Journal of Forest Science, 2018 (vol. 64), issue 8

Functional effects of forest ecosystems on water cycle - Slovakia case studyOriginal Paper

Jozef MINĎAŠ, Martin BARTÍK, Jana ŠKVARENINOVÁ, Richard REPISKÝ

J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(8):331-339 | DOI: 10.17221/46/2018-JFS  

The paper presents the results from three different experimental plots in mountain areas in Slovakia. Annual interception losses varied in mature forest stand in Poľana Mts. (850 m a.s.l.) in mixtured (spruce, fir, beech) from 10.6 to 23.5%, in spruce from 20.5 to 35.5% and in beech forest from 8.8 to 26.9%. Horizontal precipitation reduces long-term average of interception loss by 3.2% (mixtured and spruce) and 2.9% for beech forest. Decline process in supramontane spruce forest has significant influence on interception process in climax spruce stand in Červenec. Mean biweekly interception loss in the central crown zone near the stem during growing...

Peculiarities of seasonal growth of Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold under the conditions of introduction in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of UkraineOriginal Paper

Svitlana ADAMENKO, Volodymyr SHLAPAK, Iryna KOZACHENKO, Margaryta PARUBOK

J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(8):340-344 | DOI: 10.17221/63/2018-JFS  

Generalization of scientific studies and analysis of experimental data on the peculiarities of seasonal growth of vegetative organs of Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold, their compliance with the climatic conditions of the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine are reported. Studies showed that the mechanisms of regulating growth processes are directly affected by the air temperature. P. nigra belongs to the species that begin their vegetation early in spring. The first shoots to start growing are the ones which require a small amount of heat. Studies showed that the needle growth begins on the 30th-35th day after the onset of shoot growth. During the study period...

Ecological assessment of Juniperus turbinata Guss. forest on the Strofades Islands, Ionian Sea, GreeceOriginal Paper

Aristotelis MARTINIS, Evgenia CHAIDEFTOU, Charikleia MINOTOU, Konstantinos POIRAZIDIS

J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(8):345-352 | DOI: 10.17221/52/2018-JFS  

The Strofades Islands form part of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. Juniperus turbinata Gussone (syn. Juniperus phoenicea Linnaeus) forests are one of the few remaining high forest forms in Mediterranean. Here, the ecological status and the state of forest regeneration on the Strofades were evaluated to contribute information to their preservation. Seventeen sampling sites were established in the most representative locations. Fourteen sites were dominated by J. turbinata, while the predominant species was Quercus coccifera Linnaeus, accompanied by Phillyrea latifolia Linnaeus and Pistacia lentiscus Linnaeus, in the remaining three sites....

The impact of forest infrastructure reconstruction on expansion of potentially invasive plant species: First results from a study in LatviaOriginal Paper

Ilze MATISONE, Amanda ZUMBERGA, Zane L'BIETE, Linda GERRA-INOHOSA, Jurgis JANSONS

J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(8):353-357 | DOI: 10.17221/28/2018-JFS  

Today, when anthropogenic pressure on natural ecosystems promotes degradation of natural habitats and facilitates distribution of alien species, local disturbances such as forest management become more significant in relation to alien plant species expansion. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of forest road and drainage network reconstruction on the vegetation composition focusing on the expansion of invasive alien plant species. The occurrence and coverage of vascular plant and bryophyte species were recorded within 160 sample plots along four forest roads and four drainage ditches. This paper summarises the first results of this...

Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on plant composition, plant diversity and soil properties in oak forests, IranOriginal Paper

Javad ESHAGHI RAD, Gelare VALADI, Osman SALEHZADEH, Hosein MAROOFI

J. For. Sci., 2018, 64(8):358-370 | DOI: 10.17221/13/2018-JFS  

Three sites including "less disturbed", "moderately disturbed" and "severely disturbed" were selected in Zagros forests in Kurdistan province (Iran). Three forest stands with similar physiographic conditions of each site were selected and three 400 m2 plots were assessed in each stand to record the floristic information and soil sample (0-30 cm). Different diversity indices were calculated for each sample. Cluster analysis and to collect soil samples detrended correspondence analysis were applied to categorize and investigate the vegetation trend. Indicator species analysis was used to determine the characteristic species. Tukey test was used to compare...