About this Research Topic
Uneven-aged forest management serves a significant purpose in various biomes. It is primarily aimed at preserving forest health, maintaining continuity of habitat conditions, and enhancing biodiversity. This practice involves selecting individual trees or small groups of trees for harvest, to maintain a range of trees of various sizes, ages, and species within a given area. The aim is to maintain a natural forest growth pattern in the hopes of establishing a more resilient ecosystem. Uneven-aged forests have diverse stand and species structures, including small trees, medium trees, and large trees, and shade-tolerant and shade-intolerant tree species. The vertical structures of uneven-aged forests are complex and diverse and can provide multi-layered crowns. This forest structure provides the required or preferred habitat for a variety of fauna and flora.
The practice of un-even aged forest management manifests differently in different biomes, making the necessary adjustments for native tree species in response to varying environmental factors. For example, in temperate regions, un-even aged forest management can help reduce the susceptibility of forests to diseases and pests by promoting diversity and combatting monocultures. In tropical regions, it can support the many layers of canopy needed for the diverse species that inhabit these layers. Through fostering ecological balance and stability, uneven-aged management can help forests be more resilient to climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other environmental stressors, ensuring their sustained health and vitality.
Uneven-aged forest management provides continuous forest coverage and can reduce soil loss caused by erosion after heavy rains, as well as greatly improve forests' adaptability to climate change because of complex stand structure. By maintaining a diverse range of tree species and age groups, un-even aged forest management can promote healthier and more resilient ecosystems. Diversity in tree age ensures a constant forest canopy, which plays a key role in carbon sequestration, a crucial aspect of mitigating climate change. Additionally, the range of tree ages also allows for continuous growth and regeneration, providing an adaptable response to disturbances and preventing significant carbon loss. Furthermore, enhanced biodiversity promotes ecological resilience. Different tree species and age classes may respond differently to climate stressors, enhancing the forest's overall adaptability. For example, if a certain tree species or age class is severely affected by drought or disease, others might remain relatively unaffected, preserving the overall health and function of the forest. This contributes to a forest's adaptive capacity, making it better equipped to face the uncertainties of climate change.
In theory, due to continuous forest cover, uneven-aged forest management can provide more
growth than even-aged forest. However, in practice, the residual density of the trees in
the upper layers of un-even aged forests is lower, so the growth rate of stands of un-
even-aged forests are usually lower than the growth rate of even-aged forests.
This research topic aims to provide an overview of uneven aged forest management
and its adaptability to climate change. We encourage submissions of un-even aged forest management from a variety of different biomes to highlight the varying applications and results of un-even aged forest management. Moreover, we invite submissions of research including the following under the framework of un-even aged forest management, but not limited to:
o Forest structural diversity
o Forest growth
o Forest productivity
o Species diversity
o Soil quality
o Large-size timber
o Climate change
o Growth models
o Forest soil
o Understory vegetation
The practice of un-even aged forest management manifests differently in different biomes, making the necessary adjustments for native tree species in response to varying environmental factors. For example, in temperate regions, un-even aged forest management can help reduce the susceptibility of forests to diseases and pests by promoting diversity and combatting monocultures. In tropical regions, it can support the many layers of canopy needed for the diverse species that inhabit these layers. Through fostering ecological balance and stability, uneven-aged management can help forests be more resilient to climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other environmental stressors, ensuring their sustained health and vitality.
Uneven-aged forest management provides continuous forest coverage and can reduce soil loss caused by erosion after heavy rains, as well as greatly improve forests' adaptability to climate change because of complex stand structure. By maintaining a diverse range of tree species and age groups, un-even aged forest management can promote healthier and more resilient ecosystems. Diversity in tree age ensures a constant forest canopy, which plays a key role in carbon sequestration, a crucial aspect of mitigating climate change. Additionally, the range of tree ages also allows for continuous growth and regeneration, providing an adaptable response to disturbances and preventing significant carbon loss. Furthermore, enhanced biodiversity promotes ecological resilience. Different tree species and age classes may respond differently to climate stressors, enhancing the forest's overall adaptability. For example, if a certain tree species or age class is severely affected by drought or disease, others might remain relatively unaffected, preserving the overall health and function of the forest. This contributes to a forest's adaptive capacity, making it better equipped to face the uncertainties of climate change.
In theory, due to continuous forest cover, uneven-aged forest management can provide more
growth than even-aged forest. However, in practice, the residual density of the trees in
the upper layers of un-even aged forests is lower, so the growth rate of stands of un-
even-aged forests are usually lower than the growth rate of even-aged forests.
This research topic aims to provide an overview of uneven aged forest management
and its adaptability to climate change. We encourage submissions of un-even aged forest management from a variety of different biomes to highlight the varying applications and results of un-even aged forest management. Moreover, we invite submissions of research including the following under the framework of un-even aged forest management, but not limited to:
o Forest structural diversity
o Forest growth
o Forest productivity
o Species diversity
o Soil quality
o Large-size timber
o Climate change
o Growth models
o Forest soil
o Understory vegetation
Keywords: Uneven Aged Forests, Forest Management, Forest Growth, Climate Change, Soil Quality
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
