Recruitment models for Norway spruce, Scots pine, birch and other broadleaves in young growth forests in Norway

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Equilibrium curves and growth models to deal with forests in transition to uneven-aged structure : application in two sample stands

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Leaf morphological and physiological responses of Quercus aquifolioides along an altitudinal gradient

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Historical logging, productivity, and structural characteristics of boreal coniferous forests in Norway

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Relationship between biomass and percentage cover in understorey vegetation of boreal coniferous forests

[Abstract]

Canopy stratification in peatland forests in Finland

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Ecologia del foc del Quercus suber L.

L’objecte d’aquest treball ha estat l’ecologia del foc del Quercus suber L., concretament la resposta de les suredes davant del foc. Així estudiar si és possible l’ús del foc per a la gestió de les suredes. Com poder posar xifres a la mortalitat després dels incendis, diferenciant les zones d’alta i de baixa intensitat. S’ha pogut veure que la mortalitat resta sols significativa per als arbres joves.

Empirical models for predicting the production of wild mushrooms in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in the Central Pyrenees

Mushroom picking has become a widespread autumn recreational activity in the Central Pyrenees and other regions of Spain. Predictive models that relate mushroom production or fungal species richness with forest stand and site characteristics are not available. This study used mushroom production data from 24 Scots pine plots over 3 years to develop a predictive model that could facilitate forest management decisions when comparing silvicultural options in terms of mushroom production. Mixed modelling was used to model the dependence of mushroom production on stand and site factors. The results showed that productions were greatest when stand basal area was approximately 20 m2 ha-1. Increasing elevation and northern aspect increased total mushroom production as well as the production of edible and marketed mushrooms. Increasing slope decreased productions. Marketed Lactarius spp., the most important group collected in the region, showed similar relationships. The annual variation in mushroom production correlated with autumn rainfall. Mushroom species richness was highest when the total production was highest.

Un nuevo problema en espacios verdes urbanos: el pulgón Myzocallis (Lineomyzocallis) walshii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) y el roble americano (Quercus rubra)

Myzocallis (Lineomyzocallis) walshii (Monell) es un pulgón nativo del este de Nor- teamérica que se detectó por primera vez en España en 1995 y cuyo principal huésped es el roble americano (Quercus rubra L.). Los robles americanos se emplean como árbol ornamental en ambientes urbanos en diversas ciudades españolas, donde las proliferaciones del pulgón generan gran cantidad de melaza provocando daños estéticos y de confort. Durante 2008 y 2009 se efectuó el seguimiento de la fenología y de la densidad de población de M. walshii y de otros pulgones en robles americanos plantados en alineación en la ciudad de Girona y se estimaron los daños producidos. Asimismo se valoró la relación entre la abundancia de pulgones y los daños ocasionados. Finalmente se identificaron los principales grupos de enemigos naturales, a la vez que se cuantificó su abundancia. M. walshii fue la única especie de pulgón que afectó a los robles americanos. Este pulgón pasa el invierno en forma de huevo, las primeras ninfas surgen a la salida de hojas y las distintas generaciones de individuos partenogenéticos se mantienen a niveles variables hasta mediados de otoño, cuando aparecen las formas sexuales. Existe una correlación positiva entre la abundancia del pulgón y los daños de confort, incluso cuando la densidad es baja. Parasitoides y coccinélidos fueron los enemigos naturales más frecuentemente registrados, aunque su abundancia fue relativamente escasa. Se discute el papel de las condiciones climáticas y de los enemigos naturales en la determinación de la abundancia de M. walshii.

Forests for Water : Is Lombok PES a non-case ?

Forest management for groundwater protection is a cheap solution for a vital question, which is implemented for decades all over the world. The main challenge is to insure a constant adequate forest management to preserve the service provided. In Lombok Island, the problem is the lack of implementation of the public regulation in the forest area. Therefore payments for environmental services (PES) are used as an alternative in this weak institutional environment. The results of the field research show that, surprisingly, the "famous" Lombok PES case is not a PES at all, even if there are some payments. This research has however happy ends because other "forest for water" PES have been identified in the field. In addition, the legal review identified a way to solve the lack of legal base for PES implementation. Thus, the PES examples that we identified could be spread all over Indonesia without conflicting other regulations (fiscal, local finance, forest, etc.) and circumventing the forest administrations.

Building wood debris piles benefits avian seed dispersers in burned and logged Mediterranean pine forests

Salvage logging is a common practice carried out in burned forests worldwide, and intended to mitigate the economic losses caused by wildfires. Logging implies an additional disturbance occurring shortly after fire, although its ecological effects can be somewhat mitigated by leaving wood debris on site. The composition of the bird community and its capacity to provide ecosystem services such as seed dispersal offleshy-fruited plants have been shown to be affected by postfire logging. We assessedthe effects of the habitat structure resulting from different postfire management practices on the bird community, in three burned pine forests in Catalonia (western Mediterranean). For this purpose, we focused on the group of species that is responsible for seed dispersal, a process which takes place primarily during the winter in theMediterranean basin. In addition, we assessed microhabitat selection by seed disperser birds in such environments in relation to management practices. Our results showed a significant, positive relationship between the density of wood debris piles and the abundance of seed disperser birds. Furthermore, such piles were the preferredmicrohabitat of these species. This reveals an important effect of forest management on seed disperser birds, which is likely to affect the dynamics of bird-dependent seed dispersal. Thus, building wood debris piles can be a useful practice for the conservation of both the species and their ecosystem services, while also being compatible with timber harvesting

Numerical Dominance of the Argentine Ant vs Native Ants and Consequences on Soil Resource Searching in Mediterranean Cork-Oak Forests (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

This study is focused on the dominance exerted by the invasive Argentine ant over native ants in a coastal Mediterranean area. Theimpact of this invasive ant on native ant assemblages and its consequences on total ant biomass and on the intensity of habitat explorationwere evaluated. Foraging ants were observed and their trajectories recorded during 5-minute periods in two study zones, one invaded andthe other non-invaded. Ant species detected, ant worker abundance, ant biomass and the intensity of soil surface searching done by antswere compared between the two zones. The Argentine ant invasion provoked a drastic reduction of the ant species richness. Apparentlyonly one native ant species is able to coexist with the Argentine ant, the cryptic Plagiolepis pygmaea. Ant worker abundance was also modified after the invasion: the number of Argentine ant workers detected, which represented 92% of the invaded zone, was two times higher than the number of native ant workers detected in the non-invaded zone. The total ant biomass was inversely affected, becoming four times lower in the invaded zone highly dominated by Linepithema humile. The higher number of Argentine ant workers and their fast tempo of activity implied an alteration of the intensity of soil surface searching: scanning by the Argentine ants in the invaded zone was higher than that done by the native ants in the non-invaded zone, and the estimated time for a complete soil surface scan was 64 minutes in the invaded zone and 108 minutes in the non-invaded zone. Consequently, resources will be discovered faster by ants in the invaded zone than in the non-invaded zone. The increase of the mean temperature and the decrease of the relative humidity from May to August reduced the ant activity in the two study zones but this reduction was greater in the invaded zone

Removal of chromium (vi) in aqueous environments using cork and heat-treated cork samples from quercus cerris and quercus suber

Chromium (VI) removal and its reduction to chromium (III) from aqueous solution by untreated and heat-treated Quercus cerris and heat-treated Quercus suber black agglomerate cork granules was investigated. Initial screening studies revealed that among the sorbents tested, untreated Q. cerris and Q. suber black agglomerate are the most efficient in the removal of Cr(VI) ions and were selected for adsorption essays. Heat treatment adversely affected chromium adsorption and chromium (VI) reduction in Q. cerris cork. The highest metal uptake was found at pH 3.0 for Q. cerris and pH 2.0 for black agglomerate. The experimental data fitted the Langmuir model and the calculated qmax was 22.98 mg/g in black agglomerate and 21.69 mg/g in untreated Q. cerris cork. The FTIR results indicated that while in black agglomerate, lignin is the sole component responsible for Cr(VI) sorption, and in untreated Q. cerris cork, suberin and polysaccharides also play a significant role on the sorption. The SEM-EDX results imply that chromium has a homogenous distribution within both cork granules. Also, phloemic residues in Q. cerris granules showed higher chromium concentration. The results obtained in this study show that untreated Q. cerris and black agglomerate cork granules can be an effective and economical alternative to more costly materials for the treatment of liquid wastes containing chromium