Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Marcela Burnog Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Aleš Kučera Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Title: The role of the water regime in a reclaimed limestone quarry Abstract: This study focused on the hydrophysical characteristics of an abandoned limestone quarry in Czechia. Six sites were examined; two sites were undergoing natural succession (the Quarry Wall and Reed Canary Grass plots, which had undeveloped arboreal layers) and four sites were undergoing managed forest reclamation. Of the four forest reclamation sites, three were classified as prospering (the Prospering Lime, Prospering Maple and Prospering Lime + Oatgrass plots) and one was in decline (the Declining Larch + Lime plot). The arboreal layer included small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata Mill.), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.), and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.). Our results showed that Lime + Oatgrass plot retained more water than other plots. Field soil moisture measurements indicated that throughout the 1096-day monitoring period, only the soils at the successional sites reached the wilting point (Quarry Wall plot: 159 days; Reed Canary Grass plot: 43 days). Soil heterogeneity in the reclaimed areas was due to variation in the soil profile depth, disturbance from mining activities, reclamation efforts, and the availability of quality soil material. Soil conditions and the dynamics at the quarry created less than ideal conditions for tree regeneration. This primarily relates to limiting and significantly heterogeneous successional plots. Keywords: pedotransfer function, retention curve (RETC) program, soil moisture, tree species Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 391-406 Volume: 70 Issue: 8 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/6/2024-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/6/2024-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202408-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:70:y:2024:i:8:id:6-2024-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sanjeev Sharma Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA Author-Name: Alexander Wait Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, USA Author-Name: Puskar Khanal Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA Title: Overstorey leaf production and emergence of sassafras saplings in a southwest Missouri oak woodland: An analysis based upon long-term effects of fire Abstract: Missouri Ozark woodlands are a unique, but imperilled ecosystem type due to fragmentation, lack of proper management and a changing climate. The management, restoration, and conservation of Ozark woodlands is a conservation priority. The Ozark woodlands contribute to the sequestration of carbon and nutrients through their robust productivity, effectively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the biomass and soil while cycling essential nutrients to support the ecosystem's health and vitality. We have assessed the over- and mid-storey leaf production, collecting leaves in baskets every autumn in a 1 200-ha conservation area in southwest Missouri since 2000. The leaf production data from 2000 to 2021 were compared among sites; control (not burnt for over 80 years), burnt (fire resumed in March of 1999 and repeated in 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2021) and reference (fire resumed in 1980 and repeated every 2 years). The average oak leaf production was statistically higher in the burnt site than the reference site, but only marginally higher than the control site. The leaf production varies statistically between the years. We applied a regression analysis among the productivity, temperature, and precipitation to associate the temporal variability in the weather with the productivity. The reference woodland showed statistical significance with the precipitation, but not with the temperature, while the other sites did not show any statistical significance with the precipitation. No statistically significance difference was observed between the productivity and temperature across any of the woodland burn histories. The March-June, March-May, and June-August precipitation statistically predicted the productivity. The results indicate that long-term burning is predictably associated with woodland leaf production and precipitation, but the precipitation is uncoupled with the productivity in woodlands that were more recently burnt or where burning has been suppressed. Sassafras saplings of approximately 1 m in height have emerged as the dominant species in the understorey of burnt woodlands while being completely absent from the control and reference woodlands. However, the productivity is the highest in the woodlands where burning has been suppressed and 20 years of prescribed fire does not significantly reduce the productivity. Oak regeneration over 20 years of burning is being suppressed by competition with sassafras, which may result in a significant shift in the ecosystem variables. Keywords: ecosystem, precipitation, regression, saplings, woodland Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 407-419 Volume: 70 Issue: 8 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/8/2024-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/8/2024-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202408-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:70:y:2024:i:8:id:8-2024-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Gloria López-Pantoja Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain Author-Name: Antonia María Paramio Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain Author-Name: Sebastiana Malia Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain Author-Name: Israel Sánchez-Osorio Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain Title: Candidate natural enemy assemblage for the biological control of Lymantria dispar L. in oak (Quercus spp.) with different levels of pest infestation Abstract: Mediterranean Quercus forests have great ecological importance but face numerous threats, including pests. The spongy moth, Lymantria dispar L., is a major oak defoliator across its geographical range and has a natural enemy complex that may control its population dynamics. This study aimed to investigate candidate predators (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae, Ichneumonidae, Pteromalidae, Braconidae, Bethylidae, Ceraphronidae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae and Trichogrammatidae; and Diptera: Tachinidae), for the control of L. dispar in two areas in Andalusia (Spain). We studied 10 Quercus stands (Q. suber, Q. ilex, and Q. pyrenaica), with different L. dispar infestation level. Insects were collected using pitfall and cross-vane traps, during the defoliator's larval period. Four genera comprised 92.2% of all the Carabidae predators found: Steropus Dejean (34.1%), Carabus L. (28.4%), Calathus Bonelli (15.9%), and Platyderus Stephens (13.8%); and four Hymenoptera families comprised 93.7% of the parasitoid specimens collected: Encyrtidae (61%), Ichneumonidae (17.5%), Pteromalidae (10.7%), and Braconidae (4.5%). Both the natural enemy assemblage composition and the abundance per tree varied between geographical areas, as well as between levels of defoliator infestation. The candidate enemy complex was markedly diverse and abundant in stands not infested by L. dispar, where no insecticides had been applied. Our results suggest the importance of generalist predators as natural enemies of L. dispar. Keywords: biocontrol, parasitoids, predators, Quercus pyrenaica, Quercus suber, spongy moth Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 420-435 Volume: 70 Issue: 8 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/14/2024-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/14/2024-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202408-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:70:y:2024:i:8:id:14-2024-JFS Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Luboš Staněk Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Engineering, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Author-Name: Václav Mergl Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Automotive Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic Title: Effect of the body mass index and length of work on the stress of individual body parts of chainsaw operators Abstract: The subject of this study is to point out the issue of various impacts of musculoskeletal disorders in chainsaw operators and their impact on human health. The first goal was to find out whether the body mass index is responsible for excessive stress to individual parts of the body of chainsaw operators at work. The second goal was to determine whether the excessive load to the individual body parts is affected by the time of working with the chainsaw. Questionnaires created for the fulfilment of the goals were distributed to professional forest loggers working in the Czech Republic, which were filled in by 161 of them. Questions in the first part of the questionnaire were formulated in such a way that answers to them would clearly identify information on the individual respondents. The second part of the questionnaire was focused on the assessment of the load upon 12 body parts of the operators (each part being split into the right and left sides). The results of the statistical analysis showed that neither the body mass index (BMI) nor the length of time working with the chainsaw affect the load on the individual parts of the body of the chainsaw operators. Keywords: ergonomics, forestry, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), tree felling, workload Journal: Journal of Forest Science Pages: 436-445 Volume: 70 Issue: 8 Year: 2024 DOI: 10.17221/26/2024-JFS File-URL: http://jfs.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/26/2024-JFS.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/jfs-202408-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnljfs:v:70:y:2024:i:8:id:26-2024-JFS