How cyclical and predictable are Central European temperate forest dynamics in terms of development phases?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00027073%3A_____%2F18%3AN0000021" target="_blank" >RIV/00027073:_____/18:N0000021 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216224:14310/18:00103524

Result on the web

<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvs.12590" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jvs.12590</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12590" target="_blank" >10.1111/jvs.12590</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

How cyclical and predictable are Central European temperate forest dynamics in terms of development phases?

Original language description

Recently there have been vital discussions about the validity of the European patch-mosaic conceptual model of forest dynamics - the traditional concept of a shifting patch-mosaic of development stages and phases, also known as the forest cycle concept. Here we try to answer the fundamental questions of this debate: (1) how much do forest dynamics proceed along a predictable path (in a chronological sequence: growthoptimumbreakdown); or (2) vice versa, are the patches rather a result of disturbances and/or other stochastic growth and mortality patterns? The long-term evolution of forest development phases was analysed with a GIS-based, spatially explicit, fully reproducible method enabling accurate verification of the functionality of the model forest cycle. We analysed long-term transitions among forest development phases from the 1970s through the 1990s to 2000s. Observed phase-to-phase transitions were compared to a random transition model. We identified preferential pathways within the forest cycle model as well as the proportion of cyclic/acyclic transitions. In total, across all sites and observation periods, about 65% of all observed phase-to-phase transitions were realized through preferential pathways, about 28% of observed transitions went along pathways of random frequency and only about 7% of observed transitions were realized through uncommon development pathways. On the other hand, less than 40% of all observed transitions might be classified as cyclic (following the model cycle), and thus more than 60% of the transitions were acyclic (moving across or backward in the model cycle). The overall pattern of all observed transitions resembled a complex web rather than a simple repeating cycle. Although in all sites we documented signs of the cyclic and predictable development anticipated by the forest cycle concept, the predominance and stochastic nature of multiple acyclic development pathways gave rise to reasonable doubts on the legitimacy and usability of the concept for descriptions of forest dynamics. On the other hand, the verification of the concept may contribute significantly to our understanding of the complexity of forest dynamics.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA15-23242S" target="_blank" >GA15-23242S: Do the laws of the metabolic scaling theory apply in European temperate old-growth forests? Testing at multiple spatial scales.</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2018

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Vegetation Science

ISSN

1100-9233

e-ISSN

1654-1103

Volume of the periodical

29

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

84-97

UT code for WoS article

000425593100011

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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