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Understory dynamics after disturbance accelerate succession from spruce to beech-dominated forest—the Siggaboda case study

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Abstract

••Context

It is assumed that climate change will favour European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) to Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) at its northern range margins due to climate change and induced disturbance events.

••Aims

An old-growth mixed forest of spruce and beech, situated near the northern beech margin, was studied to reveal effects of disturbances and response processes on natural forest dynamics, focussing on the understory.

••Methods

We carried out analyses on understory dynamics of beech and spruce in relation to overstory release. This was done based on a sequence of stand and tree vitality inventories after a series of abiotic and biotic disturbances.

••Results

It became apparent that beech (understory) has a larger adaptive capacity to disturbance impacts and overstory release (68 % standing volume loss) than spruce. Understory dynamics can play a key role for forest succession from spruce to beech-dominated forests. Disturbances display an acceleration effect on forest succession in the face of climate change.

••Conclusion

Beech is poised strategically to replace spruce as the dominant tree species at the study area. Due to an increasing productivity and a lower risk of stand failure, beech may raise into the focus of forestry in southern Sweden.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Tomasz Czajkowski (Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems Eberswalde), Heiko Rubbert, Dr. Thomas Kompa, Frauke Koch, Friederike Kampf, René Grippert (Göttingen University) and Dr. Lars Droessler (SLU Alnarp) supported us in field work. We thank all for the outstanding assistance.

Funding

This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG: RO 910/10, BO 1906/3), the Thure Rignells Foundation (Tranemåla Erik och Ebba Larssons samt Thure Rignells Stiftelse, Bengt Ljungström) and was conducted in co-operation with the Broadleaf Program (Ädellövprogrammet) of the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre at Alnarp (Prof. Dr. Magnus Löf, Prof. Dr. Jörg Brunet).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute (TI), Institute of Forest Ecosystems, A.-Möller-Straße 1, 16225, Eberswalde, Germany

    Andreas Bolte & Lutz Hilbrig

  2. Department of Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Andreas Bolte

  3. Institute of Forest Botany and Forest Zoology, Technical University of Dresden (TUD), Pienner Straße 7, 01737, Tharandt, Germany

    Britt Maria Grundmann & Andreas Roloff

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  1. Andreas Bolte
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  2. Lutz Hilbrig
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  3. Britt Maria Grundmann
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  4. Andreas Roloff
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Bolte.

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Handling Editor: Gilbert Aussenac

Contribution of the co-authors

All co-authors have contributed to the writing. Moreover Britt Grundmann and Lutz Hilbrig supported the main author in collecting data and performing analyses. Together with the main author, Andreas Roloff coordinated the study.

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Bolte, A., Hilbrig, L., Grundmann, B.M. et al. Understory dynamics after disturbance accelerate succession from spruce to beech-dominated forest—the Siggaboda case study. Annals of Forest Science 71, 139–147 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0283-y

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