Journal of Forest Science, 2015 (vol. 61), issue 11
Picea abies provenance test in the Czech Republic after 36 years - Central European provenancesOriginal Paper
I. Ulbrichová, V. Podrázský, F. Beran, D. Zahradník, M. Fulín, J. Procházka, J. Kubeček
J. For. Sci., 2015, 61(11):465-477 | DOI: 10.17221/23/2015-JFS 
Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) provenances from Central Europe (Hercynian-Sudetes area) were evaluated in a long-term experimental project (Germany-Czech Republic) 36 years after the outplanting. The growth characteristics, mortality and qualitative morphological characteristics of 64 spruce provenances were evaluated on the experimental plot Ledeč-Zaháj, in the Czech-Moravian Highland region of the Czech Republic, in typical conditions for Norway spruce cultivation. Results show 15-20% differences in height and radial growth between provenances and insignificant differences in qualitative characteristics e.g. stem shape, branch density...
Socioeconomic evaluation of agroforestry systems (Case study: Northern Iran)Original Paper
M. Mohebi Bijarpas, T. Rostami Shahraji, S. Mohammadi Limaei
J. For. Sci., 2015, 61(11):478-484 | DOI: 10.17221/30/2015-JFS
The aim of this research was to investigate the socioeconomic values of different land use in the agroforestry system. Questionnaires were used to collect social and economic data in two villages at Guilan province, northern Iran. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Profitability Index (PI) were used for cost-benefit analysis. Net Present Value (NPV) of different farming systems was determined. ANOVA test was used to compare the outcomes of different land use. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between literacy and variety of land use in two villages. Results of IRR and PI indices show that these indices were higher in poplar...
A fixed count sampling estimator of stem density based on a survival functionOriginal Paper
S. Magnussen
J. For. Sci., 2015, 61(11):485-495 | DOI: 10.17221/46/2015-JFS
In fixed count sampling (FCS) a fixed number (k) of observations is made at n randomly selected sample locations. For estimation of stem density, the distance from a random sample location to the k nearest trees was measured. It is known that practical FCS estimators of stem density are biased. With the objective of reducing bias in FCS estimators of stem density, a new estimator derived from a survival function with distance acting as time was presented. To allow for spatial heterogeneity in stem density, the survival function includes shared frailty. Encouraging results with k = 6 in terms of bias, root mean squared...
Climate change impacts on the Alpine ecosystem: an overview with focus on the soilReview
S. Chersich, K. Rejšek, V. Vranová, M. Bordoni, C. Meisina
J. For. Sci., 2015, 61(11):496-514 | DOI: 10.17221/47/2015-JFS
The Alpine ecosystem is very sensitive to climatic changes, which have an influence on glaciers, snow, vegetation and soils. The aim of this review is to illustrate the effects of global change on the Alpine soil ecosystem, which is an optimal marker to record them. The manuscript enhances our understanding of the global change effect on the Alpine environment: on morphology, on ice, on vegetation and points out how the cycles of soil nutrients equilibrium have been changed with a direct effect on soils that support plant species. The changes in cryosphere, glacier reduction and periglacial environment as glaciers retreat, decrease in the snow cover...