Quantifying natural disturbances using a large-scale dendrochronological reconstruction to guide forest management

Area of Science:

• Forest Ecology
• Dendrochronology
• Disturbance Ecology

Background:

• Historical disturbance estimates are crucial for sustainable forest management, but quantitative data are scarce.
• Understanding past disturbance severity, patch size, and proportion is vital for ecosystem function and biodiversity conservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify historical disturbance severity, patch size, and stand proportion in European primary mountain spruce forests.
• To analyze temporal and subregional variations in these disturbance characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a comprehensive dendrochronological approach over two centuries.
• Employed a large-scale nested design with 541 plots across 44 stands and 6 subregions.
• Applied tree-ring proxies aggregated to estimate disturbance events, patch sizes, and severity gradients.

Main Results:

• Disturbance events showed gradients from low to high severity and small to large patch sizes.
• Moderate disturbances (25-75% canopy/stand affected, >10 ha patches) were prevalent, comprising over 50% of the disturbed area.
• Disturbance severity varied by subregion, while the proportion of disturbed stands changed over time.

Conclusions:

• Quantitative disturbance data provide a baseline for ecological research, conservation, and silviculture.
• Management should incorporate large reserves, emulate natural disturbance regimes, and retain structural legacies.
• Findings support adaptive forest management strategies for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.