Linking spatiotemporal disturbance history with tree regeneration and diversity in an old-growth forest in northern Japan

0467080 - BÚ 2017 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Altman, Jan - Fibich, Pavel - Lepš, J. - Uemura, S. - Hara, T. - Doležal, Jiří
Linking spatiotemporal disturbance history with tree regeneration and diversity in an old-growth forest in northern Japan.
Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Roč. 21, č. 1 (2016), s. 1-13. ISSN 1433-8319. E-ISSN 1433-8319
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-12262S; GA ČR GAP504/12/1952; GA ČR GA13-13368S
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : Tree rings * Disturbance * Spatial pattern
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 3.123, year: 2016

Knowledge of long-term spatiotemporal effects of disturbances on forest structure,tree regeneration and species composition is key for understanding forest dynamics and predicting future forest responses to climate change. Here, we explored the spatiotemporal impact of disturbances of different severities on tree recruitment and diversity in species-rich oak-fir-maple forest in Hokkaido, a typhoon-prone area in northern Japan, over the past 230 years. We found that disturbances were followed by major recruitment pulses, each lasting around 30 years. Dendrochronological reconstructions alone indicate that severe (i.e. high proportion of releases), infrequent disturbances control tree regeneration and forest development (from oak-dominated forests to mixed-stand with higher proportion of shade-tolerant tree species). However, a combination of temporal and spatial pattern analysis revealed that less severe disturbances, creating small gaps, promote higher density and diversity of recruitment (altogether 19 tree species recorded) compared with severe disturbances. Our findings are important as most climate models predict an elevated intensity of typhoons in Northeast Asia. We conclude that a combination of temporal and spatial analyses, as presented here, is necessary to disentangle the complex drivers of long-term forest dynamics
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0265223