Exclusion of wild ungulates is not the Holy Grail: the stronger effect of forestry treatments than exclosures on natural forest regeneration.

Assessing Mediterranean tree species suitability for urban environments: insights from experimental data including 23 leaf functional traits.

Symptoms of growth abnormalities including shoot proliferation, leaf rosetting and witches' broom symptoms, reduction in leaf size, downward rolling of leaf margins, distortion and chlorotic foliage were observed in several tree species in a Hungarian park forest in Martonvásár in the summer of 2022. In subsequent years, we observed the progression of the disease. This was manifested by the death of shoots and twigs, as well as an overall reduction in growth. The affected woody species were: Fraxinus excelsior, Acer campestre, Acer platanoides, Ulmus minor and Sambucus nigra. The observed symptoms were reminiscent of those observed in phytoplasma infections of other woody plants. The present study aimed to investigate whether the disease in these species was also caused by a phytoplasma. Shoot samples were taken from ten symptomatic, and three asymptomatic plants of each species. Total nucleic acids were extracted from the phloem tissue using the CTAB method (Ahrens and Seemüller 1992). To specifically amplify phytoplasma DNA, the universal primer pairs fP1/rP7 (Smart et al., 1996), followed by R16F2n/R16R2 (Gundersen and Lee, 1996)or fU5/rU3 (Lorenz et al., 1995) were used in a nested PCR. Amplicons of the expected sizes were obtained from 90% of the symptomatic samples (fP1/rP7 1783 bp, R16F2n/R16R2: 1.2 kb, fU5/rU3: 876 bp), but none from the asymptomatic ones. The R16F2n/R16R2-amplified products obtained from the five species were cloned (at least three from each PCR reaction), sequenced and deposited in GenBank under the following accession numbers PX491300 (F. exelsior), PX491301 (S. nigra), PX491302 (A. campestre), PX491303 (U. minor) and PX491304 (A. platanoides). The sequences of the five isolates were almost identical, showing a 99.92%-100% identity with each other. A BLAST search of GenBank yielded 99.92% sequence similarity in the case of the S. nigra isolate and 100% in the case of the other 4 isolates with the onion yellows phytoplasma strain OY-M (GenBank AP006628) from the 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' 16SrI-B subgroup. To confirm the pathogen's identity in subsequent experiments, the elongation factor Tu (tuf) and the translocase protein (secY) genes were amplified using the universal primer pairs fTuf1/rTuf1 (Schneider and Gibb, 1997), and the aster yellows-specific AYsecY_F-46/AYsecY_R1450 primer pairs (Viczián et al. 2023), respectively. Amplicons of the expected sizes (1085 bp for fTuf1/rTuf1, and 1520 bp for AYsecY_F-46/AYsecY_R1450) were produced from 84% of the symptomatic plants across all five species, but not from the asymptomatic ones. The PCR fragments were cloned and sequenced, and sequences obtained for the tuf and secY genes were deposited in GenBank under the accession numbers PV648950-PV648954, and PV854856-PV854860, respectively. The sequences obtained from the five plant species were almost identical, sharing 99.81% identity with the Aster yellows phytoplasma strains IRap (AJ271316.1) and ORN (MN526022.1) in the case of the elongation factor TU, and 100% identity with the strains De Villa (CP035949.1) and M8 (CP128414.1) in the case of the SecY translocase protein. In iPhyClassifier analysis, the virtual RFLP patterns derived from the query 16S rDNA F2nR2 fragments were identical (similarity coeffcient 1.00) to the reference pattern of 16Sr group I, subgroup B (GenBank accession: AP006628). These results clearly indicate that the five tree species under study were affected by the aster yellows phytoplasma, which is assigned to the 16SrI-B subgroup of the 16SrI group and is caused by the bacterial agent 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris'. Although this phytoplasma is known to infect a wide range of hosts (Lee et al., 2004), aster yellows has only been reported on F. exelsior in Poland (Kamińska and Berniak, 2009) of the five plant species studied here. To our knowledge, this is the first report of aster yellows on A. campestre, A. platanoides, U. minor and S. nigra worldwide, and on F. exelsior in Hungary.

We present a genome assembly from an individual Acer campestre (the field maple; Tracheophyta; Magnoliopsida; Sapindales; Sapindaceae). The genome sequence is 565.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 14 chromosomal pseudomolecules, in comprising 13 large chromosomes and one smaller B chromosome.. The mitochondrial and plastid genome assemblies have lengths of 769.91 kilobases and 156.29 kilobases in length, respectively. This assembly was generated as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project, which produces reference genomes for eukaryotic species found in Britain and Ireland.

Fungicides affect the structure and function of soil microorganisms and the physiology of four riparian tree species - evidence from a pot experiment.

ABSTRACT Hyperspectral plant phenotyping in combination with machine learning (ML) and deep ML algorithms has recently been used to solve a wide range of problems. One such task is the rapid and large-scale remote identification of woody plant species. This is essential for the monitoring of the condition of fruit trees, tree plantations in settlements and forest management. Hyperspectral images are characterized by their high spatial and spectral resolution; however, they are susceptible to the effects of noise. Consequently, the preprocessing of hyperspectral data is a critical step in their analysis. In the present study, Random Reflectance (RR), a new method for hyperspectral data preprocessing, was tested. The method is based on the generation of synthetic spectral profiles (SPs) by randomly selecting reflectance for each spectral band (SB) from a set of real SBs within an object (region of interest, ROI) in a hyperspectral image. The results demonstrated that synthetic SPs more accurately reflected the central tendency of the spectral characteristics of an object. In contrast to the extensively employed spectral profile preprocessing methodologies (e.g. spectral averaging, spectral smoothing, standard normal variate, multiplicative scatter correction, min-max normalization, mean centring, area under the curve, and single wavelength), the RR method has been demonstrated to enhance the classification accuracy of deep machine learning algorithms to a considerable extent. It was shown that the use of synthetic SPs in pixel-based classification of five maple species (Acer campestre, A. negundo, A. saccharinum, A. platanoides and A. ibericum) using a densely connected layer neural network model improved the accuracy by 9.30% for multiclass classification and by 29.05% for binary classification. Synthetic SPs obtained by the RR method have been shown to be effective in balancing classes, increasing training sample sizes when employing deep ML algorithms.

A természetvédelmi erdőkezelések célja a vágásos gazdálkodás által homogenizált erdők szerkezetének és fafaj-összetételének változatosabbá tétele, és ezáltal a biodiverzitás fokozása. Kutatásunkban természetvédelmi célú léknyitások hatásait vizsgáltuk kocsánytalan tölgy (Quercus petraea), mezei juhar (Acer campestre) és házi berkenye (Sorbus domestica) csemetéinek növekedésére, kezeletlen zárterdei kontrollhoz viszonyítva, a fény- és mikroklimatikus viszonyok tükrében. Eredményeink alapján lékek nyitásával úgy növelhető meg az újulati szintre jutó fény mennyisége, hogy közben megőrizhető a zárterdei hűvös-párás mikroklíma. A léknyitás segíti minden vizsgált fafaj csemetéinek növekedését, így megindítható a homogén, zárt állományok szerkezeti heterogenizációja. A megnövekedett fényből az elegyfafajok csemetéi jobban profitáltak, mint a tölgy, a léknyitásokkal tehát a faállomány jövőbeli elegyessége is fokozható.

Morphological and molecular revision of pore fungi from Czechia and France revealed a new species, Bjerkandera lecomtei, sp. nov. This species is characterized by annual resupinate basidiomata, yellow ochre to deep brownish pore surface, a monomitic hyphal system with clamp connections on generative hyphae, ellipsoid to cylindrical basidiospores measuring 4.9–8.3 × 2.9–4.9 µm, and growing on hardwood (Acer campestre in floodplain forest, Quercus sp. beams, etc.). It differs from the most European Bjerkandera species by resupinate basidiome and spore sizes. Macroscopic and microscopic features and phylogenetic analyses of ITS and LSU rDNA markers are illustrated.

This paper aims to analyze and compare the structure of tree and herbaceous plant communities in three temperate forest ecosystems located in the south of Olt County, Romania. The research consisted of determining the tree and herbaceous composition of the ecosystems by the frame quadrats sampling method and the taxonomic determination of the species. The community structure was analyzed based on structural indices such as the arithmetic mean of individuals (X), standard deviation (SD), confidence limits (LC), percentage density (DP), frequency (F), constant (C), relative significance index (W) and dominance index (ID). The results indicated that the structure of the plant communities shows differences depending on the studied area, but this structure remains complex but uneven. In the case of trees, species such as Crataegus monogyna, Quercus robur or Acer campestre tend to influence the community more due to an uneven distribution or a significant number of individuals. As regards the herbaceous species, out of the 34 identified, only two were noted to be present in all three sites, namely Geum urbanum and Viola canina, which reflects a higher adaptability in their case.

The accurate point cloud completion of individual tree crowns is critical for quantifying crown complexity and advancing precision forestry, yet it remains challenging in dense plantations due to canopy occlusion and LiDAR limitations. In this study, we extended the scope of conventional point cloud completion techniques to artificial planted forests by introducing a novel approach called Multi−feature Fusion Completion of Populus (MFCPopulus). Specifically designed for Populus Tomentosa plantations with uniform spacing, this method utilized a dataset of 1050 manually segmented trees with expert−validated trunk−canopy separation. Key innovations include the following: (1) a hierarchical adversarial framework that integrates multi−scale feature extraction (via Farthest Point Sampling at varying rates) and biologically informed normalization to address trunk−canopy density disparities; (2) a structural characteristics split−collocation (SCS−SCC) strategy that prioritizes crown reconstruction through adaptive sampling ratios, achieving a 94.5% canopy coverage in outputs; (3) a cross−layer feature integration enabling the simultaneous recovery of global contours and a fine−grained branch topology. Compared to state−of−the−art methods, MFCPopulus reduced the Chamfer distance variance by 23% and structural complexity discrepancies (ΔDb) by 33% (mean, 0.12), while preserving species−specific morphological patterns. Octree analysis demonstrated an 89−94% spatial alignment with ground truth across height ratios (HR = 1.25−5.0). Although initially developed for artificial planted forests, the framework generalizes well to diverse species, accurately reconstructing 3D crown structures for both broadleaf (Fagus sylvatica, Acer campestre) and coniferous species (Pinus sylvestris) across public datasets, providing a precise and generalizable solution for cross−species trees’ phenotypic studies.

Global warming increases the likelihood that temperate tree species will face damaging late spring frost (LSF) and severe summer drought during the same growing season. However, the interactive effects of these two stresses are barely explored. We investigated the physiological and growth responses of Acer campestre, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur and Quercus petraea saplings to artificially induced LSF and drought, focusing on stomatal gas exchange, carbon partitioning, nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs), phenology and tree growth. LSF depleted NSCs and changed carbon allocation patterns 1 month after the event. Additionally, LSF decreased diameter increment and root growth of A. campestre and F. sylvatica in the current year. Drought affected gas exchange of all species, decreased NSCs of A. campestre, reduced biomass of Q. robur, and exacerbated the detrimental LSF effect on Q. robur's NSCs. Our findings indicate that saplings prioritized canopy restoration immediately after LSF, and favored reserve replenishment before growth until the end of the growing season. Furthermore, we highlight the risk that LSF and drought in the same year could push tree species beyond their physiological limits and we emphasize the importance of studying multiple stressors' interactions to better understand threshold effects that could profoundly alter forest ecosystems.

The water regime of woody plant cells in the urban ecosystem of Kamianets-Podilskyi was analyzed. It was found that anthropogenic factors cause significant structural and functional changes in plants, affecting all levels of their organisation. Soil pollution by man-made substances changes their properties, in particular the ability to accumulate and retain reserves of productive moisture.This leads to water shortages in urban plants, which disrupts the water balance of cells. The study was conducted in different ecological and phytocoenotic zones (EPZ). The relative water content, water-reducing and water-retaining capacity of leaf cells and their drought resistance coefficient were studied.The objects of the research were Acer platanoides L., Acer campestre L., Acer pseudoplatanus L., Betula pendula Roth, Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Tilia cordata Mill. It was found that the water regime of cells depends on both the species specificity and the growth conditions. In the areas with high traffic intensity, an increase in the relative water content in the leaf cells of T. cordata and A. pseudoplatanus and its decrease in A. hippocastanum were shown. A decrease in the water recovery coefficient of cells in all studied species and an increase in the water retention coefficient in A. hippocastanum, A. campestre, A. pseudoplatanus and B. pendula were also found. Deterioration of water supply conditions led to a decrease in the drought resistance coefficient. It was concluded that according to water exchange indicators, the most resistant in the conditions of street plantings of Kamianets-Podilskyi are A. platanoides, A. campestre and T. cordata, while A. hippocastanum has a low level of adaptation. We recommend using these species for creating park compositions and landscaping city streets.

Monitoring of emerging plant diseases in the Apennine mountains (central Italy) identified Cryptostroma corticale as the cause of the disease sooty bark of maple trees. The identified sites were located in rural or forested areas, next to buildings, in villages or suburbs, and one site was in a forest. Samples of symptomatic tissues were taken from Acer pseudoplatanus and/or A. campestre, as well as asymptomatic samples from A. campestre and Aesculus hippocastanum. All samples tested positive to a species-specific qPCR assay for the presence of C. corticale, indicating wide incidence of the disease in the northern Apennines of Italy, after attempted eradication of the first small group of infected plants were found in 2012.

The last millennium vegetation and environmental history of the Hyrcanian highland region, a pollen record from Shekardasht mire, northern Iran

The work highlights the issue of using the mapping method in studies on botanical test plots of the geobotanical profile in the “Medobory” nature reserve. It examines the dynamics of changes that have occurred in the last 10 years in the grass cover, undergrowth, and forest within the botanical test areas in the Krasnianske nature protection research department. Experimental sites were established in 1996–1997 by A. V. Onishchenko, and since then, geobotanical descriptions have been conducted annually by scientific employees of the reserve. Since 2011, the mapping method has been used for a more detailed study of the flora in the test areas, which helps clarify the floristic composition in each trial area. Taxation indicators of the forest are also measured. The dynamics of the main taxation indicators were analyzed in four botanical test areas (BA) in fresh hornbeam groves. The forests are indigenous, of seed origin, characterized by high productivity, growing according to the first credit rating, high quality, with significant reserves (316–443 m3/ha). Carpinus betulus (L.) Moench dominates in the forest, except for trial area BA-4 where Carpinus betulus (L.) Moench is equally joined by Fraxinus excelsior L. and Acer platanoides L. In all test areas, a drop in weakened and dead trees has occurred, which is explained by natural processes. On BA-4 and BA-11, the loss is so significant that there has been a thinning of the crown and natural renewal is beginning to form the lower tier. According to the results of the work and processed materials, it was established that in the spring synusias in the botanical test areas two species prevail: Anemone nemorosa L. and Isopyrum thalictroides L. In summer, Carex pilosa Scop. dominates in three test areas, while Asarum europaeum L. is dominant in relation to Stellaria holostea L., Mercurialis perennis L., Glechoma hirsuta Waldst et Kit., and Galium odoratum (L.) Scop. In the undergrowth, Euonymus verrucosa Scop., Euonymus europaea L., Swida sanguinea Opiz., and Sambucus nigra L. are present in small numbers, with coverage from 0.1 to 0.9. Acer platanoides L. dominates the undergrowth in all test plots. Ulmus glabra Huds., Tilia cordata Mill., and Carpinus betulus (L.) Moench are also recovering, along with Acer campestre L., Fraxinus excelsior L., Acer pseudoplatanus L., and Cerasus avium (L.) Moench. With a certain periodicity in the annual geobotanical descriptions on trials in the areas of BA-9 and BA-11, rare species of plants listed in the Red Book of Ukraine were found in single specimens. In the first area, Platanthera chlorantha (Cust.) Reichenb. was found in 2011–2014, and Listera ovata L. R. Br. in 2013–2015, 2018, and 2022; Neottia nidus-avis (L.) Rich. was found in 2015. In the second area, Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz was found in 2012 and Epipactis purpurata Smith in 2020–2022. This frequency of sightings of these species is probably connected with the cyclical development of orchids and their state of rest, as well as possibly weather conditions.

Determining the role of trees in the water cycle and their impact on soil moisture and atmospheric humidity is crucial. This study aimed to investigate the patterns of leaf transpiration in Quercus robur and Acer campestre in a maple-oak forest under varying water supply conditions. The research was conducted in the lower third of the lower third of the north-facing slope and the middle third of the south-facing slope in the Viiskova ravine. A silvicultural and taxation survey of model trees was conducted on both sample plots, where the plantations are moderately dense. The diurnal course of transpiration patterns of these deciduous species was studied throughout the vegetation period. This physiological process reached its highest values in both species on the north-facing slope during the summer months, especially in Quercus robur. On the south-facing slope, in May and June, the average daily transpiration values in both species were almost indistinguishable. During the remaining months of the vegetation period, the intensity of water evaporation by Quercus robur leaves was statistically higher than that of Acer campestre. It was established that on the south-facing slope, under more arid conditions, this process is less active. This pertains to the daily transpiration loss of water by leaves per unit of their mass, monthly transpiration, and the intensity of this process per tree. The difference between the results of water loss by the leaves of a single Quercus robur and Acer campestre tree is significant and is attributed to the lower transpiration rate of Acer campestre, except in May and June under xerophytic conditions, as well as the smaller leaf mass of this species. Both Quercus robur and Acer campestre are hydrostable medium-transpiring species. The maple forest on the north-facing slope evaporates 30.6% more moisture per 1 ha per vegetation period than on the south-facing slope. The results obtained indicate that Acer campestre in a maple-oak forest, under fresh and dry forest-growing conditions, does not pose a significant competition for moisture for Quercus robur when they grow together. The results obtained can be used to develop effective forest management strategies in maple-oak forest

To investigate and compare hardwood species based on their carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage capacity, a study of the C and N content of the bark and wood of nine common hardwood broadleaves in Novi Pazar, southwestern Serbia, was conducted. Compared with sycamore maple, Norway maple, common ash, common hornbeam, black locust, European beech, Turkey oak, and sessile oak, field maple has the highest C/N ratio in wood (37.05 ± 3.23), representing the best hardwood species for biomass production.

We studied the physiological and biochemical parameters of water exchange of two broadleaf forest species, Quercus robur L. and Acer campestre L., which grow under different levels of water supply. The study was conducted in the lower third of the northern slope and the middle third of the southern exposure slope in the “Viyskovyi” ravine. It was established that the content of total water in the leaves of Q. robur is higher than that of A. campestre under both mesophilic and xerophilic conditions. In A. campestre, the gradual dehydration of leaves during the growing season is more pronounced. The water-holding capacity of the leaves increases in both species, especially in July and August on the southern exposure slope, which is consistent with changes in the content of hydrophilic colloids. This can be considered as an adaptation of plants against rigorous hydrothermal conditions. The leaves of A. campestre retain water better and are characterized by a greater number of hydrophilic colloids compared to the leaves of Q. robur at different levels of water supply. Under xerophilic growth conditions, the suction power of the cellular junctions of leaves is more significant than under mesophilic conditions. At both experimental sites, this indicator is always higher in case of A. campestre, while the difference is greater only under xerophilic conditions. The increase in suction force in leaf cells occurs in parallel with the increase in soil dryness. The leaves of A. campestre have a greater water deficit and suction power, better water-holding capacity due to a greater content of hydrophilic colloids, and a lower intensity of transpiration. The leaves of Q. robur have a lower water deficit and a lower water-holding capacity, which is based on the ability to resist the lack of moisture by the development of a deep root system that allows water to be absorbed from its deep horizons. The obtained data make it possible to clarify the peculiarities of the water regime of tree species during their simultaneous growth in forest phytocoenoses and adaptation to different levels of soil moisture.

Changes in plant diversity of European lowland forests: Increased homogenization and expansion of shade-tolerant trees

Urban forest species selection for improvement of ecological benefits in Polish cities - The actual and forecast potential