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Abstract: severe drought events and increasingly frequent large-scale forest disturbances can lead to a significant and irreversible decline in the natural regeneration of various forest tree species. extensive research is being carried out to develop strategies to help plants cope with the increasing stress. however, most of these technologies are costly and time-consuming, so the application of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PgPms) appears to be an easy-to-use and efficient method to alleviate abiotic and biotic stress in plants. PgPm inoculants are a sustainable alternative strategy to not only alleviate stress through various mechanisms, but also to promote plant growth and development. Previous studies have revealed a wide range of PgPm genera that colonise plant roots and enhance the ability of plants to cope with abiotic and biotic stress in agriculture. however, records on the potential benefits of PgPms in forest seedlings are still sparse, with only a few reports and mostly isolated strains from the genera Pinus, Quercus, Abies and Picea. this review addresses the current knowledge on plant growth-promoting mechanisms and provides an overview of isolated microorganisms with proven plant growth-promoting mechanisms from different forest tree species.
Keywords: plant growth promoting microorganisms, reforestation, tree nurseries, forest tree seedling survival
Published in DiRROS: 04.11.2025; Views: 78; Downloads: 59
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Keywords: protective forest, adaptive forest management, Forest Living Lab, natural hazard mitigation, marteloscope
Published in DiRROS: 01.10.2025; Views: 175; Downloads: 76
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Abstract: Bark beetle outbreaks have caused large-scale tree mortality and damage in recent decades, primarily following an increase in largescale forest disturbances induced by climate change. After tree logging operations, leftover branches are traditionally piled to make the potential brood material less suitable for bark beetles, thereby lowering the risk of subsequent attacks on surrounding trees. On the other hand, the residues could prove valuable to biodiversity by supplementing important habitat, given the apparent decline in deadwood in European forests and its associated saproxylic fauna. Our aim was to identify the most successful method of logging residue management for both bark beetle management and biodiversity. We focussed on Norway spruce felling residues, their associated bark beetle pests and saproxylic insect orders, beetle families, and Cerambycidae species.We prepared four treatments: (i) logging residues in piles, (ii) scattered logging residues, (iii) logging residues removed, and (iv) a control plot with no felling activity. Five plots per treatment were established at each site. In total, three sites were selected: one at a high elevation and two at lower elevations in different parts of Slovenia. The catch was counted to the order level, the attracted beetles were identified to the family level, and Cerambycidae and Scolytinae to the species level. We found that the treatments with residues attracted the highest diversity of insect orders and the most beetles across different families, including Cerambycidae. Furthermore, we found that the species composition differed between control and residue treatments, although no difference was observed in species richness. More bark beetles and a higher number of bark beetle species were attracted to both piled and scattered residues. Thick branches were more frequently attacked in scattered residues. There was no difference in the number of attacked trees (within a plot) one month after treatment. Hence, leaving logging residues in the forest could represent an interesting compromise between pest management and biodiversity conservation. Conf licting aims, such as increasing biodiversity or controlling bark beetles, should be carefully considered in the management decisions.
Keywords: Scolytinae, forest management, Cerambycidae, Norway spruce, multipurpose forest management, felling residue
Published in DiRROS: 21.07.2025; Views: 384; Downloads: 225
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Abstract: The genetic diversity of forest trees, as provided by Forest Genetic Resources (FGR) and being the basis for the production of Forest Reproductive Material (FRM), is fundamental for maintaining forest resilience, adaptability, health, productivity, and biological diversity. Despite their importance, stakeholder governance of genetic diversity remains under-studied. This study aims to address this gap by mapping the forest stakeholder landscape FGR governance. Using the Quadruple Helix Approach, we categorised stakeholders into academia, industry, government, and civil society identifying relevant sub-communities. The mapping process involved iterative revisions through expert consultations, workshops, and literature scoping. Results show that the FGR sub-community is situated between strict conservation efforts and applied forestry, supporting both genetic conservation and productive forest management. The FRM sub-community, dealing specifically with the production and deployment of FRM, prioritises tree breeding, seed production, and afforestation/reforestation programmes. Meanwhile, the Protected Forests (PF) sub-community focuses on strict nature conservation, advocating minimal human intervention while facing pressures from resource extraction, tourism, and land-use conflicts. The diverging attitudes and values of close-to-nature forest management, intensive forestry, and strict protections, respectively, exist within same stakeholder groups, as well as among different ones, and are spanning all sub-communities. The study uncovers key tensions such as competing land-use priorities between forestry, agriculture, infrastructure and energy sectors, limited flow of knowledge between stakeholder categories and governance misalignments between local, national, and international regulations. The findings are particularly relevant for policymakers, forest managers, forest nurseries, conservation organisations, and industry stakeholders to balance conservation with sustainable forest utilisation. By integrating stakeholder perspectives and highlighting key governance challenges, this study shows where a common ground can be found and where divergent opinions are strong, opening the way for more integrated strategies and policies
Keywords: natural resource governance, actors' identification, social-ecological systems, quadruple helix approach, forestry, forest management, biodiversity conservation
Published in DiRROS: 24.06.2025; Views: 413; Downloads: 299
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Abstract: The dataset includes Pan-European maps of timber volume (Vol), above-ground biomass (AGB), and deciduous-coniferous proportion (DCP) with a pixel size of 10×10 m for the reference year 2020. In addition, a measure of prediction uncertainty is provided for each pixel. The maps have been created using a combination of a Sentinel-2 mosaic, Copernicus layers, and National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. The mapping was done with the k-Nearest Neighbour (kNN, k=7) approach with harmonized data of species-specific Vol and AGB from 14 NFIs consisting of approximately 151 000 field plots across Europe. The maps cover 40 European countries, forming a continuous coverage of the western part of the European continent. A sample of 1/3 of NFI plots was left out for validation, whereas 2/3 of the plots were used for mapping. Maps were created independently for 13 multi-country processing areas. Root-mean-squared-errors (RMSEs) for AGB ranged from 53 % in the Nordic processing area to 73 % in the South-Eastern area. The maps are on average nearly unbiased on European level (1.0 % of the mean AGB), but show significant overestimation for small biomass values (53 % bias for forests with AGB less than 150 t/ha) and underestimation for high biomass values (-55 % bias for forests with AGB higher than 500 t/ha). The created maps are the first of their kind as they are utilizing a large number of harmonized NFI plot observations and consistent remote sensing data for high-resolution forest attribute mapping. While the published maps can be useful for visualization and other purposes, they are primarily meant as auxiliary information in model-assisted estimation where model-related biases can be mitigated, and field-based estimates improved. Therefore, additional calibration procedures were not applied, and especially high Vol and AGB values tend to be underestimated. We therefore discourage from summarizing map values (pixel counting) over areas in interest, as this may inadvertently result in biased estimates.
Keywords: European forest monitoring system, remote sensing, in-situ data, forest attribute maps
Published in DiRROS: 17.06.2025; Views: 503; Downloads: 327
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