scholarly journals Potential Population Genetic Consequences of Habitat Fragmentation in Central European Forest Trees and Associated Understorey Species—An Introductory Survey

Diversity ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Dobeš ◽  
Heino Konrad ◽  
Thomas Geburek
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Central European ◽  
Potential Population ◽  
European Forest

scholarly journals Post-disturbance recovery of forest cover and tree height differ with management in Central Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 2837-2850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelius Senf ◽  
Jörg Müller ◽  
Rupert Seidl
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Central European ◽  
Stand Height ◽  
European Forest ◽  
Disturbance Recovery

Abstract Context Recovery from disturbances is a prominent measure of forest ecosystem resilience, with swift recovery indicating resilient systems. The forest ecosystems of Central Europe have recently been affected by unprecedented levels of natural disturbance, yet our understanding of their ability to recover from disturbances is still limited. Objectives We here integrated satellite and airborne Lidar data to (i) quantify multi-decadal post-disturbance recovery of two indicators of forest structure, and (ii) compare the recovery trajectories of forest structure among managed and un-managed forests. Methods We developed satellite-based models predicting Lidar-derived estimates of tree cover and stand height at 30 m grain across a 3100 km2 landscape in the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem (Central Europe). We summarized the percentage of disturbed area that recovered to > 40% tree cover and > 5 m stand height and quantified the variability in both indicators over a 30-year period. The analyses were stratified by three management regimes (managed, protected, strictly protected) and two forest types (beech-dominated, spruce-dominated). Results We found that on average 84% of the disturbed area met our recovery threshold 30 years post-disturbance. The rate of recovery was slower in un-managed compared to managed forests. Variability in tree cover was more persistent over time in un-managed forests, while managed forests strongly converged after a few decades post-disturbance. Conclusion We conclude that current management facilitates the recovery of forest structure in Central European forest ecosystems. However, our results underline that forests recovered well from disturbances also in the absence of human intervention. Our analysis highlights the high resilience of Central European forest ecosystems to recent disturbances.

Effects of habitat fragmentation on population genetic structure in the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A Mossman ◽  
Peter M Waser
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Population Genetic Structure ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Peromyscus Leucopus ◽  
Marginal Effect ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
White Footed Mouse

Habitat fragmentation may have significant consequences for population genetic structure because geographic distance and physical barriers may impede gene flow. In this study, we investigated whether habitat fragmentation affects fine-scale genetic structure of populations of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). We studied 27 populations of P. leucopus, 17 in continuous forest and 10 in isolated woodlots. Populations were trapped in pairs that were either 500 or 2000 m apart. We estimated genetic variation at eight P. leucopus specific microsatellite DNA loci. We discovered significant genetic variation within all populations, but no significant differences in numbers of alleles or heterozygosity between populations. For given population pairs, we found significant genetic differentiation even at very short distances, based on multilocus FST estimates. The amount of genetic differentiation between population pairs was similar in the two habitats. Distance had a marginal effect on genetic differentiation when comparing paired populations separated by 2000 m with those separated by 500 m. However, at a larger geographic scale, there was no evidence of isolation by distance. This study confirms that microsatellite-based studies have the potential to detect interpopulation differentiation at an extremely local scale, and suggests that habitat fragmentation has surprisingly few effects on P. leucopus genetic structure.

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