Short-term survival and crown rebuilding of European broadleaf tree species following a severe ice storm

Dušan Roženbergar (Author), Jakob Pavlin (Author), Thomas Andrew Nagel (Author)

Abstract

Ice storms cause widespread damage to forests in many temperate regions, leaving behind many live trees with severe crown damage. Following a severe ice storm in 2014 that damaged forests across Slovenia, we examined how tree-level attributes influenced survival and crown rebuilding three growing seasons after the storm. Field sampling was carried out in four mature stands dominated by native broadleaf species. Of the 763 sampled trees, the annual mortality rate following the storm was 2.2%, and nearly all trees that died experienced >75% crown removal. Oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) and chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) had higher rates of mortality than beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.). Mixed models revealed that survival significantly increased with tree diameter and decreased with increasing crown damage. Although we observed sprouting across all the dominant species, maple, oak, and chestnut showed a more vigorous response than beech, and maple had the fastest sprout growth. Model results showed that sprout density and length increased with level of crown damage. The results indicate that these broadleaf forests are resilient to severe ice damage. Consequently, hasty salvage cutting of trees with canopy damage should be avoided, as many individuals with >75% crown damage are likely to survive and recover

Keywords

motnje;epikormske veje;smrtnost;sposobnost okrevanja;vegetativno odganjanje;snegolom;drevesne vrste;gozdovi;forest disturbance;epicormic branches;mortality;resilience;sprouting;fortests;ice storm;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2020
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL BF - Biotechnical Faculty
UDC:	630*23
COBISS:	31057155
ISSN:	1208-6037
Views:	365
Downloads:	323
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	motnje;epikormske veje;smrtnost;sposobnost okrevanja;vegetativno odganjanje;snegolom;drevesne vrste;gozdovi;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	str. 1131-1137
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ50
Issue:	ǂiss. ǂ11
Chronology:	2020
DOI:	10.1139/cjfr-2020-0063
ID:	12064930