Explore the vast range of titles available.

In the time of ongoing climate change and the increasing area of post-mining landscape, the successful afforestation of reclamation sites by suitable adaptive tree species is gaining in importance. One of possible ways may be the use of introduced tree species, which is, however, a controversial topic in relation to risks for forest management and nature conservation. The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the forest stands (age 48 years) of 9 introduced and 3 native coniferous tree species in lowland post-mining coal site of the Czech Republic. The research was focused on production potential, health status, resistance to climate change, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and soil properties. The highest timber production, biomass and carbon stock (49–95% above average), was observed in case of Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra and Pseudotsuga menziesii. On the other hand, unsuitable habitat, insect and pathogens caused poor health status and extremely low production parameters (by 55–62% than average) in Pinus strobus and P. rotundata. In terms of climate, Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra, Larix decidua, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Picea omorika were the most resistance tree species in relation to climatic extremes. Conversely, Pinus rotundata, P. strobus, P. ponderosa, Picea pungens and P. abies were very sensitive to climate events, especially to the lack of precipitation in vegetation period with synergism of high temperature. In terms of soil parameters, the content of plant available nutrients (K, Ca, Mg) was adequate except P deficiency. The highest soil reaction was detected for Pinus nigra and P. sylvestris (pH 6.9–7.1) compared to Picea mariana (pH 4.8). The benefits of “suitable” introduced tree species (Pinus nigra, Pseudotsuga menziesii) are high timber production potential and good adaptation and mitigation of the changing climate; however, native tree species (Pinus sylvestris, Larix decidua) can provide better environmental benefits on reclamation sites.

Exotic tree species are widely used in forest plantations for their often high productivity and performance compared to native trees. However, these advantages may be compromised by herbivore damage. A list of European insect species that have expanded their host range to one of 28 exotic tree species introduced to Europe was compiled from a systematic literature review. The number of successful expansions was analysed using three predictors: (i) phylogenetic relatedness between exotic and European tree species; (ii) area covered by exotic tree species in Europe; and (iii) time since their introduction into Europe. In total, 590 host expansions of native insects to exotic trees were found, mainly of polyphagous species (43%); 25% of the cases reported some type of damage. Bark and wood borers, and defoliators were the dominant guilds. The number of recruited native insect species and cases where major damage occurred was positively correlated with the geographical extent of exotic trees in Europe and the presence of congeneric native trees. Synthesis and applications. The use of exotic tree species creates opportunities for native insect herbivores to expand their host range and increase their damage if they are widely planted next to native congeners. Risk assessment studies are recommended when introducing new tree species for forestry plantations. Risk assessments should include trials on susceptibility to any potential damaging organisms in the introduced range.

Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies (CCAMS) are changes to the management of production forests motivated by the need to mitigate climate change, or adapt production forests to climate change risks. Sweden is employing CCAMS with unclear implications for biodiversity and forest ecosystem services (ES). Here, we synthesized evidence from 51 published scientific reviews, to evaluate the potential implications for biodiversity and a range of provisioning, regulating, and cultural ES, from the adoption of CCAMS relative to standard forestry practice. The CCAMS assessed were the adoption of (i) mixed-species stands, (ii) continuous cover forestry, (iii) altered rotation lengths, (iv) conversion to introduced tree species, (v) logging residue extraction, (vi) stand fertilization, and (vii) altered ditching/draining practices. We highlight the complexity of biodiversity and ES outcomes, identify knowledge gaps, and emphasize the importance of evidence-based decision making and landscape-scale planning when navigating choices involving the widespread adoption of CCAMS.

Non-native forest tree species have been introduced in Europe since the 16th century, but only in the second half of the 20th century the significance of the seed source origin for their economic use was recognized, resulting in the establishment of numerous provenance trials at a national, regional, European and International level, as those led by IUFRO. Breeding programs have also been launched in the continent for the most economically important species. Aim of this work is the formulation of provenance recommendations for planting of five non-native tree species in Europe (Douglas fir, grand fir, Sitka spruce, lodgepole pine and black locust), based on the information obtained from twenty countries, in the frame of the EU FP-1403 NNEXT Cost Action. The survey revealed that official and non-official national recommendations, based on provenance research results, have been elaborated and followed at a different level and extend for the above five species, but only for Douglas fir recommendations exist in almost all the participating to the survey countries. The compilation of provenance recommendations across Europe for each species is presented in the current work. Besides the recommended introduced seed sources, European seed sources are also preferred for planting, due to ease of access and high availability of forest reproductive material. European breeding programs yielding genetic material of high productivity and quality constitute currently the seed source of choice for several species and countries. Consolidation of trial data obtained across countries will allow the joint analysis that is urgently needed to draw solid conclusions, and will facilitate the development of ‘Universal-Response-Functions’ for the species of interest, rendering possible the identification of the genetic material suitable for global change. New provenance trial series that will test seed sources from the entire climatic range of the species, established in sites falling within and outside the environmental envelopes of their natural ranges, are urgently needed to pinpoint and understand the species-specific climate constraints, as well as to correlate functional traits to the seed origin and the environmental conditions of the test sites, so that the selection of suitable forest reproductive material of non-native tree species in the face of climate change can be feasible.

Molecular and morphological data suggest that the Mediterranean populations of the non-indigenous genus Dendostrea are part of a single clade. This clade includes oysters from Rodrigues but is distinct from oysters from Hawaii and Mauritius. Based on morphology and sequence data, the Hawaiian and Mauritian oysters can be referred to as Dendostrea sandvichensis Sowerby, 1871. The Mediterranean/Rodrigues clade, although morphologically very similar to D. sandvichensis , is significantly genetically distant from it and from D. frons and D. folium . As a result, the Mediterranean/Rodrigues clade cannot be assigned to any currently accepted nominal species. However, the statuses of the junior synonyms of D. sandvichensis are based on morphology and are therefore reconsidered with the result that D. crenulifera Sowerby, 1871 is shown to be morphologically very similar to the Mediterranean/Rodrigues clade. Given that the type locality of D. crenulifera is the Red Sea, and that Mediterranean populations are considered tropical invaders, D. crenulifera is a likely candidate name. However, without supporting sequence data from the type locality in the Red Sea, we conservatively conclude that the most appropriate name for the Mediterranean/Rodrigues clade is Dendostrea cf. crenulifera (Sowerby, 1871).

Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) is a light-demanding, competition-intolerant, and tall forest tree species, introduced in Europe from North America at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It has an important economic role in Europe for producing wood and fruits, in agroforestry systems, as an ornamental tree for parks and avenues, for rehabilitation/restoration of degraded lands. The best sites for black walnut growth have warm and mild climates, with frequent and well-spread precipitation, and rich, deep, near neutral, well-drained and moist soils. Black walnut is a fast grower in youth and its height and diameter growth reach their peaks before age 30–35 years. It is globally the best known allelopathic species due to the juglone substance present in all parts of black walnut trees. The species is storm-resistant and not affected by any major pest or disease in Europe. It is regenerated by planting or direct seeding on bare land, in monocultures and mixed stands. The management of stands with black walnut, with a rotation period generally up to 80 years, include weeding (mandatory), cleaning-respacing (in dense stands), thinning (mostly from above), high and formative pruning (mandatory), with the aim of producing valuable wood for sliced veneer, solid furniture, flooring/parquet, cabinetry, panelling, sculpture, musical instruments, gunstocks.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most important tree species in Eurasia. During the past centuries, it has been extensively introduced into artificial monocultures, but is currently experiencing a number of problems related to climate change and extreme droughts. There is a large-scale disintegration of its stands and, in addition to its replacement by other native trees, it is possible to use a wide range of introduced species of the same genus. The aim of the investigation was to compare production parameters, structure and diversity of pine stands at the age of 35 years in school Arboretum of Faculty of Forestry and Wood Science in Central Bohemia (320 m a.s.l., medium rich habitats, water deficit site). Seven species of pine were compared: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Hawson), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Balf.), black pine (Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas), Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) and the only native Scots pine. The results showed that significantly (P < 0.001) highest height, diameter at breast height and mean stem volume were achieved in Pinus ponderosa and P. strobus stands, while these parameters were lowest in P. peuce and P. nigra. In contrast, the lowest stand volume was calculated for P. strobus (112 m3·ha–1) due to the lower stand density, while the highest production was again in P. ponderosa (430 m3·ha–1). In terms of structural variability, the highest diversity was found in P. jeffreyi and P. peuce. The introduced pine species, especially P. ponderosa, could therefore play an important role in terms of production and economic potential and even replace native P. sylvestris on suitable sites.

Cities, due to the presence of ports and airports and the high diversity of trees in streets, parks, and gardens, may play an important role for the introduction of invasive forest pests. We hypothesize that areas of urban forest facilitate the establishment of non-native forest pests. Based on scientific literature and a pan-European database on non-native species feeding on woody plants, we analysed where the first detections occurred in European countries. We collected site data for 137 first detections in Europe and 508 first European country-specific records. We also estimated the percentage of tree cover and suitable habitat (green areas with trees) in buffers around detection points. The large majority of first records (89% for first record in Europe and 88% for first records in a European country) were found in cities or suburban areas. Only 7% of the cases were in forests far from cities. The probability of occurrence decreased sharply with distance from the city. The probability to be detected in urban areas was higher for sap feeders, gall makers, and seed or fruit feeders (>90%) than for bark and wood borers (81%). Detection sites in cities were highly diverse, including public parks, street trees, university campus, arboreta, zoos, and botanical gardens. The average proportion of suitable habitat was less than 10% in urban areas where the species were detected. Further, more than 72% of the cases occurred in sites with less than 20% of tree cover. Hotspots of first detection were identified along the coastal regions of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and near industrial areas of central Europe. We conclude that urban trees are main facilitators for the establishment of non-native forest pests, and that cities should thus be intensely surveyed. Moreover, as urban areas are highly populated, the involvement of citizens is highly recommended.

Background Biological invasions pose significant ecological and socio-economic threats globally. Heracleum mantegazzianum (giant hogweed) is an invasive plant, extensively invading Europe and North America. It exerts negative impacts on ecosystems, native vegetation, and public health in the invaded range. Although H. mantegazzianum has not been reported from Turkey yet, ecological conditions of the country similar to those prevailing in its native and invaded ranges suggest a high introduction and spread risk for Turkey. Therefore, the current study predicted the introduction and future invasion risk of H. mantegazzianum in Turkey under current and future Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) projections. Methods Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model was used to predict introduction and future invasion risk using occurrence data from native and invaded ranges and global environmental data. Only climatic data were used for modeling as future data for soil and socioeconomic attributes are currently unavailable. Multicollinearity among environmental variables was tested and 10 least correlated variables, i.e., bio1 (annual mean temperature), bio2 (mean diurnal range), bio4 (temperature seasonality), bio5 (max temperature of warmest month), bio6 (min temperature of coldest month), bio7 (temperature annual range), bio10 (mean temperature of warmest quarter), bio11 (mean temperature of coldest quarter), bio14 (precipitation of driest month), and bio15 (precipitation seasonality) were used to train and test the model. Furthermore, the model was optimized before training and testing. The model was trained and tested with 18,607 occurrence records of which 75% and 25% were split for training and testing, respectively. Future invasion risk was predicted under two CMIP6 climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5). Predictive accuracy of the model was evaluated by area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC), true skill statistics (TSS), sensitivity and specificity. Results MaxEnt model predicted introduction and future invasion risk of H. mantegazzianum with high accuracy (AUC = 0.97 ± 0.02; TSS = 0.94 ± 0.04, Kappa = 0.92 ± 0.03, sensitivity = 93.40 ± 2.20, and specificity = 94.80 ± 3.40). The bio14, bio6 and bio1 had the highest permutation importance indicating that temperature and precipitation changes will mediate the introduction and future invasion of H. mantegazzianum . A total 4.2% of Turkey’s land area (31.2 thousand km 2 ) was predicted highly suitable for the introduction of H. mantegazzianum in the Black Sea region under current climate. The CMIP6 climate projections suggest a ~ 50% decline in highly suitable habitats, and aggregation around the Black Sea coast. Conclusion Climate change is expected to reduce the overall range of H. mantegazzianum in Turkey but may intensify impacts in Black Sea region due to aggregation. Proactive monitoring and management strategies targeting high invasion risk areas guided by invasion risk maps from this study are urgently needed mitigate ecological and socio-economic consequences of H. mantegazzianum in Turkey.