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8 E-mail: yb@nn.ca
  • Paré, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, P.O. Box 3800, Sainte-Foy, QC, Canada G1V 4C7 E-mail: dp@nn.ca

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