Forest ecology

Forest ecology is the study of ecology related to wooded areas. The field includes conservation, ecology, and ecosystems, among other areas. Forests have been significant throughout human and natural history. Early and modern humans have relied on the resources in these areas to survive and thrive. Further, human actions frequently contribute to forest fires. With the explosion of the human population and concurrent dependence on forests, individuals and science focused attention on how forests were being used, how this was affecting the planet, and what steps might be taken. Forest ecology has increasingly looked at global climate change and other ecological issues, the relationships between these issues, and what impact new approaches to forested lands might have.

Background

Humans have affected forest lands for millennia. They have relied on forests for fuel, food, shelter, and other products. Many Indigenous peoples used their experiences to develop forest management practices. Some practices were simple, such as protecting tree species that provided fruits and nuts. Other practices were more significant and sophisticated. For example, Indigenous people in Australia and North America developed controlled burn practices to manage food resources. Archaeological evidence shows that thousands of years ago, humans developed woodworking tools specific to certain species of tree, and used specific types of wood for boat building, making tools, and other necessities.

When humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer to agricultural lifestyles, they established settlements. Forest resources often become less accessible as trees were cut down, and forest areas cleared to make room for structures and to grow crops and graze animals. With the growth of cities, deforestation accelerated.

The impact and importance of forests on civilization can be seen in the politics and expansion of the Roman Empire. Rome grew wealthy thanks to the forests, but as the population increased, the forests of the Italian peninsula were nearly wiped out. The scarcity of needed wood did not lead to conservation efforts. Instead, Rome embarked on expansion to control other peoples’ forests. The Roman Empire continued to expand and consume forests, and by about 300 BCE, had wiped out most of the available supply of wood in Europe. This led to further expansion beyond Europe and eventually the collapse of the empire.

In some parts of the world, conservation efforts were established to control forest use. This varied widely by area and culture. In India, for example, early conservation efforts took place between 320 and 800 CE. In medieval Europe, the ruling class claimed diminishing forest land for its personal use as hunting grounds. In the United States, regulation and the early start of federal forest services arrived when logging activities, which began in the East and advanced across the continent, reached the West Coast in the late nineteenth century. The government and industry reached the end of the virgin forest and had to consider the future. The US Congress acted in 1876 by establishing an office to evaluate the nation’s forests.

Over time, a practice and theory known as silviculture emerged. Silviculture is concerned with assessing and controlling the makeup, establishment, and growth of forest land. An early example known as the coppice system developed in Europe about the ninth century. This is a practice of timing the cutting of certain trees so suckers grow from the root system or shoots grow from the stumps. The cut area would then produce new growth that could be harvested twelve to twenty years later. This allows for repeated harvesting of wood over centuries.

Eighteenth-century France saw the emergence of botany as a field of study. Trees, which were closely linked to industry, were of particular interest in Europe. Study of North American trees and potential use in Europe was a significant area of study due to the realization of the extent of deforestation. In 1755, Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau published information about trees and shrubs from North America that could be grown in France at the request of Louis XV, who was keenly interested in botany. The monarch was chiefly interested in plant species that might be useful for construction, reforestation, and shipbuilding. In 1764, he published a book of forest management. For his work, Duhamel is often called the father of silviculture.

The character of forest areas has changed significantly in recent centuries. Europe, for example, saw tremendous growth in forested areas from the early to mid-nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. However, this increase is composed of new forests on land that was previously used for agriculture or heathlands. The latter was marked by shrubs or grass and had few or no trees. Meanwhile, old forests continued disappearing.

Overview

The science of forest ecology is concerned with all types of forests, including rainforests, deciduous and evergreen, temperate and boreal forests. It examines ecosystem processes, conservation, and the community ecology of trees and other species, both plants and animals.

The forest ecosystem comprises soil, water, and a wealth of living creatures. These include animals, bacteria, fungi, insects, and plants that can be classified into three main groups: producers, consumers, or decomposers. Producers, which are able to produce energy using non-living resources such as oxygen and water, include plants and algae. Consumers are those living beings that eat other organisms. They are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores including humans and wolves. Decomposers get their nutrients from other organisms or their waste matter. These include bacteria and some types of fungi. Forest ecology looks at the interactions of these elements of the ecosystem as well as the soil, water, and more.

Categorization and documentation are important aspects of forest ecology. A great deal of data is needed about the current state of forests and how they change over time. Researchers catalog the species present and how prevalent they are. They compare data with that collected in previous studies and note changes such as the introduction or loss of species and changes in population. Then, they examine the possible reasons for any changes, whether natural or unnatural.

Researchers also document changing conditions and effects. For example, a thicker tree canopy decreases the amount of sunlight that can reach the ground and may affect shrubs and other plants such as ferns. Encroaching civilization could affect available rainwater or groundwater. Climate change could have wide-reaching effects, for example trees may no longer be able to grow in an area due to warmer temperatures, which will affect animals that use the trees for food or shelter and the creatures that hunt them or upon which they prey. Regrowth after fire might be robust in areas where trees such as the giant sequoia and longleaf pine require fire to reproduce.

Regeneration of forests has been a major concern in many regions of the globe for several centuries, and significant effort has been undertaken to responsibly reforest and manage forests. This involves studies to determine species that can thrive in specific conditions and the ramifications of introducing them. Natural regeneration occurs when seeds or seedlings establish without human aid, while artificial regeneration refers to planting or sowing of seeds through human activity.

Invasive alien species (IAS), both plants and animals, can strongly affect all ecosystems. Their effects can be seen in forests around the world. Dangers of IAS include hybridization, species competition, and disease transmission. An example in the United States is the vine kudzu, a native of Asia that was introduced in 1876 and promoted by the US government to prevent erosion in the South. The vine quickly grew out of control. Kudzu grows rapidly to cover trees and shrubs, blocking the sunlight and killing them by girdling and weighing them down, increasing the chances the trees will fall in storms. Kudzu also covers the forest floor, preventing the growth of young trees and killing brush and other indigenous plants. The plant, which can grow about a foot per day, has had a strongly negative effect on the plant diversity of the southern United States and requires considerable control efforts in national parks. Some studies of the effects of IAS in European forests found invasive species negatively affect several species of oak and other species of trees. The researchers noted the primary reason for this impact was competition for resources, notably light, which affects the ability of tree seedlings to become established. Chemical changes caused by the alien plants can also affect forest ecosystems. Some alien species change the biochemical and chemical properties of the soil, for example by releasing chemicals that change the bacterial and fungal communities. Plants in the legume family fix nitrogen in the soil, which can affect regeneration. Alien species affect ecosystems in other ways, such as by altering the availability of water.

Changes that impact forest ecosystems can affect the microscopic network of fungi beneath the forest floor. The fungal organism is a network of tiny mycelium threads that wrap around or bore into tree roots. This network connects multiple plants, allowing them to share water as well as minerals such as nitrogen. Trees in healthy forests are interconnected to others through the network. Young saplings that do not get sufficient sunlight to manufacture enough food to grow receive nutrients and sugar through the network from established trees. Older trees in a forest, which have roots that penetrate the soil most deeply, have the most fungal connections. These hub trees are able to sense when other trees are unwell and direct more nutrients and water to them.

As the impacts of climate change became more pronounced in the twenty-first century, researchers increasingly studied forest ecology to better understand how forests can mitigate climate change through the absorption of carbon, as well as how forest land is affected by changing temperatures and weather patterns. New technologies have made such investigations easier. For example, scientists employ remote sensing, drones, and wireless sensor networks to gather real-time data on the health of forests. These tools help track deforestation and understand the impacts of challenges such as increasing forest fires, droughts, and outbreaks of invasive pests.

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