Temporal changes of forest species composition studied by compositional data approach

doi:10.3832/ifor2187-010

Temporal changes of forest species composition studied by compositional data approach

Milan Kobal⁽¹⁾, Damijana Kastelec⁽²⁾, Klemen Eler⁽²⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 729-738 (2017)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor2187-010
Published: Aug 01, 2017 - Copyright © 2017 SISEF

Research Articles

PDF Version

Full Text

Citation

Geo-mapping

Many ecological data are compositional and different quantitative techniques have been used to analyze such data, albeit some of them being methodologically wrong. The aim of this contribution is to apply the compositional data approach to forestry data and demonstrate the strengths of this method for percentage or relative data with infrequent zero values. Basal areas of three dominant tree species (Abies alba, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica) in 119 forest compartments in some of the Omphalodo-Fagetum forests in Slovenia in 1954 and 2004 were used to investigate the dynamics of forest species composition over a 50-year period. For the investigated period some additional data about geomorphology and harvesting rates within the compartments were used as explanatory variables of compositional change. The species composition of each forest compartment was subjected to several methods within a compositional analysis framework: descriptive, ternary diagram-based graphical presentations, significance of compositional differences between management classes, significance of perturbation differences (the indicator of forest compositional change) and relation of the compositional change with the explanatory variables by means of compositional linear model. Results indicated that the silver fir was the dominant species in both years, but a clear reduction in silver fir proportion was observed after 50 years. The perturbation differences indicated comparatively large relative increase in the proportion of Norway spruce between 1954 and 2004. Subsequently, the perturbation differences were subjected to isometric log-transformation (ilr) and two derived ilr coordinates were further used as dependent variables in the multivariate linear model. The initial stand structure correlated well with the perturbation differences. These were also significantly correlations with salvage cutting, a consequence of silver fir decline in the 1954-2004 period. This study demonstrated that the compositional data approach can be successfully used to study forest dynamics yielding some insights into data which are not possible or even not valid using some alternative methods.

Keywords

Percentage Data, Data Transformation, Compositional Change, Compositional Linear Model, Forest Dynamics, Vegetation Shift, Omphalodo-Fagetum

Authors’ address

(1)

University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical faculty, Večna pot 83, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

(2)

University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical faculty, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Corresponding author

Klemen Eler
klemen.eler@bf.uni-lj.si

Citation

Kobal M, Kastelec D, Eler K (2017). Temporal changes of forest species composition studied by compositional data approach. iForest 10: 729-738. - doi: 10.3832/ifor2187-010

Academic Editor

Luca Salvati

Paper history

Received: Aug 02, 2016
Accepted: May 10, 2017

First online: Aug 01, 2017
Publication Date: Aug 31, 2017
Publication Time: 2.77 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Breakdown by View Type

(Waiting for server response...)

Article Usage

Total Article Views: 17665
(from publication date up to now)

Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 14566
Abstract Page Views: 645
PDF Downloads: 1868
Citation/Reference Downloads: 15
XML Downloads: 571

Web Metrics
Days since publication: 1507
Overall contacts: 17665
Avg. contacts per week: 82.05

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Jul 2021)

Total number of cites (since 2017): 3
Average cites per year: 0.60

(no Plumx Metrics available for this paper)

Publication Metrics

by Dimensions ^©

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

(1)

Aitchinson J (1986)
The statistical analysis of compositional data. Monographs on Statistics and Applied Probability, Chapman and Hall Ltd, London, UK, pp. 416.
Gscholar

(2)

Aitchison J, Ng KW (2005)
The role of perturbation in compositional data analysis. Statistical Modelling 5: 173-185.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(3)

Billheimer D, Guttorp P, Fagan WF (2001)
Statistical interpretation of species composition. Journal of the American Statistical Association 96: 1205-1214.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(4)

Bončina A, Gasperšič F, Diaci J (2003)
Long-term changes in tree species composition in the Dinaric mountain forests of Slovenia. Forestry Chronicle 79: 227-232.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(5)

Buccianti A, Mateu-Figueras G, Pawlowsky-Glahn V (2006)
Compositional data analysis in the geoscience: from theory to practice. The Geological Society, London, UK, pp. 212.
Online | Gscholar

(6)

Chapman RA, Heitzman E, Shelton MG (2006)
Long-term changes in forest structure and species composition of an upland oak forest in Arkansas. Forest Ecology and Management 236: 85-92.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(7)

Chayes F (1960)
On correlation between variables of constant sum. Journal of Geophysical Research 65: 4185-4193
CrossRef | Gscholar

(8)

Condit R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1996)
Assessing the response of plant functional types to climatic change in tropical forests. Journal of Vegetation Science 7: 405-416.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(9)

De Grandpre L, Morissette J, Gauthier S (2000)
Long-term post-fire changes in the northeastern boreal forest of Quebec. Journal of Vegetation Science 11: 791-800.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(10)

Diaci J, Roženbergar D, Bončina A (2010)
Stand dynamics of Dinaric old-growth forest in Slovenia: are indirect human influences relevant? Plant Biosystems 144: 194-201.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(11)

Dierschke H (1994)
Pflanzensoziologie [Phytosociology]. Ulmer, Stuttgart, Germany, pp. 683. [in German]
Gscholar

(12)

Donnegan JA, Rebertus AJ (1999)
Rates and mechanisms of subalpine forest succession along an environmental gradient. Ecology 80: 1370-1384.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(13)

Duchesne L, Ouimet R (2008)
Population dynamics of tree species in southern Quebec, Canada: 1970-2005. Forest Ecology and Management 255: 3001-3012.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(14)

Egozcue JJ, Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Mateu-Figueras G, Barcelo-Vidal C (2003)
Isometric logratio transformations for compositional data analysis. Mathematical Geology 35: 279-300.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(15)

Egozcue JJ, Pawlowsky-Glahn V (2005)
Groups of parts and their balances in compositional data analysis, Mathematical Geology 37: 795-828.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(16)

Egozcue JJ, Pawlowsky-Glahn V (2011)
Basic concepts and procedures. In: “Compositional Data Analysis: Theory and Applications” (Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Buccianti A eds), John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 12-28.
Online | Gscholar

(17)

Elliott KJ, Swank WT (2008)
Long-term changes in forest composition and diversity following early logging (1919-1923) and the decline of American chestnut (Castanea dentata). Plant Ecology 197: 155-172.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(18)

Filzmoser P, Hron K, Reimann C (2009)
Univariate statistical analysis of environmental (compositional) data: problems and possibilities. Science of the Total Environment 407: 6100-6108.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(19)

Firm D, Nagel TA, Diaci J (2009)
Disturbance history and dynamics of an old-growth mixed species mountain forest in the Slovenian Alps. Forest Ecology and Management 257: 1893-1901.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(20)

FMP (1954)
Gozdnogospodarski načrt gozdnogospodarske enote Leskova dolina 1954-1963 [Forest management plan for FMU Leskova dolina 1954-1963]. Gozdno gospodarstvo Postojna, Postojna, Slovenia, pp. 215. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(21)

FMP (1964)
Gozdnogospodarski načrt gozdnogospodarske enote Leskova dolina 1964-1973 [Forest management plan for FMU Leskova dolina 1964-1973]. Gozdno gospodarstvo Postojna, Postojna, Slovenia, pp. 207. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(22)

FMP (1974)
Gozdnogospodarski načrt gozdnogospodarske enote Leskova dolina 1974-1983 [Forest management plan for FMU Leskova dolina 1974-1983]. Gozdno gospodarstvo Postojna, Postojna, Slovenia, pp. 198. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(23)

FMP (1994)
Gozdnogospodarski načrt gozdnogospodarske enote Leskova dolina 1994-2003 [Forest management plan for FMU Leskova dolina 1994-2003]. Zavod za gozdove Slovenije, Ljubljana, Slovenia, pp. 223. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(24)

FMP (2004)
Gozdnogospodarski načrt gozdnogospodarske enote Leskova dolina 2004-2013 [Forest management plan for FMU Leskova dolina 2004-2013]. Zavod za gozdove Slovenije, Ljubljana, Slovenia, pp. 201. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(25)

Fule PZ, Korb JE, Wu R (2009)
Changes in forest structure of a mixed conifer forest, southwestern Colorado, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 1200-1210.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(26)

Gašperšič F (1967)
Razvojna dinamika mešanih gozdov jelke-bukve na Snežniku v zadnjih 100 letih [Developmental dynamics of mixed fir-beech forests in Snežnik in the last 100 years]. Gozdarski vestnik 7-8: 202-237. [in Slovene]
Gscholar

(27)

Greenacre M (2011)
Measuring subcompositional incoherence. Mathematical Geosciences 43: 681-693.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(28)

Heiri C, Wolf A, Rohrer L, Bugmann H (2009)
Forty years of natural dynamics in Swiss beech forests: structure, composition, and the influence of former management. Ecological Applications 19: 1920-1934.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(29)

Janik D, Adam D, Vrska T, Hort L, Unar P, Kral K, Samonil P, Horal D (2008)
Tree layer dynamics of the Cahnov-Soutok near-natural floodplain forest after 33 years (1973-2006). European Journal of Forest Research 127: 337-345.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(30)

Lawrence D, Suma V, Mogea JP (2005)
Change in species composition with repeated shifting cultivation: Limited role of soil nutrients. Ecological Applications 15: 1952-1967.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(31)

Legendre P, Legendre L (1998)
Numerical Ecology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Boston, London, pp. 853.
Gscholar

(32)

Martin-Fernandez JA, Barcelo-Vidal C, Pawlowsky-Glahn V (2003)
Dealing with zeros and missing values in compositional data sets using nonparametric imputation. Mathematical Geology 35: 253-278.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(33)

Martin-Fernandez JA, Palarea-Albaladejo J, Olea RA (2011)
Dealing with zeros. In: “Compositional Data Analysis: Theory and Applications” (Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Buccianti A eds). John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 43-58.
Online | Gscholar

(34)

Mateu-Figueras G, Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Egozcue JJ (2011)
Principle of working on coordinates. In: “Compositional Data Analysis: Theory and Applications” (Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Buccianti A eds). John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 31-42.
Online | Gscholar

(35)

Nagel TA, Diaci J, Jerina K, Kobal M, Roženbergar D (2015)
Simultaneous influence of canopy decline and deer herbivory on regeneration in a conifer-broadleaf forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 45: 266-275.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(36)

Pallardy SG, Nigh TA, Garrett HE (1988)
Changes in forest composition in Central Missouri - 1968-1982. American Midland Naturalist 120: 380-390.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(37)

Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Egozcue JJ (2002)
BLU estimators and compositional data. Mathematical Geology 34: 259-274.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(38)

Pawlowsky-Glahn V (2003)
Statistical modelling on coordinates. Website.
Online | Gscholar

(39)

Pearson K (1897)
Mathematical contributions to the theory of evolution. On a form of spurious correlation which may arise when indices are used in the measurement of organs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, pp. 409-502
Gscholar

(40)

Philippi TE, Dixon PM, Taylor BE (1998)
Detecting trends in species composition. Ecological Applications 8: 300-308.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(41)

Pinto F, Rornaniuk S, Ferguson M (2008)
Changes to preindustrial forest tree composition in central and northeastern Ontario, Canada. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38: 1842-1854.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(42)

R Core Team (2012)
R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
Online | Gscholar

(43)

Sagar R, Raghubanshi AS, Singh JS (2003)
Tree species composition, dispersion and diversity along a disturbance gradient in a dry tropical forest region of India. Forest Ecology and Management 186: 61-71.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(44)

Schuler TM (2004)
Fifty years of partial harvesting in a mixed mesophytic forest: composition and productivity. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34: 985-997.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(45)

Shurtz RF (2003)
Compositional geometry and mass conservation. Mathematical Geology 35: 927-937.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(46)

Skovsgaard JP, Vanclay JK (2007)
Forest site productivity: a review of the evolution of dendrometric concepts for even-aged stands. Forestry 81 (1): 13-31.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(47)

Tikvić I, Seletković Z, Ugarković D, Posavec S, Španjol Z (2008)
Dieback of Silver Fir (Abies alba Mill.) on Northern Velebit (Croatia). Periodicum Biologorum 110: 137-143.
Gscholar

(48)

Tolosana-Delgado R, Van Den Boogart KG (2011)
Linear models with compositions in R. In: “Compositional Data Analysis: Theory and Applications” (Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Buccianti A eds). John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 356-371.
Online | Gscholar

(49)

Van Den Boogart KG, Tolosana-Delgado R (2006)
Compositional data analysis with “R” and the package “compositions”. In: “Compositional Data Analysis: From Theory to Practice” (Buccianti A, Mateu-Figueras, G, Pawlowsky-Glahn V eds). Geological Society, London, UK, pp. 119-127.
Online | Gscholar

(50)

Van Den Boogart KG, Tolosana-Delgado R (2008)
“compositions”: a unified R package to analyze compositional data. Computers and Geosciences 34: 320-338.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(51)

Van Der Maarel E (2005)
Vegetation ecology. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Oxford, Carlton, pp. 411.
Online | Gscholar

(52)

Woods KD (2000a)
Dynamics in late-successional hemlock-hardwood forests over three decades. Ecology 81: 110-126.
CrossRef | Gscholar

(53)

Woods KD (2000b)
Long-term change and spatial pattern in a late-successional hemlock-northern hardwood forest. Journal of Ecology 88: 267-282.
CrossRef | Gscholar

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

Contents

Search

Journal Info

Journal Subjects and Fields

For Authors

For Reviewers

For Readers

SISEF Publishing

Search iForest Contents