Forestry

Article Forestry

Establishment and characterization of a muscle cell line from golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) and its application in viral susceptibility

Lu-Ke Zhang, Ke-Cheng Zhu, Hua-Yang Guo, Bao-Suo Liu, Bo Liu, Nan Zhang, Dian-Chang Zhang

Summary: A new cell line derived from the muscle tissue of the golden pompano, called golden pompano muscle (GPM), has been successfully developed and characterized in this study. GPM cells exhibit fibroblast-like morphology and have a high proliferation rate in Leibovitz's L-15 medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum. The GPM cell line has been stable for over 80 generations and can be cryopreserved. It has been confirmed that the GPM cells used in this study are from the golden pompano based on molecular characterization and chromosome analysis. In addition, GPM cells are susceptible to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) and can be used for gene expression studies and viral pathogenesis research. The interaction between host and virus can also be investigated using this cell line.

DENDROCHRONOLOGIA (2024)

Article Agronomy

Climatic drivers of litterfall production and its components in two subtropical forests in South China: A 14-year observation

Xiaodong Liu, Yingjie Feng, Xinyu Zhao, Zijie Cui, Peiling Liu, Xiuzhi Chen, Qianmei Zhang, Juxiu Liu

Summary: Understanding the impact of climate on litterfall production is crucial for simulating nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. This study analyzed a 14-year litterfall dataset from two subtropical forests in South China and found that litterfall was mainly influenced by wind speed during the wet season and by temperature during the dry season. These findings have potential significance in improving our understanding of carbon and nutrient cycling in subtropical forest ecosystems under climate change conditions.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Agronomy

Quantifying the drivers of terrestrial drought and water stress impacts on carbon uptake in China

Yuanhang Yang, Jiabo Yin, Shengyu Kang, Louise J. Slater, Xihui Gu, Aliaksandr Volchak

Summary: This study investigates the impacts of water and heat stress on carbon uptake in China and explores the driving mechanisms of droughts using a machine learning model. The results show that droughts are mostly driven by atmospheric dryness, with precipitation, relative humidity, and temperature playing dominant roles. Water and heat stress have negative impacts on carbon assimilation, and drought occurrence is projected to increase significantly in the future. Improving ecosystem resilience to climate warming is crucial in mitigating the negative effects of droughts on carbon uptake.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Agronomy

Evapotranspiration partitioning based on underlying conductance in a complex tree-grass orchard ecosystem in the humid area of southern China

Ningbo Cui, Shunsheng Zheng, Shouzheng Jiang, Mingjun Wang, Lu Zhao, Ziling He, Yu Feng, Yaosheng Wang, Daozhi Gong, Chunwei Liu, Rangjian Qiu

Summary: This study proposes a method to partition evapotranspiration (ET) into its components in agroforestry systems. The method is based on water-carbon coupling theory and flux conservation hypothesis. The results show that the partitioned components agree well with measurements from other sensors. The study also finds that atmospheric evaporation demand and vegetation factors greatly influence the components of ET, and increased tree leaf area limits understory grass transpiration.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Agronomy

Impacts of record-breaking compound heatwave and drought events in 2022 China on vegetation growth

Wenfang Xu, Wenping Yuan, Donghai Wu, Yao Zhang, Ruoque Shen, Xiaosheng Xia, Philippe Ciais, Juxiu Liu

Summary: In the summer of 2022, China experienced record-breaking heatwaves and droughts, which had a significant impact on plant growth. The study also found that heatwaves were more critical than droughts in limiting vegetation growth.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Forestry

Harvest block aggregation as a driver of intensive moose browsing pressure on hardwood regeneration in a temperate forest

Stephanie Landry, Marc-Andre Villard, Gaetan Pelletier, Martin-Hugues St-Laurent

Summary: In many regions of the world, excessive browsing by ungulates has reached unsustainable levels, threatening biodiversity and forest regeneration. Moose, as ecological engineers, have severe impacts on forest structure and composition through overbrowsing. The distribution of forage and cover patches affects moose browsing pressure, and this relationship has been explored in conifer-dominated stands but not in hardwood-dominated landscapes.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Are western European oak forests man-made constructs? The pedoanthracological perspective

Thomas Feiss, Vincent Robin, Delphine Aran, Joseph Levillain, Thierry Paul, Jean-Luc Dupouey

Summary: Fagus sylvatica L. is a competitive tree in European temperate deciduous forests, but often sporadic or absent in present-day stands where Quercus spp. are dominant. Through soil charcoal analysis in the Lorraine Plateau in France, the presence of Fagus and Quercus in mature Quercus stands was confirmed. Radiocarbon dating results indicated that historical forest management caused the replacement of Fagus by Quercus, starting from the Bronze Age.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

PHENTHAUproc - An early warning and decision support system for hazard assessment and control of oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea)

Paula Halbig, Anne-Sophie Stelzer, Peter Baier, Josef Pennerstorfer, Horst Delb, Axel Schopf

Summary: The incidence of oak processionary moth in Central Europe has been increasing, posing severe threats to oak trees, humans, and animals. To address this issue, researchers have developed an online early warning system that provides phenological forecasts and decision support for the protection of oak trees and human health.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Whoa on the wobble! Stem sinuosity in juvenile Douglas-fir across levels of genetic gain, silvicultural treatments, site conditions, and climatic variables in the Pacific Northwest

Michael Premer, Eric Turnblom, Aaron Weiskittel

Summary: Managed forests serve as a natural climate change solution by sequestering carbon and storing it in harvested wood products, while also providing ecosystem services and wildlife habitat. This study focused on the stem sinuosity of juvenile coastal Douglas-fir and found that genetic improvement, silviculture practices, and local growing conditions can impact stem sinuosity. Factors such as tree spacing, vegetation control, and climate variables also affect the severity of stem sinuosity.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Self-thinning of Scots pine across Europe changes with solar radiation, precipitation and temperature but does not show trends in time

Astor Torano Caicoya, Peter Biber, Miren del Rio, Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado, Catia Arcangeli, Robert Matthews, Hans Pretzsch

Summary: This study analyzed the effects of site and climate on the self-thinning line in Scots pine forests in Europe. The results showed that species tolerance, temperature, and precipitation influenced the slope of the self-thinning line. In terms of the intercept, latitude and radiation had compensating effects. Time did not show significant trends in the self-thinning line. The study highlights the need to adapt management strategies and models based on self-thinning to different latitudes. Climate change has not yet significantly impacted the self-thinning trajectory, but a continuous rise in temperature and high precipitation may accelerate the self-thinning process and result in increased biomass accumulation.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Tree structure instead of microclimatic zones determines differences in vascular epiphyte assemblages between forest and pasture

Joao Pedro Costa Elias, Bianca Aparecida Borges e Silva, Renan Goncalves de Carvalho, Mauricio Bonesso Sampaio, Glenda Mendieta-Leiva, Flavio Nunes Ramos

Summary: Land cover change has negative effects on epiphyte assemblages by reducing species richness and altering species composition. However, maintaining scattered trees and the structural complexity can mitigate these effects and maintain similarity with forest epiphyte assemblages.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Agronomy

A multi-objective optimization approach to simultaneously halve water consumption, CH4, and N2O emissions while maintaining rice yield

Yulin Yan, Youngryel Ryu, Bolun Li, Benjamin Dechant, Sheir Afgen Zaheer, Minseok Kang

Summary: Sustainable rice farming practices are urgently needed to meet increasing food demand, cope with water scarcity, and mitigate climate change. Traditional farming methods that prioritize a single objective have proven to be insufficient, while simultaneously optimizing multiple competing objectives remains less explored. This study optimized farm management to increase rice yield, reduce irrigation water consumption, and tackle the dilemma of reducing GHG emissions. The results suggest that the optimized management can maintain or even increase crop yield, while reducing water demand and GHG emissions by more than 50%.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Forestry

Regeneration dynamics in mixed mountain forests at their natural geographical distribution range in the Western Rhodopes

Dominik Ambs, Gerhard Schmied, Tzvetan Zlatanov, Sebastian Kienlein, Hans Pretzsch, Petia Simeonova Nikolova

Summary: A study was conducted to investigate the regeneration processes in mixed mountain forests in the Bulgarian Rhodopes under different management regimes. The results showed a high potential for recruitment in the Western Rhodopes, with highest regeneration density in fir, followed by spruce and beech. Single-tree selection cutting had the greatest influence on fir regeneration, while group-tree selection cutting tended to promote beech and spruce. Competing ground vegetation negatively affected seedling density of all species. Height increment was influenced by plant size, light conditions, and soil conditions.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Exploring the role of canopy triangular units in analysing canopy effects on saplings

Di Liu, Chaofan Zhou, Xiao He, Xiangdong Lei, Huiru Zhang, Xianzhao Liu

Summary: Canopy structure plays a significant role in the distribution and growth of saplings. Traditional canopy metrics are inadequate in irregular stands. The innovative framework of canopy triangular units provides a comprehensive understanding of the canopy's three-dimensional attributes. Through this framework, we can analyze the differences in various triangular unit types and the spatial dispersion of saplings.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Agronomy

Constructing a high-precision precipitation dataset on the data-limited Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Jingyi Zhu, Yanzheng Yang, Nan Meng, Ruonan Li, Jinfeng Ma, Hua Zheng

Summary: This study developed a random forest model using climate station and satellite data to generate high-precision precipitation datasets for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. By incorporating multisource satellite data, the model achieved a significant enhancement in precipitation accuracy and showed promising results in regions with limited meteorological stations and substantial spatial heterogeneity in precipitation patterns.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Agronomy

Precipitation consistently promotes, but temperature oppositely drives carbon fluxes in temperate and alpine grasslands in China

Zhaogang Liu, Zhi Chen, Meng Yang, Tianxiang Hao, Guirui Yu, Xianjin Zhu, Weikang Zhang, Lexin Ma, Xiaojun Dou, Yong Lin, Wenxing Luo, Lang Han, Mingyu Sun, Shiping Chen, Gang Dong, Yanhong Gao, Yanbin Hao, Shicheng Jiang, Yingnian Li, Yuzhe Li, Shaomin Liu, Peili Shi, Junlei Tan, Yakun Tang, Xiaoping Xin, Fawei Zhang, Yangjian Zhang, Liang Zhao, Li Zhou, Zhilin Zhu

Summary: This study investigates the responses of temperate grassland (TG) and alpine grassland (AG) to climate change by studying carbon (C) fluxes across different regions in China. The results reveal that water factors consistently increase C fluxes, while temperature factors have opposite effects on TG and AG. The study enhances our understanding of C sinks and grassland sensitivity to climate change.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Forestry

Recovery of aboveground biomass, soil carbon stocks and species diversity in tropical montane secondary forests of East Africa

Sadadi Ojoatre, Jos Barlow, Suzanne R. Jacobs, Mariana C. Rufino

Summary: This study evaluates the changes in a forest complex in Kenya and finds that within 20 years of disturbance, there is rapid recovery of aboveground biomass and carbon accumulation, and the species diversity remains high in these previously disturbed fragments.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Agronomy

Long-term summer warming reduces post-fire carbon dioxide losses in an arctic heath tundra

Wenyi Xu, Bo Elberling, Per Lennart Ambus

Summary: The frequency and extent of wildfires in the Arctic have been increasing due to climate change. In this study, researchers conducted experiments in West Greenland to investigate the long-term impacts of climate warming on post-fire carbon dioxide exchange in arctic tundra ecosystems. They found that fire increased soil organic phosphorus concentrations and burned areas remained a net CO2 source five years after the fire. However, with four to five years of summer warming, the burned areas turned into a net CO2 sink.

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY (2024)

Article Forestry

Positive interactions in shaping neighborhood diversity during secondary forests recovery: Revisiting the classical paradigm

Haonan Zhang, Jianing Xu, Weiqi Meng, Zhonglin Li, Yanyan Ni, Weijie Li, Hao Chen, Xingshuo Zhang, Huanhuan Yuan, Zhi Wang

Summary: Secondary forests play a crucial role in ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity recovery. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying secondary succession in a restored secondary forest and found that deciduous tree species transition from diversity accumulators to repellents as they progress through different life history stages, while evergreen tree species can act as accumulators or remain neutral. The study also revealed the effects of density dependence on the mortality and regeneration of different tree species, and highlighted the importance of early-arriving tree species in facilitating the establishment and diversity of late-arriving counterparts.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)

Article Forestry

Comparison of resistance to pest infestation between native and exotic mangrove species

Yierxiati Abulaiti, Zijian Huang, Guojiao Xie, Xiaojuan Zou, Qin Luo, Minhuang Wang, Qiong Yang, Ping Hu, Shixiao Yu

Summary: In this study, the resistance to pest infestation of native and exotic mangrove species was compared based on their traits and spectral reflectance. The results showed that exotic species exhibited higher resistance to pest infestation compared to native species.

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (2024)