Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: H. Prknová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Long-term storage of service tree (Sorbus domestica L.) seeds and induction of their germination Abstract: Service tree (Sorbus domestica L.) is a significant species with regard to the biodiversity of specific habitats. Its reproduction in natural conditions appears to be problematic and in the interest of preserving the countryside, forests and their biodiversity, it is necessary to apply controlled reproduction procedures. Therefore, when applying such procedures it is of crucial importance to optimize the storage and use of seed material. The objective of the present article is to evaluate the germination rates of seeds which were stored in the long term. 95% of the seeds preserved at low temperatures above zero in a normal refrigerator for 8 years germinated after stratification in wet sand. The germination rate of the same seeds when moistened without stratification was 0%. However, after removal of the seed coat, 76% of these seeds germinated without stratification. Storage of air-dried seeds in the cold (at temperatures above zero) is ideal and is better than freezing them to -20°C, as reported in the literature. Wet peat is completely unsuitable for stratification. Keywords: stratification, cold storage, seed coat, inhibitors, dormancy Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 417-421 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/57/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/57/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:57-2015-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: R.T. Torres Author-Workplace-Name: CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal Author-Name: A.M. Valente Author-Workplace-Name: CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal Author-Name: T.A. Marques Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland Author-Name: C. Fonseca Author-Workplace-Name: CESAM, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal Title: Estimating red deer abundance using the pellet-based distance sampling method Abstract: Many European agricultural landscapes have been abandoned facilitating the comeback of large ungulates. In Portugal, the increase in red deer numbers caused local conflicts with landowners reporting economic losses in forest and agricultural plantations. A great effort is needed to mitigate human-red deer conflicts through management strategies. Successful management strategies require reliable information on population trends. Here we propose an easy and readily applied method to estimate an increasing ungulate population. We estimated the red deer population density in a Mediterranean environment located in northeastern Portugal: Lombada National Hunting Area (LNHA) and Serra de Montesinho (SM), using pellet group counts coupled with distance sampling to account for pellet detectability. The estimated red deer density using a stratified detection function was 5.81 indd per 100 ha for LNHA and 1.34 indd per 100 ha for SM (95% CI: 3.65-9.25 and 0.74-2.42, respectively). For the entire area, the estimated density was 3.38 deer per 100 ha (95% CI: 2.18-5.24). Monitoring population trends is crucial to assess the impact of methods aimed at reducing the population size or impact and here we provided an example of a robust method that can be implemented to continuously monitor expanding populations. Keywords: cervidae, distance sampling, deer density, pellet group counting, rural areas Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 422-430 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/52/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/52/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:52-2015-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: B. Konôpka Author-Workplace-Name: National Forest Centre - Forest Research Institute Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovak Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Pajtík Author-Workplace-Name: National Forest Centre - Forest Research Institute Zvolen, Zvolen, Slovak Republic Author-Workplace-Name: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Why was browsing by red deer more frequent but represented less consumed mass in young maple than in ash trees?! Abstract: European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) are considered amongst tree species as some of the most attractive forage for red deer (Cervus elaphus). The aim of this paper is to estimate branch and foliage mass browsing by red deer in young Sycamore maple and European ash in Central Slovakia and to analyze interspecific differences in browsing frequency and quantity. Altogether 665 ash trees and 701 maple trees were measured for height and stem diameter at the ground level. Red deer browsing, defined as leader shoot or lateral branch cropping, was recorded for all trees. A combination of the diameter of browsed branches and branch regression models allowed for the estimation of browsed (potentially consumed) mass by red deer. Results show that browsing occurred more frequently on maple (5 cases per tree) compared to ash (3 cases per tree); however, more total branch biomass was consumed in ash (10.7 g per tree) compared to maple (2.6 g per tree). This is because browsed branches were larger in ash than in maple. We assume that the difference in the size of browsed branches between ash and maple is relative to species-specific branch morphological and structural features. Keywords: browsing, branch model, Cervus elaphus, Fraxinus excelsior, Acer pseudoplatanus Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 431-438 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/70/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/70/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:70-2015-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Z. Adamec Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forest Management and Applied Geoinformatics, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Comparison of linear mixed effects model and generalized model of the tree height-diameter relationship Abstract: Models of height curves generated using a linear mixed effects model and generalized model were compared. Both tested models were also compared with local models of height curves, which were fitted using a nonlinear regression. In the mixed model two versions of calibration were tested. The first calibration approach was based on measurement of heights only in trees of the mean diameter interval, while the second calibration approach was based on measurement of tree heights in three diameter intervals. Generalized model is the mathematical formulation of a system of uniform height curves, which is commonly used in the Czech Republic. The study took place at Training Forest Enterprise called Masaryk Forest at Křtiny and was carried out for Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). It was found that the mixed model behaves correctly only in the case of calibration based on selection of trees in three diameter intervals. Selection of a total of nine trees was confirmed as the most suitable to calibrate the model. In most of the calculated quality criteria, the mixed model achieved better results than the generalized model, even with a smaller number of measured heights. The bias of both models from the local model was very similar (0.54 m for the mixed model and 0.44 m for the generalized model). The mixed model can therefore fully replace the commonly used generalized model even with a smaller number of measured heights. Keywords: height function, mean height, Michailoff function, Norway spruce, mean diameter, uniform height curve Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 439-447 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/68/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/68/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:68-2015-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Y. Parvizi Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, Agriculture and Natural Resource Research Center of Kermanshah, Kermanshah, Iran Author-Name: M. Heshmati Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, Agriculture and Natural Resource Research Center of Kermanshah, Kermanshah, Iran Title: Detection of the effects of management and physical factors on forest soil carbon stock variability in semiarid conditions using parametric and nonparametric methods Abstract: Forest soils in western parts of Iran are being degraded by inappropriate management. The soil organic carbon (SOC) stock was dominantly affected by this type of degradation. On the other hand, SOC is an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and can play a key role in global warming. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of 15 different physical and 8 different management factors on the SOC content and to determine relative importance of these exploratory variables for SOC estimation in a semiarid forest using multiple least-squares regression, tree-based model, and neural network model. Results showed that the CART model with all physical and management variables and 24-2-1 neural networks had the highest predictive ability that explained 81 and 76% of SOC variability, respectively. Neural network models slightly overestimate SOC content. ANNs have a higher ability to detect the effects of management variables on SOC variability and the advantage of CART was to distinguish the effects of physical variables. In both methods the management system dominantly controlled SOC variability in these semiarid forest conditions. Keywords: soil organic carbon, CART, modelling, neural networks Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 448-455 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/26/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/26/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:26-2015-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: J. Remeš Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Bílek Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: J. Novák Author-Workplace-Name: Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Jíloviště-Strnady, Opočno Research Station, Opočno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Z. Vacek Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: S. Vacek Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: T. Putalová Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Author-Name: L. Koubek Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic Title: Diameter increment of beech in relation to social position of trees, climate characteristics and thinning intensity Abstract: 1Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic 2Forestry and Game Management Research Institute, Jíloviště-Strnady, Opočno Research Station, Opočno, Czech Republic ABSTRACT: We present the results of research on diameter increment in beech stands in the area of Hostýnské and Vsetínské vrchy. The data were collected on three series of permanent research plots (PRP) in middle-aged stands in the property of BFP Forests and Estates of Tomas Baťa, Ltd. established for the evaluation of the effect of different thinning regimes. Each series consists of one control plot and two plots with different treatment intensity. The objective of this paper was to assess the increment response of beech individuals in the first year after a thinning intervention and to evaluate the increment of sample trees in relation to the social position of tree in the stand and the climate trends in the last 30 years. The diameter increment was evaluated on harvested sample trees, after the thinning treatment the growth reaction of standing sample trees of the main stand was evaluated based on their dendrometric characteristics. To calculate the radial growth of beech, the annual ring increment series were cross-dated individually (to eliminate errors caused by missing annual rings) using statistical tests in the PAST4 application software (Knibbe 2007) and then subjected to visual inspection according to Yamaguchi (1991). If a missing annual ring was found, a ring 0.01 mm wide was inserted in its place. The individual curves from PRPs were then detrended and an average annual ring series was created in the ARSTAN software. First a negative exponential spline was used, and then the 30-year spline was applied (Grissino-Mayer et al. 1992). The response of tree radial growth to climatic factors was evaluated using the DendroClim software. The method of single pointer years analysis was used to estimate the influence of extreme climatic events on diameter growth. One year after thinning, the harvest intensity had no significant effect on the radial growth of dominant trees (F(4, 293) = 1.0, P > 0.05), but oppositely, differences in the average diameter increment of co-dominant trees on PRPs were statistically significant (F(4, 362) = 2.6, P < 0.05). The diameter increment of dominant trees in 1978-2013 showed positive correlations with the March temperatures of the current year (r = 0.27) and negative ones with June-September (r = -0.28 to -0.43) and November (r = -0.36) of the last year and April, June and July (r = -0.35 to -0.44) of the current year. Negative correlations of temperature in the growing season of the current year were similar to dominant trees, only the impact was weaker in April to August (r = -0.28 to -0.32). According to the results of the PCA analysis, annual ring width was negatively correlated with temperatures in the vegetation season of the last year and current year, July, April and June temperature of the current year, and with precipitation in January-March of the current year. Keywords: climate change, dendrochronology, precipitation, temperature, tree growth Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 456-464 Volume: 61 Issue: 10 Year: 2015 DOI: 10.17221/75/2015-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/75/2015-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-201510-0006.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:61:y:2015:i:10:id:75-2015-JFS