Research Articles (Forest and Wood Science)

Characteristics of selected non-woody invasive alien plants in South Africa and an evaluation of their potential for electricity generation

Melane, Mandlakazi; Ham, Cori; Meincken, Martina (University of Cape Town, Energy Research Centre, 2017)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Alien invasive plants (AIPs) pose a threat to the existence of plant and animal biodiversity in the ecosystems they invade. They need to be cleared, monitored and eventually eradicated from the landscape. ...

Growth at the microscale : long term thinning effects on patterns and timing of intra-annual stem increment in radiata pine

Drew, David M.; Downes, Geoffrey M. (SpringerOpen, 2018-10-09)

Background: Stem radial growth in forests is not uniform. Rather, it is characterized by periods of relatively fast or slow growth, or sometimes no growth at all. These fluctuations are generally a function of varying ...

Potential for utilization of wood ash on coastal arenosols with limited buffer capacity in KwaZulu-Natal and its effect on eucalypt stand nutrition and growth

Scheepers, Gerhardus Petrus; Du Toit, Ben (Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology, 2017)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A field trial was established to test the effects of various wood ash and fertilizer application rates on the nutrition and early growth of a clonal Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla stand near Richards ...

Facilitating the recovery of natural evergreen forests in South Africa via invader plant stands

Geldenhuys, Coert J.; Atsame-Edda, Angeline; Mugure, Margaret W. (SpringerOpen, 2017)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Contrary to general belief, planted and naturalized stands of introduced species facilitate the recovery of natural evergreen forests and their diversity. Forest rehabilitation actions are often performed ...

Climate change effects in the Western Himalayan ecosystems of India : evidence and strategies

Tewari, Vindhya Prasad; Verma, Raj Kumar; Von Gadow, Klaus (SpringerOpen, 2017)

Background: The fragile landscapes of the Himalayan region are highly susceptible to natural hazards, and there is ongoing concern about current and potential climate change impacts. This study provides background information ...

How beta diversity and the underlying causes vary with sampling scales in the Changbai mountain forests

Tan, Lingzhao; Fan, Chunyu; Zhang, Chunyu; Von Gadow, Klaus; Fan, Xiuhua (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2017-10)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims to establish a relationship between the sampling scale and tree species beta diversity temperate forests and to identify the underlying causes of beta diversity at different sampling ...

Investigating the potential of strength grading green Eucalyptus grandis lumber using multi-sensor technology

Nocetti, Michela; Proller, Marco; Brunetti, Michele; Dowse, George P.; Wessels, C. Brand (North Carolina State University, 2017-11)

The exploitation of Eucalyptus grandis lumber as structural material may take advantage of the finger-joint and edge-gluing of the boards while they are still wet, so as to reduce the natural susceptibility of the species ...

Analysing taxonomic structures and local ecological processes in temperate forests in North Eastern China

Fan, Chunyu; Tan, Lingzhao; Zhang, Chunyu; Von Gadow, Klaus (BioMed Central, 2017)

Background: One of the core issues of forest community ecology is the exploration of how ecological processes affect community structure. The relative importance of different processes is still under debate. This study ...

Climate as possible reproductive barrier in Pinus radiata (D. Don) interspecific hybridisation

Ham, H.; Botha, A. M.; Kanzler, A.; Du Toit, B. (Marin Dracea National Research-Development Institute in Forestry, 2017)

Historically, interspecific hybridisation with Pinus radiata D. Don had limited success. The effect of environmental conditions and position of pollination bags in the tree were investigated as possible hybridisation ...

Effects of density dependence in a temperate forest in northeastern China

Yao, Jie; Zhang, Xinna; Zhang, Chunyu; Zhao, Xiuhai; Von Gadow, Klaus (Springer Nature, 2016-09-08)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Negative density dependence may cause reduced clustering among individuals of the same species, and evidence is accumulating that conspecific density-dependent self-thinning is an important mechanism ...

Stoichiometry patterns in the androdioecious Acer tegmentosum

Zhang, Xinna; Yao, Jie; Fan, Chunyu; Tan, Lingzhao; Zhang, Chunyu; Wang, Juan; Zhao, Xiuhai; Von Gadow, Klaus (Springer Nature, 2016-10-11)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study evaluates stoichiometry patterns in the androdioecious Acer tegmentosum, a species characterized by a rare reproductive system where males and hermaphrodites coexist. Altogether 31 hermaphrodites ...

Aboveground biomass and carbon in a South African mistbelt forest and the relationships with tree species diversity and forest structures

Mensah, Sylvanus; Veldtman, Ruan; Du Toit, Ben; Kakai, Romain Glele; Seifert, Thomas (MDPI, 2016)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Biomass and carbon stocks are key information criteria to understand the role of forests in regulating global climate. However, for a bio-rich continent like Africa, ground-based measurements for accurate ...

Soil elements influencing community structure in an old-growth forest in Northeastern China

Xu, Wei; Hao, Minhui; Wang, Juan; Zhang, Chunyu; Zhao, Xiuhai; Von Gadow, Klaus (MDPI, 2016)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study uses detailed soil and vegetation data collected in a 30-ha old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine forest to study the effect of soil properties on tree community structures. Spatial distribution ...

Comparing Johnson’s SBB, Weibull and Logit-Logistic bivariate distributions for modeling tree diameters and heights using copulas

Gorgoso-Varela, Jose J.; Garcia-Villabrille, Juan Daniel; Rojo-Alboreca, Alberto; Von Gadow, Klaus; Alvarez-Gonzalez, Juan Gabriel (Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, 2016-04)

Aim of study: In this study we compare the accuracy of three bivariate distributions: Johnson’s SBB, Weibull-2P and LL-2P functions for characterizing the joint distribution of tree diameters and heights. Area of study: ...

Tree species diversity promotes aboveground carbon storage through functional diversity and functional dominance

Mensah, Sylvanus; Veldtman, Ruan; Assogbadjo, Achille E.; Kakai, Romain Glele; Seifert, Thomas (Wiley Open Access, 2016)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has increasingly been debated as the cornerstone of the processes behind ecosystem services delivery. Experimental and natural field-based ...

Patterns of biomass allocation between foliage and woody structure : the effects of tree size and specific functional traits

Mensah, Sylvanus; Kakai, Romain Glele; Seifert, Thomas (Marin Dracea National Research-Development Institute in Forestry, 2016-02)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Biomass allocation is closely related to species traits, resources availability and competitive abilities, and therefore it is often used to capture resource utilisation within plants. In this study, we ...