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Full-Text Articles in Forest Sciences
Changes Of Forest Cover And Disturbance Regimes In The Mountain Forests Of The Alps, P. Bebi, R. Seidl, R. Motta, M. Fuhr, D. Firm, F. Krumm, M. Conedera, C. Ginzler, T. Wohlgemuth, Dominik Kulakowski
Changes Of Forest Cover And Disturbance Regimes In The Mountain Forests Of The Alps, P. Bebi, R. Seidl, R. Motta, M. Fuhr, D. Firm, F. Krumm, M. Conedera, C. Ginzler, T. Wohlgemuth, Dominik Kulakowski
Geography
Natural disturbances, such as avalanches, snow breakage, insect outbreaks, windthrow or fires shape mountain forests globally. However, in many regions over the past centuries human activities have strongly influenced forest dynamics, especially following natural disturbances, thus limiting our understanding of natural ecological processes, particularly in densely-settled regions. In this contribution we briefly review the current understanding of changes in forest cover, forest structure, and disturbance regimes in the mountain forests across the European Alps over the past millennia. We also quantify changes in forest cover across the entire Alps based on inventory data over the past century. Finally, using the …
A Walk On The Wild Side: Disturbance Dynamics And The Conservation And Management Of European Mountain Forest Ecosystems, Dominik Kulakowski, Rupert Seidl, Jan Holeksa, Timo Kuuluvainen, Thomas A. Nagel, Momchil Panayotov, Miroslav Svoboda, Simon Thorn, Giorgio Vacchiano, Cathy Whitlock, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Peter Bebi
A Walk On The Wild Side: Disturbance Dynamics And The Conservation And Management Of European Mountain Forest Ecosystems, Dominik Kulakowski, Rupert Seidl, Jan Holeksa, Timo Kuuluvainen, Thomas A. Nagel, Momchil Panayotov, Miroslav Svoboda, Simon Thorn, Giorgio Vacchiano, Cathy Whitlock, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Peter Bebi
Geography
Mountain forests are among the most important ecosystems in Europe as they support numerous ecological, hydrological, climatic, social, and economic functions. They are unique relatively natural ecosystems consisting of long-lived species in an otherwise densely populated human landscape. Despite this, centuries of intensive forest management in many of these forests have eclipsed evidence of natural processes, especially the role of disturbances in long-term forest dynamics. Recent trends of land abandonment and establishment of protected forests have coincided with a growing interest in managing forests in more natural states. At the same time, the importance of past disturbances highlighted in an …
Is Initial Post-Disturbance Regeneration Indicative Of Longer-Term Trajectories?, Nathan S. Gill, Daniel Jarvis, Thomas T. Veblen, Steward T.A. Pickett, Dominik Kulakowski
Is Initial Post-Disturbance Regeneration Indicative Of Longer-Term Trajectories?, Nathan S. Gill, Daniel Jarvis, Thomas T. Veblen, Steward T.A. Pickett, Dominik Kulakowski
Geography
The ability to estimate and model future vegetation dynamics is a central focus of contemporary ecology and is essential for understanding future ecological trajectories. It is therefore critical to understand when the influence of initial post-disturbance regeneration versus stochastic processes dominates long-term post-disturbance ecological processes. Often, conclusions about post-disturbance dynamics are based upon initial regeneration in the years immediately after disturbances. However, the degree to which initial post-disturbance regeneration indicates longer-term trends is likely to be contingent on the types, intensities, and combinations of disturbances, as well as pre-disturbance ecosystem structure and composition. Our relatively limited understanding of why initial …