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iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

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Local neighborhood competition following an extraordinary snow break event: implications for tree-individual growth

Anne C Lang (1)   , Werner Härdtle (1), Helge Bruelheide (2-3), Goddert von Oheimb (1)

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 7, Issue 1, Pages 19-24 (2014)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1033-007
Published: Oct 14, 2013 - Copyright © 2014 SISEF

Research Articles


Sustainable forest management practices and the increased interest of plantation forestry in species mixtures require an understanding of individual-tree growth in complex and diverse forests. Individual-tree growth has been found to be affected by factors such as species identity and size of the target tree as well as of neighboring trees, neighbor density and abiotic factors. However, most of these studies have been conducted in plantations or mixed forests with a very limited number of species. We conducted our study in a subtropical forest in China, which was very species rich and highly heterogeneous with regard to topography (slope inclination and aspect, elevation) and successional status. Prior to our study the forest was subjected to an exceptional snow break event. We asked whether individual-tree basal area increment (BAI) over three growing seasons following the snow break event was related to local biotic and abiotic conditions. We hypothesized that individual-tree BAI is negatively affected by local neighborhood competition, positively affected by local neighborhood diversity, negatively related to slope inclination, and positively related to aspect to south. Individual-tree BAI of four different species was mainly affected by tree size, local neighborhood competition and species identity. Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe significant effects of local neighborhood functional diversity and abiotic conditions. However, we did find a negative effect of plot functional diversity on BAI. This finding may be explained by a negative correlation of plot functional diversity and snow break damage, which was observed in mid- and late-successional stages. The disturbance event did considerably change the competitive local neighborhood interactions by reducing competition, which increased the BAI of target trees in more disturbed/more diverse plots.

  Keywords


Basal Area Increment, Crown Projection Area, Functional Diversity, Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Local Neighborhood Diversity

Authors’ address

(1)
Anne C Lang
Werner Härdtle
Goddert von Oheimb
Leuphana University Lüneburg, Faculty Sustainability, Institute of Ecology, Scharnhorststr.1, D-21335 Lüneburg (Germany)
(2)
Helge Bruelheide
University of Halle, Institute of Biology / Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, D-06108 Halle (Germany)
(3)
Helge Bruelheide
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5d, D-04103 Leipzig (Germany)

Corresponding author

 

Citation

Lang AC, Härdtle W, Bruelheide H, von Oheimb G (2014). Local neighborhood competition following an extraordinary snow break event: implications for tree-individual growth. iForest 7: 19-24. - doi: 10.3832/ifor1033-007

Academic Editor

Emanuele Lingua

Paper history

Received: May 03, 2013
Accepted: Jul 07, 2013

First online: Oct 14, 2013
Publication Date: Feb 03, 2014
Publication Time: 3.30 months

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