The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands
To increase set-aside areas and protect biodiversity values in managed hemiboreal forest landscapes, small forest parcels called Woodland Key Habitats have been designated in Baltic and Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the persisting influence of the edge on vegetation dyna...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1084 |
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| author | Līga Liepa Zigmārs Rendenieks Āris Jansons Inga Straupe Edgars Dubrovskis Olga Miezīte |
| author_facet | Līga Liepa Zigmārs Rendenieks Āris Jansons Inga Straupe Edgars Dubrovskis Olga Miezīte |
| author_sort | Līga Liepa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To increase set-aside areas and protect biodiversity values in managed hemiboreal forest landscapes, small forest parcels called Woodland Key Habitats have been designated in Baltic and Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the persisting influence of the edge on vegetation dynamics for young, medium-old and old edges in <i>Alnus glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Woodland Key Habitats. All of these edges are adjacent to recently disturbed (clear-cut) stands. We surveyed edge influence on vegetation in bryophyte, herbaceous, shrub and tree layers in 90 plots in 30 set-aside forest stands in Southern Latvia. We tested the differences in the number of species and projective coverage in all vegetation layers, but plant functional types were examined—separately in the herbaceous layer. We found that edge influence in protected forest stands of <i>A. glutinosa</i> swamp forests reflects strong changes in vegetation and plant functional types in the herbaceous layer mostly up to 20 years after clear-cut disturbance in adjacent stands. The greatest differences were between young edges (≤20 years) and old edges (≥41 years), but there were very few significant differences between medium-old (21–40 years) and old edges which signifies more rapid changes in the early stages of edge influence and gradual stabilization of vegetation later on. We found that in edges adjacent to recently disturbed stands (up to 20 years), significantly less rare and indicator epiphytic lichen species occur, but this occurrence increases over time and edge influence is no longer present beyond 20 years after disturbance. Changes in vegetation and species occurrence found in our study indicated the need to plan the allocation of set-aside patches in production forest landscapes to ensure connectivity over longer period of time. Careful planning of clear-cuts in neighboring areas over time can significantly reduce the impact of edge effect on these set-asides. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:42:52Z |
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| id | doaj.art-cc49e741e4fd4a78ad719c58e982e3f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:42:52Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc49e741e4fd4a78ad719c58e982e3f92023-11-20T16:41:50ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072020-10-011110108410.3390/f11101084The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed StandsLīga Liepa0Zigmārs Rendenieks1Āris Jansons2Inga Straupe3Edgars Dubrovskis4Olga Miezīte5Department of Silviculture, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Akadēmijas 11, LV-3001 Jelgava, LatviaDepartment of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Jelgavas 1, LV-1004 Riga, LatviaLatvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, Rigas 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, LatviaDepartment of Silviculture, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Akadēmijas 11, LV-3001 Jelgava, LatviaDepartment of Silviculture, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Akadēmijas 11, LV-3001 Jelgava, LatviaDepartment of Silviculture, Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Akadēmijas 11, LV-3001 Jelgava, LatviaTo increase set-aside areas and protect biodiversity values in managed hemiboreal forest landscapes, small forest parcels called Woodland Key Habitats have been designated in Baltic and Nordic countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the persisting influence of the edge on vegetation dynamics for young, medium-old and old edges in <i>Alnus glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Woodland Key Habitats. All of these edges are adjacent to recently disturbed (clear-cut) stands. We surveyed edge influence on vegetation in bryophyte, herbaceous, shrub and tree layers in 90 plots in 30 set-aside forest stands in Southern Latvia. We tested the differences in the number of species and projective coverage in all vegetation layers, but plant functional types were examined—separately in the herbaceous layer. We found that edge influence in protected forest stands of <i>A. glutinosa</i> swamp forests reflects strong changes in vegetation and plant functional types in the herbaceous layer mostly up to 20 years after clear-cut disturbance in adjacent stands. The greatest differences were between young edges (≤20 years) and old edges (≥41 years), but there were very few significant differences between medium-old (21–40 years) and old edges which signifies more rapid changes in the early stages of edge influence and gradual stabilization of vegetation later on. We found that in edges adjacent to recently disturbed stands (up to 20 years), significantly less rare and indicator epiphytic lichen species occur, but this occurrence increases over time and edge influence is no longer present beyond 20 years after disturbance. Changes in vegetation and species occurrence found in our study indicated the need to plan the allocation of set-aside patches in production forest landscapes to ensure connectivity over longer period of time. Careful planning of clear-cuts in neighboring areas over time can significantly reduce the impact of edge effect on these set-asides.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1084black alderhemiboreal forestsepiphytic lichensplant functional typesclear-cut edgesedge effect |
| spellingShingle | Līga Liepa Zigmārs Rendenieks Āris Jansons Inga Straupe Edgars Dubrovskis Olga Miezīte The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands Forests black alder hemiboreal forests epiphytic lichens plant functional types clear-cut edges edge effect |
| title | The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands |
| title_full | The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands |
| title_fullStr | The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands |
| title_short | The Persisting Influence of Edge on Vegetation in Hemiboreal <i>Alnus Glutinosa</i> (L.) Gaertn. Swamp Forest Set-Asides Adjacent to Recently Disturbed Stands |
| title_sort | persisting influence of edge on vegetation in hemiboreal i alnus glutinosa i l gaertn swamp forest set asides adjacent to recently disturbed stands |
| topic | black alder hemiboreal forests epiphytic lichens plant functional types clear-cut edges edge effect |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/10/1084 |
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