Higher Proportion Of Forest Research Articles

Лесоэксплуатационное районирование лесных субарктических территорий

The purpose of this study is to classify the territories of the forest fund of the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk region at the level of central forestries on the basis of multifactorial assessment of timber resources, natural and production conditions, and road infrastructure. Forest exploitation zoning was carried out taking into account 20 variables. For this purpose, factor and hierarchical cluster analysis, k-means method and discriminant analysis were successively applied. Based on statistical methods, all central forestries were distributed into 9 clusters: 4 large clusters (No. 2, 3, 8, 9), including several forestries, and 5 (No. 1, 4–7), each formed by one forestry. Forestries of cluster No. 2 had large annual allowable cut (AAC), significant average forest reserve per hectare and hardwood reserve. Forestries of cluster No. 3 were characterized by small AAC and forest reserves per hectare. Cluster No. 8 forestries were characterized by average AAC and forest stock per hectare, high proportion of forests in stagnant moisture conditions. Forestries of cluster No. 9 were intermediate in their characteristics between the forestries of clusters No. 2 and No. 8. The forestry of cluster No. 1 is close to the forestry of cluster No. 2 in its characteristics, but its forests are more productive. Forestries of small clusters No. 4, 6, 7 have the highest forest stock per hectare. Differences in some variables did not allow them to be combined into one cluster. The forestry of cluster No. 5 is similar in terms of natural and production conditions to the forestry of cluster No. 3 but had a small estimated harvesting area for the coniferous component. The results of the study can be considered when solving the issues of organization and development of forestry and forest industry complex in the Republic of Karelia and Murmansk region. For citation: Budnik P.V., Baklagin V.N., Galaktionov O.N. Forest Exploitation Zoning of Forest Subarctic Territories. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 6, pp. 114–135. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-023-6-114-135

Functional leaf-trait variability and herbivory in oaks along a Mexican avocado agrosystem mosaic

Land-use changes transforming forested landscapes to avocado orchards affect abiotic conditions and ecological processes. As a consequence, such changes can also affect leaf functional traits expression of co-occurring trees in orchards and related plant–insect interactions. Here, we evaluated changes in chemical soil properties and the effects of micro-climatic variables on leaf functional traits and herbivory in Quercus castanea and Q. obtusata in fragments occurring in a mosaic with avocado orchards. We differentiate three cases: forest cover > orchards, forest cover = orchards and forest cover < orchards in Michoacan state, Mexico. In each case, at least 17 individuals of each oak species were selected to analyze leaf functional traits and herbivory. Soil samples were collected to analyze chemical properties. Soils of areas with higher proportion of forest had higher concentrations of NH4+ and K+, whereas soils with higher proportion of orchards displayed higher concentrations of Mg2+, NO3− and SO42−. Leaf thickness, fresh mass and water content were higher in areas with higher forest cover and were influenced by Mg2+, NO3−, SO42- and local climatic variables. Leaf dry weight, specific leaf area, leaf area and chlorophyll content, as well as herbivory were higher in areas with higher proportions of orchards and were affected by PO43−, total P, K+, NH4+, and by local climatic variables. These results highlight the responses and links of plant functional traits associated with soil properties and local climatic variables and their possible consequences of biotic interactions in a landscape mosaic with different covers of avocado orchards and temperate forests.

Bioclimatic and Landscape Factors drive the Potential Distribution of Philaenus spumarius, Neophilaenus campestris and N. lineatus (Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae) in Southeastern Iberian Peninsula.

Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris are the main vectors of the invasive bacteria Xylella fastidiosa and key threats to European plant health. Previous studies of the potential distribution of P. spumarius reveal that climatic factors are the main drivers of its distribution on the Mediterranean Basin scale. Other local studies reveal that the landscape could also have a role in the distribution of both species of P. spumarius and N. campestris. Our work is aimed at understanding the role and importance of bioclimatic and landscape environmental factors in the distributions of the vector and potential vector species P. spumarius, N. campestris, N. lineatus and L. coleoptrata on a regional scale across the Autonomous Community of Murcia (SE Spain), a region with relevant environmental gradients of thermality and crop intensity. We used sweeping nets for sampling 100 points during eight months in 2020. Using bioclimatic landscape composition and topographical variables, we carried out habitat suitability models for each species using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). Distribution results for P. spumarius, N. campestris and N. lineatus indicate a gradient in habitat suitability, with the optimum in the coldest and wettest areas in landscapes with a high proportion of forest. All three species are absent from the southern third of the study region, the hottest, driest and most intensively cultivated area. These results are useful and should be considered in contingency plans against possible invasions of X. fastidiosa in Mediterranean regions.

Drivers of variability in Blue Carbon stocks and burial rates across European estuarine habitats

The implementation of climate change mitigation strategies based on the conservation and restoration of Blue Carbon ecosystems requires a deep understanding of the magnitude and variability in organic carbon (Corg) storage across and within these ecosystems. This study explored the variability in soil Corg stocks and burial rates across and within intertidal estuarine habitats of the Atlantic European coast and its relation to biotic and abiotic drivers. A total of 136 soil cores were collected across saltmarshes located at different tidal zones (high marsh, N = 45; low marsh, N = 30), seagrass meadows (N = 17) and tidal flats (N = 44), and from the inner to the outer sections of five estuaries characterized by different basin land uses. Soil Corg stocks were higher in high-marsh communities (65 ± 3 Mg ha−1) than in low-marsh communities (38 ± 3 Mg ha−1), seagrass meadows (40 ± 5 Mg ha−1) and unvegetated tidal flats (46 ± 3 Mg ha−1) whereas Corg burial rates also tended to be higher in high marshes (62 ± 13 g m−2 y−1) compared to low marshes (43 ± 15 g m−2 y−1) and tidal flats (35 ± 9 g m−2 y−1). Soil Corg stocks and burial rates decreased from inner to outer estuarine sections in most estuaries reflecting the decrease in the river influence towards the estuary mouth. Higher soil Corg stocks were related to higher content of silt and clay and higher proportion of forest and natural land within the river basin, pointing at new opportunities for protecting coastal natural carbon sinks based on the conservation and restoration of upland ecosystems. Our study contributes to the global inventory of Blue Carbon by adding data from unexplored regions and habitats in Europe, and by identifying drivers of variability across and within estuaries.

Relative abundance of grazing and browsing herbivores is not a direct reflection of vegetation structure: Implications for hominin paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

The diet of fossil herbivores inferred from enamel stable carbon isotopes is often used to make paleoenvironmental reconstructions. While many studies have focused on using environmental indicator taxa to make paleoenvironmental reconstructions, community-based approaches are considered to provide a more complete picture of paleolandscapes. These studies assume that the diet and relative abundance of herbivores are related to the areal extent of different vegetation types on the landscape. Here, we quantitatively test this assumption in 16 modern ecosystems in eastern and southern Africa with a wide range of woody vegetation cover. We conducted a landscape-level spatial analysis of vegetation patterns using a published land cover data set and computed landscape metrics. We compiled data on relative abundance and diet of herbivores inferred from carbon isotope studies for all large herbivores in these ecosystems. We found that despite differences in the total areal extent of different vegetation types, numerous sizable patches of each vegetation type are available in most ecosystems. However, despite variation across the ecosystems examined, grazers are typically the most abundant herbivores even in sites that have a higher proportion of forest and shrub cover. This indicates that the diet and relative abundance of herbivores is not a simple reflection of the total areal extent of vegetation types available on the landscape. The higher proportion of grazers observed in these ecosystems is a result of multiple factors including habitat heterogeneity, differences in biomass turnover rate between grasses and woody vegetation, resource partitioning, and the advantages of group living in open environments. Comparison of diet and relative abundance of herbivores in modern ecosystems to fossil herbivore assemblages shows that very different vegetation regimes can support similar herbivore assemblages. This study has significant implications for paleolandscape reconstructions and cautions against a simplistic wooded vs. grassland paleoenvironmental interpretations based on fossil herbivore assemblages.

Impact of Forest Conversion to Agriculture on Hydrologic Regime in the Large Basin in Vietnam

Deforestation due to agricultural land expansion occurred greatly during 1994 to 2005 with a high proportion of forests being converted into agriculture in the upstream Dong Nai river basin in Vietnam. Most of these conversions included expansions of coffee plantations in Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces, which are in the world’s Robusta coffee production area. The aim of this study is to quantify the impact on the water cycle due to the conversion of forest to coffee plantations in a tropical humid climate region by the application of a hydrological model: soil and water assessment tool (SWAT). The model was calibrated with climate data from 1980–1994, validated with climate data from 1995–2010, and verified with statistical indicators such as Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), percent bias (PBIAS), and ratio of the root mean square error (RSR). The simulations indicated that forest conversions into agriculture (expansion of coffee plantations) had significantly increased surface runoff (SUR) while actual evapotranspiration (ET), soil water content (SW), and groundwater discharge (GW) decreased. These changes are mainly related to the decrease in infiltration and leaf area index (LAI) post land cover changes. However, the soil was not thoroughly destroyed after deforestation due to the replacement of the lost forest with crops and vegetation. Therefore, changes in infiltration were marginal and not sufficient to bring large changes in the annual flow. Higher reductions in ET and SW were proposed, resulting in reduced streamflow in the dry season at the basin where the proportion of agricultural land was higher than the forest cover. Besides the plantation expansion, which resulted in streamflow reductions in the dry season, an existing problem was over-irrigation of coffee plantations that could likely deplete groundwater resources. Hence, balancing economic benefits by coffee production and mitigating groundwater depletion issues should be prioritized for land use management in the study area.

Factors outside privately protected areas determine mammal assemblages in a global biodiversity hotspot in the Andes

Privately protected areas with voluntary forest protection are promoted as an innovative solution for biodiversity conservation across the globe, particularly in regions where high biological diversity is threatened by agricultural expansion and human disturbance such as the tropical Andes. Colombia alone has over 2000 privately protected areas, but how well private reserves achieve conservation goals is largely unknown. To understand the attributes of reserves that determine success and the types of species conserved, we evaluated regional diversity of medium and large mammals with camera trapping over two years in the western Andes of Colombia. We examined how mammal occupancy was influenced by the size and land use of privately protected areas, landscape-scale variables, and anthropogenic disturbance. We used a multi-species hierarchical framework to assess responses of species and functional groups to environmental covariates. We found that forest in this reserve network retains a diverse mammal assemblage, but low occurrence and restricted species distributions suggest high vulnerability. Forest-restricted species and large species had higher occupancy in larger sites and sites with a higher proportion of forest, regardless of whether a site was designated as a reserve. However, landscape-level measures of connectivity and human disturbance were the strongest predictors of occupancy. Our research indicates that conservation of biodiversity within reserve networks in the Andes will be effective only if these efforts are linked to landscape-level conservation initiatives that conserve large areas of native forest and limit human disturbance across the landscape.

Seasonal Variations of Dissolved Organic Matter by Fluorescent Analysis in a Typical River Catchment in Northern China

Fluorescence (excitation-emission matrices, EEMs) spectroscopy coupled with PARAFAC (parallel factor) modelling and UV-Vis (ultraviolet visible) spectra were used to ascertain the sources, distribution and biogeochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the Duliujian River catchment. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chromophoric dissolved organic matter (a335) (CDOM), and hydrophobic components (a260) were higher in summer than in other seasons with 53.3 m−1, while aromaticity (SUVA254) was higher in spring. Four fluorescent components, namely terrestrial humic acid (HA)-like (A/C), terrestrial fulvic acid (FA)-like (A/M), autochthonous fulvic acid (FA)-like (A/M), and protein-like substances (Tuv/T), were identified using EEM-PARAFAC modelling in this river catchment. The results demonstrated that terrestrial HA-like substances enhance its contents in summer ARE compared with BRE, whilst terrestrial FA-like substances were newly input in summer ARE, which was entirely absent upstream and downstream, suggesting that rain events could significantly input the terrestrial soil-derived DOM in the ambient downward catchments. Autochthonous FA-like substances in summer BRE could derive from phytoplankton in the downstream waters. The results also showed that DOM from wetland exhibited lower fluorescent intensity of humic-like peak A/C and fulvic-like peak A/M, molecular weight (SR) and humification index (HIX) during the low-flow season. Built-up land, cropland, and unused land displayed higher a335 (CDOM). A higher proportion of forest and industrial land in the SCs showed higher SUVA254 values. Humic-like moiety, molecular weight and aromaticity were more responsive to land use during stormflow in summer. Rainfall could increase the export of soil DOM from cropland and unused land, which influences the spatial variation of HIX. The results in this study highlighted that terrestrial DOM has a significant influence on the biogeochemical alterations of DOM compositions and thus water quality in the downward watershed catchments, which might significantly vary according to the land-use types and their alterations by human activities.

Traditional Villages in Forest Areas: Exploring the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land Use and Landscape Patterns in Enshi Prefecture, China

In the context of the implementation of rural revitalization strategies in China, limited attention has been paid to the landscape patterns of traditional villages that are located in vulnerable environments. This study explores the land-use dynamics and landscape patterns of traditional villages in Enshi Prefecture, China. Based on a spatiotemporal analysis of land use and landscape metrics, we analyzed the prefecture and the environment surrounding 73 traditional villages. The results show that, from 2000 to 2020, most villages have had an increased share of forest, a decreased share of cultivated land and grassland, and a decreased level of landscape diversity and fragmentation. Additionally, villages at a higher elevation or with a steeper slope are associated with a lower level of landscape diversity, a lower proportion of cultivated land and grassland, and a higher proportion of forest. Overall, although the environment around the villages does not show dramatic changes in landscape patterns, land-use change at the prefecture level shows an increasing rate of urban growth from 2010 to 2020. For remote traditional villages in ecologically vulnerable and less-developed areas, caution is needed in the tradeoff between environmental conservation and economic development.

Landscapes of coexistence: generating predictive risk models to mitigate human-raptor conflicts in forest socio-ecosystems

Human persecution is a worldwide threat to raptors, contributing to the decline of many species. Perceived or real predation of domestic animals is the main driver of persecution and a barrier to the success of conservation initiatives. Predictive risk models are used to identify hazards in order to target effective prevention actions, and they have been successfully applied to conflicts with top predators. The Andean temperate region of Chile is a Global Biodiversity Hotspot where diurnal raptors co-inhabit with humans in rural areas. Here, complaints from farmers on raptor attacks on poultry have steadily increased; however, there is no empirical information about the conflict. This study aims to build a predictive social-ecological risk model to identify husbandry practices and landscape attributes associated with poultry predation by diurnal raptors in Chile. We applied 100 questionnaires to local farmers about their poultry husbandry practices and raptor predation patterns. We used data from questionnaires and landscape attributes to generate risk models of poultry predation. We show that farmers maintaining an enclosure to keep the chickens, a guard dog and a high proportion of forest in their properties can reduce the risk of raptor predation. These findings can be used to prevent raptor attacks on poultry by facilitating the implementation of these management measures in southern Chile. Our results indicate that predictive models can help in identifying effective coexistence measures for human-raptor conflicts benefiting human livelihoods as well as conservation of wild predators.

Re-evaluation of the wolf population management units in central Europe

The wolf Canis lupus population occupying the lowlands of central Europe is divided into two management units: the Baltic population east of the Vistula river and the Central European population to the west. We re-evaluated arguments for this division in the context of the ongoing wolf recovery and its usefulness for wolf management in Poland. To do so, we 1) compared the recovery stage on each side of the Vistula, 2) investigated the history of wolf occurrence in western Poland after the eradication campaign of 1955–1975, 3) evaluated dispersal corridors, dispersal distances and genetic data for evidence of a possible isolation of the two alleged populations and 4) compared habitat characteristics in Poland on each side of the Vistula.The total area of forest occupied by wolves was 56 600 km2 in 2015 and grew by 5340 km2 until June 2017. Wolves in eastern Poland occurred in more areas than predicted by a habitat model, whereas wolves in the west have not yet recolonized all suitable habitats. Wolves have never been extinct west of the Vistula after the eradication campaign, but their recovery started only in the 1980s. Areas currently occupied by wolves on both sides of the Vistula are interconnected by dispersal corridors less than 100 km long, and population genetic studies show that wolves inhabiting the Polish lowlands constitute one genetic cluster. The wolf habitats west of the Vistula have a higher proportion of forests are less fragmented. We conclude that wolves inhabiting the lowlands on both sides of the Vistula river belong to the same population, have similar conservation status, and should be treated as the same management unit.

Forest proximity supports bumblebee species richness and abundance in hemi-boreal agricultural landscape

To create effective conservation measures for pollinators, we need to understand how landscape structure affects their distribution. We examined the effects of forest proximity on bumblebee communities in a modern agricultural landscape in the forest-rich hemi-boreal region. We contrasted bumblebee communities in field margins located next to forest with margins located next to open habitats. We also assessed the effect of forest proportion in the surrounding landscape on bumblebee species richness and abundance. Additionally, the effects of margin area, and flower abundance, on the species richness and abundance of bumblebees were evaluated. Both the species richness and abundance were higher in the margins next to forest compared to the margins next to open habitats. Higher proportion of forest in the surrounding landscape, as well as larger margin area and higher flower abundance, also resulted in the higher species richness and abundance of bumblebees. Importantly, these positive responses to increasing forest cover and habitat quality occurred only, or were considerably stronger, in the margins next to forest. In conclusion, our results show that the proximity of forest favours the species richness and abundance of bumblebees in modern agricultural hemi-boreal landscapes. The proportion of forest cover in the region should be considered while developing landscape-level conservation strategies, and margins next to forest should be given priority while planning local conservation measures.

A comparison of wetland characteristics between Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and public lands wetlands in West Virginia, USA.

In West Virginia, USA, there are 24 conservation easement program wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). These wetlands are located on private agricultural land and are passively managed. Due to their location within fragmented agricultural areas, wetlands enrolled in ACEP in West Virginia have the potential to add wetland ecosystem services in areas that are lacking these features. We evaluated ACEP wetlands compared to reference wetlands on public land in West Virginia by using surrounding land cover, vegetative cover, and wetland features and stressors such as the presence or absence of erosion, upland inclusion, algal mats, and evidence of impacts from the surrounding landscape as surrogate measurements of wetland function on 13 ACEP wetlands and 10 reference wetlands. ACEP wetlands had higher percentages of tree coverage and a higher proportion of agricultural land in the areas immediately surrounding the wetland. Reference wetlands had higher percent coverage of emergent vegetation and had a higher proportion of forest in the immediate landscape. Our findings suggest that ACEP wetlands provide valuable early successional and forested wetland cover in a state that is largely forested. Because of this, it is important to maintain and even expand ACEP in West Virginia to continue providing a valuable source of early successional wetland habitat.

The effect of land use in the catchment and meteorological conditions on the riverine transport of dissolved organic carbon into the Puck Lagoon (southern Baltic).

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and fluxes from four rivers draining the catchment of the Puck Lagoon in southernBaltic are presented. Water samples from rivers and coastal zone close to the rivers' mouth were collected from April 2015 to March 2017. DOC was measured using high temperature catalytic oxidation with an NDIR detection. DOC concentration in rivers as well as area specific load discharged to the lagoon reflected variations of land use along their course. Area specific load of DOC discharged by rivers with high proportion of forests, meadows, and pastures in the catchment was significantly higher as compared to rivers with catchment dominated by arable land. However, the main controlling factor of the total discharged loads of DOC was the water flow. The highest loads were observed during the downpour. That was due to the larger volumes of water transported with rivers and the higher concentration of DOC resulting from increased leaching from the catchment area. The obtained results are especially important in the light of climate change in the southern Baltic region. According to the forecasts, we can expect increased precipitation and flooding and consequently increased leaching from the catchment and transport of DOC to the sea via rivers.

Urban heat islands in relation to green land use in European cities

The phenomenon of increased temperature in cities compared to their rural environs, also referred to as urban heat island, is one of the most evident anthropogenic climatic modifications. Introducing green spaces and vegetation is the fastest, simplest, and a highly effective way of mitigating and adapting urban temperature conditions. The primary goal of the presented research is to identify the interrelationship between urban heat island magnitude (UHIM) and urban green infrastructure extent, shape, and distribution on European scale comparing different green space planning traditions – planning families (PFs). The UHIM for the European cities was calculated based on a reconstructed MODIS LST dataset of a period of ten years.The reasons for the arrangement of UHIMs according to PFs and green land use are not easily explained and are certainly influenced by a number of various conditions in different PFs. UHIM increases with the longitude of cities. In some of the PFs, the relation between the UHIM and land use proportion is characteristic for certain land uses, but a considerable difference between PFs regarding land use proportion with significant impact on UHIM can only be noted in case of a forest. The configuration and composition of the forest correlate with UHIM with statistical significance, but the share of the forest does not affect UHI in all PFs in the same way. While a higher proportion of forest, higher largest patch index, higher mean patch area, higher edge density and higher proportional landscape core is associated with a lower UHIM in the New member and Mediterranean PFs, the relationship in other PFs is reversed.Information on general patterns of UHIM occurrence in relation to urban green infrastructure characteristics could help urban planners and politicians introduce changes on the local level, which would help providing nature-based solutions for the mitigation of the UHI phenomenon.

Wild boar under fire: the effect of spatial behaviour, habitat use and social class on hunting mortality

AbstractThe wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an ungulate of major management concern, often controlled only by indiscriminate, recreational hunting, which represents its main cause of death. Several studies have dealt with the effects of hunting on wild boar populations, pointing out controversial changes in spatial behavior and habitat use related to it. However, little information on the relationship between spatial behavior, habitat use and hunting mortality is available. In this study, 105 wild boars were monitored by means of radio‐tracking. Their cause of death was assessed, thus confirming the major role of hunting. For 89 of them, spatial behavior and habitat use as well as social class were related to hunting mortality. Spatial behavior, expressed as home range size, average daily distance among fixes and familiarity with the hunting area, resulted in having no strong effect on hunting mortality. Conversely, the relationship between the wild boar and the habitat, expressed in the proportion of forests in the home range, landscape complexity and habitat diversity, had a major role in predicting hunting mortality. In particular, the best model including social class and refuges pointed out a positive effect of landscape complexity on hunting mortality, while animals having a higher proportion of forests in their home range (assessed when this did not overlap the protected area) were less likely to be culled. Adult males and subadults of both sexes were more liable to be hunted than family groups. On the whole, behavioral and ecological differences in hunting vulnerability should be taken into account in management plans in order to optimize population management.

Positive effects of local and landscape features on predatory flies in European agricultural landscapes

Provisioning of suitable habitats for predatory insects in agricultural landscapes can improve natural pest control and hence the sustainability of agriculture. Apart from Syrphidae, the spatial ecology of predatory flies remains little studied. We investigated the response of Dolichopodidae, Empididae and Syrphidae to local features of seminatural habitats and to the composition of the surrounding landscape. We sampled adult predatory flies with pan traps in 183 field-bordering seminatural habitats along gradients of landscape composition in Italy, Germany and Switzerland. Local habitat type, the composition of the surrounding landscape and proximity to watercourses affected the abundance of predatory flies. Across countries, Empididae and Syrphidae were more abundant in woody (i.e. forests and in particular hedgerows) than in herbaceous habitats, whereas Dolichopodidae had lowest abundance in forests. The abundance of Dolichopodidae in Italy and Empididae in Germany were furthermore enhanced by the proximity of watercourses. Abundance of Dolichopodidae increased with the proportion of seminatural habitats in 1km radius. Empididae were more abundant in landscapes with higher proportion of forests. We identified hedgerows as favorable habitats for predatory flies in agricultural landscapes. Moreover, our study reveals the importance of proximity to watercourses, which has rarely been considered when studying natural enemies of pests in agroecosystems. The varying responses indicate that preserving or restoring habitat-diverse, heterogeneous landscapes guarantees high numbers of predatory flies across families.

Different responses of attic-dwelling bat species to landscape naturalness

Although the general role of bats and the tolerance of many species to urbanized areas is well known, the relationship between urban roosts and their surrounding landscapes having different degrees of naturalness still requires our attention, mainly in species that are the most adapted to human-made structures. We used extensive data from attic-dwelling bat surveillance conducted throughout Slovakia to assess species responses to the degree of naturalness of the landscape surrounding their anthropogenic roosts. Using generalized linear mixed-effects modelling, we found that some bats established their nursery colonies in either a habitat with a higher proportion of forests mostly at sub-mountain/mountain altitudes (R. hipposideros, P. auritus, M. emarginatus), or they preferred lowlands with a predominance of arable land (E. serotinus, P. austriacus). Furthermore, higher habitat heterogeneity and the proportion of grassland were positively associated with the occurrence of P. auritus; however, negative associations with these habitat variables were found in E. serotinus. The predicted suitability of an area for bats to establish nursery colonies suggests the existence of two regions with different bat species composition in the study area: a region of the Pannonian Lowlands and a less urbanized mountain region of the Carpathian Mountains. Our study thus showed that landscape naturalness is a determining factor for roost-site selection by bats preferring anthropogenic roosts; however, some bat species did not express specific preferences according to the tested environmental variables, and other ecological traits in the evaluated species should be considered.

Лісівничо-таксаційні особливості деревостанів дуба північного у лісовому фонді обласних управлінь лісового і мисливського господарства Західного і Центрального Полісся

Об’єктом дослідження є штучні насадження за участю або домінуванням дуба північного (Quercus borealis Micx.), інтродукованого у лісовий фонд Волинського, Рівненського і Житомирського обласних управлінь лісового та мисливського господарства. Аналіз поширення таких об’єктів, вивчення їх лісівничо-таксаційної характеристики є предметом нашого дослідження.&#x0D; Дуб північний у лісовому фонді регіону потенційно спричиняє конкуренцію аборигенним видам. Це підтверджується ростом дуба північного в широкому діапазоні типів лісорослинних умов, високими адаптаційними властивостями. Висока частка деревостанів із домішкою дуба північного до двох одиниць, зокрема у бідних трофотопах, підтверджує високий едифікаційний потенціал виду, конкурентність за межами природного ареалу.&#x0D; Розподіл кількості та площі ділянок за класами віку залежить від трофності лісорослинних умов. Молодняки першої групи домінують у суборових умовах; молодняки другої групи, середньовікові і пристигаючі – у сугрудових умовах, а середньовікові та пристигаючі – у грудових.&#x0D; До важливих завдань організації господарської діяльності відносимо потребу диференційованого підходу до проектування лісогосподарських заходів у лісових фітоценозах із інтродуцентами.&#x0D; Зважаючи на результати аналізу, перспективи вирощування дуба північного в лісовому фонді регіону залежать від мінімізації ризику витіснення ним корінних видів і мають враховувати типологічний аспект під час обґрунтування основних положень ведення лісового господарства.

Functional attributes of the landscape surrounding the Temelin nuclear power plant (Czech Republic)

The aim of this study is to show the importance of permanent vegetation in landscape in terms of surface temperature. Indicators of key landscape functions (surface temperature, wetness, and biomass content) were monitored from May to September in five catchments with different vegetation covers. The analysis of Landsat satellite data illustrates that areas with a higher proportion of forest and wetlands provide a more balanced temperature–moisture regime throughout the growing season, reduce average and peak temperature, and enhance humidity. In these areas, solar radiation is transformed into latent heat, which leads to landscape cooling. This process indirectly leads to the reduction of soil erosion, loss of water, oxidation of organic matter, and nutrient export. A landscape characterized by a balanced temperature–moisture regime also has a higher ability to bind and retain pollutants. Artificial drainage and loss of natural wetlands are common across most of our agricultural landscapes. Drained fields have a low capacity to retain water, nutrients, and pollutants. Where cereal crops dominate, the temperature–moisture regime evolves through different stages. With the exception of the early growth, maturity and senescence are characterized by high average and peak temperatures, high temperature variations, and low humidity. As illustrated by the relationship existing between water electrical conductivity and cation concentration in relation to land cover, such landscapes have a lowered ability to retain chemical elements and pollutants. The sites that were object of our survey are situated within the emergency planning zone of the Temelín nuclear power plant, in order to demonstrate how our analytical approach may be applied to radiation risk management.