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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
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Silvicultural regime shapes understory functional structure in European forests
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Napoleone
,
Francesca
,
Ricotta
,
Carlo
,
Ferrara
,
Carlotta
,
Fusaro
,
Lina
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Bradley
,
Owen
,
Kovács
,
Bence
,
Mina
,
Marco
,
Cerabolini
,
Bruno Enrico Leone
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Lens
,
Luc
,
Hertzog
,
Lionel R.
,
Verheyen
,
Kris
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Müller
,
Jörg C. C.
,
Weisser
,
Wolfgang W.
,
Helback
,
Jan
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Riis-Hansen
,
Rasmus
,
Goldberg
,
Irina
,
Aude
,
Erik
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Kappel Schmidt
,
Inger
,
Riis-Nielsen
,
Torben
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Dumas
,
Yann
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
Xystrakis
,
Fotios
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Ódor
,
Péter
,
Aszalós
,
Réka
,
Bölöni
,
János
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
Bagella
,
Simonetta
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Brazaitis
,
Gediminas
,
Marozas
,
Vitas
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Ujházy
,
Karol
,
Máliš
,
František
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
functional diversity
functional redundancy
forest understory
sustainable forest management
unmanaged forests
ecosystem resilience
silvicultural regime
Mostra abstract
Managing forests to sustain their diversity and functioning is a major challenge in a changing world. Despite the key role of understory vegetation in driving forest biodiversity, regeneration and functioning, few studies address the functional dimensions of understory vegetation response to silvicultural management. We assessed the influence of the silvicultural regimes on the functional diversity and redundancy of European forest understory. We gathered vascular plant abundance data from more than 2000 plots in European forests, each associated with one out of the five most widespread silvicultural regimes. We used generalized linear mixed models to assess the effect of different silvicultural regimes on understory functional diversity (Rao's quadratic entropy) and functional redundancy, while accounting for climate and soil conditions, and explored the reciprocal relationship between three diversity components (functional diversity, redundancy and dominance) across silvicultural regimes through a ternary diversity diagram. Intensive silvicultural regimes are associated with a decrease in functional diversity and an increase in functional redundancy, compared with unmanaged conditions. This means that although intensive management may buffer communities' functions against species or functional losses, it also limits the range of understory response to environmental changes. Policy implications. Different silvicultural regimes influence different facets of understory functional features. While unmanaged forests can be used as a reference to design silvicultural practices in compliance with biodiversity conservation targets, different silvicultural options should be balanced at landscape scale to sustain the multiple forest functions that human societies are increasingly demanding. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.
Relationships between overstory and understory structure and diversity in semi-natural mixed floodplain forests at Bosco Fontana (Italy)
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Minari
,
Emma
,
Fardusi
,
Most Jannatul
,
Merlini
,
Paolo
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
Corona
,
P.
,
Mason
,
Franco
Mostra abstract
The "Bosco Fontana" natural reserve includes the last remaining mixed floodplain forest in northern Italy and one of the most endangered ecosystems in Europe. Its effective management is hindered by the complexity of interactions of mixed-tree species and the influence of environmental factors on understory plant diversity. In this study we analyzed the patterns of natural evolution in semi-natural floodplain forest stands at Bosco Fontana with the aim of better understanding its current natural processes and dynamics. Stand structure, taxonomic and functional diversity, species composition, and leaf area index (LAI) of overstory and understory layers were surveyed in permanent plots over two inventory years (1995, 2005). The influence of environmental factors on understory plant diversity was assessed using Ellenberg’s indices for light, soil moisture, soil nutrient and soil reaction. Results indicated that overstory species composition varies according to the soil moisture, with hornbeam prevailing in xeric sites and deciduous oak species in mesic sites. Xeric sites showed high functional dispersion in both drought and shade tolerant traits, while it was significantly lower in both overstory and understory in the moist site. Functional dispersion of drought tolerance in the overstory and understory layers was positively correlated, while species richness was negatively correlated between the two layers. Diversity in the understory was mainly correlated with soil conditions. Understory LAI was positively correlated with overstory LAI in xeric and mesic plots, while no correlations were found in the moist plot. Overall, our results suggest that site conditions (soil conditions and water availability) are the major drivers of understory and overstory dynamics in the study forest. Hence, local site conditions and the understory should be carefully considered in the management of mixed floodplain forests. © SISEF.