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The concept of plant functional traits has been demonstrated to be very effective in unravelling the ecological mechanisms governing plant community response to disturbance, especially when research is focused onshort-term post-disturbance vegetation dynamics. In this study, we established an experiment to quantify how logging intensity affects the trait composition and functional diversity of understory communities in fir-beechforests in the Dinaric Mountains in Slovenia. Three different silvicultural treatments were implemented: control (no logging), 50% of the growing stock removed and 100% of the growing stock removed. Vegetation surveys of vascular plants were made before (in 2012) and two years after (in 2014) logging. Changes in species traits, C-S-R plant strategies (sensu Grime) and community-level functional diversity were analysed. The importance of traits such as small and light diaspores, short life span and anemochory increased with logging intensity. Moreover, species with the ability of both sexual and vegetative reproduction, longer flowering duration and overwintering green leaves increased in abundance after logging. C-S-R strategies mainly shifted from stress-tolerators in pre-logging conditions towards a more ruderal component in post-logging stands. Logging in the short term increased functional diversity, mainly due to newly colonized species being functionally dissimilar from persistent residents. Results suggest that logging intensity strongly influences the magnitude of change in both functional composition and diversity, which also has important implications for biodiversity conservation. At the landscape scale, increasing spatial heterogeneity by creating a mosaic of forest stands subjected to different logging intensities will likely contribute to the enhancement of plant functional diversity.

Under the coordination of The Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, about 24000 ha of primeval beech forests located in 8 natural protected area from the Romanian Carpathians were included for inscription into the World Heritage List to extend the „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany” (1133bis). The extended World Heritage property is proposed to carry the joint new name: „Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”. Supported by 13 European countries (Romania included), the nomination proposes to establish a transnational serial UNESCO property, with a surface of more that 95000 ha, that reunites the most representative and well preserved beech forests from the natural areal of this species in order to illustrate the ecological process of extension - that is in progress at present - of beech on the European continent. The process of choosing these canditate sites was thought for completing the existent sites and for providing arguments and reflecting better on the extension of species distribution at the level of Europe. At the end of January 2016, Austria, the coordinator country of the nomination process at the international level transmitted the common dossier for the nomination to the committee of evaluation of UNESCO World Heritage List.

While the postglacial history of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and the plant species composition of beech forests in  Central Europe are fairly well understood, the faunal biodiversity has been less well investigated. We studied three groups of  mostly sedentary organisms in beech forest at regional and European scales by combining field studies with a compilation of existing literature and expert knowledge. Specifically, we examined the relationship between host tree genera and saproxylic  beetles, and the diversity and composition of forest ground-dwelling molluscs and ground beetles in relation to the abundance  of beech. At a west central European scale (Germany), where beech has a “young” ecological and biogeographical history,  we found 48 primeval forest relict species of saproxylic beetles associated with beech, 124 ground beetles and 91 molluscs  inhabiting beech forest, yet none exclusive of west central European beech forests. High levels of faunal similarity between beech and other woodland trees suggested that many of the beech forest dwelling species are euryoecious and likely to  originate from mid-Holocene mixed broadleaf forests. Beech forests of the mountain ranges in southern and east central  Europe, which are ecologically and biogeographically “old”, were found to harbour distinct species assemblages, including  beech forest specialists (such as 10 carabid species in the Carpathians) and narrow-range endemics of broadleaf forest. The  observed biodiversity patterns suggest differentiated conservation priorities in “young” and “old” European beech forest  regions.

Traditional approaches in trait-based community ecology typically expect that trait filtering across broad environmental gradients is largely due to replacement of species, rather than intraspecific trait adjustments. Recently, the role of intraspecific trait variability has been largely highlighted as an important contributor mediating the ability of communities to persist under changing conditions and determining the community-level trait variation, particularly across limited environmental gradients. Unfortunately, few studies quantify the relative importance of species turnover versus intraspecific variability mediating the response of communities different from vascular plants. Here, we studied the functional changes in epiphytic lichen communities within 23 beech forests across large latitudinal (ca. 3,000 km) and environmental gradients in Europe to quantify the relative contribution of species turnover and intraspecific variability and the role of climate controlling community-level trait changes. For 58 lichen species, we focused on a set of 10 quantitative functional traits potentially affected by climatic conditions and related to photosynthetic performance (n = 1,184 thalli), water use strategy (n = 1,018 thalli), and nutrient uptake (n = 1,179 thalli). Our results showed that intraspecific trait variability explained most of the functional changes in lichen communities in response to the latitudinal gradient. Further, such functional changes were determined by the covariation between intraspecific trait variability and species turnover, which varied in sign depending on the trait considered. Finally, different climatic predictors explained functional variation due to both intraspecific trait variability and species turnover. We propose that lichen communities cope with contrasting climatic conditions by adjusting the functional trait values of the most abundant species within the communities rather than by the replacement of the species. Consequently, intraspecific variability should be explicitly incorporated to understand the effect of environmental changes on lichen communities, even over large environmental variations, better. Our results challenge the universality of the hypothesis that species turnover chiefly drives functional trait changes across large environmental gradients and call for a wider test of such important assumptions in trait ecology in different organism types and ecosystems.

Background and Aims In the global distribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) forests play a key role due to the forest canopy effect. In this study, mountain beech forests were selected to identify the level and distribution of selected POPs. Methods Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed by capillary gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC–ECD). Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was performed by gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector (GC–MS). The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed by liquid chromatography with a diode array detector (HPLC–DAD). Results The total ∑ 20 OCP concentrations in the soil from mountain beech forests at a depth of 0 – 40 cm ranged from 24.46 µg kg −1 to 331.11 µg kg −1 , and at a depth of 40 – 80 cm from 15.80 µg kg −1 to 247.12 µg kg −1 . The mass concentration for ∑ 6 PCB ranges from 9.21 to 95.28 µg kg −1 in the surface soil layer and from 8.07 to 66.56 µg kg −1 in the soil sublayer. The total concentration of ∑ 7 PBDE congeners measured in soil samples from mountain beech forests across Europe was from 1.38 to 29.68 µg kg −1 in the surface soil layer and from 1.01 to 53.31 µg kg −1 in the soil sublayer. The total concentration of ∑ 16 PAH varied from 271.52 to 1154.52 µg kg −1 in the surface soil layer and from 318.95 to 1052.54 µg kg −1 in the soil sublayer. Conclusion The results of this study can serve as an important basis for international, national, and regional measures of environmental protection of beech forests from POPs pollution.

Bryophytes play important role in forest ecosystem functioning and their distribution and diversity are driven by numerous environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to bring new insights in deeper understanding of terrestrial bryophytes diversity in temperate forests, as well as to determine the environmental factors which have predominant influence on ground-floor bryophytes. The survey was conducted in Fruška Gora Mountain (Serbia) across seven forest sites where ground-bryophytes were sampled. Soil moisture, temperature, and pH were measured as soil characteristics, while herbaceous cover, litter cover, stream distance, number of trees and shrubs were used as characteristics of stand structure. Species richness, Shannon diversity index, and evenness index were used as diversity measures. Generalised linear model and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used to test the influence of environmental variables on bryophyte diversity. Litter cover was the most important explanatory variable, followed by soil moisture, stream distance and tree number, respectively. Overall, the stand structure was found to have a greater impact on ground-floor bryophyte diversity compared to soil characteristics. Identification of the most significant ecological factors affecting the diversity and distribution of bryophytes in forest ecosystems is of great importance in forest ecology with the aim of defining adequate management methods to preserve the biodiversity of forests, with particular emphasis on endangered and rare bryophyte species.

Aim European temperate forests have lost dead wood and the associated biodiversity owing to intensive management over centuries. Nowadays, some of these forests are being restored by enrichment with dead wood, but mostly only at stand scales. Here, we investigated effects of a seminal dead‐wood enrichment strategy on saproxylic organisms at the landscape scale. Location Temperate European beech forest in southern Germany. Methods In a before–after control–impact design, we compared assemblages and gamma diversities of saproxylic organisms in strictly protected old‐growth forest areas (reserves) and historically moderately and intensively managed forest areas before and a decade after starting a landscape‐wide strategy of dead‐wood enrichment. Results Before enrichment with dead wood, the gamma diversity of saproxylic organisms in historically intensively managed forest stands was significantly lower than in reserves and historically moderately managed forest stands; this difference disappeared after 10 years of dead‐wood enrichment. The species composition of beetles in forest stands of the three historical management intensities differed before the enrichment strategy, but a decade thereafter, the species compositions of previously intensively logged and forest reserve plots were similar. However, the differences in fungal species composition between historical management categories before and after 10 years of enrichment persisted. Main conclusions Our results demonstrate that intentional enrichment of dead wood at the landscape scale is a powerful tool for rapidly restoring saproxylic beetle communities and for restoring wood‐inhabiting fungal communities, which need longer than a decade for complete restoration. We propose that a strategy of area‐wide active restoration combined with some permanent strict refuges is a promising means of promoting the biodiversity of age‐long intensively managed Central European beech forests.

The European beech L. ssp. L. is exclusively found in Europe. The beech survived the ice age in small refuges in the south and south-east Europe and went on to colonise large parts of the continent. The post-ice age colonisation of the landscape by the beech took place parallel to the settlement of land by humans and the formation of a more complex society. For centuries much of the Carpathian mountain forests remained untouched (Fig. 1). Virgin forests constitute a natural heritage of global significance. In 2007, 10 protected areas with the Primeval Beech Forests of Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine) were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. On 25 June 2011, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added five of Germany’s beech forest protected areas to the World Heritage List. This extended the transboundary world natural heritage site ‘Primeval Beech Forest of the Carpathians’, located in the Slovak Republic and Ukraine, to include a German forest protected areas, and renamed it ‘Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Ancient Beech Forests of Germany’. This paper is aimed at the presentation of the outstanding universal value of the ecological processes in the Joint World Heritage Sites, short description of protected areas and principles of their integrated management plan. This paper also deals with problems in management plan realisation in practice. Ultimate goal is to achieve that management and socio-economic sustainable development practices are in harmony with primary objectives of World Heritage Site protection, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape stability, rational use of natural resources, ecotourism development and with potential of the landscape in largest possible extend.

Key messageMulti-temporal airborne laser scanning (ALS) data were used to estimate regeneration stem height growth within gaps in uneven-aged deciduous forests. The height and height growth measured in the field were used to calibrate and validate ALS estimates. This method provided highly precise estimates of height and unbiased height increment estimates of regeneration at stem level.ContextAssessing regeneration height growth is essential for evaluating forest dynamics and optimizing silvicultural operations. However, regeneration description at high spatiotemporal resolution has remained limited to restricted areas by the limiting cost constraints of field measurements. Highly precise airborne laser scanning (ALS) data are currently acquired over wide areas. Such datasets are promising for characterizing regeneration dynamics.AimsWe aimed to estimate height and height growth within regenerating areas at the stem level using multi-temporal ALS data.MethodsALS data were acquired from 56,150 ha of uneven-aged deciduous forest in Belgium in 2014 and 2021. Stem tops were detected using local maxima (LM) within regenerating areas in both ALS datasets and matched. Field data were collected in 2021 and used to calibrate the ALS-estimated heights using linear and non-linear models at stem level. Height growth estimation was then validated using field-measured increments.ResultsWithout height calibration, the 2021 ALS-estimated height had a − 1.06 m bias and 1.39 m root-mean-squared error (RMSE). Likewise, the 2014 ALS-estimated height had a − 0.58 m bias and 1.14 m RMSE. The non-linear calibration seemed more appropriate for small regeneration stems (height < 4 m). Using height calibration, the 2021 ALS-estimated height had a − 0.01 m bias and 0.84 m RMSE. In 2014, the bias and RMSE were 0.02 and 0.91 m, respectively. ALS-estimated height growth was unbiased and had an RMSE of 0.10 m·year−1.ConclusionsThis original method is based on the bi-temporal ALS datasets calibrated by limited field measurements. The proposed method is the first to provide unbiased regeneration height growth of regeneration stems in uneven-aged forests and new perspectives for studying and managing forest regeneration.

The Middle-spotted Woodpecker is an indicator of structurally complex deciduous forests, typically associated with mature oak stands but occasionally found in beech dominated forests, including at elevations exceeding 1,000 m. Although standing dead wood is often used for nesting and foraging, its necessity for the species’ occurrence remains debated. This study examined the relationship between D. medius presence and standing dead wood characteristics in beech-dominated low-mountain forests of the Perșani Mountains, central Romania. Standardized national woodpecker monitoring protocols were applied at 25 fixed points. Standing dead wood variables (density, diameter at breast height (DBH), height, volume, and basal area) were measured across three habitat categories: all forest types, mature and old stands (> 70 years), and stands containing at least 10% oak. Snag density did not differ significantly between plots with and without Middle-spotted Woodpecker, yet occupied plots contained taller and thicker snags, with predicted occurrence probabilities highest at DBH > 60 cm and height > 25 m. No significant differences were found for basal area or volume. In predominantly beech stands, the species’ presence appeared to be influenced by the availability of standing dead wood and the presence of rough-barked species. These findings confirm the species’ strong association with mature deciduous forests, particularly where oak is present. The increasing probability of occurrence with higher oak proportions in standing dead wood underscores the ecological importance of conserving large, old trees and mixed forest structures for Middle-spotted Woodpecker persistence.