Biology subjects

Andivia, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Andivia, E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Harvesting effects on forest condition indicators across Iberian forests: Implications for the EU Nature Restoration Regulation

O_LIForest degradation is posing a growing threat to biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and nature contributions to people worldwide. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) recognise the need of healthy forests and has established indicators to assess the condition of forest ecosystems. Forest management practices, especially harvesting may contribute to improve these indicators by, for example, reducing tree density and promoting tree species diversification. C_LIO_LIHere, we assessed temporal trends in forest condition indicators (hereafter, indicators) across Iberian forests since the 80s and evaluated how harvesting occurrence and intensity modulated these trends. Using 46,354 plots from the Spanish Forest Inventory (1986-2022), we analysed trends in indicators depending on stand diversity (monospecific or mixed), protection status (protected or unprotected), origin of the stand (natural or planted), and biogeographical region (Mediterranean or temperate). C_LIO_LIOverall, indicators increased over time. Harvesting occurrence reduced the increases in aboveground carbon stocks, structural diversity, tree species diversity, and standing deadwood; however, it contributed to increase the proportion of native species in specific forest types. Medium to high harvesting intensity negatively impacted aboveground carbon stocks, while medium intensities increased tree species diversity but reduced the structural diversity. C_LIO_LISynthesis and applications. Our results suggest that indicators are increasing as stand develops in absence of disturbances such as harvesting. Tree harvesting cannot be considered as a silver bullet to achieve the objectives of the NRR, but it can contribute under certain conditions - specifically at low intensities for carbon stocks and at medium intensities for species diversity. The naturally positive trend of indicators underlines the need to establish thresholds values and minimum rates of changes that distinguish restoration outcomes from natural dynamics. Finally, our study also highlights the key role of forest inventories in monitoring forest condition over time and across diverse landscapes. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Growth sensitivity to water availability as potential indicator of drought-induced tree mortality in Mediterranean Pinus sylvestris forests

Drought-associated tree mortality has worldwide increased in the last decades, impacting structure and functioning of forest ecosystems, with implications for energy, carbon and water fluxes. However, the understanding of the factors underlying this mortality are still limited, especially at stand scale. We aim to identify the factors that triggered the mortality of the widely distributed Pinus sylvestris in an extensive forest area in central Spain. We compared radial growth patterns in pairs of live and recently dead individuals that co-occur in close proximity and present similar age and size, thereby isolating the effects of size and environment from the mortality process. Temporal dynamics of growth, growth synchrony, and growth sensitivity to water availability (P-PET) were compared between live and recently dead trees. Over the last 50 years, we observed an increase in the growth synchrony and sensitivity to water availability as drought conditions intensified consistent to prior research. However, no differences were found in radial growth between live and dead individuals 15 years before mortality, and dead individuals showed lower growth synchrony and sensitivity to water availability than live ones for much of the period studied. This suggests a decoupling between trees growth responses and climatic conditions, which could increase vulnerability to hydraulic failure and/or carbon starvation. Overall, our results point to an important role of growth sensitivity to water availability in tree mortality for P. sylvestris at its southern distribution limit.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Forest structural diversity determines tree growth synchrony in response to climate change

After centuries of deforestation, many industrialised countries are experiencing an increase in forest area and biomass due to changes in land- and forest-use since the mid-20th century. At the same time, the impacts of climate change on forests are aggravating, but the interplay between past land- and forest-use (i.e. land- and forest-use legacies) and climate change in forest functioning remains elusive. Here using network theory and linear mixed models, we quantified how land- and forest-use legacies modulate tree growth synchrony in response to climate change. We analysed tree growth data from European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands with different histories of forest management at the species rear edge. We found that tree growth synchrony increased following heatwaves, late spring frosts, and reduced precipitation. Interestingly, the greatest tree growth synchrony occurred in recently-established forests, while stands containing large trees and heterogeneous tree sizes showed much lower growth synchrony. Our results highlight the importance of maintaining large trees and structurally heterogeneous forests to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on forest productivity, and thereby, increase forest resilience to future forest climate risks.

ecology↗