Abstract
Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important characteristics of forest stands that affects the fundamentals of tree physiological processes, biomass production, and mechanical stability. The LAI results obtained by the semi-direct and indirect methods (the needle technique and an LAI-2000 PCA) in three European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands and one sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) stand were compared with LAI estimated by litter traps during the 2013 growing season. Seasonal LAI was estimated using an LAI-2000 PCA which showed similar trends among the stands and strongly corresponded to phenological phases of deciduous stands in Europe, with the fastest rate of leaf area increment occurring during the first month following bud break. During the growing season, maximum stand LAI value was on June 19th and reached 4.5–5.1, and 4.0 in the beech and maple stands, respectively. The needle technique significantly underestimated (p < 0.05) direct LAI on average by 22.0% and 40.0% in the beech and maple stands, respectively. The LAI-2000 PCA insignificantly underestimated (p > .05) LAI on average by 15.1% and 5.8% in the beech and maple stands, respectively. All methods for LAI estimation at the stand level could be applicable in deciduous forest stands (beech, maple) with similar site and stand characteristics. However, calibration by direct method is necessary to obtain the required precision.
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The English language was kindly proofread by the BEST translation agency. Special thanks to Dr. Pavel Bednář and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful and valuable comments on improving this paper.
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Project funding: The work was supported by the Specific University Research Fund of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology (FFWT) at Mendel University in Brno (Grant No. LDF_VP_2016017) and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, institutional support MZE-RO0118.
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Černý, J., Haninec, P. & Pokorný, R. Leaf area index estimated by direct, semi-direct, and indirect methods in European beech and sycamore maple stands. J. For. Res. 31, 827–836 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0809-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0809-0