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Pubblicazioni Scientifiche
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Benchmarking tree species classification from proximally sensed laser scanning data: Introducing the FOR-species20K dataset
Puliti
,
Stefano
,
Lines
,
Emily R.
,
Müllerová
,
Jana
,
Frey
,
Julian
,
Schindler
,
Zoe
,
Straker
,
Adrian
,
Allen
,
Matthew J.
,
Winiwarter
,
Lukas
,
Rehush
,
Nataliia
,
Hristova
,
Hristina S.
,
Murray
,
Brent A.
,
Calders
,
Kim
,
Coops
,
Nicholas C.
,
Höfle
,
Bernhard
,
Irwin
,
Liam A.K.
,
Junttila
,
Samuli
,
Kruček
,
Martin
,
Krok
,
G.
,
Král
,
Kamil
,
Levick
,
Shaun R.
,
Lück
,
Linda
,
Missarov
,
Azim
,
Mokroš
,
M.
,
Owen
,
Harry Jon Foord
,
Stereńczak
,
Krzysztof Jan
,
Pitkänen
,
Timo P.
,
Puletti
,
Nicola
,
Saarinen
,
Ninni
,
Hopkinson
,
Chris Dennis
,
Terryn
,
Louise
,
Torresan
,
C.
,
Tomelleri
,
Enrico
,
Weiser
,
Hannah
,
Astrup
,
Rasmus
Mostra abstract
Proximally sensed laser scanning presents new opportunities for automated forest ecosystem data capture. However, a gap remains in deriving ecologically pertinent information, such as tree species, without additional ground data. Artificial intelligence approaches, particularly deep learning (DL), have shown promise towards automation. Progress has been limited by the lack of large, diverse, and, most importantly, openly available labelled single-tree point cloud datasets. This has hindered both (1) the robustness of the DL models across varying data types (platforms and sensors) and (2) the ability to effectively track progress, thereby slowing the convergence towards best practice for species classification. To address the above limitations, we compiled the FOR-species20K benchmark dataset, consisting of individual tree point clouds captured using proximally sensed laser scanning data from terrestrial (TLS), mobile (MLS) and drone laser scanning (ULS). Compiled collaboratively, the dataset includes data collected in forests mainly across Europe, covering Mediterranean, temperate and boreal biogeographic regions. It includes scattered tree data from other continents, totaling over 20,000 trees of 33 species and covering a wide range of tree sizes and forms. Alongside the release of FOR-species20K, we benchmarked seven leading DL models for individual tree species classification, including both point cloud (PointNet++, MinkNet, MLP-Mixer, DGCNNs) and multi-view 2D-based methods (SimpleView, DetailView, YOLOv5). 2D Image-based models had, on average, higher overall accuracy (0.77) than 3D point cloud-based models (0.72). Notably, the performance was consistently >0.8 across scanning platforms and sensors, offering versatility in deployment. The top-scoring model, DetailView, demonstrated robustness to training data imbalances and effectively generalized across tree sizes. The FOR-species20K dataset represents an important asset for developing and benchmarking DL models for individual tree species classification using proximally sensed laser scanning data. As such, it serves as a crucial foundation for future efforts to classify accurately and map tree species at various scales using laser scanning technology, as it provides the complete code base, dataset, and an initial baseline representative of the current state-of-the-art of point cloud tree species classification methods. © 2025 The Author(s). Methods in Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.
TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access
Kattge
,
Jens
,
Bönisch
,
Gerhard
,
Díaz
,
Sandra M.
,
Lavorel
,
Sandra
,
Prentice
,
Iain Colin
,
Leadley
,
Paul W.
,
Tautenhahn
,
Susanne
,
Werner
,
Gijsbert
,
Aakala
,
Tuomas
,
Abedi
,
Mehdi
,
Acosta
,
Alicia Teresa Rosario
,
Adamidis
,
George C.
,
Adamson
,
Kairi
,
Aiba
,
Masahiro
,
Albert
,
Cécile Hélène
,
Alcántara
,
Julio M.
,
Alcázar C
,
Carolina
,
Aleixo
,
Izabela
,
Ali
,
Hamada E.
,
Amiaud
,
Bernard
,
Ammer
,
Christian
,
Amoroso
,
Mariano Martín
,
Anand
,
Madhur
,
Anderson
,
Carolyn G.
,
Anten
,
Niels P.R.
,
Antos
,
Joseph A.
,
Apgaua
,
Deborah Mattos Guimarães
,
Ashman
,
Tia Lynn
,
Asmara
,
Degi Harja
,
Asner
,
Gregory P.
,
Aspinwall
,
Michael J.
,
Atkin
,
Owen K.
,
Aubin
,
Isabelle
,
Baastrup-Spohr
,
Lars
,
Bahalkeh
,
Khadijeh
,
Bahn
,
Michael
,
Baker
,
Timothy R.
,
Baker
,
William J.
,
Bakker
,
Jan P.
,
Baldocchi
,
Dennis D.
,
Baltzer
,
Jennifer L.
,
Banerjee
,
Arindam
,
Baranger
,
Anne
,
Barlow
,
Jos B.
,
Barneche
,
Diego R.
,
Baruch
,
Zdravko
,
Bastianelli
,
Denis
,
Battles
,
John J.
,
Bauerle
,
William L.
,
Bauters
,
Marijn
,
Bazzato
,
Erika
,
Beckmann
,
Michael
,
Beeckman
,
Hans
,
Beierkuhnlein
,
Carl
,
Bekker
,
Renée M.
,
Belfry
,
Gavin
,
Belluau
,
Michaël
,
Beloiu Schwenke
,
Mirela
,
Benavides
,
Raquel
,
Benomar
,
Lahcen
,
Berdugo-Lattke
,
Mary Lee
,
Berenguer
,
Erika
,
Bergamin
,
Rodrigo Scarton
,
Bergmann
,
Joana
,
Carlucci
,
Marcos B.
,
Berner
,
Logan T.
,
Bernhardt-Römermann
,
Markus
,
Bigler
,
Christof
,
Bjorkman
,
Anne D.
,
Blackman
,
Chris J.
,
Blanco
,
Carolina Casagrande
,
Blonder
,
Benjamin Wong
,
Blumenthal
,
Dana M.
,
Bocanegra-González
,
Kelly Tatiana
,
Boeckx
,
Pascal
,
Bohlman
,
Stephanie Ann
,
Böhning-Gaese
,
Katrin
,
Boisvert-Marsh
,
Laura
,
Bond
,
William J.
,
Bond-Lamberty
,
Ben P.
,
Boom
,
Arnoud
,
Boonman
,
Coline C.F.
,
Bordin
,
Kauane Maiara
,
Boughton
,
Elizabeth H.
,
Boukili
,
Vanessa K.S.
,
Bowman
,
David M.J.S.
,
Bravo
,
Sandra Josefina
,
Brendel
,
Marco R.
,
Broadley
,
Martin R.
,
Brown
,
Kerry A.
,
Bruelheide
,
Helge
,
Brumnich
,
Federico
,
Bruun
,
Hans Henrik
,
Bruy
,
David
,
Buchanan
,
Serra Willow
,
Bucher
,
Solveig Franziska
,
Buchmann
,
Nina
,
Buitenwerf
,
Robert
,
Bunker
,
Daniel E.
,
Bürger
,
Jana
functional diversity
data coverage
data integration
data representativeness
plant traits
try plant trait database
Mostra abstract
Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives. © 2019 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Sustainable forest planning: Assessing biodiversity effects of Triad zoning based on empirical data and virtual landscapes
Duflot
,
Rémi
,
Heinrichs
,
Steffi
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
Bouget
,
Christophe
,
Dvořák
,
Daniel
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Gosselin
,
Frédéric
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Holá
,
Eva
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Jung
,
Kirsten G.
,
Palice
,
Zdeněk
,
Renner
,
Swen C.
,
Weisser
,
Wolfgang W.
,
Nagel
,
Thomas A.
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Schall
,
Peter
Mostra abstract
The Triad framework seeks to balance the economic and ecological functions in forested landscapes by combining intensively, extensively, and unmanaged areas, assuming a higher support to biodiversity in extensively rather than in intensively managed forests. We quantified the effects of Triad zoning on biodiversity in (sub)montane eutrophic European beech forests. Using a European-wide multitaxon database and a “virtual” landscape approach (i.e., by resampling empirical data), we evaluated how the proportion of Triad management categories affected the landscape-level species diversity of birds, saproxylic beetles, vascular plants, epiphytic bryophytes, lichens, and wood-inhabiting fungi, as well as multitaxonomic diversity. The results varied greatly among taxonomic groups. Multitaxonomic diversity peaked in landscapes composed of 60% unmanaged and 40% intensively managed forests. While intensive management can benefit some taxa through the creation of open habitats, unmanaged forests are the backbone of biodiversity conservation, underlining the need to safeguard the remaining old-growth forests under natural dynamics, and to extend the current area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Extensive forest management, however, did not contribute to biodiversity conservation as expected. As withdrawing such a high proportion of European forest landscapes from management is unfeasible given the increasing demand for timber, efforts are needed to increase the presence of structural features supporting biodiversity into extensively managed forests. © © 2025 the Author(s).
Behaviour of Brown Bears Under Fluctuating Resource Availability
Tattoni
,
Clara
,
Corradini
,
Andrea
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Ciolli
,
Marco
,
Giusti
,
Roberta
,
Bragalanti
,
Natalia
,
Cagnacci
,
Francesca
,
Martinoli
,
Adriano
,
Preatoni
,
Damiano G.
,
Bisi
,
Francesco
Mostra abstract
Mast seeding, the variable and intermittent production of seeds, has cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. This study explores its influence on the brown bear populations in the Italian Alps, focusing on beechnuts (Fagus sylvatica L.), the primary food source for bears in the region. Using historical data and field sampling, we estimated and mapped the annual seed biomass from 2007 to 2021 for the province of Trento. The energy content of beechnuts was assessed through high heating values, providing the caloric resources available. Data on beechnuts production, records of damages and GPS data from 16 Eurasian brown bears were integrated to perform a temporal and spatial analysis at home range and at landscape level. Standardised damages to beehives and livestock decreased during mast years, suggesting that bears met their trophic needs through natural food sources. In fact, bears used more agricultural areas and less beech forest during years of beech crop failure. At landscape level, agriculture and pasture areas close to beech forests and distant from cities showed a higher risk of damage, providing a tool to anticipate management actions. This work provides insights on the ecological dynamics and conservation implications of brown bears in the study area by mapping the spatial and temporal aspects of mast seeding and bear-related damages. © 2025 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by British Ecological Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Managed forests are a stronghold of non-native beetles in Europe
Basile
,
Marco
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Chojnacki
,
Lucas
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
N Avtzis
,
Dimitrios N.
,
Bouget
,
Christophe
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Dumas
,
Yann
,
Elek
,
Zoltán
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Justesen
,
Mathias Just
,
Hansen
,
Aslak Kappel
,
Schmidt
,
Inger Kappel
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Müller
,
Jörg C. C.
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Ódor
,
Péter
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Brockerhoff
,
Eckehard G.
Mostra abstract
The species richness of vascular plants in forests can have contrasting effects on the occurrence of non-native insects. The establishment of non-native insect populations may be facilitated by low plant species richness, which reflects the availability of few but easily accessible resources, or hampered by high plant species richness due to spatial dilution of resources or biotic resistance (i.e., resistance against biological invasions). The relationship between the species richness of plants and non-native insects is likely influenced by disturbance regimes, which, in European forests, mostly consists of timber harvesting. We investigated this relationship considering two major forest attributes: (i) species richness of non-native vascular plants and (ii) forest management. From 1101 forest plots in Europe, we gathered occurrences of 1212 vascular plant species, including 160 non-native species, and of 2404 beetle species, including 29 non-native species. We tested the relationship between the species richness of non-native beetles and plants using non-linear quantile regressions. We disentangled the effect of non-native plant species richness from that of management on the species richness of non-native beetles, while accounting for forest structural variables, using structural equation models. We found clear evidence of a hump-shaped relationship between non-native beetle and plant species richness. The general shape of the relationship persisted when considering only woody or non-woody plants, as well as only non-native plants. The relationship was also similar between managed and unmanaged forests. However, the proportion of non-native beetles in managed forests was higher than in unmanaged forests at the same plant species richness. Management had a direct negative effect on non-native beetle species richness, whereas non-native plant species richness had a direct positive effect. When considering all direct and indirect effects, management facilitated the occurrence of non-native beetles indirectly via non-native plants rather than directly. Synthesis and applications. Species richness of native and non-native vascular plants modulates the species richness of non-native beetles through relationships with opposite signs. The interplay with management regimes and forest structures determines whether non-native beetles are promoted. Forest management aimed at reducing the intensity of disturbance while encouraging native plant species richness could promote the dominance of dilution effects and biotic resistance and could moderate the establishment of non-native insects. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology © 2025 British Ecological Society.
Towards an effective in-situ biodiversity assessment in European forests
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Chojnacki
,
Lucas
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Haeler
,
Elena
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
de Andrade
,
Rafael Barreto
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Mijangos
,
Itziar Garcia
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Kozák
,
Daniel
,
Kutszegi
,
Gergely
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Mikoláš
,
Martin
,
Samu
,
Ferenc
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Svoboda
,
Miroslav
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Ódor
,
Péter
forest biodiversity
vascular plants
birds
epiphytic bryophytes
epiphytic lichens
monitoring network
multivariate standard error
rarefaction curves
saproxylic beetles
wood-inhabiting fungi
Mostra abstract
Assessing multi-taxon biodiversity is crucial to understand forests’ response to environmental changes and to inform management strategies. In Europe, forest biodiversity monitoring is still scattered and heterogeneous, although a long-term monitoring network has long been advocated. Given the monitoring aims reported in various EU policies, this network should be accurately designed also through the estimation of its sampling effort, here intended as the number of sampling plots and sites. We used a novel database of forest multi-taxon biodiversity for a pilot study to: estimate the minimum sampling effort needed to: assess variation in species richness and composition; compare these estimates with the efforts invested in the pilot database; discuss estimates’ differences across taxonomic groups and forest categories. We focused on six taxonomic groups (vascular plants, birds, epiphytic lichens and bryophytes, wood-inhabiting fungi and saproxylic beetles) across six forest categories. Based on 6,165 plots at 2,084 different locations across Europe, we benchmarked the effort to achieve: a complete species richness estimate through interpolation/extrapolation curves, and a precise evaluation of species composition variation through multivariate standard error. Our estimates differed widely, especially among taxonomic groups. For species richness, estimates range from 3 to 147 plots per site across 3 to 29 sites per forest category, with birds and epiphytic bryophytes requiring the least effort. For species composition, estimates range from 5 to over 25 plots per site across 5 to 20 sites per forest category, with saproxylic beetles, vascular plants, and fungi displaying the highest estimates. The taxonomic groups requiring an effort comparable to existing data were the least diverse, all the others need greater efforts, either for species richness (e.g., saproxylic beetles), or species composition (e.g., vascular plants), or both (e.g., wood-inhabiting fungi). An effective monitoring network of European forests’ biodiversity should thoroughly account for these benchmarks and for their taxon-dependency. © 2025
One to rule them all? Assessing the performance of sustainable forest management indicators against multitaxonomic data for biodiversity conservation
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Zapponi
,
Livia
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Monnet
,
Jean Matthieu
,
Ammer
,
Christian
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
Brazaitis
,
Gediminas
,
Campanaro
,
Alessandro
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Fischer
,
Markus
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Jung
,
Kirsten G.
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Ódor
,
Péter
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Vacchiano
,
Giorgio
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Weisser
,
Wolfgang W.
,
Wohlwend
,
Michael Rudolf
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
Mostra abstract
Several regional initiatives and reporting efforts assess the state of forest biodiversity through broad-scale indicators based on data from national forest inventories. Although valuable, these indicators are essentially indirect and evaluate habitat quantity and quality rather than biodiversity per se. Therefore, their link to biodiversity may be weak, which decreases their usefulness for decision-making. For several decades, Forest Europe indicators assessed the state of European forests, in particular their biodiversity. However, no extensive study has been conducted to date to assess their performance – i.e. the capacity of the indicators to reflect variations in biodiversity – against multitaxonomic data. We hypothesized that no single biodiversity indicator from Forest Europe can represent overall forest biodiversity, but that several indicators would reflect habitat quality for at least some taxa in a comprehensive way. We tested the set of Forest Europe's indicators against the species richness of six taxonomic and functional groups across several hundreds of sampling units over Europe. We showed that, while some indicators perform relatively well across groups (e.g. deadwood volume), no single indicator represented all biodiversity at once, and that a combination of several indicators performed better. Forest Europe indicators were chosen for their availability and ease of understanding for most people. However, we showed that gaps in the monitoring framework persist, and that surveying certain taxa along with stand structure is necessary to support policymaking and tackle forest biodiversity loss at the large scale. Adding context (e.g. forest type) may also contribute to increase the performance of biodiversity indicators. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd
Widespread breakdown in masting in European beech due to rising summer temperatures
Foest
,
Jessie J.
,
Bogdziewicz
,
Michał
,
Pesendorfer
,
Mario B.
,
Ascoli
,
Davide
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
Nussbaumer
,
Anita
,
Verstraeten
,
Arne
,
Beudert
,
Burkhard
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Mezzavilla
,
Francesco
,
Gratzer
,
Georg
,
Kunstler
,
Georges
,
Meesenburg
,
H.
,
Wagner
,
Markus
,
Mund
,
Martina
,
Cools
,
Nathalie
,
Vacek
,
Stanislav
,
Schmidt
,
Wolfgang
,
Vacek
,
Zdeněk Ck
,
Hacket-Pain
,
Andrew J.
Mostra abstract
Climate change effects on tree reproduction are poorly understood, even though the resilience of populations relies on sufficient regeneration to balance increasing rates of mortality. Forest-forming tree species often mast, i.e. reproduce through synchronised year-to-year variation in seed production, which improves pollination and reduces seed predation. Recent observations in European beech show, however, that current climate change can dampen interannual variation and synchrony of seed production and that this masting breakdown drastically reduces the viability of seed crops. Importantly, it is unclear under which conditions masting breakdown occurs and how widespread breakdown is in this pan-European species. Here, we analysed 50 long-term datasets of population-level seed production, sampled across the distribution of European beech, and identified increasing summer temperatures as the general driver of masting breakdown. Specifically, increases in site-specific mean maximum temperatures during June and July were observed across most of the species range, while the interannual variability of population-level seed production (CVp) decreased. The declines in CVp were greatest, where temperatures increased most rapidly. Additionally, the occurrence of crop failures and low seed years has decreased during the last four decades, signalling altered starvation effects of masting on seed predators. Notably, CVp did not vary among sites according to site mean summer temperature. Instead, masting breakdown occurs in response to warming local temperatures (i.e. increasing relative temperatures), such that the risk is not restricted to populations growing in warm average conditions. As lowered CVp can reduce viable seed production despite the overall increase in seed count, our results warn that a covert mechanism is underway that may hinder the regeneration potential of European beech under climate change, with great potential to alter forest functioning and community dynamics. © 2024 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Nagel
,
Thomas A.
,
Mitić
,
Božena
,
Morillas
,
Lourdes
,
Munzi
,
Silvana
,
Van Der Sluis
,
Theo
,
Alterio
,
Edoardo
,
Balducci
,
Lorenzo
,
de Andrade
,
Rafael Barreto
,
Bouget
,
Christophe
,
Giordani
,
P.
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Matošević
,
Dinka
,
Napoleone
,
Francesca
,
Nascimbene
,
Juri
,
Paniccia
,
Chiara
,
Roth
,
Nicolas
,
Aszalós
,
Réka
,
Brazaitis
,
Gediminas
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
D'Andrea
,
Ettore
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Kozák
,
Daniel
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Mikoláš
,
Martin
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Svoboda
,
Miroslav
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Wohlwend
,
Michael Rudolf
,
Xystrakis
,
Fotios
,
Aleffi
,
Michele
,
Ammer
,
Christian
,
Archaux
,
Frédéric
,
Asbeck
,
Thomas
,
N Avtzis
,
Dimitrios N.
,
Ayasse
,
Manfred
,
Bagella
,
Simonetta
,
Balestrieri
,
Rosario
,
Barbati
,
Anna
,
Basile
,
Marco
,
Bergamini
,
Ariel
,
Bertini
,
Giada
,
Biscaccianti
,
Alessandro Bruno
,
Boch
,
Steffen
,
Bölöni
,
János
,
Bombi
,
Pierluigi
,
Boscardin
,
Yves
,
Brunialti
,
Giorgio
,
Bruun
,
Hans Henrik
,
Buscot
,
François
,
Byriel
,
David Bille
,
Campagnaro
,
Thomas
,
Campanaro
,
Alessandro
,
Chauvat
,
Matthieu
,
Ciach
,
Michał
,
Čiliak
,
Marek
,
Cistrone
,
Luca
,
Pereira
,
Joaò Manuel Cordeiro
,
Daniel
,
Rolf
,
de Cinti
,
Bruno
,
de Filippo
,
Gabriele
,
Dekoninck
,
Wouter
,
Di Salvatore
,
Umberto
,
Dumas
,
Yann
,
Elek
,
Zoltán
,
Ferretti
,
Fabrizio
,
Fotakis
,
Dimitrios G.
,
Frank
,
Tamás
,
Frey
,
Julian
,
Giancola
,
Carmen
,
Gömöryová
,
Erika
,
Gosselin
,
Marion
,
Gosselin
,
Frédéric
,
Goßner
,
Martin M.
,
Götmark
,
Frank
,
Haeler
,
Elena
,
Hansen
,
Aslak Kappel
,
Hertzog
,
Lionel R.
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Johannsen
,
Vivian Kvist
,
Justensen
,
Mathias Just
,
Korboulewsky
,
Nathalie
,
Kovács
,
Bence
,
Lakatos
,
Ferenc
,
Landivar
,
Carlos Miguel
,
Lens
,
Luc
,
Lingua
,
Emanuele
forest biodiversity
biodiversity conservation
forest stand structure
multi-taxon
sustainable management
Mostra abstract
The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were represented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information. © 2023 The Authors
hemispheR: an R package for fisheye canopy image analysis
Mostra abstract
Hemispherical photography is a relevant tool to estimate canopy attributes such as leaf area index (LAI). Advancements in digital photography and image processing tools have supported long-lasting use of digital hemispherical photography (DHP). While some open-source tools exists for DHP, very few solutions have been made available in R programming packages, and none of these allows a full processing workflow to retrieve LAI and other canopy attributes from fisheye images. To fill this gap, we developed an R package (hemispheR) to support the whole processing of DHP images in an automated, fast, and reproducible way. The package functions, which are designed for step-by-step single-image analysis, can be performed sequentially in a pipeline, while allowing inspecting the quality of each image processing step. The package allows to analyze both circular and fullframe fisheye images, collected either with upward facing (forest canopies) or downward facing (short canopies and crops) camera orientation. In addition, the package allows to implement two consolidated LAI methods (LAI-2000/2200 and 57° method). A case study is presented to demonstrate the reliability of canopy attributes derived from hemispheR in temperate deciduous forests with variable canopy density and structure. Canopy attributes were validated against either results obtained from a reference proprietary software, either by benchmarking plot-level LAI with measurements obtained from littertraps. Results indicated hemispheR provide reliable openness and leaf area index in forest canopies as compared with reference values. We also found that combining hemispheR with other R packages further advance analysis of hemispherical canopy images, by reducing the sensitivity of results to camera exposure in both raw and non-raw canopy imagery. By providing a simple, transparent, and flexible image processing procedure, hemispheR supported the use of DHP for routine measurements and monitoring of forest canopy attributes. Hosting the package in a Git repository can further support development of the package, through either collaborative coding or forking projects. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
Words apart: Standardizing forestry terms and definitions across European biodiversity studies
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Campagnaro
,
Thomas
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
Vacchiano
,
Giorgio
,
Ammer
,
Christian
,
Ciach
,
Michał
,
Nagel
,
Thomas A.
,
del Río
,
Miren
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Munzi
,
Silvana
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Bravo-Oviedo
,
Andrés
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
D'Andrea
,
Ettore
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Fotakis
,
Dimitrios G.
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Korboulewsky
,
Nathalie
,
Kovács
,
Bence
,
Kozák
,
Daniel
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Mikoláš
,
Martin
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Ódor
,
Péter
,
Perović
,
Marko
,
Pötzelsberger
,
Elisabeth
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Svoboda
,
Miroslav
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
Mostra abstract
Forest biodiversity studies conducted across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms, often inconsistently. This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent. Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts. This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions, creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity. We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies. While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included, information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking, shallow, or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications. We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process, and ultimately propose a common framework. This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe, and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies. The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions. © 2023 The Authors
Handbook of field sampling for multi-taxon biodiversity studies in European forests
Burrascano
,
Sabina
,
Trentanovi
,
Giovanni
,
Paillet
,
Yoan
,
Heilmann-Clausen
,
Jacob
,
Giordani
,
P.
,
Bagella
,
Simonetta
,
Bravo-Oviedo
,
Andrés
,
Campagnaro
,
Thomas
,
Campanaro
,
Alessandro
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
de Smedt
,
Pallieter
,
Itziar
,
García Mijangos
,
Matošević
,
Dinka
,
Sitzia
,
Tommaso
,
Aszalós
,
Réka
,
Brazaitis
,
Gediminas
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
D'Andrea
,
Ettore
,
Doerfler
,
Inken
,
Hofmeister
,
Jeňýk
,
Hošek
,
Jan
,
Janssen
,
Philippe
,
Kepfer-Rojas
,
Sebastian
,
Korboulewsky
,
Nathalie
,
Kozák
,
Daniel
,
Lachat
,
Thibault
,
Lõhmus
,
Asko
,
López
,
Rosana
,
Mårell
,
Anders
,
Matula
,
Radim
,
Mikoláš
,
Martin
,
Munzi
,
Silvana
,
Nordén
,
Björn
,
Pärtel
,
Meelis
,
Penner
,
Johannes
,
Runnel
,
Kadri
,
Schall
,
Peter
,
Svoboda
,
Miroslav
,
Tinya
,
Flóra
,
Ujházyová
,
Mariana
,
Vandekerkhove
,
Kris
,
Verheyen
,
Kris
,
Xystrakis
,
Fotios
,
Ódor
,
Péter
Mostra abstract
Forests host most terrestrial biodiversity and their sustainable management is crucial to halt biodiversity loss. Although scientific evidence indicates that sustainable forest management (SFM) should be assessed by monitoring multi-taxon biodiversity, most current SFM criteria and indicators account only for trees or consider indirect biodiversity proxies. Several projects performed multi-taxon sampling to investigate the effects of forest management on biodiversity, but the large variability of their sampling approaches hampers the identification of general trends, and limits broad-scale inference for designing SFM. Here we address the need of common sampling protocols for forest structure and multi-taxon biodiversity to be used at broad spatial scales. We established a network of researchers involved in 41 projects on forest multi-taxon biodiversity across 13 European countries. The network data structure comprised the assessment of at least three taxa, and the measurement of forest stand structure in the same plots or stands. We mapped the sampling approaches to multi-taxon biodiversity, standing trees and deadwood, and used this overview to provide operational answers to two simple, yet crucial, questions: what to sample? How to sample? The most commonly sampled taxonomic groups are vascular plants (83% of datasets), beetles (80%), lichens (66%), birds (66%), fungi (61%), bryophytes (49%). They cover different forest structures and habitats, with a limited focus on soil, litter and forest canopy. Notwithstanding the common goal of assessing forest management effects on biodiversity, sampling approaches differed widely within and among taxonomic groups. Differences derive from sampling units (plots size, use of stand vs. plot scale), and from the focus on different substrates or functional groups of organisms. Sampling methods for standing trees and lying deadwood were relatively homogeneous and focused on volume calculations, but with a great variability in sampling units and diameter thresholds. We developed a handbook of sampling methods (SI 3) aimed at the greatest possible comparability across taxonomic groups and studies as a basis for European-wide biodiversity monitoring programs, robust understanding of biodiversity response to forest structure and management, and the identification of direct indicators of SFM. © 2021 The Authors
Climate, tree masting and spatial behaviour in wild boar (Sus scrofa L.): insight from a long-term study
Bisi
,
Francesco
,
Chirichella
,
Roberta
,
Chianucci
,
Francesco
,
von Hardenberg
,
Jost Graf
,
Cutini
,
Andrea
,
Martinoli
,
Adriano
,
Apollonio
,
Marco
Mostra abstract
Key message: Climate factors affect seed biomass production which in turn influences autumn wild boar spatial behaviour. Adaptive management strategies require an understanding of both masting and its influence on the behaviour of pulsed resource consumers like wild boar. Context: Pulsed resources ecosystem could be strongly affected by climate. Disantangling the role of climate on mast seeding allow to understand a seed consumer spatial behaviour to design proper wildlife and forest management strategies. Aims: We investigated the relationship between mast seeding and climatic variables and we evaluated the influence of mast seeding on wild boar home range dynamics. Methods: We analysed mast seeding as seed biomass production of three broadleaf tree species (Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus cerris L., Castanea sativa Mill.) in the northern Apennines. Next, we explored which climatic variables affected tree masting patterns and finally we tested the effect of both climate and seed biomass production on wild boar home range size. Results: Seed biomass production is partially regulated by climate; high precipitation in spring of the current year positively affects seed biomass production while summer precipitation of previous year has an opposite effect. Wild boar home range size is negatively correlated to seed biomass production, and the climate only partially contributes to determine wild boar spatial behaviour. Conclusion: Climate factors influence mast seeding, and the negative correlation between wild boar home range and mast seeding should be taken into account for designing integrated, proactive hunting management. © 2018, INRA and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.
A simple multivariate analysis to assess diversity in a complex long-term managed forest area in central Italy
forest biodiversity
forest ecosystems
sustainable forest management
correlation
principal components analysis
Mostra abstract
Today wood and nonwood forest resources management meets and often clashes with environment and biological diversity protection. A main problem is to understand relationships between the different roles of forest biodiversity, site, and management parameters. A multivariate statistical analysis has been carried out in order to interpret relationships between some forest biodiversity components and forest inventory data. Several indices of floristic diversity, species abundance, and structural heterogeneity at stand level have been calculated. The different components of forest biodiversity were separated by principal components analysis. Relations between forest biodiversity indices and site and management attributes have been investigated by two multivariate statistical techniques: bivariate correlation analysis and multiple linear regression. Results showed a high correlation between all the investigated components of forest biodiversity and some topographic and/or forest management attributes. Results also gave ancillary information to define sustainable forest management criteria. © 2014 Società Botanica Italiana.
Assessment of potential bioenergy from coppice forests trough the integration of remote sensing and field surveys
Lasserre
,
Bruno
,
Chirici
,
Gherardo
,
Chiavetta
,
U.
,
Garfì
,
Vittorio
,
Tognetti
,
Roberto
,
Drigo
,
Rudi
,
Di Martino
,
P.
,
Marchetti
,
Marco
remote sensing
forest inventory
sustainable forest management
coppice
firewood biomass
k-nearest neighbours
Mostra abstract
A spatially explicit knowledge of forest resources is essential to support the sustainable use of wood as a fuel for producing energy (firewood).This paper describes the integrated use of remotely sensed data and sample based forest inventories to derive a biomass map for coppice forest, resulted estimated potential biomass available is contrasted with local domestic consumptions at the municipality level. The test was carried out in an environmentally and socially homogeneous district of Apennine Mountains (Alto Molise, south-central Italy) coupling multispectral high resolution Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite imagery and a local forest inventory trough the application of the non-parametric estimation procedure k-Nearest Neighbours (k-NN). Several forest management scenarios were applied in order to evaluate their impact on the potential availability of firewood from coppice forests.The paper introduces data and methods used and presents the achieved results both in terms of the accuracy of the biomass map produced by k-NN and of the relationship between the potential availability and demand for firewood.These results demonstrated that k-NN is able to estimate the biomass of coppice forest in the test area with an accuracy level comparable with recent similar application of k-NN carried out in Boreal regions (RMSE of 25.6%).The application of different forest management scenarios have a significant impact on local estimated firewood balance between potential supply from coppice forests and demand for domestic consumption, depending of the scenarios the net balance changed up to 84%. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.
Multi-taxon and forest structure sampling for identification of indicators and monitoring of old-growth forest
Blasi
,
Carlo
,
Marchetti
,
Marco
,
Chiavetta
,
U.
,
Aleffi
,
Michele
,
Audisio
,
P. Aldo
,
Azzella
,
Mattia Martin
,
Brunialti
,
Giorgio
,
Capotorti
,
Giulia
,
Del Vico
,
Eva
,
Lattanzi
,
Edda
,
Persiani
,
Anna Maria
,
Ravera
,
Sonia
,
Tilia
,
Agnese
,
Burrascano
,
Sabina
structural attributes
multi-taxon species lists
species co-occurrence
structure-based indicators
taxon-based indicators
Mostra abstract
The most commonly used old-growth forest indicators are structural attributes; nevertheless, they do not necessarily represent the biodiversity value of old-growth forests. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between species richness data of different taxa and structural indicators of old-growth and to identify taxonomic/functional groups, species and structural attributes that may be used as indicators of old growth. To achieve this goal we sampled forest structure, vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, fungi, saproxylic beetles and birds in mature and old-growth stands in southern Italy. We calculated Spearman's correlation coefficients between species richness data and structural attributes. Analyses of indicator species, co-occurrences and two-way clusters were performed on the multi-taxonomic list. The group of vascular plants most significantly correlated with other groups in terms of species richness; furthermore, it displays the highest proportion of between-group co-occurrences. The resulting multi-taxonomic list of potential indicators may serve as an effective means of detecting and monitoring forest ecosystems; however, for this goal, structure-based indicators, such as forest structural attributes and vascular plant species composition, are of primary importance. © 2010 Società Botanica Italiana.