0603300 - ÚVGZ 2026 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Kusbach, Antonín - Krejza, Jan - Fischer, Milan - Janoutová, Růžena - Horáček, Petr - Homolová, Lucie
Productivity of Coniferous Forests Evaluated by Remote Sensing and Field-Based Models.
Environmental Research Letters. Roč. 20, č. 2 (2025), č. článku 024016. ISSN 1748-9326. E-ISSN 1748-9326
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT(CZ) EH22_008/0004635; GA TA ČR(CZ) TO01000345; GA MŠMT LM2023048
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : MODIS * DendroNetwork * Norway spruce * net primary productivity * tree growth
OECD category: Forestry
Impact factor: 5.9, year: 2023 ; AIS: 2.29, rok: 2023
Method of publishing: Open access
Result website:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ada2afDOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada2af

The inadequacy of Norway spruce monocultures infulfillingecosystem services,dueto deteriorating health and consequent forest ecosystem collapses,has recently become a concerningissue for the forestry sector in Central Europe. This study investigates spruce forest productivity usingin-situfield observations(DendroNetwork)and satellite remote sensing (RS)datain the Czech Republic during the past two decades. Tree growth index and MODIS net primary productivity were used toassess productivity at thenational scale along an elevationgradient. The analyses of spatiotemporalvariationincarbon dynamics indicateadecreasingtrend inproductivity in51% and 80%(2,800km2and 4,200 km2)ofthespruce stands from the RS and in-situdata, respectively. The increasingtrend is particularlyevidentinmontane regions, wheresatellite data identified anelevation threshold around 900 m a.s.l. while in-situdata 700 ma.s.l. In these energy-limited montane areas,Norway spruce may benefit from increasedtemperaturesand may remainrelatively safe fromdrought stress. The decreasing trends detected by both approaches indicatedeteriorating conditions for Norway sprucein lower elevations.This studysuggeststhat combining in-situand RS data providesan efficient androbust way to estimateforest productivity at the nationalscale.The anticipated response of spruce forests associated with declinesinproductivity and growth in areas withlow to moderate elevation points to theadverse effects of climate change by shiftingtheecological optimum to higher elevations.We conclude that detailed mapping offorest response to changing environmental conditions is critical to support sustainable forest management and decision-making, ultimately reflecting the need to adopt adequate strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and related natural and anthropogenic disturbances.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0360519