Aggregate-associated organic carbon regulates soil organic carbon during conversion from natural forest to Moso bamboo plantations and subsequent regeneration
August 2026
Forest conversion and management cessation can alter soil organic carbon (SOC) through changes in aggregates, minerals, and microbes, but it remains unclear how these factors jointly regulate SOC recovery...
Disentangling the seasonal dynamics of biodiversity–productivity relationships: the role of species evenness in a subtropical forest
August 2026
Understanding the degree to which the species diversity-productivity relationship (SDPR) is applicable to natural ecosystems–beyond modeling and experimental contexts - is of vital importance for comprehending...
Using a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) to optimize tree sampling for biomass model fitting: A case study in short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs)
August 2026
Allometric equations are commonly used to estimate tree biomass; however, actual measurements of tree biomass are required to develop these allometric models. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) can provide...
Unveiling the climatic tolerance and refugia potential of Abies cilicica Carr. through integrative niche modeling under climate change
August 2026
Understanding the climatic responses of regionally restricted species is essential for developing robust conservation strategies. This study focuses on Abies cilicica, an oro-Mediterranean fir species...
Drought rather than warming increases the ratio of rare species by producing a larger quantity of low-quality foliar litter
August 2026
The decomposition of foliar litter and the release of nutrients, which are sensitive to climate changes, are critical regulators of forest ecosystem function. Yet, how litter nutrient allocation responds...
Silvicultural methods and landscape features affect tree browsing by deer: Scots pine as a model tree species
August 2026
Browsing pressure by deer is one of the most important factors impeding forest regeneration and leading to simplified forest structure. There is a growing awareness that silvicultural methods can reduce...
Facilitation by wood-boring beetles: Ecosystem engineering effects on soil macrofauna
August 2026
Deadwood is a critical component of ecosystems, contributing to long-term carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity maintenance. As a spatially constrained and resource-rich habitat,...
Elongated gaps provide a good compromise between abiotic and competitive conditions for sessile oak regeneration
August 2026
Continuous cover forestry is gaining importance in temperate forests as an alternative to rotation forestry. However, for light-demanding oaks, especially when coexisting with shade-tolerant tree species,...
Contrasting responses of above- and belowground carbon stocks and arthropods in relation to forest management
August 2026
Forest ecosystems play a key role in mitigating both climate change and biodiversity loss, as they store large amounts of carbon and provide habitat for a diverse flora and fauna. However, for temperate...
Severe droughts alter the resistance–recovery tradeoff in the drylands of northern China
August 2026
Increasing drought intensity under global climate change poses significant threats to the stability of terrestrial vegetation carbon uptake, represented by net primary productivity (NPP), particularly...
Neighborhood interactions and soil chemical properties co-regulate woody plant species diversity across different relative densities of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)-associated tree species in subtropical natural forests of southern China
August 2026
Mycorrhizal fungi play a functional role in nutrient absorption and transfer in ecosystems, influencing plant survival and interspecific interactions. However, it is unclear how different types of mycorrhizae...
Progressively synergizing individual-tree and area-based approaches for regional forest biomass mapping using aerial LiDAR
August 2026
Aerial LiDAR provides essential three-dimensional structural information for accurate forest biomass estimation across large spatial extents. However, conventional approaches, including the area-based...
Scaling of phyllosphere epiphyllous bacterial diversity with tree size across temperate forests
August 2026
Phyllosphere bacteria form a part of the extended phenotype of host plants, and can strongly influence plant environmental adaptability. However, little is known about whether and how phyllosphere bacterial...
Nitrogen additions modify the nursing effect of Scots pine on Sitka spruce via plant-soil feedback
August 2026
Nitrogen availability is thought to be a key factor that modifies the strength and direction of plant-soil feedback (PSF), but how nitrogen availability and PSF interact in forests remains unresolved....
Characterizing reference sites to inform restoration of the last remnants of the endangered Nothofagus alessandrii forest ecosystem
August 2026
The ecological restoration of threatened ecosystems is a global priority, particularly for those with only a few remaining intact fragments. A critical first step in restoring such ecosystems is the...
Aquaculture stress destabilizes iron–organic carbon coupling and alters nitrogen pathways in mangrove soils
August 2026
Mangrove carbon sequestration and nitrogen removal processes are threatened by coastal aquaculture, but the underlying biogeochemical mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using geochemical profiling,...
Sustainability in managed forests of Central Europe
August 2026
Here we investigate the concept of sustainability in forestry, using the central European forests as an example and applying the Rio criteria of sustainability. We come to the conclusion that European...
The impact of different management methods on the growth and structure of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata secondary forests
Available online 13 June 2026
Continuous cover forestry (CCF) can maintain sustainable production while balancing ecological, economic, and social functions. Based on its basic principles, many management methods have been developed....
Understanding drivers of eucalypt spatial patterns in temperate forests using point process modelling
Available online 13 June 2026
The spatial patterning of trees in forests reflects past ecological processes. Mechanisms such as seed dispersal, competition, niche segregation, and facilitation operate across a range of scales, depending...
Depth-specific effects of tree species and stand density on root exudate carbon inputs and soil organic carbon pools in plantation forests
Available online 12 June 2026
Root exudation is tightly coupled to soil organic carbon (SOC) formation and stabilization in forest ecosystems, yet how tree species and stand density jointly regulate root exudate carbon inputs and...
Effects of vegetation greening and climate variability on global evaporative temperature
Available online 10 June 2026
Vegetation greening and climate variability (CV) control evaporative cooling (EC) and are crucial in mitigating global warming. EC has been investigated because of vegetation greening; however, the...
Disentangling the determinants and mapping the root-to-shoot ratio of Chinese forest ecosystems
Available online 8 June 2026
The root-to-shoot ratio (R/S) is a key parameter for estimating forest carbon stocks and modeling carbon cycles at global and regional scales. We compiled a large dataset (n = 7,980) and used the Random...
Thinning-enhanced understory solar radiation promotes litter decomposition in subtropical pine forests
Available online 4 June 2026
Litter decomposition is a key control on carbon and nutrient cycling in subtropical forests, yet how thinning and understory solar radiation are related to this process remains insufficiently understood....
Discrepancies between predictions of mainstream empirical growth models and observed forest growth of Pinus radiata (D. Don) plantations in New Zealand
April 2026
Pinus radiata (D. Don) dominates New Zealand's forestry industry, constituting 91% of plantations, and is among the world's most important plantation species. Given the socio-economic and environmental...
Effects of habitat fragmentation on multiple ecosystem functions in urban remnant forests
April 2026
Urbanization-driven habitat fragmentation threatens ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) in remnant forests through biodiversity erosion. This study investigates the effects of habitat fragmentation on...