Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition
Recent drought-induced dieback alters forest dynamics, which are also shaped by past management. In western Pyrenean silver fir (<i>Abies alba</i>) stands, dieback concurs in space and time with the legacies of past management, but the impacts on forest growth, structure and composition...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/4/713 |
| _version_ | 1797605441415413760 |
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| author | Antonio Gazol Ester González de Andrés Michele Colangelo Cristina Valeriano Jesús Julio Camarero |
| author_facet | Antonio Gazol Ester González de Andrés Michele Colangelo Cristina Valeriano Jesús Julio Camarero |
| author_sort | Antonio Gazol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent drought-induced dieback alters forest dynamics, which are also shaped by past management. In western Pyrenean silver fir (<i>Abies alba</i>) stands, dieback concurs in space and time with the legacies of past management, but the impacts on forest growth, structure and composition are unknown. We aim to disentangle how dieback interacts with the legacies of past human use and modulates the recent dynamics of silver fir forests. To this end, we sampled eleven silver fir forests across wide climatic gradients and included declining and non-declining sites. We measured radial growth, structure, composition, understory cover and type and amount of deadwood. Silver fir growth declines in response to late-summer drought. In declining sites, most defoliated stands showed the lowest silver fir density and were those where growth depended more on water availability. Tree death enhanced the cover of dominant understory plants such as <i>Buxus sempervirens</i>. Past management activities leave an imprint in the growth of silver fir, such as releases due to past logging, but also affect the number of stumps and snags and the current tree density. A more extensive monitoring will be required to fully disentangle the multiple influences of past management legacies and current climate change on forest dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:01:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d1662ab37514d2990b53a728ed01394 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:01:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d1662ab37514d2990b53a728ed013942023-11-17T19:16:49ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-03-0114471310.3390/f14040713Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and CompositionAntonio Gazol0Ester González de Andrés1Michele Colangelo2Cristina Valeriano3Jesús Julio Camarero4Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainInstituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainRecent drought-induced dieback alters forest dynamics, which are also shaped by past management. In western Pyrenean silver fir (<i>Abies alba</i>) stands, dieback concurs in space and time with the legacies of past management, but the impacts on forest growth, structure and composition are unknown. We aim to disentangle how dieback interacts with the legacies of past human use and modulates the recent dynamics of silver fir forests. To this end, we sampled eleven silver fir forests across wide climatic gradients and included declining and non-declining sites. We measured radial growth, structure, composition, understory cover and type and amount of deadwood. Silver fir growth declines in response to late-summer drought. In declining sites, most defoliated stands showed the lowest silver fir density and were those where growth depended more on water availability. Tree death enhanced the cover of dominant understory plants such as <i>Buxus sempervirens</i>. Past management activities leave an imprint in the growth of silver fir, such as releases due to past logging, but also affect the number of stumps and snags and the current tree density. A more extensive monitoring will be required to fully disentangle the multiple influences of past management legacies and current climate change on forest dynamics.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/4/713<i>Abies alba</i>deadwooddroughtforest diebackmanagement legaciesunderstory |
| spellingShingle | Antonio Gazol Ester González de Andrés Michele Colangelo Cristina Valeriano Jesús Julio Camarero Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition Forests <i>Abies alba</i> deadwood drought forest dieback management legacies understory |
| title | Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition |
| title_full | Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition |
| title_fullStr | Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition |
| title_short | Pyrenean Silver Fir Forests Retain Legacies of Past Disturbances and Climate Change in Their Growth, Structure and Composition |
| title_sort | pyrenean silver fir forests retain legacies of past disturbances and climate change in their growth structure and composition |
| topic | <i>Abies alba</i> deadwood drought forest dieback management legacies understory |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/4/713 |
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