Long-lived light-demanding emergents in southern temperate forests: the case of Weinmannia trichosperma (Cunoniaceae) in Chile

The prevailing paradigm of tree life histories emphasises strong interrelationships between growth, longevity and reproductive traits, attributing contrasting suites of correlated traits to pioneer and climax or non-pioneer species. In tropical and southern temperate rainforests, although many of the species that require large gaps for regeneration conform to the expectations of small size and short lifespan, a number of others are long-lived canopy or emergent trees. Age data reported here for Weinmannia trichosperma, a shade-intolerant emergent tree in the temperate rainforests of southern Chile, indicate a maximum lifespan (>730 yr) exceeding those previously reported for any other angiosperm of the region. The long lifespan of W. trichosperma is associated with relatively slow growth, reflecting investment of resources in dense wood and possibly other defensive traits. Growth rates of W. trichosperma are much slower than those of associated short-lived pioneer trees, and apparently also slower than some of its more shade-tolerant associates. The light-demanding nature of many of the longest-lived trees in southern temperate forests highlights an important limitation of the classical pioneer-climax paradigm as a framework for understanding tree life history variation and modelling forest dynamics in this biome.A longevity advantage over Nothofagus spp. may help explain the relative abundance of W. trichosperma in the lower to mid-elevation coast range forests in the Chilean lakes district, where the scarcity or absence of Nothofagus in many stands has been attributed to a low frequency of coarse-scale disturbance.p>     

Fire-scars and polymodal age-structure provide evidence of fire-events in an Aleppo pine population in southern France

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) is adapted to fire, the most important disturbance in Mediterranean ecosystems. This species is known to be sensitive to fire and is usually killed when burned, but has a powerful regenerative capacity following burning. Sometimes, however, pines survive within burned areas, suggesting a certain potential for recording fire events in terms of age-structure and eventually scars. In the present study, fire scars on Aleppo pine trunks were used to construct a 150-year fire record in a burned forest in southern France. Four fires were detected with a mean fire return interval of 27 years: minimum 13 years and maximum 45 years. The age structure of the Aleppo pine population was analyzed on the basis of dated fire-scars in order to test the role of fire in creating the polymodal structure of the pine population. Results show the presence of multiple “cohorts” (subpopulations) of Aleppo pine. There appear to have been several pulses of tree recruitment, with the two largest cohorts corresponding to regeneration after the 1919 and 2000 fires. Other fires were recognized based on fire scars but these were not associated with obvious post-fire pine recruitment. Regeneration success is likely to depend on fire severity and on the length of fire-free intervals. Fire history and associated age-structure can thus be reconstructed using Aleppo pine stands.     

The Relative Impact of Harvest and Fire upon Landscape-Level Dynamics of Older Forests: Lessons from the Northwest Forest Plan

Interest in preserving older forests at the landscape level has increased in many regions, including the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) of 1994 initiated a significant reduction in the harvesting of older forests on federal land. We used historical satellite imagery to assess the effect of this reduction in relation to: past harvest rates, management of non-federal forests, and the growing role of fire. Harvest rates in non-federal large-diameter forests (LDF) either decreased or remained stable at relatively high rates following the NWFP, meaning that harvest reductions on federal forests, which cover half of the region, resulted in a significant regional drop in the loss of LDF to harvest. However, increased losses of LDF to fire outweighed reductions in LDF harvest across large areas of the region. Elevated fire levels in the western United States have been correlated to changing climatic conditions, and if recent fire patterns persist, preservation of older forests in dry ecosystems will depend upon practical and coordinated fire management across the landscape. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Author Contributions: The study was conceived and designed by S.P.H., W.B.C., T.A.S, and M. M. The paper was written primarily by S.P.H, with editorial help by T.A.S. and W.B.C. The research itself, including mapping and analysis, was performed by S.P.H., D.P., M.G.W., and M.L. M.M. contributed additional methodologies related to the creation and validations of maps of historical older forests.     

Californian mixed-conifer forests under unmanaged fire regimes in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico

Aim This study appraises historical fire regimes for Californian mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir (SSPM). The SSPM represents the last remaining mixed‐conifer forest along the Pacific coast still subject to uncontrolled, periodic ground fire. Location The SSPM is a north–south trending fault bound range, centred on 31°N latitude, 100 km SE of Ensenada, Baja California. Methods We surveyed forests for composition, population structure, and historical dynamics both spatially and temporally over the past 65 years using repeat aerial photographs and ground sampling. Fire perimeter history was reconstructed based on time‐series aerial photographs dating from 1942 to 1991 and interpretable back to 1925. A total of 256 1‐ha sites randomly selected from aerial photographs were examined along a chronosequence for density and cover of canopy trees, density of snags and downed logs, and cover of non‐conifer trees and shrubs. Twenty‐four stands were sampled on‐the‐ground by a point‐centred quarter method which yielded data on tree density, basal area, frequency, importance value, and shrub and herb cover. Results Forests experience moderately intense understory fires that range in size to 6400 ha, as well as numerous smaller, low intensity burns with low cumulative spatial extent. SSPM forests average 25–45% cover and 65–145 trees per ha. Sapling densities were two to three times that of overstory trees. Size‐age distributions of trees ≥ 4 cm dbh indicate multi‐age stands with steady‐state dynamics. Stands are similar to Californian mixed conifer forests prior to the imposition of fire suppression policy. Livestock grazing does not appear to be suppressing conifer regeneration. Main conclusions Our spatially‐based reconstruction shows the open forest structure in SSPM to be a product of infrequent, intense surface fires with fire rotation periods of 52 years, rather than frequent, low intensity fires at intervals of 4–20 years proposed from California fire‐scar dendrochronology (FSD) studies. Ground fires in SSPM were intense enough to kill pole‐size trees and a significant number of overstory trees. We attribute long fire intervals to the gradual build‐up of subcontinuous shrub cover, conifer recruitment and litter accumulation. Differences from photo interpretation and FSD estimates are due to assumptions made with respect to site‐based (point) sampling of fire, and nonfractal fire intensities along fire size frequency distributions. Fire return intervals determined by FSD give undue importance to local burns which collectively use up little fuel, cover little area, and have little demographic impact on forests.     

张广才岭北部三大硬阔树木生长-气候关系的时空变异

树木年轮在时空尺度上的比较可以更好地反映环境变化对树木生长的影响,在认识气候变化对森林生态系统的影响上具有重要意义。采用树木年代学方法分析了张广才岭北部地区阔叶红松林中主要阔叶树种-水曲柳(Fraxinus mandshurica)、黄菠萝(Phellodendron amurense)和胡桃楸(Juglans mandshurica)径向生长与气候关系的时空变异。结果表明,在同一地点树种间气候响应差异明显,胡桃楸受降水和最低温度共同作用,而黄菠萝和水曲柳则主要受最低温度限制,这表明树木生长与气候因子的关系具有一定的物种特异性。随着温度和降水格局的改变,三大硬阔年轮与气候关系在空间水平上存在差异,方正和西大圈样点的胡桃楸与6—8月最低温度呈显著正相关(P0.05),而凤凰山样点与5、6月最低温度和降水呈正相关(P0.05);黄菠萝和水曲柳径向生长随着降水空间格局的变化,其生长季末期相关性程度逐渐减弱。1980年后张广才岭北部出现气温显著升高,在升温前三大硬阔的生长趋势相对一致,而在升温后黄菠萝和水曲柳树轮宽度随温度升高呈上升趋势,但胡桃楸却出现随温度升高而生长下降的\"分异现象\"。如果未来增温趋势持续发生或者加重,可以推断在张广才岭北部胡桃楸可能受干旱胁迫加剧,其可能出现生长衰退,但增温可能更有利于黄菠萝和水曲柳的生长。