Kris Vandekerkhove

Bio: Kris Vandekerkhove is an academic researcher from Research Institute for Nature and Forest. The author has contributed to research in topics: Forest management & Beech. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 108 publications receiving 1150 citations.

Strict forest reserves in Europe: efforts to enhance biodiversity and research on forests left for free development in Europe (EU-COST-Action E4)

Abstract: Summary Protected forest areas have become increasingly important and strict forest reserves have an important role to play on two fronts: they are in themselves important protection sites, and they also provide the necessary reference data for nature-based silviculture in production forests. The EUCOST-Action E4 (European Forest Reserves Research Network) underlined their importance and found that there is a wide variation in conceptual approach, historical background, size and share of strict forest reserves throughout Europe. These differences are clearly linked to local forest type and forest history, land use and natural forest dynamics. Moreover, the term ‘strict’ reserve is interpreted very differently in different countries: in many cases game control, fire control and the removal of invading exotic species are allowed. The concept of complete non-intervention does not seem to be realistic for Europe. The total strictly protected forest area, for the 26 countries involved in COSTE4, is calculated to be nearly 3 million hectares or about 1.7 per cent of the total forest area. However, subjects, goals, methodologies and constraints for scientific research seem to be strikingly similar throughout Europe. Transboundary co-operation is therefore evident, and needs further promotion. For this purpose, an electronic database on strict reserves, which can be consulted through the Internet at http://www.efi.fi/Database_Gateway/FRRN, has been constructed within the framework of the COST action. Judging from the number of visits, it is likely to become an important tool for future scientific co-operation.

Herb layer changes (1954-2000) related to the conversion of coppice-with-standards forest and soil acidification

Abstract: Question: Did the composition of the herb layer of adeciduous forest on loamy soils sensitive to soil acidifica-tion change between 1954 and 2000? How are thesechange related to the abandonment of traditional cop-pice-with-standards forest management and increased soilacidification?Location: Central Belgium (Europe).Methods: Twenty semi-permanent phytosociologicalquadrats from an ancient deciduous forest (Meerdaalforest) were carefully selected out of a total of 70 plotsdating from 1954 and were revisited in 2000. Speciescomposition and soil pH H 2 O were recorded using ananalogous methodology. The studied period coincideswith a period of forest conversion from coppice-with-standards towards a high forest structure and with anincrease in acidifying and eutrophying deposition.Results: Between 1954 and 2000, species composition ofthe herb layer changed significantly. Redundancy analysispointed to increased shade resulting from shifts in coverand species composition of the shrub and tree layer asthe main driving force. Soil acidity increased and themajority of plots entered the aluminium buffer range,which potentially affected herb layer composition. Obser-vations at the species level, especially a strong decrease incover of the vernal species Anemone nemorosa supportedthis hypothesis.Conclusions: Our results show significant shifts in theforest herb layer in less than five decades. These shiftswere related to an alteration in the traditional forestmanagement regime and increased soil acidity. Whereasthe effect of a changed management regime can bemitigated, soil acidification is less reversible. Testing thegenerality of these patterns on more extensive data sets iscertainly needed.Keywords: Forest conversion; Forest management; Highforest; Increased shade; Semi-permanent plots.Nomenclature: Lambinon et al. (1998):

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Abstract: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

Biodiversity Differences between Managed and Unmanaged Forests: Meta-Analysis of Species Richness in Europe

Abstract: Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics inevitably lead to changes in the biodiversity of forest-dwelling species. The possible biodiversity gains and losses due to forest management (i.e., anthropogenic pressures related to direct forest resource use), however, have never been assessed at a pan-European scale. We used meta-analysis to review 49 published papers containing 120 individual comparisons of species richness between unmanaged and managed forests throughout Europe. We explored the response of different taxonomic groups and the variability of their response with respect to time since abandonment and intensity of forest management. Species richness was slightly higher in unmanaged than in managed forests. Species dependent on forest cover continuity, deadwood, and large trees (bryophytes, lichens, fungi, saproxylic beetles) and carabids were negatively affected by forest management. In contrast, vascular plant species were favored. The response for birds was heterogeneous and probably depended more on factors such as landscape patterns. The global difference in species richness between unmanaged and managed forests increased with time since abandonment and indicated a gradual recovery of biodiversity. Clearcut forests in which the composition of tree species changed had the strongest effect on species richness, but the effects of different types of management on taxa could not be assessed in a robust way because of low numbers of replications in the management-intensity classes. Our results show that some taxa are more affected by forestry than others, but there is a need for research into poorly studied species groups in Europe and in particular locations. Our meta-analysis supports the need for a coordinated European research network to study and monitor the biodiversity of different taxa in managed and unmanaged forests.

Global meta-analysis reveals no net change in local-scale plant biodiversity over time

Abstract: Global biodiversity is in decline. This is of concern for aesthetic and ethical reasons, but possibly also for practical reasons, as suggested by experimental studies, mostly with plants, showing that biodiversity reductions in small study plots can lead to compromised ecosystem function. However, inferring that ecosystem functions will decline due to biodiversity loss in the real world rests on the untested assumption that such loss is actually occurring at these small scales in nature. Using a global database of 168 published studies and >16,000 nonexperimental, local-scale vegetation plots, we show that mean temporal change in species diversity over periods of 5–261 y is not different from zero, with increases at least as likely as declines over time. Sites influenced primarily by plant species’ invasions showed a tendency for declines in species richness, whereas sites undergoing postdisturbance succession showed increases in richness over time. Other distinctions among studies had little influence on temporal richness trends. Although maximizing diversity is likely important for maintaining ecosystem function in intensely managed systems such as restored grasslands or tree plantations, the clear lack of any general tendency for plant biodiversity to decline at small scales in nature directly contradicts the key assumption linking experimental results to ecosystem function as a motivation for biodiversity conservation in nature. How often real world changes in the diversity and composition of plant communities at the local scale cause ecosystem function to deteriorate, or actually to improve, remains unknown and is in critical need of further study.

A Definitive Book on Seed Ecology@@@Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination

Abstract: Introduction. Ecologically Meaningful Germination Studies. Types of Seed Dormancy. Germination Ecology of Seeds with Nondeep Physiological Dormancy. Germination Ecology of Seeds with Morphophysiological Dormancy. Germination Ecology of Seeds with Physical Dormancy. Germination Ecology of Seeds in the Persistent Seed Bank. Causes of Within-Species Variations in Seed Dormancy and Germination Characteristics. A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Tropical and Subtropical Zones. A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Temperate and Arctic Zones. Germination Ecology of Plants with Specialized Life Cycles and/or Habitats. Biogeographical and Evolutionary Aspects of Seed Dormancy. Subject Index.