Skip to main content

Transforming Pinus pinaster forest to recreation site: preliminary effects on LAI, some forest floor, and soil properties

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 186, pages 2563–2572 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of forest transformation into recreation site. A fragment of a Pinus pinaster plantation forest was transferred to a recreation site in the city of Bartın located close to the Black Sea coast of northwestern Turkey. During the transformation, some of the trees were selectively removed from the forest to generate more open spaces for the recreationists. As a result, Leaf Area Index (LAI) decreased by 0.20 (about 11 %). Additionally, roads and pathways were introduced into the site together with some recreational equipment sealing parts of the soil surface. Consequently, forest environment was altered with a semi-natural landscape within the recreation site. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of forest transformation into recreation site particularly in terms of the LAI parameter, forest floor, and soil properties. Preliminary monitoring results indicate that forest floor biomass is reduced by 26 % in the recreation site compared to the control site. Soil temperature is increased by 15 % in the recreation site where selective removal of trees expanded the gaps allowing more light transmission. On the other hand, the soil bulk density which is an indicator of soil compaction is unexpectedly slightly lower in the recreation site. Organic carbon (Corg) and total nitrogen (Ntotal) together with the other physical and chemical parameter values indicate that forest floor and soil have not been exposed to much disturbance. However, subsequent removal of trees that would threaten the vegetation, forest floor, and soil should not be allowed. The activities of the recreationists are to be concentrated on the paved spaces rather than soil surfaces. Furthermore, long-term monitoring and management is necessary for both the observation and conservation of the site.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Amrein, D., Rusterholz, H. P., & Baur, B. (2005). Disturbance of suburban Fagus forests by recreational activities: effects on soil characteristics, above-ground vegetation and seed bank. Applied Vegetation Science, 8, 175–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, G. R. (1965). Bulk Density. In A. Klute (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical and Mineralogical Methods, Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling, Agronomy Monograph 9.1. Madison: American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonan, G. (2008). Ecological Climatology, Concepts and Applications (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bouyoucos, G. J. (1936). Directions for making mechanical analysis of soils by the hydrometer method. Soil Science, 42, 225–229.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, N. C. (1990). The Nature and Properties of Soils (Tenthth ed.). New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bréda, N., Granier, A., & Aussenac, G. (1995). Effects of thinning on soil and tree water relations, transpiration and growth in an oak forest (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.). Tree Physiology, 15, 295–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J., Alberti, G., Martin, J., & Law, B. E. (2009). Carbon dynamics of a ponderosa pine plantation following a thinning treatment in the northern Sierra Nevada. Forest Ecology and Management, 257, 453–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J. M. (1996). Optically based methods for measuring seasonal variation of leaf area index in boreal coniferous stands. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 80(2–4), 135–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J. M., & Cihlar, J. (1995). Quantifying the effect of canopy architecture on optical measurements of leaf area index using two gap size analysis methods. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 33, 777–787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, D. N., & Marion, J. L. (1988). Recreation impacts in some riparian forests of the Eastern United States. Environmental Management, 12(1), 99–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devore, J., & Farnum, N. (1999). Applied Statistics for Engineers and Scientists (1st ed.). USA: Duxbury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleischbein, K., Wilcke, W., Goller, R., Boy, J., Valarezo, C., Zech, W., & Knoblich, K. (2005). Rainfall interception in a lower montane forest in Ecuador: effects of canopy properties. Hydrological Processes, 19, 1355–1371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganatsios, H. P., Tsioras, P. A., & Pavlidis, T. (2010). Water yield changes as a result of silvicultural treatments in an oak ecosystem. Forest Ecology and Management, 260, 1367–1374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardiner, D. T., & Miller, R. W. (2008). Soils in Our Environment (Eleventhth ed.). New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, S. E., & Edwards, C. (2002). Comparison of film and digital hemispherical photography across a wide range of canopy densities. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 112(1), 51–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamberg, L., Malmivaara-Lämsä, M., Lehvävirta, S., O’Hara, R. B., & Kotze, D. J. (2010). Quantifying the effects of trampling and habitat edges on forest understory vegetation: a field experiment. Journal of Environmental Management, 91, 1811–1820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jestaedt, M. (2008). Experiences in the management of urban recreational forests in Germany. In M. M. Carreiro, Y. C. Song, & J. Wu (Eds.), Ecology, Planning, and Management of Urban Forests, International Perspectives (pp. 301–311). New York: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. W., & Curtis, P. S. (2001). Effects of forest management on soil C and N storage: meta-analysis. Forest Ecology and Management, 140, 227–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. W., Knoepp, J. D., Swank, W. T., Shan, J., Morris, L. A., Van Lear, D. H., & Kapeluck, P. R. (2002). Effects of forest management on soil carbon: results of some long-term resampling studies. Environmental Pollution, 116, 201–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonckheere, I., Fleck, S., Nackaerts, K., Muys, B., Coppin, P., Weiss, M., & Baret, F. (2004). Review of methods for in situ leaf area index determination Part I. Theories, sensors and hemispherical photography. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 121, 19–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kara, Ö., & Bolat, İ. (2007). Influence of soil compaction on microfungal community in two soil types in Bartın Province. Journal of Basic Microbiology, 47(5), 394–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kissling, M., Hegetschweiler, K. T., Rusterholz, H. P., & Baur, B. (2009). Short-term and long-term effects of human trampling on above-ground vegetation, soil density, soil organic matter and soil microbial processes in suburban beech forests. Applied Soil Ecology, 42, 303–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koch, N. E., & Skovsgaard, J. P. (1999). Sustainable management of planted forests: Some comparisons between Central Europe and the United States. New Forests, 17, 11–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozlowski, T. T. (1999). Soil compaction and growth of woody plants. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 14, 596–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuss, F. R., & Hall, C. N. (1991). Ground flora trampling studies: five years after closure. Environmental Management, 15(5), 715–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, A. R. G. (1987). Simplified estimate of leaf area index from transmittance of the sun’s beam. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 41, 179–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lemenih, M., Gidyelew, T., & Teketay, D. (2004). Effects of canopy cover and understory environment of tree plantations on richness, density and size of colonizing woody species in southern Ethiopia. Forest Ecology and Management, 194, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littlemore, J., & Barker, S. (2001). The ecological response of forest ground flora and soils to experimental trampling in British urban woodlands. Urban Ecosystems, 5, 257–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marzano, M., & Dandy, N. (2012). Recreationist behaviour in forests and the disturbance of wildlife. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21, 2967–2986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misson, L., Tang, J., Xu, M., McKay, M., & Goldstein, A. (2005). Influences of recovery from clear-cut, climate variability, and thinning on the carbon balance of a young ponderosa pine plantation. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 130, 207–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özcan, M., Gökbulak, F., & Hızal, A. (2013). Exclosure effects on recovery of selected soil properties in a mixed broadleaf forest recreation site. Land Degradation & Development, 24, 266–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Öztürk, M., & Bolat, İ. (2012). Determination of recreational urban forest patches based on spatial characteristics, Case Study: Bartın (Turkey) city center and vicinity. In: BENA (Balkan Environmental Association)-2012, Sustainable Landscape Planning and Safe Environment, İstanbul Technical University, İstanbul, 21-24 June 2012.

  • Perry, D. A., Oren, R., & Hart, S. C. (2008). Forest Ecosystems (2nd ed.). Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretzsch, H. (2009). Forest Dynamics, Growth and Yield. First Edition, Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

  • Rowell, D. L. (1994) Soil Science: Methods and Applications. First Edition. Singapore: Longman Scientific and Technical

  • Schaap, M. G., Bouten, W., & Verstraten, J. M. (1997). Forest floor water content dynamics in Douglas fir stand. Journal of Hydrology, 201, 367–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schleppi, P., Conedera, M., Sedivy, I., & Thimonier, A. (2007). Correcting non-linearity and slope effects in the estimation of the leaf area index of forests from hemispherical photographs. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 144, 236–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, B. W., Kolb, T. E., Hart, S. C., Kaye, J. P., Dore, S., & Montes-Helu, M. (2008). Thinning reduces soil carbon dioxide but not methane flux from southwestern USA ponderosa pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 255, 4047–4055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TGDF (Turkish General Directorate of Forestry) (2011). Forest Management Plans of Bartın Forest Administration. Ankara.

  • TGDMRE (Turkish General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration) (2007). Digital Geological Maps of Zonguldak F-29 Section. Ankara.

  • Tian, S., Youssef, M. A., Skaggs, R. W., Amatya, D. M., & Chescheir, G. M. (2012). Modeling water, carbon and nitrogen dynamics for two drained pine plantations under intensive management practices. Forest Ecology and Management, 264, 20–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TMFAL (Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock) (2005). Digital Soil Maps of Bartın Stream Watershed. Ankara.

  • TSMS (Turkish State Meteorological Service) (2007). Daily Meteorological Data. Ankara.

  • Waring, R. H., & Running, S. W. (2007). Forest Ecosystems, Analysis at Multiple Scales (3rd ed.). UK: Elsevier Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, Y.-J., Burger, J. A., Aust, W. M., Patterson, S. C., Miwa, M., & Preston, D. P. (2002). Changes in surface water table depth and soil physical properties after harvest and establishment of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) in Atlantic coastal plain wetlands of South Carolina. Soil & Tillage Research, 63, 109–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yılmaz, H. (2001). Research on semi-natural tree communities and plantation site vegetations of Bartın city (in Turkish). Journal of Bartın Forestry Faculty, 3(3), 59–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zipperer, W. C. (2008). Applying ecosystem management to urban forestry. In M. M. Carreiro, Y. C. Song, & J. Wu (Eds.), Ecology, Planning, and Management of Urban Forests, International Perspectives (pp. 97–108). New York: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Forest Engineer Sezai Ağcabay for his valuable efforts during the field and laboratory works. The Turkish General Directorate of Forestry (TGDF) and the Turkish State Meteorological Service (TSMS) are gratefully acknowledged for their data support throughout this study. We have no conflict of interest with any third parties acknowledged.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Division of Landscape Techniques, Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Forestry, Bartın University, Room no: 314, 74100, Bartın, Turkey

    Melih Öztürk

  2. Division of Soil Science and Ecology, Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Forestry, Bartın University, Room no: 404, 74100, Bartın, Turkey

    İlyas Bolat

Authors
  1. Melih Öztürk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. İlyas Bolat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melih Öztürk.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Öztürk, M., Bolat, İ. Transforming Pinus pinaster forest to recreation site: preliminary effects on LAI, some forest floor, and soil properties. Environ Monit Assess 186, 2563–2572 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3560-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3560-1

Keywords

  • LAI
  • Forest floor
  • Soil properties
  • Pinus pinaster forest
  • Recreation site