Coppice Research Articles

A case study on the impact of coppicing on small mammal diversity: First evidence from the high Agri Valley in the Basilicata Region, Italy

Forestry seems to have a significant impact on the diversity and composition of forest small mammal communities. Coppicing is one of the most widely adopted silvicultural systems in Europe and its effect on the entire small mammals community remains unclear. Thus, our study aimed to preliminary assess the stand-level effect of different coppice woodland elements on community richness, focusing on forest small mammal species. Furthermore, a second aim was to assess the effect of these woodland stand elements on different small mammal taxonomic groups to evaluate possible differential responses within the community. We identified three different coppice age classes, and selected a total of 15 coppice-with-standards forest stands. Additionally, we collected data about understory shrub structure and composition. Fur samples were collected using the hair tube sampling method. We found a significant effect of the coppice age on the number of species detected in communities. Furthermore, we found a differential response between glirid and murid families, with glirid being positively affected by a higher shrub abundance, which is instead severely reduced by coppicing.

Effects of stem size and age on resprouting ability of different tree species after clear-cutting in a warm temperate secondary forest

ABSTRACT Understanding the resprouting abilities of various tree species provides valuable insights into managing coppice forests and predicting forest dynamics. Clear-cutting was conducted in a secondary forest comprising warm-temperate broadleaf trees, and the stump size, age, and traits of the resprouts were measured to study their effects on resprouting ability. The number of resprouts that emerged from a stump was not significantly different when comparing different tree forms (canopy and shrub) or leaf longevity (evergreen and deciduous). Taller species generated taller and fast-growing resprouts. The ability to generate more resprouts with age was more important for species dominance than the ability to generate more resprouts with increase in stem size. Most shrub layer species exhibited age-related reductions in resprouting ability. Evergreen canopy species tended to have a larger number of resprouts and higher stump survival rate. The results suggest that the diversity of the resprouting traits among tree species could largely influence the stand dynamics and contribute to the coexistence of tree species.

Recover of Soil Microbial Community Functions in Beech and Turkey Oak Forests After Coppicing Interventions

Forest management influences the occurrence of tree species, the organic matter input to the soil decomposer system, and hence, it can alter soil microbial community and key ecosystem functions it performs. In this study, we compared the potential effect of different forest management, coppice and high forest, on soil microbial functional diversity, enzyme activities and chemical-physical soil properties in two forests, turkey oak and beech, during summer and autumn. We hypothesized that coppicing influences soil microbial functional diversity with an overall decrease. Contrary to our hypothesis, in summer, the functional diversity of soil microbial community was higher in both coppice forests, suggesting a resilience response of the microbial communities in the soil after tree cutting, which occurred 15–20 years ago. In beech forest under coppice management, a higher content of soil organic matter (but also of soil recalcitrant and stable organic carbon) compared to high forest can explain the higher soil microbial functional diversity and metabolic activity. In turkey oak forest, although differences in functional diversity of soil microbial community between management were observed, for the other investigated parameters, the differences were mainly linked to seasonality. The findings highlight that the soil organic matter preservation depends on the type of forest, but the soil microbial community was able to recover after about 15 years from coppice intervention in both forest ecosystems. Thus, the type of management implemented in these forest ecosystems, not negatively affecting soil organic matter pool, preserving microbial community and potentially soil ecological functions, is sustainable in a scenario of climate change.

Sessile oak (Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl.) and its adaptation strategies in the context of global climate change: a review

Abstract This paper provides characteristic and a comprehensive overview of the adaptation strategies of sessile oak (Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl.) in the context of global climate change (GCC). The GCC is primarily manifested by increasing air temperatures and changing precipitation distribution. It poses a significant challenge to tree species including sessile oak, affecting its capacity for adaptation and survival. Despite the challenge, sessile oak shows significant drought tolerance due to its deep-reaching root system, which allows the tree to use available water more efficiently. Other adaptive strategies include the establishment of mixed stands that increase the resilience and biodiversity of the ecosystem. Adjustments of stand density through tending interventions play a significant role, helping to improve the stress resistance of stands. Additionally, coppice forest cultivation is applied on extremely dry sites. The sessile oak is also significant for its ecological plasticity – its ability to thrive on versatile soil and climatic conditions makes it a promising tree species for future forest management. Mixed stands with sessile oak and other tree species can enhance the ecosystem services of forests and also increase their endurance to GCC events. However, sessile oak faces several challenges, including the increasing risk of damage from pests and pathogens that require targeted measures for its protection and sustainable cultivation. The literature review suggests that a comprehensive understanding of sessile oak’s ecological requirements and interactions with the environment is crucial for its successful adaptation to GCC and the formulation of effective strategies for its protection and use in forest management.

Scenario simulation in decision-making optimization: lessons from social coppice forests

Scenario simulation in decision-making optimization: lessons from social coppice forests

Wood identification and tree-ring chronology building of oak pillars excavated from submerged prehistoric settlement (3000 BC), Ropotamo River estuary, Black Sea

Eighty one well-preserved wooden pillars were found аs a result of underwater archaeological excavations of a submerged prehistoric settlement in the estuary of Ropotamo River, Black Sea. That provokes a scientific interest to identify wood materials.  The longest tree-ring chronologies have been used to build floating dendrochronology series. Anatomical features of xylem showed that 34 out of the 81 studied wooden pillars belong to genus Quercus. The remaining 47 pillars belong to a species of the genera Fraxinus, Acer, Ulmus and Platanus.  It has been found that 8 out of 34 oak pillars have a length of tree-ring series over 30 years. This was the reason to select them for dendrochronological studies. The length of the built floating master chronology for the oaks is 84 years. The lack of strong coherent signal between 34 single oak dendrochronological series can be explained with three different types of oak forest ecosystems, in the area of the Ropotamo River estuary. These forest ecosystems are as follows: oak high stand forests in Strandzha Mountain, oak coppice forests on the Black Sea coast plains and riparian ‘Longoz’ forests of Ropotamo River. The tree-ring series of these forest types have different tree-ring signatures. Based on the tree-ring analysis it can be assumed that the timber of the above-mentioned three types of oak ecosystems was used in the construction of the prehistoric settlement.  

Impact of coppicing on microclimate and understorey vegetation diversity in an ancient Mediterranean oak forest

Coppicing is one of the oldest silvicultural practices and is still widely applied to produce renewable energy from broadleaf forests. However, the consequences on microclimate and understorey vegetation are still poorly understood, especially in Mediterranean oak forests. With the ongoing changes in the climate system and global biodiversity loss, a better understanding of how the forest temperature buffering capacity and below-canopy plant community are impacted by coppicing is crucial. Here we quantify microclimate and understorey vegetation changes in adjacent ancient coppice-with-standards and high forest stands dominated by oaks in Italy, where these systems have been applied for a long time. Air and soil temperatures were recorded for 2.5 years, and nested vegetation plots were used to analyse coppicing effects on species composition, taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Coppicing significantly reduced the forest temperature buffering capacity. The mean of the daily maximum temperatures over the entire period was 1.45 °C higher in the coppiced sites, whereas the mean of the daily minimum temperatures was 0.62 °C lower than in the high forest. Coppicing increased understorey species richness by favouring generalist taxa, but significantly decreased the proportion of forest specialists. The understorey community in coppiced forests consisted of more warm-adapted species. Moreover, coppicing also led to a loss of phylogenetic evenness and to shifts in diversity and community weighted mean Leaf Dry Matter content, pointing to habitat filtering and acclimation processes. In sum, we show that coppicing affects microclimate and understory vegetation in a direction that can exacerbate the effects of climate change, negatively affecting the oak forest specialist flora and its phylogenetic evenness.

Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris L.) Resilience to Climate Change: Insights from Coppice Forests in Southern and Central Europe

Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.) is a thermophilic oak species that is gaining importance in the context of ongoing climate change because of its better resistance to climatic extremes and drier conditions. Therefore, this article focuses on Turkey oak’s role and growth properties in the coppice forests of Southern Europe (Italy, Bulgaria) compared to similar site conditions in Central Europe (Slovakia, Czechia). The aims are to evaluate the basic dendrometry indicators, stand biodiversity, growth dynamics, and the effect of climatic factors on tree-ring increment on specific site chronologies. We found that the tree density in coppices of 50–60 years varied between 475 and 775 trees ha−1, and the stand volume ranged from 141 to 407 m3 ha−1. The complex stand diversity of all plots ranged from a monotonous to uniform structure. The size of tree-ring growth was closely related to indicators of stand density. The lowest influence of climatic factors on tree-ring growth was found in sites in Italy and the highest in Slovakia. The primary limiting factor for growth was the lack of precipitation during the growing season, especially in June and July. In contrast, temperature had a marginal effect on radial growth compared to precipitation. The radial growth in research plots in Southern Europe goes through longer 6 to 8-year growth cycles, and in Central European sites, it goes through shorter cycles of 2.4 to 4.8 years, which confirms better growth conditions in this region. The studied coppice stands exhibit a stable reaction to climate change. Yet, regarding cyclical growth, the Central European stands benefit from an advantageous climate and grow better than in Southern Europe. As part of the changing environmental conditions, Turkey oak is becoming an important tree species that can achieve high production potential even in drier habitats due to its regeneration characteristic as coppice and may play a critical role in its northerly introduction in Europe.

Variability in radiocesium activity concentration in growing hardwood shoots in Fukushima, Japan

The radiocesium contamination caused by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident has made it difficult to use coppice woods as bed logs for mushroom cultivation. Evaluating the variability in the radiocesium activity concentration of logs is necessary in order to predict how many coppice woodlands are available for producing mushroom bed logs. To clarify the variability in radiocesium activity concentrations and to estimate the sample size required to estimate these concentrations with sufficient accuracy, we modeled the log-transformed radiocesium activity concentrations in growing shoots of hardwoods. We designed two models: (1) a model with mean concentrations that varied among stands with a standard deviation that was the same among stands, and (2) a model with varying means and standard deviations. We fit the data pertaining to only Quercus serrata to both models and calculated the widely applicable information criterion values. Consequently, we adopted the simpler model (1). Applying the selected model to data for all species, we examined the relationship between the number of measurement individuals and the predictive distribution of the expected concentration. Based on previous recommendations and measurement costs, we proposed that five individuals would be appropriate for estimating radiocesium activity concentration in a stand.

The Transition of Forest Cover and Its Cultural Values in Shrine/Temple Forests in the Mountainous and Foothill Areas of Kyoto City: A Study Based on Topographic Maps and Aerial Photos

There is growing interest in the diverse roles of forests in addressing climate change and biodiversity goals. Recent studies have indicated a disregard for the cultural values of forests that have been formed in close association with human activities. This may potentially lead to the loss of cultural characteristics, traditional forest knowledge, and biodiversity. This study explores historical forest dynamics and their unique cultural values from the end of the 19th century in 15 shrine/temple forests located in the mountainous and foothill areas of Kyoto city. Using geographical information systems (GIS) based on topographic maps and aerial photographs, this study investigates the forest composition in the 1890s, 1980s, and from 2010. The results indicate that approximately half of the targeted shrine/temple forests were composed of low Pinus densiflora forests and coppice forests in the 1890s. Between the 1890s and 1910s, coniferous forests were planted in these areas with the intention of land conservation and timber production. This distinctive forest cover became a typical characteristic for shrine/temple forests until the 1980s. However, from the 1980s, a decrease in the cultural value of shrine/temple forests was observed due to the lack of human activities in these forests. As a result, the distinction between shrine/temple forests and the surrounding forests has become blurred. This could potentially cause the homogenization of cultural characteristics. This study aims to inform readers of the cultural value associated with the historical landscape and biodiversity found in shrine/temple forests.

Habitat quality, not patch isolation, drives distribution and abundance of two light-demanding butterflies in fragmented coppice landscapes

Coppice forests are socio-ecological systems especially rich in biodiversity. They have been transformed into high forest and abandoned across large areas of Europe over the past 200 years. Coppice loss is likely an important driver of insect declines. It is currently unclear whether habitat quality or decreasing connectivity of the remaining fragments is more important for the survival of insect populations. We related the abundance of two coppice-associated butterflies of conservation concern, Satyrium ilicis and Melitaea athalia, to indicators of habitat quality and habitat connectivity. We estimated butterfly densities using Distance Sampling along a successional gradient (time since last cut: 1–9 years; N = 130 plots) across one of the largest remaining simple oak-birch coppice landscapes in Central Europe. Both species reached abundance peaks within four to six years after the last cut, declining rapidly in abundance with subsequent succession. We found no evidence that coupe size, coppice availability and patch (= coupe) connectivity were related to the density of the species. Besides stand age, the cover of larval foodplants explained predicted butterfly densities well. Only Satyrium ilicis benefitted from high Red Deer densities.Implications for insect conservation: Our results suggest that habitat quality and sufficient availability of coppice of suitable age matters more than coupe size and fragmentation within a traditional managed coppice landscape. Coppice restoration aiming at the study species should ensure a shifting mosaic of successional habitat to provide a large availability of resprouting oak stools and bilberry vegetation that holds dense Melampyrum pratense stands.

Secondary succession of an unmanaged coppice woodland adjacent to late-successional, lucidophyllous forest in western Japan

ABSTRACT The combined effects of management history and ecosystem connectivity make it difficult to predict future dynamics of abandoned and unmanaged ecosystems. In Japan, unmanaged, secondary forests (satoyama) face risk of arrested or diverted succession, due to extensive human influence across the landscape. Proximity to climax forests, which function as seed sources, could determine the course of succession of abandoned satoyama. Here, we investigated spatial/temporal variation of species composition and stand structure of abandoned satoyama adjacent to a mature lucidophyllous forest in warm-temperate Japan to elucidate the course of succession after abandonment. Two study plots were established in the unmanaged, secondary forest at varying distances from the mature lucidophyllous forest. We calculated vegetation similarity indices among the plots to elucidate spatial variation and temporal change of species composition and stand structure and visualized relationships using nMDS (non-metric multidimensional scaling) ordination. Over the past 15 years, species composition and stand structure of the secondary forest have changed following the normal course of succession. This was because shade-intolerant shrubs, such as Rhododendron, were replaced by recruitment of climax species originating from the lucidophyllous forest. However, Quercus serrata (deciduous oak) and shade-intolerant evergreen trees continued to dominate the upper-canopy. Although the adjacent lucidophyllous forest is an effective seed source for recruitment of climax species, it may take several more decades for the secondary forest to reach late-successional composition and structure, due to legacy effects of past management.

Wildfire promotes the invasion of Robinia pseudoacacia in the unmanaged Mediterranean Castanea sativa coppice forests

In the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, Castanea sativa Mill. (Castanea) coppice stands are being invaded by non-native pioneer tree species due to recurrent coppicing and wildfire disturbances. There is a need to control the spread of non-native tree species in Castanea coppices due to their pivotal socio-economic role, however, to facilitate this, further research into invasive strategies and their interactions with disturbances is required. The non-native Robinia pseudoacacia L. (Robinia) has widely colonized the overaged and unmanaged Castanea coppice forests in Vesuvius National Park, which were disturbed by the low-severity fires in the summer of 2017. Here, we aimed to assess the functional traits conferring a competitive advantage to the Robinia over Castanea and the changes in spatial stand patterns driven by wildfire disturbance. To achieve this we assessed the spatial stem patterns, regeneration strategies, and conducted field-assessments and remote sensing of the spring leaf phenology of both Castanea and Robinia in five 300–600 m2 plots. After the 2017 wildfire, root suckers constituted 72% (±12) of the Robinia vegetative living sprouts and occurred up to a distance of 10 m from the adult parent trees under the canopy of the Castanea trees. NDVI-based estimates at the start of the growing season (sos) in Castanea occurred over a 7 day period, from DOY 118–124, increasing at a rate (rsp) of 0.10–0.16, in agreement with the field-based assessment of spring leaf phenology. In Robinia, the sos estimated at DOY 109 from the NDVI seasonal trajectory disagreed with the field-based observations, which started later than Castanea, after approximately DOY 133. Here, the high percentage cover (∼90%) of the understory species influenced NDVI-based estimates of Robinia leaf spring phenology. The results suggest that low-severity wildfires increased the invasiveness of Robinia, and that vegetative regeneration strategies, rather than earlier spring phenology, conferred a competitive advantage in the fire-disturbed Castanea coppice stands. The results thus suggest that appropriate management of invasive Robinia trees to conserve the continuous canopy cover of Castanea stands should guide nature-based solutions to control the spread of non-native tree species.

Sweet chestnut forests under black locust invasion threat and different management: An assessment of stand structure and biodiversity

Sweet chestnut forests in Europe are impacted by management abandonment, non-native species invasions and diseases, among other factors. Understanding the effects of these factors is crucial for forecasting future biodiversity changes, as well as proposing appropriate planning and management strategies. We studied sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) dominated forests within three hilly landscapes (Euganean hills, Montello, and Berici hills) of north-eastern Italy. We surveyed 25 paired sweet chestnut and black locust dominated plots of 100 m2 representing coppice or over-aged stands. We collected and analysed data related to vascular plant composition and richness, soil physical features (moisture content, shear strength and penetration resistance), ammonia-oxidising archaea in the soil, and stand structure features. Composition of vascular plants differed significantly between the two forest types, without the influence of management regime. Soil characteristics did not change comparing forest types, management regimes and their interaction, except for soil moisture that was higher in coppice forests. Ammonia-oxidising archaea abundance was lower in sweet chestnut stands. Sweet chestnut and black locust forests have a similar stand structure. The management regime played a role in determining mean diameter, number of stems and deadwood volume. We suggest adopting a heterogeneous array of silviculture practices to achieve the highest variety of forest structures and plant composition in Mediterranean hilly landscapes, coupled with management practices aimed at black locust control.

Improvement Cuttings in the Conversion of Pyrenean Oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) Coppice

An appropriate management and valuation of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) forests are essential in order to ensure their multiple functions and uses. Many coppice forests of Pyrenean oak have been converted into high forests mostly due to changing demands. This work presents a 20-year study conducted with Pyrenean oak coppices, providing results from an experimental trial where silvicultural improvement interventions for coppice conversion were applied. In addition to control, selective thinning and 3-strip thinning with 2 × 2 m, 3 × 3 m, and 3 × 6 m (the latter also included selective thinning) were examined. The study analyzed tree growth, vertical stratification dynamics, and epicormic branching. It was found that the silvicultural interventions promoted tree development differently according to social crown class. The results have shown a significantly different response in tree diameter growth and live crown length, while height growth has been less accentuated. The study also examined the temporal effect of the interventions on diameter growth. Changes in tree crown position and structural characteristics varied among the cutting interventions. Regarding epicormic branching, the results have revealed that the number of shoots does not differ significantly among the treatments but shows differences in length. Management issues regarding Pyrenean oak coppice conversion have also been addressed.

Characteristics of forest floor vegetation at a recreational coppice forest where undercutting was restarted and continued using environmental taxes

環境税等による樹林管理の効果を知るために，12年前に下刈りが再開された栃木県の雑木林において，林床植生の状態を検証した。コナラが優占する落葉広葉樹林において，管理区と管理放棄区を設定し，4 m四方のコドラートによる植生調査を2021年の夏期に実施した。その際，管理区では傾斜や刈り高の異なる2条件区を用意した。その結果，計25個のコドラートにおいて118種が確認された。平均出現種数は有意に異なり（ANOVA，P＜0.01），管理区の斜面下部が49.3種（N＝7），同じく斜面中部が40.1種（N＝9），管理放棄区が21.2種（N＝9）であり，管理放棄区が著しく低い値であった。管理区の斜面中部ではヤマツツジが矮性状態で優占しており，これが斜面下部に対し平均種数が少ないことに影響していると考えられた。ヤマハギ，シラヤマギク，ノハラアザミ等のススキクラスの種も散見され，管理区のみで出現するのが特徴的であった。ただし，下刈りは夏期以降に行われるため，夏～秋に開花する高茎種は植物体上部の消失が生じ，開花が抑制されやすいことが示された。

“Pest Forests”, “Utility Forests” and “Cow Bends”

Small and scattered patches of forests contrast sharply within the context of the flat and monotonous dark green pastures in the Dutch polder landscapes. These patches, with various types of trees, are like little islands, surrounded by ditches. They are not remnants of the original old peat swamp forests but farmers created the patches in the past for particular purposes. Their names offer clear indications: in addition to the general name of ‘small polder forests’ (polderbosjes) they are called ‘pest forests’ (pestbosjes or krengenbosjes, places where contaminated or dead animals were dumped), ‘farmers’ utility or coppice forests’ (boerengeriefhoutbosjes or hakhoutbosjes, from which farmers collected all types of useful wood), or ‘cow bends or milk forests’ (koebochten or melkbosjes, places where the cows were milked and where the manure could be collected). With the modernization of agriculture and alternative sources of energy, many of these forest islands have been cleared for the sake of expanding the pastures. However, increasingly these forest patches are also viewed from a different perspective. Nowadays they are valued as an important element in the country’s (agri)cultural heritage, but also for the role they play in terms of the polders’ biodiversity (flora as well as fauna), which has rapidly declined with the modernization of agriculture in recent decades. In this article an overview will be given of the origin of these ‘forest islands’ and how they have functioned in the Dutch polder landscape in the past century as an often ignored aspect of farmers’ knowledge and practices. Attention will also be paid to the present efforts to maintain these forest islands.

Harvesting Wood Residues for Energy Production from an Oak Coppice in Central Italy

The sustainable management of coppice forests and the valorization of forest residues represent key activities for the development of wood for the energy supply chain. The present study focused on the quantification and the physical/energetic characterization of oak residues (branches and tops) obtained from a coppice stand in central Italy. The study also evaluated the performance of the technologies used for the harvest and chipping operation. The wood residues obtained were mainly tree branches and tops and accounted for 19.8% of the total biomass extracted from the forest. Taking into account the standards of wood chips for energy use, the material produced was included in the quality class B. Summarizing, the results obtained in this work indicated that opportune forest operations can provide a significant amount of wood residues (mainly branches and tops) from oak coppices in central Italy and that the derived material can reach medium commercial features, being exploitable in different bioenergy production scenarios.

Temperate coppice forests in north-western Italy are resilient to wild ungulate browsing in the short to medium term

In southern European temperate forests, coppicing is a traditional form of forest management that shaped the present cultural landscape, providing multiple ecosystem services. Roe deer densities have been growing notably during the last decades mainly due to the abandonment of rural areas, changes in human land use and restocking.The impact of roe deer on coppice forests can affect the resprouting and, in turn, compromise the products and ecosystem services provided by these forests. During coppicing, stems are cut down close to the ground, where the growing shoots are exposed to deer browsing, especially during the early years following cutting.In this study, using a browsing exclusion experiment, we investigated the impact of browsing on temperate mountain hardwood coppice forests in the western Italian Alps over a period of eleven years following coppicing.We found that the impact of browsing was highest in the first two years following coppicing, with Quercus pubescens and Castanea sativa being the most affected tree species. The height of shoots was the variable that showed the biggest difference between fenced and unfenced areas. A significant negative effect of browsing on shoot height was found at the beginning of the experiment, with shoots growing in unfenced area showing the lowest height increments. After the third year, when the browsing intensity diminished, we observed the opposite trend, with shoots growing in unfenced areas showing higher height increments compared with fenced areas. A similar trend was observed also for the diameter of shoots over the course of the experiment. Eleven years after coppicing, however, the structural characteristics of the natural regeneration converged at all sites and in both fenced and unfenced areas.This study shows that coppice forests are resilient to browsing and are capable to recover growth loss within a few years after browsing has naturally diminished and stopped. The research conducted also points out the importance of medium- to long-term monitoring to assess post-disturbance dynamics and evaluate implications for management.

Above-ground biomass estimation in a Mediterranean sparse coppice oak forest using Sentinel-2 data

Implementing a scheduled and reliable estimation of forest characteristics is important for the sustainable management of forests. This study aimed at evaluating the capability of Sentinel-2 satellite data to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) in coppice forests of Persian oak (Quercus brantii var. persica) located in Western Iran. To estimate the AGB, field data collection was implemented in 80 square plots (40×40 m, area of 1600 m2). Two diameters of the crown were measured and used to calculate the AGB of each tree based on allometric equations. Then, the performance of satellite data in estimating the AGB was evaluated for the area of study using the field-based AGB (dependent variable) as well as the spectral band values, spectrally-derived vegetation indices (independent variables) and four machine learning (ML) algorithms: Multi-Layer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (MLPNN), k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Regression (SVR). A five-fold cross-validation was used to verify the effectiveness of models. Examination of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient between AGB and the extracted ‎values showed that IPVI and NDVI vegetation indices had the highest correlation with AGB (r = 0.897). The results indicated that the MLPNN algorithm was the best ML option (RMSE = 1.71 t ha-1; MAE = 1.37 t ha-1; relative RMSE = 24.75%; R2 = 0.87) in estimating the AGB, providing new insights on the capability of remotely sensed-based AGB modeling of sparse Mediterranean forest ecosystems in an area with limited number of field sample plots.