A general framework to describe the alteration of natural tree species composition as an indicator of forest naturalness |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Forestry and Renewable Forest Resources, Ve?na pot 83, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;2. Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Biology, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;1. Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, Zurich 8046, Switzerland;2. University of Natural Resources & Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel Strasse 33, Vienna 1180, Austria;3. Arche Noah Seed Archive, Obere Strasse 40, Schiltern 3553, Austria;4. Alterra, Wageningen UR, Droevedaalse steeg 3, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands;5. Institute of Environmental & Landscape Management, Szent Istvan University, Páter Károly u. 1, Gödöllö 2100, Hungary;6. Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreuzwaldi 5, Tartu 51041, Estonia;7. Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth SY23 3DD, United Kingdom;8. Tour du Valat, Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes, Le Sambuc, Arles 13200, France;9. Department of Biology, Padova University, via U. Bassi 58/b, Padova 35121, Italy;10. Forestry School, University of Extremadura, Av. Virgen del Puerto 2, Plasencia 10600, Spain;11. UMR 1201 Dynafor, INRA, Chemin de Borde-Rouge, Castanet-Tolosan 31326, France;12. Institute of Plant Genetic Resources K. Malkov, Sadovo 4122, Bulgaria;13. Centre of Life and Food Science, Technical University of Munich, Alte Akademie 12, Freising 85354, Germany;14. Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, PO Box 115, Ås 1431, Norway;1. Department of Applied Biology, University Miguel Hernández, Elche, Alicante, Spain;2. Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández, Elche, Alicante, Spain;1. Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland;2. Swiss National Forest Inventory NFI, Forest Resources and Management, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland;3. Landscape Dynamics, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland;1. Departamento de Biologia & CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal;2. Sanidad y Biotecnología (SaBio), Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain;3. Servei d'' Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain;4. Grup de Recerca en Remugants, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain;5. Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO)/InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal;6. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto (FCUP), 4099-022 Porto, Portugal;1. Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Research Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Luxembourg;2. BETA, AgroParisTech, France;3. Office National des Forêts (ONF), France;1. Biosphärenreservat Schorfheide-Chorin, Hoher Steinweg 5-6, 16278 Angermünde, Germany;2. Dresden Technical University, Pienner Str. 8, 01737 Tharandt, Germany;3. Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Str. 10, 07743 Jena, Germany;4. Eberswalde University of sustainable Development, Faculty of Forest and Environment, Institute of Applied Ecology and Zoology, Alfred-Möller-Str. 1, 16225 Eberswalde, Germany |
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| Abstract: | The alteration of natural tree species composition is defined as the deviation of the current tree species composition from that of the natural state. It can be used as a measure of human influence on forest vegetation, and thus as an indicator of the naturalness of forest vegetation. The aim of the study was to develop a standard procedure for estimating the alteration of natural tree species composition, to explain factors driving alteration and to examine its significance for susceptibility of forest stands to natural disturbances. The alteration of natural tree species composition was estimated for the Dinaric region (5556 km2, Slovenia) by the Robi? Index of Dissimilarity (RID), ranging from 0 (completely natural) to 100 (completely altered). The index was calculated on the compartment level (24 ha each on average) with data on current and potential natural forest vegetation. The influence of human activities on tree species alteration was examined by using topographic and accessibility variables. The susceptibility of forest stands to natural disturbances was analysed with data on sanitary felling. In the study area, the natural tree species composition of forest stands is moderately preserved; the average value of RID was 50.05, ranging from 1.76 to 100, and the coefficient of variation was 0.49. The alteration of the natural tree species composition of forest stands is primarily the result of forest management and past land use, conditioned either by topography or accessibility of forests. The degree of alteration of tree species composition decreased along the gradients of rockiness, inclination and elevation. A greater degree of alteration appeared on the slopes of intermediate and south facing aspects than on north facing slopes, and in areas that were closer to the forest edge. A higher level of alteration significantly increases the susceptibility of forest stands to natural disturbances. The procedure represents a novel approach in modelling the alteration (naturalness) of tree species composition of forest vegetation. It is applicable at different spatial scales and fosters an understanding of the patterns of tree species composition under the influence of human activity across forest landscapes. |
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| Keywords: | Natural forest vegetation Index of dissimilarity Human influence Landscape matrix Topographic variables Susceptibility to natural disturbances |
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