Nitrogen deposition is the most important environmental driver of growth of pure, even-aged and managed European forests
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2020

Changing environmental conditions may substantially interact with site quality and forest stand characteristics, and impact forest growth and carbon sequestration. Understanding the impact of the various drivers of forest growth is therefore critical to predict how forest ecosystems can respond to climate change. We conducted a continental-scale analysis of recent (1995–2010) forest volume increment data (ΔVol, m3 ha−1 yr−1), obtained from ca. 100,000 coniferous and broadleaved trees in 442 even-aged, single-species stands across 23 European countries. We used multivariate statistical approaches, such as mixed effects models and structural equation modelling to investigate how European forest growth respond to changes in 11 predictors, including stand characteristics, climate conditions, air and site quality, as well as their interactions. We found that, despite the large environmental gradients encompassed by the forests examined, stand density and age were key drivers of forest growth. We further detected a positive, in some cases non-linear effect of N deposition, most pronounced for beech forests, with a tipping point at ca. 30 kg N ha−1 yr−1. With the exception of a consistent temperature signal on Norway spruce, climate-related predictors and ground-level ozone showed much less generalized relationships with ΔVol. Our results show that, together with the driving forces exerted by stand density and age, N deposition is at least as important as climate to modulate forest growth at continental scale in Europe, with a potential negative effect at sites with high N deposition.

Observational study

Air pollution

Ozone

Climate change

ICP Forests

Statistical modelling

Forest management

Författare

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

[Person 0123a2c5-befd-401a-ac2b-c041b89633ad not found]

Wageningen University and Research

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Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi (NIBIO)

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

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Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Mikrovågs- och optisk fjärranalys

Meteorologisk institutt

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Forest Research (UK)

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Naturvårdsverket

IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet

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Köpenhamns universitet

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Universite catholique de Louvain

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IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet

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Naturresursinstitutet (Luke)

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Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche

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Forest Research Institute

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Northwest German Forest Research Institute (NW-FVA)

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Naturresursinstitutet (Luke)

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Naturresursinstitutet (Luke)

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Naturresursinstitutet (Luke)

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Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems

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Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems

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Slovenian Forestry Institute

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Eidgenossische Forschungsanstalt fur Wald, Schnee Und Landschaft Eth-Bereichs

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Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Brussels

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Köpenhamns universitet

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Forestry and Game Management Research Institute

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Wageningen University and Research

Forest Ecology and Management

0378-1127 (ISSN)

Vol. 458 117762

Ämneskategorier

Skogsvetenskap

Naturgeografi

Klimatforskning

DOI

10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117762

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2021-02-18