Lebourgeois, F. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2024

Turning point in forest productivity revealed from 40 years of national forest inventory data

Aim: Global changes, such as changing climate or disruption in biogeochemical cycles, are affecting forest productivity worldwide. Trends in productivity are depending on the focal spatial scale and on the considered time window, stable trends at large spatial scale can mask divergence at smaller scale while short time windows limit the capacity to reveal non-linear trends such as turning points. Capitalizing on 40 years of national forest inventory data from more than 100 tree species we explored trends in forest productivity at the regional level across 4 biogeographical regions. Location: France Time period: 1978-2022 Major taxa studied: 146 tree species Methods: We fitted two classes of models, a first one explicitly estimating temporal trends and a second one including no temporal components but climatic variables reflecting changing temperature and water availability. Results: We find a decrease in productivity in 95% of the regions and a high contrast in trend shapes between regions over the period studied: lowland regions with average temperature above 11.9{degrees}C showed linear negative trends in productivity since 1985 while colder lowland regions showed hump-shaped trends with turning points between 1985 and 2005, followed by declines in productivity. In mountainous regions, average climate did not appear to be a strong mediator of trend shapes. The temporal trends were reconstituted with high fidelity from the model including only climatic variables implying that changes in temperature and water availability are likely drivers of the reported trends. Main conclusion: These results illustrate the progression during the last decades of the adverse effects of climate change on forest productivity over the European forests. They suggest the expected changes over the 21st century that will put further pressure on forest productivity, impacting forest carbon sink potential and reducing sustainable rate of timber extraction.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Leaf area index estimation of even-aged oak (Quercus petraea) forests using in situ stand dendrometric parameters

The leaf area index (LAI) is a key characteristic of forest stand aboveground net productivity (ANP), and many methods have been developed to estimate the LAI. However, every method has flaws, e.g., methods may be destructive, require means or time and/or show intrinsic bias and estimation errors. A relationship using basal area (G) and stand age to estimate LAI was proposed by Sonohat et al. (2004). We used literature data in addition to data form measurements campaign made in the northern half of France to build a data set with large ranges of pedoclimatic conditions, stand age and measured LAI. We validated the Sonohat et al. (2004) relationship and attempted to improve or modify it using other stand/dendrometric characteristics that could be predictors of the LAI. The result is a series of three models using the G, age and/or quadratic mean diameter (Dg), and the models were able to estimate the LAI of an oak only even-aged forest stand with good confidence (root mean square error, RMSE < 0.75) While G is the main predictor here, age and Dg could be used conjointly or exclusively given the available data, with variable precision in the estimations. Although these models could not, by construction, relate to the interannual variability of the LAI, they may provide the theoretical LAI of an untouched forest (no meteorological, biotic or anthropogenic perturbation) in recent years. additionally, the use of this model may be more interesting than an LAI measurement campaign, depending on the means to be invested in such a campaign.

ecology↗