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...
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...
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...
Disentangling drivers of organic layer and charcoal carbon stocks in boreal pine and spruce forests with different fire histories
December 2025
A key property of the boreal forest is that it stores huge amounts of carbon (C), especially belowground in the soil. Amounts of C stored in the uppermost organic layer of boreal forest soils vary greatly...
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...
Microbial life strategies-mediated differences in carbon metabolism explain the variation in SOC sequestration between Kandelia obovata and Sonneratia apetala
December 2025
Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a crucial role in mangrove blue carbon formation, yet the differences in microbe-mediated underlying SOC sequestration between introduced and native mangroves remain...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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)...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Effects of forest management and habitat continuity on the genetic structure and ecological corridors of target epiphytic moss species: A landscape genetic study of Dicranum viride
December 2025
Habitat fragmentation in forest ecosystems poses a major threat to biodiversity, disrupting ecological corridors, limiting gene flow, and threatening persistence, especially for forest-dependent species....
Slope mediates drought sensitivity but does not affect drought recovery for young trees along elevation gradients in temperate planted larch forests
December 2025
Climate warming causes mountainous species to shift their distributions towards higher elevations. How elevation influences growth–climate relationship in mountain regions has been intensively investigated....
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...
Leaf morphological trait integration and modularity provide insights into ecological adaptation in evergreen oaks
December 2025
The integration and modularity of leaf morphological traits are fundamental to plant adaptations, yet their responses to diverse environmental pressures remain unclear. In this study, we investigate...
Drought intensity affects radial growth and recovery of P. schrenkiana at varying elevations in the Western Tianshan Mountains, China
December 2025
As climate change intensifies, forests increasingly face the challenges posed by more frequent and severe droughts. However, the impacts of drought intensity on post-drought growth recovery and compensatory...
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...
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...
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...
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...