Meta-analysis of 21st century studies shows that deforestation induces profound changes in soil characteristics, particularly soil organic carbon accumulation
April 2025
Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental problems facing humankind. It continues to escalate rapidly across many regions of the world, thereby deteriorating the forest soil quality. This...
Potential for improved groundwater recharge and dry-season flows through forest landscape restoration on degraded lands in the tropics
December 2025
As interest in tropical forest restoration accelerates, understanding its hydrological implications is increasingly urgent. While concerns persist that reforestation will reduce annual water yields—particularly...
The origin and beginnings of modern Continuous Cover Forestry in Europe
December 2025
Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is a type of forest management that is based on ecological, environmental, and biological principles. Specific definitions of CCF greatly vary and the concept usually...
Biotic and abiotic factors jointly drive the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in forests worldwide
December 2025
The sensitivity of soil respiration (Rs) to temperature (Q10) is a key parameter for benchmarking the carbon (C) cycle and climate feedbacks in the context of global warming. However, previous studies...
The patterns of forest soil particulate and mineral associated organic carbon characteristics with latitude and soil depth across eastern China
April 2025
Forest ecosystems function as the largest carbon (C) sink in terrestrial ecosystems, and nearly half of the C in forest ecosystems is stored in forest soils. However, the patterns of two main fractions...
Contrasting controls on symbiotic and asymbiotic nitrogen fixation rates along altitudinal gradients in subtropical forests
December 2025
Symbiotic and asymbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF and ANF), two forms of biological nitrogen (N) fixation, are the main pathways for external N inputs into natural terrestrial ecosystems. However, the...
Allometric equations quantify accelerated growth and carbon fixation in trees of northeastern north America
December 2025
A tree's basal area (BA) and wood volume scale exponentially with tree diameter in species-specific patterns. Recent observed increases in tree growth suggest these allometric relationships are shifting...
Spatio-temporal dynamics of future aboveground carbon stocks in natural forests of China
August 2025
Natural forests are the primary carbon sinks within terrestrial ecosystems, playing a crucial role in mitigating global climate change. China has successfully restored its natural forest area through...
Biodiversity in primary vs. managed forests: Biological legacies of old living and large dead trees drive lichen diversity
December 2025
Anthropogenic activities have significantly contributed to the loss and fragmentation of primary forests across the globe, which has accelerated biodiversity decline, particularly among highly specialised...
How to determine the leaf area index (LAI) of forests: A comparison of forest inventory versus satellite-driven estimates
August 2025
Leaf area index (LAI) is a key measure of forest stand physiology and biomass production, and is essential within ecosystem modeling. There are two common approaches to obtaining LAI: (i) terrestrial...
How forest age impacts on net primary productivity: Insights from future multi-scenarios
2024
Forest net primary productivity (NPP) constitutes a key flux within the terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle and serves as a significant indicator of the forests carbon sequestration capacity, which is...
Estimating area, standing carbon stock, and potential carbon stock of degraded forests in China
August 2025
With the rapid economic development and continuous expansion of human activities, forest degradation—characterized by reduced forest stock within the forest including declining carbon storage—poses...
Patterns and impacts of an unprecedented outbreak of bark beetles in Central Europe: A glimpse into the future?
2024
Natural disturbances have significantly intensified across European forests, with bark beetle outbreaks being the most rapidly escalating disturbance type. Since 2018, the Czech Republic (Central Europe)...
Insights for effective applied research: Four case studies with advice for young researchers
December 2025
The selected case studies illustrate a series of key factors that make a publication impactful in the sense of providing deep insight or durable utility. Some of these factors include: establishing...
Changes in climate–growth relationships in Larix decidua revealed by daily climatic data in the Tatra Mountains
December 2025
Understanding climate–growth relationships is essential for adaptive forest management. By using a more detailed approach (daily climatic data), we sought to uncover finer-scale climatic effects on...
Recreational and aesthetic values of forest landscapes (RAFL): Quantifying management impacts and trade-offs with provisioning and regulatory ecosystem services
August 2025
Cultural ecosystem services (CES), which encompass recreational and aesthetic values, contribute to human well-being and yet are often underrepresented in forest management planning due to challenges...
Lifespan of tropical trees from seed to 1-cm diameter
August 2025
The full lifespan of long-lived trees includes a seedling phase, during which a seed germinates and grows to a size large enough to be measured in forest inventories. Seedling populations are usually...
Quantifying spatiotemporal inconsistencies in runoff responses to forest logging in a subtropical watershed, China
December 2025
Global forest cover is undergoing significant transformations due to anthropogenic activities and natural disturbances, profoundly impacting hydrological processes. However, the inherent spatial heterogeneity...
Evaluating tree branch angle measurements of European beech using terrestrial laser scanning
April 2025
Branch angles are an important plant morphological trait affecting light interception within forest canopies. However, studies on branch angles have been limited due to the time-consuming nature of...
Topographic complexity drives trait composition as well as functional and phylogenetic diversity of understory plant communities in microrefugia: New insights for conservation
April 2025
Topographic complexity supports the maintenance of a high diversity of microhabitats, which may act as important ‘safe havens’ – or microrefugia – for biodiversity. Microrefugia are sites with specific...
Up-to-date high-resolution understory terrain extraction based on satellite stereo photogrammetry and spaceborne LiDAR
December 2025
Accurate digital terrain models (DTMs) are essential for a wide range of geospatial and environmental applications, yet their derivation in forested regions remains a significant challenge. Existing...
Context-dependent effects of woody layer complexity on arthropod biomass and abundance in deciduous forests
December 2025
Forest structural complexity influences arthropod communities by shaping habitat availability, microclimatic conditions, and resource distribution. However, the extent to which structural complexity...
A novel method for ULS-TLS forest point cloud registration based on height context descriptor
December 2025
Unmanned aerial vehicle laser scanning (ULS) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) systems are effective ways to capture forest structures from top and side views, respectively. The registration of TLS...
Trends in alpha diversity, community composition, and network complexity of rare, intermediate, and abundant bacterial taxa along a latitudinal gradient and their impact on ecosystem multifunctionality
August 2025
Soil microbial communities are key factors in maintaining ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). However, the distribution patterns of bacterial diversity and how the different bacterial taxa and their...
Half a century of demographic responses of Nothofagus cool temperate rainforests to disturbance
August 2025
Temperate rainforests have historically been considered highly vulnerable to disturbance. Climate change, which is expected to increase the intensity, frequency, and impacts of disturbance events, is...