| Title | Nitrogen deposition is the most important environmental driver of growth of pure, even-aged and managed European forests |
| Abstract | Changing environmental conditions may substantially interact with site quality and forest stand characteristics, and impact forest growth and carbon sequestration. Understanding the impact of the various drivers of forest growth is therefore critical to predict how forest ecosystems can respond to climate change. We conducted a continental-scale analysis of recent (1995-2010) forest volume increment data (?Vol, m ha yr), obtained from ca. 100,000 coniferous and broadleaved trees in 442 even-aged, single-species stands across 23 European countries. We used multivariate statistical approaches, such as mixed effects models and structural equation modelling to investigate how European forest growth respond to changes in 11 predictors, including stand characteristics, climate conditions, air and site quality, as well as their interactions. We found that, despite the large environmental gradients encompassed by the forests examined, stand density and age were key drivers of forest growth. We further detected a positive, in some cases non-linear effect of N deposition, most pronounced for beech forests, with a tipping point at ca. 30 kg N ha yr. With the exception of a consistent temperature signal on Norway spruce, climate-related predictors and ground-level ozone showed much less generalized relationships with ?Vol. Our results show that, together with the driving forces exerted by stand density and age, N deposition is at least as important as climate to modulate forest growth at continental scale in Europe, with a potential negative effect at sites with high N deposition. |
| Source | Forest ecology and management 458 |
| Keywords | Air pollutionClimate changeForest managementICP ForestsObservational studyOzoneStatistical modelling |
| Journal | Forest ecology and management |
| Editor | Elsevier, Lausanne ;, Paesi Bassi |
| Year | 2020 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117762 |
| Authors | Etzold, Sophia; Ferretti, Marco; Reinds, Gert Jan; Solberg, Svein; Gessler, Arthur; Waldner, Peter; Schaub, Marcus; Simpson, David; Benham, Sue; Hansen, Karin; Ingerslev, Morten; Jonard, Mathieu; Karlsson, Per Erik; Lindroos, Antti Jussi; Marchetto, Aldo; Manninger, Miklos; Meesenburg, Henning; Merilä, Päivi; Nöjd, Pekka; Rautio, Pasi; Sanders, Tanja G.M.; Seidling, Walter; Skudnik, Mitja; Thimonier, Anne; Verstraeten, Arne; Vesterdal, Lars; Vejpustkova, Monika; de Vries, Wim |
| Text | 444223 2020 10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117762 Scopus 2 s2.0 85076851824 Air pollution Climate change Forest management ICP Forests Observational study Ozone Statistical modelling Nitrogen deposition is the most important environmental driver of growth of pure, even aged and managed European forests Etzold, Sophia; Ferretti, Marco; Reinds, Gert Jan; Solberg, Svein; Gessler, Arthur; Waldner, Peter; Schaub, Marcus; Simpson, David; Benham, Sue; Hansen, Karin; Ingerslev, Morten; Jonard, Mathieu; Karlsson, Per Erik; Lindroos, Antti Jussi; Marchetto, Aldo; Manninger, Miklos; Meesenburg, Henning; Merila, Paivi; Nojd, Pekka; Rautio, Pasi; Sanders, Tanja G.M.; Seidling, Walter; Skudnik, Mitja; Thimonier, Anne; Verstraeten, Arne; Vesterdal, Lars; Vejpustkova, Monika; de Vries, Wim The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research; Natural Resources Institute Finland Luke ; Forestry and Game Management Research Institute; Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Brussels; Københavns Universitet; Slovenian Forestry Institute; Forest Research; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Meteorologisk institutt; IVL Svenska Miljoinstitutet; Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; Wageningen University amp; Research; Chalmers University of Technology; Universite Catholique de Louvain; Thunen Institute of Forest Ecosystems; Northwest German Forest Research Institute NW FVA ; Forest Research Institute Changing environmental conditions may substantially interact with site quality and forest stand characteristics, and impact forest growth and carbon sequestration. Understanding the impact of the various drivers of forest growth is therefore critical to predict how forest ecosystems can respond to climate change. We conducted a continental scale analysis of recent 1995 2010 forest volume increment data Vol, m ha yr , obtained from ca. 100,000 coniferous and broadleaved trees in 442 even aged, single species stands across 23 European countries. We used multivariate statistical approaches, such as mixed effects models and structural equation modelling to investigate how European forest growth respond to changes in 11 predictors, including stand characteristics, climate conditions, air and site quality, as well as their interactions. We found that, despite the large environmental gradients encompassed by the forests examined, stand density and age were key drivers of forest growth. We further detected a positive, in some cases non linear effect of N deposition, most pronounced for beech forests, with a tipping point at ca. 30 kg N ha yr. With the exception of a consistent temperature signal on Norway spruce, climate related predictors and ground level ozone showed much less generalized relationships with Vol. Our results show that, together with the driving forces exerted by stand density and age, N deposition is at least as important as climate to modulate forest growth at continental scale in Europe, with a potential negative effect at sites with high N deposition. 458 Published version http //www.scopus.com/record/display.url eid=2 s2.0 85076851824 origin=inward Articolo Articolo etzold.pdf Articolo in rivista Elsevier 0378 1127 Forest ecology and management Forest ecology and management For. ecol. manag. Forest ecology and management. aldo.marchetto MARCHETTO ALDO |
