Were forests not taken seriously enough in the last IPCC 1.5° report?
The latest IPCC special report discusses the potential impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C and presents several pathways scenarios but without focusing much on the need of protecting and sustainably managing the forests we currently have.
The symmetry of competition. A battle crown-to-crown or roots-to-roots?
Forests rich in tree species are not only known for providing higher levels of ecosystem services but also to be prompter to cope with unexpected disturbances and climatic changes. However, the mechanisms of competitions in multi-species forests are all but clear.
The symmetry of competition. Does the battle take place above or below our feet?
In one of my previous posts I have already focused on the complex topic of competition among tree species. In that post I discussed the variability of species interactions (aka mixing effects) which depends on multiple environmental factors.
No more maple syrup?
Most of the time we tend to think about forests as sources of important ecosystem service. But there is a very important service that is delivered mostly by one tree species: maple syrup.
What do European forest managers want to know from scientists about mixed forests?
During the last years, scientists published a large amount of papers and books on the ecology and functioning mixed forests. This has certainly contributed to advance our understanding of how a mixed species forest work, develop, function.
Teaching complex adaptive system science to manage forest ecosystems – an interview with Klaus Puettmann
September is a busy month for academics. To wake up researchers after the summer break, usually many conferences and events are being organized. After the IUFRO Congress in Freiburg i.B., last September I participated to a field course that took place at the Vallombrosa Forest in Tuscany (Italy).
What factors determine whether tree species compete or complement each other?
The growth of the forest depends on a series of variables and their complex net of interactions. When the forest is composed of multiple species (called a “mixture”) its growth also depends on the intra- and inter-specific interactions between these species.
IUFRO 2017 Freiburg, Germany
Last week, two authors of Forest Monitor (Rafał and Marco) visited IUFRO 2017 Conference that was held in Freiburg (Germany). In this post, we would like to share with you our insights about this conference, discuss some presentations and new ideas we have seen there and what was our general impression about the congress.
The Return of the Forest - how trees reconquered the European continent after the last Ice Age
People who are interested in the ecology of European forests know that the current climatic gradient has a big influence in shaping the distribution and diversity of tree species in the continent.
Aliens are coming! Threatening invasion or new opportunities from introduced tree species in Europe?
Austrian “Apfel strudel” and the Italian “Castagnaccio” are only two of the many culinary recipes that are traditional in Europe. But did you know that their main ingredients are the product of trees – Malus domestica and Castanea sativa – that are actually non-native to Europe?
