[article]
Titre : |
Evaluation of the ecological restoration potential of plant communities in Norway spruce plantations using a life-trait based approach |
Type de document : |
Imprimé |
Auteurs : |
Bruno Hérault ; Olivier Honnay ; Daniel Thoen |
Année de publication : |
2005 |
Article en page(s) : |
536-545 |
Langues : |
Anglais (eng) |
Catégories : |
[CBNPMP-Thèmes] Restauration des écosystèmes [CBNPMP-Thèmes] Revégétalisation
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Mots-clés : |
Picea abies |
Note de contenu : |
1.In Europe, intensively managed coniferous plantations rarely achieve similar natureconservation functions as deciduous woodlands. The ability to identify coniferous plan-tations that might be successfully converted to deciduous woodland is a key goal in for-est management. The herbaceous plant community composition of mature plantationsmay be an accurate selection criterion for stands that are most suitable for initiating theconversion process to deciduous forest.2.The herbaceous plant communities in Norway spruce plantations were analysedusing a functional group approach. The analysis was conducted in three steps: (i) iden-tification of emergent groups (EG) by multivariate classification; (ii) comparison of EGabundance between coniferous and deciduous stands (i.e. the target communities);(iii) partitioning the variation in EG abundance in coniferous plantations between forestmanagement, local environmental and regional variables.3.Seven EG were identified: two core forest groups (short geophytes and zoochoreousperennials), two groups from open habitats (annuals and helophytes) and three mixedgroups (anemochoreous perennials, graminoids and short perennials).4.Among the core forest groups, short geophytes were severely under-represented inplantations (because of their low dispersal abilities and specific habitat requirements)while zoochoreous perennials were slightly more abundant (because of their gooddispersal and competitive abilities).5.Regional variables largely influenced the abundance of core-forest EG. Restoration ofcommunities rich in zoochoreous perennials is far easier than restoring short geophyte-rich communities because of the different colonization abilities of these EG.6.Forest management variables were of secondary importance for the restorationpotential of plantations. Because generalist EG were favoured by low stand densities,forest practitioners should avoid large thinning operations.7.Local environmental variables played a minor role in determining EG abundance.However, short geophytes preferred rather high soil pH values and were thereforenegatively affected by acidification caused by coniferous litter.8.Synthesis and applications.The performance of short geophytes is the key to conversionsuccess of Norway spruce plantations to deciduous forest. Stands located on base-richsoils and in landscapes with high forest connectivity are the most appropriate candidatesfor initiating the conversion process. For other types of stands, future work should explorethe possibility of restoring other land-use types, such as annually mown meadows. |
Lien pérenne : |
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01048.x ![link https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01048.x](./styles/zen_one/images/globe.gif) |
Permalink : |
https://biblio.cbnpmp.fr/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=148187 |
in Journal of applied ecology > 42 [01/01/2005] . - 536-545
Hérault, Bruno, Honnay, Olivier, Thoen, Daniel
2005
Evaluation of the ecological restoration potential of plant communities in Norway spruce plantations using a life-trait based approach.
Journal of applied ecology, 42: 536-545.
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