Xue Wang, Longfeng Gong, Junkang Zhang, Lei Wang, Di Wu, Jichen Xu
Alternative splicing (AS) is an important post-transcriptional regulatory model that can change the normal transcript expression level and possibly result in protein diversity. In this study, we conducted the full-length transcript sequencing of Salix matsudana Koidz 9901 leaves under salt treatment using the PromethION platform. A total of 4786 AS genes (9307 AS events) were determined, accounting for 7.45% of all the transcribed genes. Of them, intron retention (IR) events accounted for the most AS events (46.05%), followed by alternative 3′ splice sites (A3SS). During salt stress, the percentage of IR events decreased, and the percentage of the others increased. Statistical results showed that 5′GG was the most common motif at the 5′ end of the intron in the AS events, and GG3′ was the most common motif at the 3′ end. 5′GG-AG3′ was the most common splice mode in the AS events. The occurrence of AS events was significantly related to the exon number, exon length, intron length, GC content, and expression abundance of the genes. During salt stress, the number of AS genes gradually increased, and they mainly participated in purine and chlorophyll metabolism, RNA transport, and autophagy. Meanwhile, the AS sites of the gene increased during salt treatment, indicating the complexity of the AS events by salt stress. A comparison of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially alternative splicing (DAS) genes during salt stress revealed that they had a different mechanism of gene expression regulation when subjected to salt stress. These results expand our knowledge of AS events and shed light on and improve our understanding of plant resistance to salt tolerance in willow.
替代剪接(AS)是一种重要的转录后调控模式,可改变正常的转录本表达水平,并可能导致蛋白质的多样性。本研究利用 PromethION 平台对盐处理条件下的 Salix matsudana Koidz 9901 叶片进行了全长转录本测序。共测定了 4786 个 AS 基因(9307 个 AS 事件),占所有转录基因的 7.45%。其中,内含子保留(IR)事件占AS事件的大多数(46.05%),其次是替代3′剪接位点(A3SS)。在盐胁迫期间,IR事件的比例下降,其他事件的比例上升。统计结果表明,在AS事件中,5′GG是内含子5′端最常见的基序,GG3′是3′端最常见的基序。5′GG-AG3′是AS事件中最常见的剪接模式。AS事件的发生与基因的外显子数、外显子长度、内含子长度、GC含量和表达丰度有明显关系。在盐胁迫期间,AS基因的数量逐渐增加,它们主要参与嘌呤和叶绿素代谢、RNA转运和自噬。同时,盐胁迫期间基因的AS位点增加,表明盐胁迫引起的AS事件的复杂性。通过比较盐胁迫期间差异表达基因(DEGs)和差异替代剪接基因(DAS),发现它们在盐胁迫下具有不同的基因表达调控机制。这些结果拓展了我们对AS事件的认识,阐明并加深了我们对柳树植物耐盐性的理解。
{"title":"The Genome-Wide Profiling of Alternative Splicing in Willow under Salt Stress","authors":"Xue Wang, Longfeng Gong, Junkang Zhang, Lei Wang, Di Wu, Jichen Xu","doi":"10.3390/f15010030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010030","url":null,"abstract":"Alternative splicing (AS) is an important post-transcriptional regulatory model that can change the normal transcript expression level and possibly result in protein diversity. In this study, we conducted the full-length transcript sequencing of Salix matsudana Koidz 9901 leaves under salt treatment using the PromethION platform. A total of 4786 AS genes (9307 AS events) were determined, accounting for 7.45% of all the transcribed genes. Of them, intron retention (IR) events accounted for the most AS events (46.05%), followed by alternative 3′ splice sites (A3SS). During salt stress, the percentage of IR events decreased, and the percentage of the others increased. Statistical results showed that 5′GG was the most common motif at the 5′ end of the intron in the AS events, and GG3′ was the most common motif at the 3′ end. 5′GG-AG3′ was the most common splice mode in the AS events. The occurrence of AS events was significantly related to the exon number, exon length, intron length, GC content, and expression abundance of the genes. During salt stress, the number of AS genes gradually increased, and they mainly participated in purine and chlorophyll metabolism, RNA transport, and autophagy. Meanwhile, the AS sites of the gene increased during salt treatment, indicating the complexity of the AS events by salt stress. A comparison of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially alternative splicing (DAS) genes during salt stress revealed that they had a different mechanism of gene expression regulation when subjected to salt stress. These results expand our knowledge of AS events and shed light on and improve our understanding of plant resistance to salt tolerance in willow.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"93 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138994203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N. Fedorov, I. Tuktamyshev, Ilnur Bikbaev, P. Shirokikh, Svetlana Zhigunova, Elvira Baisheva, V. Martynenko
Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) is one of the fast-growing tree species that often colonize abandoned agricultural lands in Europe and the European part of Russia. The purpose of this article is to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of Betula pendula crown cover on abandoned arable lands in a zone of broad-leaved forests of the Bashkir Cis-Ural (Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan). The assessment of current and retrospective values of crown cover was carried out using a regression model of the dependence of crown cover on the values of red channel brightness in early-spring images from Landsat 5–8 and Sentinel-2 satellites from 2012–2022. To estimate the number and height of trees, a survey was carried out using a LiDAR camera mounted on a UAV. After calculating the crown cover in grid squares and their distance from the seed source in QGIS, variance analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the factor of distance from the seed source on the crown cover. The influence of the factor of distance from the seed source on the crown cover was higher at earlier stages of overgrowth of abandoned agricultural lands. An exception to this dependence was only one sample plot where the prevailing wind direction was opposite to the direction of seed dispersal. The leading factors affecting the distribution of birch on abandoned agricultural lands were wind direction, height of seed trees, and grazing. In the parts of the sample plots that were furthest away from seed sources, the trees were 1–3 years younger or the same age, and stand density was lower than in sites located closer to the seed trees. In general, the results of the present study indicate two opposite relationships between seedling survival and distance to seed trees: (1) seed fall and seedling density decrease with increasing distance from the seed tree, and (2) the probability of seed/seedling survival increases due to decreased competition.
{"title":"Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Betula pendula Crown Cover on Abandoned Arable Land in a Broad-Leaved Forest Zone of Bashkir Cis-Ural","authors":"N. Fedorov, I. Tuktamyshev, Ilnur Bikbaev, P. Shirokikh, Svetlana Zhigunova, Elvira Baisheva, V. Martynenko","doi":"10.3390/f15010034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010034","url":null,"abstract":"Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) is one of the fast-growing tree species that often colonize abandoned agricultural lands in Europe and the European part of Russia. The purpose of this article is to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of Betula pendula crown cover on abandoned arable lands in a zone of broad-leaved forests of the Bashkir Cis-Ural (Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan). The assessment of current and retrospective values of crown cover was carried out using a regression model of the dependence of crown cover on the values of red channel brightness in early-spring images from Landsat 5–8 and Sentinel-2 satellites from 2012–2022. To estimate the number and height of trees, a survey was carried out using a LiDAR camera mounted on a UAV. After calculating the crown cover in grid squares and their distance from the seed source in QGIS, variance analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the factor of distance from the seed source on the crown cover. The influence of the factor of distance from the seed source on the crown cover was higher at earlier stages of overgrowth of abandoned agricultural lands. An exception to this dependence was only one sample plot where the prevailing wind direction was opposite to the direction of seed dispersal. The leading factors affecting the distribution of birch on abandoned agricultural lands were wind direction, height of seed trees, and grazing. In the parts of the sample plots that were furthest away from seed sources, the trees were 1–3 years younger or the same age, and stand density was lower than in sites located closer to the seed trees. In general, the results of the present study indicate two opposite relationships between seedling survival and distance to seed trees: (1) seed fall and seedling density decrease with increasing distance from the seed tree, and (2) the probability of seed/seedling survival increases due to decreased competition.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"11 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138944293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition may stimulate a plant’s dependency on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in phosphorus (P)-deficient subtropical forests. However, the ecological assembly processes and the responses of AM fungal diversity and community structure to N deposition in both the roots and rhizosphere are still unclear. We collected root and soil samples from a Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation forest after four years of N addition and examined the community structure and assembly of AM fungi. Elevated N deposition decreased the AM fungal community diversity in both rhizosphere soil and roots. Glomeraceae was the dominant family of the AM fungal community in both soil and roots across all N addition treatments, followed by Gigasporaceae and Ambisporaceae. However, N addition induced differential variation in the community composition of AM fungi between soil and roots. For soil AM fungi, N addition decreased the Glomeraceae abundance and increased the Gigasporaceae and Ambisporaceae abundance. In contrast, the root AM fungal community was dominated by Glomeraceae under N addition treatments. Furthermore, N addition increased the deterministic community assembly that acted as an environmental filter for soil AM fungi. In contrast, N addition decreased the importance of determinism, implying that the selection of plants on root AM fungi decreased with increasing N addition. Altogether, our findings suggest that the community structure of AM fungi responds differently to N deposition in the soil and roots in subtropical forests and highlight the important role of soil AM fungi in helping host plants respond to N deposition.
在缺磷的亚热带森林中,高浓度的氮(N)沉积可能会刺激植物对丛枝菌根真菌(AM)的依赖。然而,根部和根圈的生态组装过程以及 AM 真菌的多样性和群落结构对氮沉积的反应仍不清楚。我们在添加氮四年后收集了杉木人工林的根部和土壤样本,研究了AM真菌的群落结构和组装情况。氮沉积的增加降低了根圈土壤和根部的 AM 真菌群落多样性。在所有氮添加处理中,根瘤菌科(Glomeraceae)都是土壤和根部 AM 真菌群落的优势科,其次是巨孢菌科(Gigasporaceae)和安比孢菌科(Ambisporaceae)。然而,氮添加会导致土壤和根系中 AM 真菌群落组成的差异。在土壤 AM 真菌中,氮添加量降低了团伞花科的丰度,增加了巨孢科和伏孢科的丰度。相比之下,在添加氮的处理中,根部 AM 真菌群落以革兰科为主。此外,氮添加增加了确定性群落的组合,为土壤 AM 真菌起到了环境过滤器的作用。相反,氮添加量降低了决定性的重要性,这意味着植物对根部 AM 真菌的选择随着氮添加量的增加而减少。总之,我们的研究结果表明,在亚热带森林中,AM 真菌的群落结构对土壤和根部的氮沉积有不同的响应,并突出了土壤 AM 真菌在帮助寄主植物响应氮沉积方面的重要作用。
{"title":"Different Responses of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community Compositions in the Soil and Roots to Nitrogen Deposition in a Subtropical Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in China","authors":"Yu Han, Zhiyuan Liu, Siyao Li, Faying Lai, Chunghao Chi, Yusheng Yang, Jiling Cao","doi":"10.3390/f15010027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010027","url":null,"abstract":"Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition may stimulate a plant’s dependency on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in phosphorus (P)-deficient subtropical forests. However, the ecological assembly processes and the responses of AM fungal diversity and community structure to N deposition in both the roots and rhizosphere are still unclear. We collected root and soil samples from a Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation forest after four years of N addition and examined the community structure and assembly of AM fungi. Elevated N deposition decreased the AM fungal community diversity in both rhizosphere soil and roots. Glomeraceae was the dominant family of the AM fungal community in both soil and roots across all N addition treatments, followed by Gigasporaceae and Ambisporaceae. However, N addition induced differential variation in the community composition of AM fungi between soil and roots. For soil AM fungi, N addition decreased the Glomeraceae abundance and increased the Gigasporaceae and Ambisporaceae abundance. In contrast, the root AM fungal community was dominated by Glomeraceae under N addition treatments. Furthermore, N addition increased the deterministic community assembly that acted as an environmental filter for soil AM fungi. In contrast, N addition decreased the importance of determinism, implying that the selection of plants on root AM fungi decreased with increasing N addition. Altogether, our findings suggest that the community structure of AM fungi responds differently to N deposition in the soil and roots in subtropical forests and highlight the important role of soil AM fungi in helping host plants respond to N deposition.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"51 29","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138946315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The natural distribution of Cycas micronesica includes three island groups. Damage to the widespread tree from the armored scale Aulacaspis yasumatsui was initiated with the 2003 invasion of Guam and the 2007 invasion of Rota. This herbivore has threatened the unique gymnosperm species with extinction. The number and identity of co-occurring consumers are dissimilar among disjunct insular subpopulations, and six of these habitats were used to assess tree mortality trends to confirm that A. yasumatsui stands alone as the greatest threat to species persistence. Following the initial infestation outbreak of this pest into each new subpopulation, the standing seedlings and saplings were the first to be culled, the juvenile plants were the next to be culled, and then the adult trees were killed more slowly thereafter. The timing of this plant population behavior did not differ among habitats with five other consumers, three other consumers, one other consumer, or no other consumers. We have shown that A. yasumatsui acting as the sole biotic threat in an isolated subpopulation can generate a decline in survival that is as rapid as when it is acting in conjunction with up to five other consequential consumers. This armored scale is the most acute threat to C. micronesica, and adding other specialist herbivores to the scale herbivory does not alter the speed and extent of initial plant mortality.
{"title":"Insular Cycas micronesica Habitats Respond Similarly to Aulacaspis yasumatsui Invasion, Regardless of Co-Occurring Consumers","authors":"T. Marler, Gil N. Cruz","doi":"10.3390/f15010022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010022","url":null,"abstract":"The natural distribution of Cycas micronesica includes three island groups. Damage to the widespread tree from the armored scale Aulacaspis yasumatsui was initiated with the 2003 invasion of Guam and the 2007 invasion of Rota. This herbivore has threatened the unique gymnosperm species with extinction. The number and identity of co-occurring consumers are dissimilar among disjunct insular subpopulations, and six of these habitats were used to assess tree mortality trends to confirm that A. yasumatsui stands alone as the greatest threat to species persistence. Following the initial infestation outbreak of this pest into each new subpopulation, the standing seedlings and saplings were the first to be culled, the juvenile plants were the next to be culled, and then the adult trees were killed more slowly thereafter. The timing of this plant population behavior did not differ among habitats with five other consumers, three other consumers, one other consumer, or no other consumers. We have shown that A. yasumatsui acting as the sole biotic threat in an isolated subpopulation can generate a decline in survival that is as rapid as when it is acting in conjunction with up to five other consequential consumers. This armored scale is the most acute threat to C. micronesica, and adding other specialist herbivores to the scale herbivory does not alter the speed and extent of initial plant mortality.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"50 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138952025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Forest gaps, which are formed by small-scale disturbances that often occur in forest communities, are the most dominant form of disturbance in many types of forests around the world and play an essential role in the dynamics of forest regeneration, plant diversity conservation, nutrient cycling, and forest succession. Forest gaps are one of the vital directions in forest research. Dynamic disturbance and vegetation regeneration are important elements of forest gap research. The research on forest gaps has a history spanning over 70 years, but there is a lack of a systematic overview of the process. Therefore, this review outlines the spatial changes in the whole process of forest gap development by systematically analyzing the occurrence, basic characteristics, micro-environmental changes, and the effects of forest gap disturbance processes on understory animals, plants, soil microorganisms, and forest regeneration and succession. The results contribute to a better understanding of forest gaps and their impacts on forest regeneration and management. Based on this, we remapped the forest gap process during forest succession. We suggest directions and recommendations for improvements in response to the dilemmas and challenges facing the future of forest gaps.
{"title":"Research History of Forest Gap as Small-Scale Disturbances in Forest Ecosystems","authors":"Aolei Tian, Ü. Halik, Wentao Fu, Subinur Sawirdin, Shengyuan Cheng, Jiaqiang Lei","doi":"10.3390/f15010021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010021","url":null,"abstract":"Forest gaps, which are formed by small-scale disturbances that often occur in forest communities, are the most dominant form of disturbance in many types of forests around the world and play an essential role in the dynamics of forest regeneration, plant diversity conservation, nutrient cycling, and forest succession. Forest gaps are one of the vital directions in forest research. Dynamic disturbance and vegetation regeneration are important elements of forest gap research. The research on forest gaps has a history spanning over 70 years, but there is a lack of a systematic overview of the process. Therefore, this review outlines the spatial changes in the whole process of forest gap development by systematically analyzing the occurrence, basic characteristics, micro-environmental changes, and the effects of forest gap disturbance processes on understory animals, plants, soil microorganisms, and forest regeneration and succession. The results contribute to a better understanding of forest gaps and their impacts on forest regeneration and management. Based on this, we remapped the forest gap process during forest succession. We suggest directions and recommendations for improvements in response to the dilemmas and challenges facing the future of forest gaps.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"138 41","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138953395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Gruber, Gerhard Wieser, Marion Fink, W. Oberhuber
Due to land use change, green alder (Alnus alnobetula), formerly restricted to moist slopes, is now expanding to drier sun-exposed sites at the alpine treeline. The highly productive shrub is forming closed thickets, establishing nitrogen-saturated species in poor shrublands. To evaluate wood anatomical adaptations to changing environmental conditions, we analyzed vessel characteristics (mean vessel area, MVA; vessel density, VD; and theoretic conductive area, TCA) and axial parenchyma abundance, as well as their distribution in the annual ring at a moist north-facing and a dry south-facing site at the alpine treeline on Mt. Patscherkofel (Central European Alps, Austria). Results revealed that lower soil water availability and enhanced evaporative demand did not affect MVA while VD and TCA were significantly reduced at the dry south-facing site. This suggests that in green alder, vessel size is a static trait whereas vessel number isresponds plastic. Limited water availability also triggered a significant increase in axial parenchyma, confirming the important role of xylem parenchyma in water relations. Harsh environmental conditions at the distributional limit of green alder may have affected xylogenesis, leading to a near semi-ring-porous distribution of vessels and an accumulation of parenchyma in the late growing season. We conclude that in a warmer and drier climate, growth limitation and physiological stress may set limits to the distribution of Alnus alnobetula at drought-prone sites in the alpine treeline ecotone.
{"title":"Impact of Environmental Conditions on Wood Anatomical Traits of Green Alder (Alnus alnobetula) at the Alpine Treeline","authors":"A. Gruber, Gerhard Wieser, Marion Fink, W. Oberhuber","doi":"10.3390/f15010024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010024","url":null,"abstract":"Due to land use change, green alder (Alnus alnobetula), formerly restricted to moist slopes, is now expanding to drier sun-exposed sites at the alpine treeline. The highly productive shrub is forming closed thickets, establishing nitrogen-saturated species in poor shrublands. To evaluate wood anatomical adaptations to changing environmental conditions, we analyzed vessel characteristics (mean vessel area, MVA; vessel density, VD; and theoretic conductive area, TCA) and axial parenchyma abundance, as well as their distribution in the annual ring at a moist north-facing and a dry south-facing site at the alpine treeline on Mt. Patscherkofel (Central European Alps, Austria). Results revealed that lower soil water availability and enhanced evaporative demand did not affect MVA while VD and TCA were significantly reduced at the dry south-facing site. This suggests that in green alder, vessel size is a static trait whereas vessel number isresponds plastic. Limited water availability also triggered a significant increase in axial parenchyma, confirming the important role of xylem parenchyma in water relations. Harsh environmental conditions at the distributional limit of green alder may have affected xylogenesis, leading to a near semi-ring-porous distribution of vessels and an accumulation of parenchyma in the late growing season. We conclude that in a warmer and drier climate, growth limitation and physiological stress may set limits to the distribution of Alnus alnobetula at drought-prone sites in the alpine treeline ecotone.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"38 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138952499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Biomass productivity is of great significance for the evaluation of forest quality, which is important for the improvement of forest management. We propose the computational methods of biomass potential productivity (BPP) and biomass realistic productivity (BRP), both of which provide reliable practical guides for predicting forest growth under multi-aged, multi-species, and multi-layered canopy conditions. We used 2222 national forest inventory plots that were measured in four consecutive periods in the Jilin Province for this purpose. We analyzed and verified the computational methods of BPP based on the BRP and evaluated its practical significance. The results showed that growth models of the stand height, stand basal area, and stand biomass of four forest types (pure larch forest, larch broadleaf mixed forest, Mongolian oak pure forest, and Mongolian oak broadleaf mixed forest) fit adequately, BPP was greater than BRP, and this difference decreased with an increasing stand age, suggesting that the potential productivity of the middle-aged and young forest was higher than that of the mature forest, although the difference is minimal. In addition, the realistic productivity of stands with better site quality was close to the potential productivity, which is consistent with the biological significance of the potential productivity of the biomass. The degree of difference between the potential productivity of the biomass and the realistic productivity of biomass also decreases with the decline in site quality, and it can be termed as the potentially improved stand biomass. The BPP model was able to perform well in both the pure and mixed forests. The BRP not only verifies the rationality of the BPP but can be also used to quantify the forest site quality, which is helpful for evaluating forest growth and informed decision making in forestry.
{"title":"Evaluating Forest Site Quality Using the Biomass Potential Productivity Approach","authors":"Xingrong Yan, Linyan Feng, Ram P. Sharma, Guangshuang Duan, Lifeng Pang, Liyong Fu, Jinping Guo","doi":"10.3390/f15010023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010023","url":null,"abstract":"Biomass productivity is of great significance for the evaluation of forest quality, which is important for the improvement of forest management. We propose the computational methods of biomass potential productivity (BPP) and biomass realistic productivity (BRP), both of which provide reliable practical guides for predicting forest growth under multi-aged, multi-species, and multi-layered canopy conditions. We used 2222 national forest inventory plots that were measured in four consecutive periods in the Jilin Province for this purpose. We analyzed and verified the computational methods of BPP based on the BRP and evaluated its practical significance. The results showed that growth models of the stand height, stand basal area, and stand biomass of four forest types (pure larch forest, larch broadleaf mixed forest, Mongolian oak pure forest, and Mongolian oak broadleaf mixed forest) fit adequately, BPP was greater than BRP, and this difference decreased with an increasing stand age, suggesting that the potential productivity of the middle-aged and young forest was higher than that of the mature forest, although the difference is minimal. In addition, the realistic productivity of stands with better site quality was close to the potential productivity, which is consistent with the biological significance of the potential productivity of the biomass. The degree of difference between the potential productivity of the biomass and the realistic productivity of biomass also decreases with the decline in site quality, and it can be termed as the potentially improved stand biomass. The BPP model was able to perform well in both the pure and mixed forests. The BRP not only verifies the rationality of the BPP but can be also used to quantify the forest site quality, which is helpful for evaluating forest growth and informed decision making in forestry.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"35 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138952227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chen Yan, Xiangwu Cai, Yuping Wu, Xuehong Tang, Yuxuan Zhou, Qin Yang, Fangying Li, Siren Lan, Li Lin
Landscapes in urban waterfront spaces are of high societal value as they can meet people’s physical, psychological, and social needs for health and well-being, but the relationship between waterfront landscape features and public health benefits has yet to be clarified. From the perspective of blue health, this paper takes blue spaces along the Min River of Fuzhou City as the research object. It constructs the mediation model of “Waterfront landscape characteristic (WLC)→Water-friendly environmental preference (WEP)→Emotional benefit (EB)”. The role of WEP in the mechanisms linking WLC and EB in different waterfront spaces was explored through the quantification of indicators, questionnaires, and physiological measurements. The main results showed that (1) the ability of different types of waterfront spaces to arouse positive emotions in the population is characterized by blue-dominated space > co-dominated space > green-dominated space, while the opposite is true in terms of inducing negative emotions; (2) green visibility, blue visibility, naturalness, water-friendliness, and openness are all significantly related to EBs and could affect positive emotions either directly or mediated by WEPs, but openness seems not to affect negative emotions through WEPs; (3) cleanliness affects the population’s WEP for the coherence dimension, but has no significant role in improving EBs. This study could expand new ideas for research in habitat health, provide a reference for embodied evidence-based waterfront landscape design, and help promote the construction and development of healthy cities.
{"title":"How Do Urban Waterfront Landscape Characteristics Influence People’s Emotional Benefits? Mediating Effects of Water-Friendly Environmental Preferences","authors":"Chen Yan, Xiangwu Cai, Yuping Wu, Xuehong Tang, Yuxuan Zhou, Qin Yang, Fangying Li, Siren Lan, Li Lin","doi":"10.3390/f15010025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010025","url":null,"abstract":"Landscapes in urban waterfront spaces are of high societal value as they can meet people’s physical, psychological, and social needs for health and well-being, but the relationship between waterfront landscape features and public health benefits has yet to be clarified. From the perspective of blue health, this paper takes blue spaces along the Min River of Fuzhou City as the research object. It constructs the mediation model of “Waterfront landscape characteristic (WLC)→Water-friendly environmental preference (WEP)→Emotional benefit (EB)”. The role of WEP in the mechanisms linking WLC and EB in different waterfront spaces was explored through the quantification of indicators, questionnaires, and physiological measurements. The main results showed that (1) the ability of different types of waterfront spaces to arouse positive emotions in the population is characterized by blue-dominated space > co-dominated space > green-dominated space, while the opposite is true in terms of inducing negative emotions; (2) green visibility, blue visibility, naturalness, water-friendliness, and openness are all significantly related to EBs and could affect positive emotions either directly or mediated by WEPs, but openness seems not to affect negative emotions through WEPs; (3) cleanliness affects the population’s WEP for the coherence dimension, but has no significant role in improving EBs. This study could expand new ideas for research in habitat health, provide a reference for embodied evidence-based waterfront landscape design, and help promote the construction and development of healthy cities.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"28 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138948241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The leaf area index (LAI) serves as a crucial metric in quantifying the structure and density of vegetation canopies, playing an instrumental role in determining vegetation productivity, nutrient and water utilization, and carbon balance dynamics. In subtropical montane forests, the pronounced spatial heterogeneity combined with undulating terrain introduces significant challenges for the optical remote sensing inversion accuracy of LAI, thereby complicating the process of ground validation data collection. The emergence of UAV LiDAR offers an innovative monitoring methodology for canopy LAI inversion in these terrains. This study assesses the implications of altitudinal variations on the attributes of UAV LiDAR point clouds, such as point density, beam footprint, and off-nadir scan angle, and their subsequent ramifications for LAI estimation accuracy. Our findings underscore that with increased altitude, both the average off-nadir scan angle and point density exhibit an ascending trend, while the beam footprint showcases a distinct negative correlation, with a correlation coefficient (R) reaching 0.7. In contrast to parallel flight paths, LAI estimates derived from intersecting flight paths demonstrate superior precision, denoted by R2 = 0.70, RMSE = 0.75, and bias = 0.42. Notably, LAI estimation discrepancies intensify from upper slope positions to middle positions and further to lower ones, amplifying with the steepness of the gradient. Alterations in point cloud attributes induced by the terrain, particularly the off-nadir scan angle and beam footprint, emerge as critical influencers on the precision of LAI estimations. Strategies encompassing refined flight path intervals or multi-directional point cloud data acquisition are proposed to bolster the accuracy of canopy structural parameter estimations in montane landscapes.
叶面积指数(LAI)是量化植被树冠结构和密度的重要指标,在确定植被生产力、养分和水分利用以及碳平衡动态方面发挥着重要作用。在亚热带山地森林中,明显的空间异质性和起伏的地形给 LAI 的光学遥感反演精度带来了巨大挑战,从而使地面验证数据的收集过程变得更加复杂。无人机激光雷达的出现为这些地形的冠层 LAI 反演提供了一种创新的监测方法。本研究评估了海拔高度变化对无人机激光雷达点云属性的影响,如点密度、光束足迹和离空扫描角度,及其对 LAI 估计精度的影响。我们的研究结果表明,随着高度的增加,平均离空扫描角度和点密度都呈现上升趋势,而光束足迹则呈现明显的负相关,相关系数(R)达到 0.7。与平行飞行路径相比,相交飞行路径得出的 LAI 估算值精度更高,R2 = 0.70,RMSE = 0.75,偏差 = 0.42。值得注意的是,从斜坡上部位置到中部位置,再到斜坡下部位置,LAI 估算值的偏差都在扩大,而且随着坡度的增加而扩大。地形引起的点云属性变化,尤其是偏离天顶的扫描角度和光束足迹,成为影响 LAI 估计精度的关键因素。我们提出了包括细化飞行路径间隔或多方位点云数据采集的策略,以提高山地景观冠层结构参数估计的准确性。
{"title":"Influence of Topography on UAV LiDAR-Based LAI Estimation in Subtropical Mountainous Secondary Broadleaf Forests","authors":"Yunfei Li, Hongda Zeng, Jingfeng Xiong, Guofang Miao","doi":"10.3390/f15010017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010017","url":null,"abstract":"The leaf area index (LAI) serves as a crucial metric in quantifying the structure and density of vegetation canopies, playing an instrumental role in determining vegetation productivity, nutrient and water utilization, and carbon balance dynamics. In subtropical montane forests, the pronounced spatial heterogeneity combined with undulating terrain introduces significant challenges for the optical remote sensing inversion accuracy of LAI, thereby complicating the process of ground validation data collection. The emergence of UAV LiDAR offers an innovative monitoring methodology for canopy LAI inversion in these terrains. This study assesses the implications of altitudinal variations on the attributes of UAV LiDAR point clouds, such as point density, beam footprint, and off-nadir scan angle, and their subsequent ramifications for LAI estimation accuracy. Our findings underscore that with increased altitude, both the average off-nadir scan angle and point density exhibit an ascending trend, while the beam footprint showcases a distinct negative correlation, with a correlation coefficient (R) reaching 0.7. In contrast to parallel flight paths, LAI estimates derived from intersecting flight paths demonstrate superior precision, denoted by R2 = 0.70, RMSE = 0.75, and bias = 0.42. Notably, LAI estimation discrepancies intensify from upper slope positions to middle positions and further to lower ones, amplifying with the steepness of the gradient. Alterations in point cloud attributes induced by the terrain, particularly the off-nadir scan angle and beam footprint, emerge as critical influencers on the precision of LAI estimations. Strategies encompassing refined flight path intervals or multi-directional point cloud data acquisition are proposed to bolster the accuracy of canopy structural parameter estimations in montane landscapes.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"69 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138954731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Na Yao, Chenxi Gu, Jinda Qi, Shigang Shen, Bo Nan, Hongjie Wang
Governments are faced with the unique challenge of implementing large-scale and targeted protection against the global decline of large old trees. Incorporating socio-cultural values and encouraging public involvement are important parts of conservation policy. However, current studies on the socio-cultural valuation of large old trees are still limited, and how rural residents perceive the human-related value of large old trees remains largely unknown. Using a quantitative, spatial analysis and the contingent valuation method (CVM), we tried to explore a multi-scale socio-cultural valuation and protection framework based on a case study of Baoding City and Xiongan New Area in North China. The results showed that (1) the scattered large old trees in the study area were generally at a relatively younger stage, showing normal growth performance but having poor living environments. Some 96.99% of the trees resided in the countryside. Their distribution showed an agglomerative pattern with several clusters. (2) The species richness was relatively lower than that reported in urban areas. The species diversity had an obvious high–low gradient from the mountain to plain areas. Most endemic species were found in habitats of the village fringe (VF) and government/community/institutional ground (GC). (3) The mean willingness to pay (WTP) for the socio-cultural value of scattered large old trees was CNY 132.48 per year per person (1 US dollar equals about 7.2 CNY) of all the respondents, and CNY 84.30 per year per person with regard to farmers, which is relatively higher than that reported in large cities. (4) Economic income, gender, age, education level, place of residence, diameter at breast height, and tree habitat were factors that significantly influenced the WTP, among which economic income was the most significant. (5) The importance ranking of socio-cultural value connotations perceived by rural residents was as follows: spiritual attachment and homesickness > fengshui > social bond > witnessing history > education > creative inspiration. (6) The annual gross value was estimated to be CNY 349 million in the study area, and CNY 169,500 for a single tree on average. Based on the case study, a conceptual framework for socio-cultural value assessment and multi-scale protection of large old trees was proposed, which can provide references for the improvement of current conservation policies from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, and give insights into rural revitalization strategies in China.
{"title":"Protecting Rural Large Old Trees with Multi-Scale Strategies: Integrating Spatial Analysis and the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) for Socio-Cultural Value Assessment","authors":"Na Yao, Chenxi Gu, Jinda Qi, Shigang Shen, Bo Nan, Hongjie Wang","doi":"10.3390/f15010018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010018","url":null,"abstract":"Governments are faced with the unique challenge of implementing large-scale and targeted protection against the global decline of large old trees. Incorporating socio-cultural values and encouraging public involvement are important parts of conservation policy. However, current studies on the socio-cultural valuation of large old trees are still limited, and how rural residents perceive the human-related value of large old trees remains largely unknown. Using a quantitative, spatial analysis and the contingent valuation method (CVM), we tried to explore a multi-scale socio-cultural valuation and protection framework based on a case study of Baoding City and Xiongan New Area in North China. The results showed that (1) the scattered large old trees in the study area were generally at a relatively younger stage, showing normal growth performance but having poor living environments. Some 96.99% of the trees resided in the countryside. Their distribution showed an agglomerative pattern with several clusters. (2) The species richness was relatively lower than that reported in urban areas. The species diversity had an obvious high–low gradient from the mountain to plain areas. Most endemic species were found in habitats of the village fringe (VF) and government/community/institutional ground (GC). (3) The mean willingness to pay (WTP) for the socio-cultural value of scattered large old trees was CNY 132.48 per year per person (1 US dollar equals about 7.2 CNY) of all the respondents, and CNY 84.30 per year per person with regard to farmers, which is relatively higher than that reported in large cities. (4) Economic income, gender, age, education level, place of residence, diameter at breast height, and tree habitat were factors that significantly influenced the WTP, among which economic income was the most significant. (5) The importance ranking of socio-cultural value connotations perceived by rural residents was as follows: spiritual attachment and homesickness > fengshui > social bond > witnessing history > education > creative inspiration. (6) The annual gross value was estimated to be CNY 349 million in the study area, and CNY 169,500 for a single tree on average. Based on the case study, a conceptual framework for socio-cultural value assessment and multi-scale protection of large old trees was proposed, which can provide references for the improvement of current conservation policies from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives, and give insights into rural revitalization strategies in China.","PeriodicalId":12339,"journal":{"name":"Forests","volume":"62 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138957061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}