Journal of Forest Science, 2025 (vol. 71), issue 10
Progress and prospects in understanding the effects of forest management practices on soil nitrogen cyclingReview
Lili Liu, Chenyi Yu, Jiayi Yang, Zijun Zhang, Qingwei Guan
J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(10):469-481 | DOI: 10.17221/61/2025-JFS 
Soil nitrogen (N) cycling plays a pivotal role in forest ecosystem productivity and nutrient regulation. This review synthesises recent advances in understanding how forest management practices influence soil nitrogen cycling and highlights future research priorities for elucidating underlying mechanisms and optimising forest ecosystem functioning (Figure 1). Management interventions such as thinning, species composition adjustment, and understory vegetation control have been shown to affect N inputs and transformation pathways by modifying litter quality, microbial community structure, and N-cycling enzyme activities. However, current findings remain...
Modulating Norway spruce growth and resilience through thinning intensity under climate change conditionsOriginal Paper
Petra Jablonická, Pavel Horák, Jakub Èerný
J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(10):482-500 | DOI: 10.17221/55/2025-JFS
In recent decades, Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands have become increasingly vulnerable to frequent droughts and associated outbreaks of secondary biotic pests, resulting in significant degradation of forest ecosystems. To preserve their production and ecological functions, it is necessary to apply well-adapted silvicultural practices that mitigate the risk of stand decline. This study examines the effects of two thinning intensities (moderate and heavy) on stand productivity and resilience under varying site conditions. Three long-term research sites with paired differently thinned plots located within and outside the natural range of Norway...
The use of LiDAR for the documentation and modelling of cultural heritage sites hidden by the forest canopyOriginal Paper
Nikola ®i¾lavská, Stanislav Herber
J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(10):501-515 | DOI: 10.17221/53/2025-JFS
The large number of charcoal kiln sites (CHKS) preserved as cultural heritage monuments demonstrates how extensive forest management for charcoal production has influenced the present forest dynamics and contributed to industrial expansion. Therefore, it is necessary not only to have a reliable methodology for detecting and documenting individual kiln sites for management and protection purposes but also to present the results in a meaningful way to the public. The aim is to optimise the data processing workflow from airborne laser scanning (ALS) point cloud to printable model (from LAS format to STL), determine the influence of vegetation cover at...
Himalayan fir growth in central Bhutan reflects variability in temperature and precipitationOriginal Paper
Jiøí Lehejèek, Gabriel Vávrù, Sangay Wangchuk, Miroslav Svoboda, Katrien Boonen
J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(10):516-524 | DOI: 10.17221/58/2025-JFS
Mountain ecosystems, especially those at the highest altitudes, are sensitive to current climate change. Proxy archives may provide an insightful tool to better understand ongoing changes and evaluate future scenarios. Trees have traditionally been used as such archives, as they often respond sensitively to environmental change. Thus, we studied tree-ring records of forest-line species Abies densa Griff. growing in the Eastern Himalayas, central Bhutan, to evaluate the effect of climate on the growth of this species. The annual chronologies were generated using standard dendrochronological methods and then compared with climatic data from the...