A novel model to evaluate spatial structure in thinned conifer-broadleaved mixed natural forests

In order to ensure the effective analysis and reconstruction of forests,it is key to ensure the quantitative description of their spatial structure.In this paper,a distance model for the optimal stand spatial structure based on weighted Voronoi diagrams is proposed.In particular,we provide a novel methodological model for the comprehensive evaluation of the spatial structure of forest stands in natural mixed conifer-broadleaved forests and the formulation of management decision plans.The applicability of the rank evaluation and the optimal solution distance model are compared and assessed for different standard sample plots of natural mixed conifer-broadleaved forests.The effect of crown width on the spatial structure unit of the trees is observed to be higher than that of the diameter at breast height.Moreover,the influence of crown length is greater than that of tree height.There are nine possible spatial structure units determined by the weighted Voronoi diagram for the number of neighboring trees in the central tree,with an average intersection of neighboring crowns reaching 80%.The rank rating of natural forest sample plots is correlated with the optimal solution distance model,and their results are generally consistent for natural forests.However,the rank rating is not able to provide a quantitative assessment.The optimal solution distance model is observed to be more comprehensive than traditional methods for the evaluation of the spatial structure of forest stands.It can effectively reflect the trends in realistic stand spatial structure factors close to or far from the ideal structure point,and accurately assesses the forest spatial structure.The proposed optimal solution distance model improves the integrated evaluation of the spatial structure of forest stands and provides solid theoretical and technical support for sustainable forest management.

Detecting the presence of natural forests using airborne laser scanning data

Centuries of forest exploitation have caused significant loss of natural forests in Europe,leading to a decline in populations for many species.To prevent further loss in biodiversity,the Norwegian government has set a target of protecting 10%of the forested area.However,recent data from the National Forest Inventory(NFI)reveals that less than 2%of Norway's forested area consists of natural forests.To identify forests with high conservation value,we used vertical and horizontal variables derived from airborne laser scanning(ALS)data,along with NFI plot measurements.Our study aimed to predict the presence of natural forests across three counties in southeastern Norway,using three different definitions:pristine,near-natural,and semi-natural forests.Natural forests are scarce,and their underrepresentation in field reference data can compromise the accuracy of the predictions.To address this,we assessed the potential gain of including additional field data specifically targeting natural forests to achieve a better balance in the dataset.Additionally,we examined the impact of stratifying the data by dominant tree species on the performance of the models.Our results revealed that semi-natural forests were the most accurately predicted,followed by near-natural and pristine forests,with Matthews correlation coefficient values of 0.32,0.24,and 0.17,respectively.Including additional field data did not improve the predictions.However,stratification by species improved the accuracy of predictions for near-natural and semi-natural forests,while reducing accuracy for pristine forests.The use of horizontal variables did not improve the predictions.Our study demonstrates the potential of ALS data in identifying forests with high conservation value.It provides a basis for further research on the use of ALS data for the detection and conservation of natural forests,offering valuable insights to guide future forest preservation efforts.

Natural forests in New Zealand–a large terrestrial carbon pool in a national state of equilibrium

Background:Natural forests cover approximately 29%of New Zealand’s landmass and represent a large terrestrial carbon pool.In 2002 New Zealand implemented its first representative plot-based natural forest inventory to assess carbon stocks and stock changes in these mostly undisturbed old-growth forests.Although previous studies have provided estimates of biomass or carbon stocks,these were either not fully representative or lacked data from important pools such as dead wood(coarse woody debris).The current analysis provides the most complete estimates of carbon stocks and stock changes in natural forests in New Zealand.Results:We present estimates of per hectare carbon stocks and stock changes in live and dead organic matter pools excluding soil carbon based on the first two measurement cycles of the New Zealand Natural Forest Inventory carried out from 2002 to 2014.These show that New Zealand’s natural forests are in balance and are neither a carbon source nor a carbon sink.The average total carbon stock was 227.0±14.4 tC·ha^(−1)(95%C.I.)and did not change significantly in the 7.7 years between measurements with the net annual change estimated to be 0.03±0.18 tC·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1).There was a wide variation in carbon stocks between forest groups.Regenerating forest had an averaged carbon stock of only 53.6±9.4 tC·ha^(−1) but had a significant sequestration rate of 0.63±0.25 tC·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1),while tall forest had an average carbon stock of 252.4±15.5 tC·ha^(−1),but its sequestration rate did not differ significantly from zero(−0.06±0.20 tC·ha^(−1)·yr^(−1)).The forest alliance with the largest average carbon stock in above and below ground live and dead organic matter pools was silver beech-red beech-kamahi forest carrying 360.5±34.6 tC·ha^(−1).Dead wood and litter comprised 27%of the total carbon stock.Conclusions:New Zealand’s Natural Forest Inventory provides estimates of carbon stocks including estimates for difficult to measure pools such as dead wood and roots.It also provides estimates of uncertainties including effects of model prediction error and sampling variation between plots.Importantly it shows that on a national level New Zealand’s natural forests are in balance.Nevertheless,this is a nationally important carbon pool that requires continuous monitoring to identify potential negative or positive changes.

Effectiveness of Nature Reserves for Natural Forests Protection in Tropical Hainan: a 20 Year Analysis

The establishment of nature reserves is a key approach for biodiversity conservation worldwide. However, there is a lack of unified methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of nature reserves, particularly in China, the world′s most populous nation supporting some of the most valuable biodiversity hotspots in the world. In this study, we conducted a long-term and large-scale analysis of the effectiveness of 20 of the earliest nature reserves established in Hainan Province, an island home to among the highest concentration of plants and animals in China. Remote sensing imagery from 1988, 1998, and 2008 were analyzed to investigate the temporal and spatial changes of natural forests in these nature reserves and surrounding areas. We also conducted transition matrix analysis and principle component analysis to identify the driving factors that affect the protection effectiveness of nature reserves. The results were as follows: 1) During the 20-year period from 1988 to 2008, natural forests coverage of the 20 studied nature reserves dropped 2.34 percentage points, whereas the natural forests coverage dropped 11.31 percentage points in a 0–5 km outside reserve buffer and 9.36 percentage points in a 5–10 km outside reserve buffer, indicating a significant inhibitory effect of the nature reserves on the loss of natural forests. 2) Natural forests coverage dropped in 60% of the studied nature reserves during the 20-year period, suggesting a poor protection effectiveness of these reserves, while the coverage proportion showed some increase(0%/yr–5%/yr) in other reserves. 3) Expansion of rubber and pulp forests as part of a booming economy were the main factors affecting the effectiveness of the nature reserves for conserving natural forests in Hainan Province. The results of this study provide an important empirical basis for the protection of natural forests in Hainan Province, which can be used as a blueprint for nature reserve evaluation in other places in China.

Project to Protect Natural Forests

Gungjor County in Qamdois situated on the middlesection of the Jinsha-jiang River,on the upperreaches of the Yangtze Riverand in the northern part ofHenduan Mountains.Foreststhere total 220,198 hectares,and the forested area totals60,791 hectares.They com-bine to function as a naturalscreen on the Yangtze’s upperreaches.

Drivers of spatial structure in thinned forests

Background:As is widely known,an increasing number of forest areas were managed to preserve and enhance the health of forest ecosystems.However,previous research on forest management has often overlooked the importance of structure-based.Aims:Our objectives were to define the direction of structure-based forest management.Subsequently,we investigated the relationships between forest structure and the regeneration,growth,and mortality of trees under different thinning treatments.Ultimately,the drivers of forest structural change were explored.Methods:On the basis of 92 sites selected from northeastern China,with different recovery time (from 1 to 15years) and different thinning intensities (0–59.9%) since the last thinning.Principal component analysis (PCA)identified relationships among factors determining forest spatial structure.The structural equation model (SEM)was used to analyze the driving factors behind the changes in forest spatial structure after thinning.Results:Light thinning (0–20%trees removed) promoted forest regeneration,and heavy thinning (over 35% of trees removed) facilitated forest growth.However,only moderate thinning (20%–35%trees removed) created a reasonable spatial structure.While dead trees were clustered,and they were hardly affected by thinning intensity.Additionally,thinning intensity,recovery time,and altitude indirectly improve the spatial structure of the forest by influencing diameter at breast height (DBH) and canopy area.Conclusion:Creating larger DBH and canopy area through thinning will promote the formation of complex forest structures,which cultivates healthy and stable forests.

The Contribution of Hemispherical Photographs to Understand Natural Forest Regeneration in the AKAK Forest Area

Examining the contribution of hemispherical photographs in the understanding of Natural forest regeneration is very important in estimating the future forest structure, composition and to enforce conservation regulations. This study sets out to examine the interaction between stump sprouting, LAI, site and canopy openness for the entire AKAK forest area and for the logging compartments;2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively. 49 sprouted stump were identified randonly. 20 m × 20 m plots were demarcated along a canopy gaps for each sprouted stump, the plots were established in such a manner that the sprouted stumps will be in the middle. For each of the selected 49 sprouted stump, indirect measurements of canopy cover were performed in the 49 plots of 20 m × 20 m (0.04 ha), giving a total of 1.96 ha of land covered. Galaxy S3 smartphone with a built-in Infinix ZERO 4 fish-eye lens with 198˚ view angle equidistant projection was used to take photos. The fish-eye lens was mounted on the phone camera and photograph were taken at a fixed height of 1.3 m. Results revealed that, the combine Principal Component Factor Analysis (2013, 2015 and 2017) of the correlation matrix for Sprout, Years, LAI 4%, LAI 5%, Canopy and Site openness, shows that factor 1 explained 62.6% of total variance while factor 2 explained 17.9% together explain 80.05% Communalities. For the year 2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively shows that there is a very strong correlation (p p < 0.0005) between LAI4 and LAI5.

Ectomycorrhizal communities associated with Tilia amurensis trees in natural versus urban forests of Heilongjiang in northeast China

The deciduous linden tree （Tilia amurensis Rupr.） is protected at National Level II in China as a species of ecological and economic importance. The objective of this study was to assess and compare the ectomycorrhizal communities associated with T. amurensis in natural versus urban forests of central Heilongjiang Province. The percentage of T. amurensis colonisation by ectomycorrhiza was more than 60 % in urban forests, compared to 34-49 % in natural forests. Use of a combi- nation of morphological and molecular methods docu- mented 18 ECM （ectomycorrhizal） types among three sites; 12-13 ECM species were identified in the natural sites versus 9 species in the urban site. Four ECM species （Boletus sp., Tuber sp., Inocybe sp.2, Leccinum sp.1） were the dominant mycorrhizal symbionts, and Cenococcum geophilum and Russula sp. were found only in the natural forests.

Spatial connectivity and distribution of landscape type in the natural secondary forests of eastern mountainous region,northeast China——a case study of Mao'ershan region in Heilongjiang Province

Mao'ershan region is representative in the natural secondary forested region of the eastern mountainous region, northeast China. The landscape nearest neighbor index and landscape connectivity index were calculated with ARC/INFO software for Mao'ershan region. The spatial distribution of the landscape of the region was analyzed. The results showed that the landscape connectivity index of non-woodland was significantly higher than that of woodland. The landscape connectivity index of natural forest was nearly equal to zero, which means its fragmentation degree is high. The nearest neighbor index of plantation was lower than that of natural forest and non-forestland. Among the man-made forests, the distance index of the coniferous mixed plantation is the lowest, and its pattern is nearly glomeration. The landscape pattern of natural forest presented nearly random distribution. Among non-forest land, the distance index of cut blank was the lowest, and its pattern was also nearly glomeration. Keywords Landscape type - Landscape pattern - Nearest neighbor index - Landscape connectivity index - Natural secondary forest - Northeast China CLC number S759.92 Document code A Foundation item: This paper was supported by the Key Project of State Department of Science Technology (2002BA515B040).Biography: LI SHu-juan (1977), female. Lecture in Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, P. R. China.Responsible editor: Zhu Hong

Dynamic change of arborous species diversity in natural secondary forests after selective cutting on the north slope of Changbai Mountain, Northeast China

The community characteristics of natural secondary forests on the north slope of Changbai Mountain after selective cutting were investigated, and the dynamics of arborous species diversity during the restoration period of 28 years were studied. The results showed that the arborous species richness (S) had little change and kept the range of 18-22 all along, the Simpson index (D) of the secondary layer and regeneration layer and whole stand had similar trends of change, but that of the canopy layer descended slowly in initial 15 years and had little change later, and the change of diversity index was not obvious and the Shannon-Wiener index (H? fluctuated in a very small scopes (H±10%).

Alien woody plant invasions in natural forests across China

Aims Alien plant invasion has become a major global environmental issue,causing severe economic and ecological damages.Severe invasions have been reported in some regions of China.However,most studies have been conducted at local and provincial levels,and the overall degree of invasion in natural forests across China remains unclear.Here,we explored the biogeographic patterns and their environmental and socioeconomic controls of the invaded alien woody plants in natural forests across the country.Methods We compiled the data of 3573 natural forest plots across the China's Mainland and mapped spatial distribution of alien woody plant invasion.We also used logistic regression models to identify the key socioeconomic and environmental factors that were associated with the observed invasion patterns.Important Findings We found that only 271 plots among 3573 natural forest plots were invaded by alien woody plants,accounting for 7.58%of all plots.Among all 2825 woody plant species across all plots surveyed,only 5 alien species(0.177%)were found.Both human activities and climate factors were related to the observed invasion patterns.Since China’s natural forests are mostly located in remote mountainous areas with limited human disturbance,alien woody plant invasions are less than those reported in North America and Europe.However,with the development of transportation and increased economic activities in mountainous areas,more invasions by alien plants may be expected in the future.Therefore,proactive management and policy making are desired to prevent or slow down the invasion processes.

Composition and Characteristics of Natural Secondary Forests in Shenzhen,South China

The composition and structure of five natural secondary forests in Shenzhen were studied based on data of plots and were compared with Hong Kong zonal forest, so as to detect their succession stage and species diversity level. According to succession process of subtropical forest and ecological characteristics of dominant species, the authors speculate that five communities are at different stages. Sinosideroxylon community dominated by heliophilous evergreen broad-leaved tree (Sinosideroxylon wightianum) and conifer tree (Pinus massoniana) is at the third stage. Itea + Acronychia community dominated by two evergreen broad-leaved heliophytes (Itea chinensis and Acronychia pedunculata) is at the fourth stage. The others, i.e., Schefflera, Sterculia and Cleistocalyx + Sterculia community are at the fifth stage where some mesophytes are dominant but heliophytes have a weighed percentage of importance value. Due to succession stage and different forest management and conservation models, the species diversity of five communities is significantly lower than that of Endospermum community in Hong Kong. The values of Shannon-Wiener index and Pielous evenness index of five communities are 2.04–2.953 and 64.2%–74% respectively, but those of the Endospermum community are 4.74 and 79% respectively. The current situation of these communities suggests that the necessary measures should be taken to protect and restore the communities.

What Happens after the Gap?— Size Distributions of Patches with Homogeneously Sized Trees in Natural and Managed Beech Forests in Europe

A novel but simple approach for describing stand structure in natural and managed forests driven by small-scaled disturbances is introduced. A primeval beech forest reserve in Slovakia and two beech stands in Germany with different management histories were studied, and their forest stand texture was analysed in terms of tree coordinates, stem diameter, and crown radius. Neigh-bouring trees of similar size with estimated contact of their crowns were assigned to tree groups. The study goal was to estimate the number and size of such homogeneous patches. In all cases, the number of tree groups in a particular diameter class decreased exponentially as group size increased. Single trees were predominant. Compared to simulated random tree distributions, the natural stand exhibited a more clumped distribution of small trees and more regular distribution of larger ones. The natural forest generally had smaller groups than the managed even aged stand, but the smallest group sizes were found in the uneven-aged selection forest. The simple analytical approach provided new spatial insights into neighbourhood relations of trees. The continuous scale from single trees to larger tree groups is an important achievement compared to other analytical methods applied in this field. The findings may even indicate a certain degree of self-organization in natural forests. Due to the limitations associated with each method or statistical models, a joint consideration of 1) gap dynamics, 2) forest developmental stages, and 3) size classes of homogeneous tree groups is recommended. Relevant to forest practitioners, the size class distributions enhance an understanding of the complex stand structures in natural forests and therewith support an emulation of natural forest dynamics in managed beech forests.

Diversity of insect communities with different development phases in natural Populus euphratica forests in Xinjiang

An investigation method with sample plots was used to study insect communities in four different growth phases of natural Populus euphratica forests, which are juvenile, middle aged, over-mature and degraded forests, in Tarim, Xinjiang in July, 2005 and April, 2006. In our studies, 5,116 insect specimens, belonging to 12 orders, 61 families and 141 species, were collected. Lepidoptera and Coleoptera were the dominant orders. In middle-aged forests, species, individual numbers and diversity indices of insect com-munities were higher than those in other woodlands. The species richness and diversity indices were lowest in degraded forests be-cause of extremely scarce vegetation.

Natural forest ALS-TLS point cloud data registration without control points

Airborne laser scanning(ALS)and terrestrial laser scanning(TLS)has attracted attention due to their forest parameter investigation and research applications.ALS is limited to obtaining fi ne structure information below the forest canopy due to the occlusion of trees in natural forests.In contrast,TLS is unable to gather fi ne structure information about the upper canopy.To address the problem of incomplete acquisition of natural forest point cloud data by ALS and TLS on a single platform,this study proposes data registration without control points.The ALS and TLS original data were cropped according to sample plot size,and the ALS point cloud data was converted into relative coordinates with the center of the cropped data as the origin.The same feature point pairs of the ALS and TLS point cloud data were then selected to register the point cloud data.The initial registered point cloud data was fi nely and optimally registered via the iterative closest point(ICP)algorithm.The results show that the proposed method achieved highprecision registration of ALS and TLS point cloud data from two natural forest plots of Pinus yunnanensis Franch.and Picea asperata Mast.which included diff erent species and environments.An average registration accuracy of 0.06 m and 0.09 m were obtained for P.yunnanensis and P.asperata,respectively.

Diameter distribution of trees in natural stands managed on polycyclic cutting system

Diameter frequency distribution in a specific stand provides basic information for forest resources management. In this study, four probability models were applied to analyze diameter distribution of natural forests after selective cutting with different intensities （low intensity of 13.0% in volume, medium intensity of 29.1%, high intensity of 45.8%, and extra-high intensity of 67.1%） The results show that the skewness and kurtosis of the four models are positive except that of low intensity selective cutting, which suggest that the number of small-size trees dominate the stand. The more intensity of selective cutting, the wider range of diameter distributions. The diameter structure of selective cutting with low intensity met Weibull and Beta distributions; that of medium intensity met Weibull, negative exponential as well as Gamma distributions; that of high intensity cutting met Weibull and negative exponential distributions, but that of extra-high intensity could not meet any above model. Weibull distribution model fits better than others regarding the structure of diameter distribution in natural forests managed on polycyclic cutting system. The results will provide basic information for sustainable management for mixed natural stands managed on a polycyclic cutting system.

Point-cloud segmentation of individual trees in complex natural forest scenes based on a trunk-growth method

Forest resource management and ecological assessment have been recently supported by emerging technologies.Terrestrial laser scanning(TLS)is one that can be quickly and accurately used to obtain three-dimensional forest information,and create good representations of forest vertical structure.TLS data can be exploited for highly significant tasks,particularly the segmentation and information extraction for individual trees.However,the existing single-tree segmentation methods suffer from low segmentation accuracy and poor robustness,and hence do not lead to satisfactory results for natural forests in complex environments.In this paper,we propose a trunk-growth(TG)method for single-tree point-cloud segmentation,and apply this method to the natural forest scenes of Shangri-La City in Northwest Yunnan,China.First,the point normal vector and its Z-axis component are used as trunk-growth constraints.Then,the points surrounding the trunk are searched to account for regrowth.Finally,the nearest distributed branch and leaf points are used to complete the individual tree segmentation.The results show that the TG method can effectively segment individual trees with an average F-score of 0.96.The proposed method applies to many types of trees with various growth shapes,and can effectively identify shrubs and herbs in complex scenes of natural forests.The promising outcomes of the TG method demonstrate the key advantages of combining plant morphology theory and LiDAR technology for advancing and optimizing forestry systems.

Structure changes and succession dynamic of the natural secondary forest after severe fire interference

The structure and dynamic succession law of natural secondary forest after severe fire interference in recent 20 years were studied by adopting the method of deducing time series from the spatial sequence of vegetation in Heihe region, Heilongjiang, China. Two typical and widely distributed forest types in the study area, namely forest type A and forest type B, were selected as study subjects. Forest type A is pure broadleaf forest or broadleaf mixed forest mainly composing of superior Betula platyphylla and Populus davidiana in the area with gradient 〈25°, while forest type B is pure forest or mixed forest composing of superior Quercus mongolica and Betula davurica in the area with gradient 〉25°. Species richness, vegetation coverage, important value, and similarity index of commtmity in different layers （Herb, shrub, small tree, and arbor layers） were investigated and analyzed for the two typical forests. The results show that after fire interference, the species richness and coverage in each layer in forest type A were higher than that in forest type B. Both for forest type A and B, with elapse of post-fire years, the species richness and coverage of herbs and shrubs showed a decline tendency, while those of arbor layer present a rising tendency. Through comparison of the important values of species in each layer and analysis of community structure changes, the dynamic process of post-fire vegetation succession for forest type A and B was separately determined. Post-fire 80 years＇ succession tendency of forest type A is B. platyphylla and Larix gmelinii mixed forest. Its shrub layer is mainly composed of Corylus heterophylla and Vaccinium uliginosum, and herb layer is dominated by Carex tristachya, Athyrium multidentatum, and Pyrola incarnate; whereas, the post-fire 80 years＇ succession of forest type B is Q. mongolica and B. davurica mixed forest. Its shrub layer is mainly composed of lespedeza bicolar and corylus heterophylla and herb layer is dominated by Carex tristachya, Asparagus densiflorus, and Hemerocallis minor.

Problems and relevant strategies on natural forest protection in Changbai Mountain forest area

Changbai Mountain forest area is not only is a national timber base but also a green ecological defense for Songliao Plain of NE China. The Natural Forest Protection Project of this area has an important bearing on the social and economic sustainable development of Jilin Province or even the whole forest area in NE China. This paper summarized general conditions of natural forest in Changbai Mountain state-owned forest area and put forward six problems need to be urgently solved and five strategic suggestions on natural forest protection and sustainable management.

Effects of fire disturbance on the forest structure and succession in the natural broad-leaved/Korean pine forest

Investigations on charcoal in the soil, fire-scarred trees, stand composition, forest structure as well as regeneration status were carried out in the natural broad-leaved/Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) forest after fire disturbance at Liangshui Nature Reserve on the mid-north of Xiaoxingan Mountains from 1990 to 1992, and the ecological effects of fire disturbance on the formation and succession of this kind of forest were analyzed according to the survey results. The average depth of charcoal in the soil was related to the timing of the fire. According to the characteristic of fire-scarred trees, the dynamic map of the fire behavior was drawn onto the topographic map. It showed that the dimension and extent of the fire disturbance was closely related with site conditions. Fire disturbance only led to a significant difference in stand composition and diameter class structure for the stands at different locations, rather than completely destroying the forest. After fire disturbance, the horizontal community structure was a mosaic of different patches, which were made up of different deciduous species or different sizes of Korean pines, and the succession trend of each patch was also different. In the sites with the heavy fire disturbance, the intolerant hardwood species were dominant, and there were a large number of regenerative Korean pine saplings under the canopy. In the moderate -disturbed sites, the tolerant hardwood species were dominant, and a small number of large size Korean pines still survived. In the light-disturbed sites, large size Korean pines were dominant.