Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models
The inadequacy of Norway spruce (NS) monocultures in fulfilling ecosystem services, due to deteriorating health and consequent forest ecosystem collapses, has recently become a concerning issue for the forestry sector in Central Europe. This study investigates spruce forest productivity using in-sit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada2af |
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| author | A Kusbach jun J Krejza L Homolová M Fischer R Janoutová P Horáček |
| author_facet | A Kusbach jun J Krejza L Homolová M Fischer R Janoutová P Horáček |
| author_sort | A Kusbach jun |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The inadequacy of Norway spruce (NS) monocultures in fulfilling ecosystem services, due to deteriorating health and consequent forest ecosystem collapses, has recently become a concerning issue for the forestry sector in Central Europe. This study investigates spruce forest productivity using in-situ field observations (DendroNetwork) and satellite remote sensing (RS) data in the Czech Republic during the past two decades. Tree growth index and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer net primary productivity were used to assess productivity at the national scale along an elevation gradient. The analyses of spatiotemporal variation in carbon dynamics indicate a decreasing trend in productivity in 51% and 80% (2800 km ^2 and 4200 km ^2 ) of the spruce stands from the RS and in-situ data, respectively. The increasing trend is particularly evident in montane regions, where satellite data identified an elevation threshold around 900 m a.s.l. while in-situ data 700 m a.s.l. In these energy-limited montane areas, NS may benefit from increased temperatures and may remain relatively safe from drought stress. The decreasing trends detected by both approaches indicate deteriorating conditions for NS in lower elevations. This study suggests that combining in-situ and RS data provides an efficient and robust way to estimate forest productivity at the national scale. The anticipated response of spruce forests associated with declines in productivity and growth in areas with low to moderate elevation points to the adverse effects of climate change by shifting the ecological optimum to higher elevations. We conclude that detailed mapping of forest response to changing environmental conditions is critical to support sustainable forest management and decision-making, ultimately reflecting the need to adopt adequate strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and related natural and anthropogenic disturbances. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-058ea0aadc31446f9cb4d4a9e80c9fa5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-058ea0aadc31446f9cb4d4a9e80c9fa52025-01-14T18:37:14ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120202401610.1088/1748-9326/ada2afProductivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based modelsA Kusbach jun0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4700-129XJ Krejza1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2475-2111L Homolová2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7455-2834M Fischer3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7841-9317R Janoutová4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1830-7556P Horáček5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7097-4877Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno , Zemědělská 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno , Zemědělská 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno , Zemědělská 1, 613 00, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CzechGlobe) , Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech RepublicThe inadequacy of Norway spruce (NS) monocultures in fulfilling ecosystem services, due to deteriorating health and consequent forest ecosystem collapses, has recently become a concerning issue for the forestry sector in Central Europe. This study investigates spruce forest productivity using in-situ field observations (DendroNetwork) and satellite remote sensing (RS) data in the Czech Republic during the past two decades. Tree growth index and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer net primary productivity were used to assess productivity at the national scale along an elevation gradient. The analyses of spatiotemporal variation in carbon dynamics indicate a decreasing trend in productivity in 51% and 80% (2800 km ^2 and 4200 km ^2 ) of the spruce stands from the RS and in-situ data, respectively. The increasing trend is particularly evident in montane regions, where satellite data identified an elevation threshold around 900 m a.s.l. while in-situ data 700 m a.s.l. In these energy-limited montane areas, NS may benefit from increased temperatures and may remain relatively safe from drought stress. The decreasing trends detected by both approaches indicate deteriorating conditions for NS in lower elevations. This study suggests that combining in-situ and RS data provides an efficient and robust way to estimate forest productivity at the national scale. The anticipated response of spruce forests associated with declines in productivity and growth in areas with low to moderate elevation points to the adverse effects of climate change by shifting the ecological optimum to higher elevations. We conclude that detailed mapping of forest response to changing environmental conditions is critical to support sustainable forest management and decision-making, ultimately reflecting the need to adopt adequate strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and related natural and anthropogenic disturbances.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada2afMODISDendroNetworkNorway sprucenet primary productivitytree growthhotspot |
| spellingShingle | A Kusbach jun J Krejza L Homolová M Fischer R Janoutová P Horáček Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models Environmental Research Letters MODIS DendroNetwork Norway spruce net primary productivity tree growth hotspot |
| title | Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models |
| title_full | Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models |
| title_fullStr | Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models |
| title_short | Productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field-based models |
| title_sort | productivity of coniferous forests evaluated by remote sensing and field based models |
| topic | MODIS DendroNetwork Norway spruce net primary productivity tree growth hotspot |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada2af |
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