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375 results for “Boreal forests”
Spatial patterns of understory vegetation and soil in an Alaskan upland boreal forest fire chronosequence. Three sites located in Delta Junction Alaska. Soil sampled during summer 2007
In this study we used geostatistics to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of soil carbon and nitrogen pools, microbial respiration, microbial biomass, nitrogen mineralization, soil moisture, soil pH, depth of organic horizon and forest floor covers and understory vegetation abundances in three sites (1999, 1987 and 1920 wildfires) of a boreal forest chronosequence of Interior Alaska (near Delta Junction). Soil sampling and vegetation measurements occured during summer 2007.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Thaw depth within experimental burn plots
This dataset includes thaw depth for two growing seasons (2012 and 2013) within experimental burn plots in far northeastern Cherskii. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Canopy cover across a larch forest density gradient
This dataset includes canopy cover within four larch stands near Cherskii, Siberia collected in 2012-2013. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Coarse woody debris abundance across a larch forest density gradient
This dataset includes coarse woody debris abundance within four larch stands near Cherskii, Siberia collected in 2012-2013. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Mean soil temperature within experimental burn plots
This dataset includes soil temperature (10-cm depth) during July-Sept 2013 within experimental burn plots in far northeastern Cherskii. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Larch recruitment within experimental burn plots
This dataset includes larch recruitment during summer 2013 within experimental burn plots in far northeastern Cherskii. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Soil horizon and thaw depths across a larch forest density gradient
This dataset includes soil horizon and thaw depths within four larch stands near Cherskii, Siberia. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Larch tree snag (dead tree) size distribution across a density gradient
This dataset includes basal diameter (bd) or diameter at breast height (DBH) of dead larch trees (snags) within four stands near Cherskii, Siberia. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Larch tree size distribution across a density gradient
This dataset includes basal diameter (bd) or diameter at breast height (DBH) of larch trees within four stands near Cherskii, Siberia. Data have not been published.
Far northeastern Siberia boreal forest data: Fine woody debris abundance across a larch forest density gradient
This dataset includes fine woody debris abundance within four larch stands near Cherskii, Siberia collected in 2012-2013. Data have not been published.
Soil nitrogen cycling in a boreal hardwood forest in relation to the phenolic compound bearing species Ledum palustre
Ledum palustre (Labrador tea) is a late successional evergreen shrub widely distributed in boreal ecosystems that readily leaches high concentrations of soluble phenolic compounds into water. We selected this species in order to study whether leaf leachates could be responsible for the effects of plant canopy on N cycling under natural conditions. Organic matter content, soil respiration and net N mineralization were measured in organic and mineral soil horizons and gross N mineralization was also measured in mineral soils sampled underneath L. palustre in a hardwood forest dominated by Populus tremuloides and Betula neoalaskana. Soils were amended with L. palustre litter leachates and incubated in the laboratory. Because mineral soil is also influenced by the overlying organic horizon we also characterized some simple indices of the organic horizon carbon quality (lignin, cellulose and condensed tannins) to look for differences in likely decomposability. Our objectives were i) to determine whether L. palustre presence and L. palustre leachates addition changed soil N availability, and ii) to determine the specific N cycling processes that were affected, including changes in mineralization, nitrification or immobilization. We wanted to know whether L. palustre leachates could be a mechanism through which plant presence would impact N cycling.
A Chronosequence of Biomass and Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks Across Boreal Deciduous, Mixed, and Black Spruce Forests in Interior Alaska
This dataset contains forest structure data and estimates of above- and belowground carbon and nitrogen pools for a chronosequence of sites that vary in time after fire. Sites are spread throughout interior Alaska and were selected to represent the range of forest composition, from black spruce (Picea mariana) dominance, to deciduous tree dominance (Betula neoalaskana and Populus tremuloides). Multiple transects were measured in each site
Predation and parasitism on herbivorous insects change in opposite directions in a latitudinal gradient crossing a boreal forest zone
<ol> <li>The Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis (LBIH) predicts that the strength of various biotic interactions decreases from low to high latitudes. Inconsistency between studies testing this hypothesis may result from variations among different types of interactions and among study systems. Therefore, exploration of multiple interactions within one system would help to disentangle latitudinal patterns across individual interactions and to evaluate latitudinal changes in the overall impact of enemies on prey.</li> <li>We tested the prediction based on the LBIH that the pressure of natural enemies on herbivorous insects decreases with an increase in latitude across the boreal forest zone. We also asked whether the impacts of major groups of these enemies exhibit similar latitudinal patterns and whether these patterns are consistent across study years. </li> <li>In 10 forest sites located from 60°N to 69°N in Northern Europe, each summer, from 2016–2019, we measured (i) mortality of three groups of leafmining insects caused by birds, ants, parasitoids, and unknown factors, (ii) bird attacks on caterpillar-shaped plasticine models, and (iii) birch foliar damage caused by defoliators and leafminers.</li> <li>Latitudinal patterns in both insect herbivory on birch and top-down pressure on herbivorous insects varied considerably and inconsistently among the four study years, so that only some of the year-specific correlations with latitude were statistically significant. Nevertheless, meta-analysis combining correlations across years, preys and enemies revealed general decreases in predation by birds (on both natural and model prey) and ants, but an increase in parasitism rates, from low to high latitudes.</li> <li>We found that the direction of latitudinal changes in the strength of biotic interactions was interaction-specific: predation and herbivory supported LBIH, whereas parasitism exhibited an opposite trend. Consequently, the overall impact of natural enemies on herbivorous insects did not change with latitude and was therefore an unlikely reason for the poleward decrease in herbivory observed in our gradient. Considerable among-year variation in the strength of the latitudinal patterns in all the studied interactions suggests that this variation is a widespread phenomenon. </li> </ol>
A 249-year chronosequence of forest plots from eight successive fires in the eastern Canada boreal mixedwoods
<p>A combination of wildfires and defoliating insect outbreaks play an important role in the natural successional dynamics of North American boreal forests, which, in the long term, change the post-disturbance composition and structure of forest stands. After stand-replacing disturbances (mainly wildfires), early successional hardwoods typically dominate the affected areas in boreal forests. Provided sufficient time following disturbances, the increasing recruitment of mid- to late-successional softwoods as well as the mortality of hardwoods gradually change forest composition from hardwoods to admixtures of hardwood-conifer species and conifer-dominated stands in mid and late successional stages, respectively. Such mixed woods are abundant across the southern Canadian boreal forest. In boreal Canada, mixed woods are the most structurally heterogeneous forest ecosystems, are highly productive, and form an important source of timber supply. Here we present the EASTERN BOREAL MIXEDWOODS CANADA dataset, which documents the changes in composition and structure of stands originating from eight successive wildfires representing a chronosequence of 249 years in eastern Canada. This dataset has been used in several different projects to study and model the influence of natural (e.g., insect outbreaks) and anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., harvesting) on the dynamics of post-fire stands. The data covers a high range of variability in stand composition and structure, explained by species establishment, dominance and mixture. It thus constitutes a useful source of information to trace the dynamics of the main boreal tree species of eastern north America, from their establishment to their replacement at different spatial scales (e.g., from stand to landscape level).</p>
Common-garden experiment reveals clinal trends of bud phenology in black spruce populations from a latitudinal gradient in the boreal forest
<p>Climate warming is modifying the movement of air masses over Northern latitudes, producing warming and cooling events across the boreal regions. These new conditions changes may mismatch plant phenology from weather conditions, and affect the growing period of trees. Understanding the processes of local adaptation in bud phenology can help to predict the response of plants to these rapid and unexpected environmental changes.</p> <p>Our study monitored bud burst and bud set weekly during four growing seasons in black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.] saplings planted in a common garden and originating from five provenances representing the whole latitudinal distribution of the closed boreal forest in Quebec, Canada. We compared the variance in bud phenology among populations and years, and analyzed the relationships with the temperatures at the origin sites.</p> <p>Bud burst and bud set occurred in mid-May and mid-July, respectively, with a large variability among provenances and between the study years. A delayed bud phenology was observed in the provenances from warmer sites, with bud burst and bud set being 1.1 and 1.4 days later for every additional degree in mean annual temperature at the origin site, respectively. Populations with earlier bud bursts also showed earlier bud sets, thus the growing season was similar among provenances. The heritability of bud set was higher than that of bud burst, with estimates of 0.26 and 0.21, respectively. On average, variance in bud phenology among provenances reached 5.3%, which was higher than that within provenances (2.6%). The factor year explained 37.7-69.7% of the variance in bud phenology.</p> <p>Synthesis. Results demonstrate the plastic response of bud burst to changing temperatures and suggest the effects of endogenous factors on bud set. The earlier growth reactivation due to global warming occurring under higher frost risks in spring are expected to produce damage to the developing buds. Meanwhile, the ability of bud phenology to match the inter-annual variability in weather could help to cope with the changing environmental conditions expected in the future.</p>
Data from: Forest succession and climate variability interacted to control fire activity over the last four centuries in an Alaskan boreal landscape
Context: The boreal forest is globally important for its influence on Earth's energy balance, and its sensitivity to climate change. Ecosystem functioning in boreal forests is shaped by fire activity, so anticipating the impacts of climate change requires understanding the precedence for, and consequences of, climatically induced changes in fire regimes. Long-term records of climate, fire, and vegetation are critical for gaining this understanding. Objectives: We investigated the relative importance of climate and landscape flammability as drivers of fire activity in boreal forests by developing high-resolution records of fire history, and characterizing their centennial-scale relationships to temperature and vegetation dynamics. Methods: We reconstructed the timing of fire activity in interior Alaska, USA, using seven lake-sediment charcoal records spanning CE 1550–2015. We developed individual and composite records of fire activity, and used correlations and qualitative comparisons to assess relationships with existing records of vegetation and climate. Results: Our records document a dynamic relationship between climate and fire. Fire activity and temperature showed stronger coupling after ca. 1900 than in the preceding 350 yr. Biomass burning and temperatures increased concurrently during the second half of the twentieth century, to their highest point in the record. Fire activity followed pulses in black spruce establishment. Conclusions: Fire activity was facilitated by warm temperatures and landscape-scale dominance of highly flammable mature black spruce, with a notable increase in temperature and fire activity during the twenty-first century. The results suggest that widespread burning at landscape scales is controlled by a combination of climate and vegetation dynamics that together drive flammability.
Data from: Low-productivity boreal forests have high conservation value for lichens
1. Land set aside for preservation of biodiversity often has low productivity. As biodiversity generally increases with productivity, due to higher or more diverse availability of resources, this implies that some of the biodiversity may be left unprotected. Due to a lack of knowledge on the species diversity and conservation value of low-productivity habitats, the consequences of the biased allocation of low-productivity land for set-asides are unknown. 2. We examined the conservation value of boreal low-productivity forests (potential tree growth < 1 m3 ha-1 year-1) by comparing assemblages of tree- and deadwood-dwelling lichens and forest stand structure between productive and low-productivity forest stands. We surveyed 84 Scots pine-dominated stands in three regions in Sweden, each including four stand types: two productive (managed and unmanaged) and two low-productivity stands (on mires and on thin, rocky soils). 3. Lichen species richness was highest in low-productivity stands on thin soil, which had similar amounts and diversity of resources (living trees and dead wood) to productive unmanaged stands. Stands in low-productivity mires, which had low abundance of living trees and dead wood, hosted the lowest lichen richness. Lichen species composition differed among stand types, but none of them hosted unique species. The differences in both species richness and composition were more pronounced in northern than in southern Sweden, likely due to shorter history of intensive forestry. 4. Synthesis and applications: Boreal low-productivity forests can have as high conservation value as productive forests, which should be reflected in conservation strategies. However, their value is far from uniform, and conservation planning should acknowledge this variation and not treat all low-productivity forests as a uniform group. Some types of low-productivity forest (e.g. on thin soil) are more valuable than others (e.g. on mires), and should thus be prioritized in conservation. It is also important to consider the landscape context: low-productivity forests may have higher value in landscapes where high-productivity forests are highly influenced by forestry. Finally, although low-productivity forests can be valuable for some taxa, productive forests may still be important for other taxa.
Data from: Resilience of lake biogeochemistry to boreal-forest wildfires during the late Holocene
Novel fire regimes are expected in many boreal regions, and it is unclear how biogeochemical cycles will respond. We leverage fire and vegetation records from a highly flammable ecoregion in Alaska and present new lake-sediment analyses to examine biogeochemical responses to fire over the past 5300 years. No significant difference exists in δ13C, %C, %N, C:N, or magnetic susceptibility between pre-fire, post-fire, and fire samples. However, δ15N is related to the timing relative to fire (Χ2=19.73, p<0.0001), with higher values for fire-decade samples (3.2±0.3‰) than pre-fire (2.4±0.2‰) and post-fire (2.2±0.1‰) samples. Sediment δ15N increased gradually from 1.8±0.6‰ to 3.2±0.2‰ over the late Holocene, probably as a result of terrestrial-ecosystem development. Elevated δ15N in fire decades likely reflects enhanced terrestrial nitrification and/or deeper permafrost-thaw depths immediately following fire. Similar δ15N values before and after fire decades suggest that N cycling in this lowland-boreal watershed was resilient to fire disturbance. However, this resilience may diminish as boreal ecosystems approach climate-driven thresholds of vegetation structure, permafrost thaw, and fire.
Context-dependent effects of deer on aboveground carbon stocks in the regenerative tree layer in temperate and boreal forests: a meta-analysis
<p>Herbivores, including deer (Cervidae), influence ecosystem functions and carbon cycling by affecting vegetation structure and composition. Given the increase in deer populations in Europe and North America, there is growing interest in their impact on carbon dynamics in temperate and boreal forests. We investigated the effects of deer on carbon stored in the seedling and sapling layer through two mechanisms: (1) deer affecting the overall aboveground woody biomass in these strata and (2) deer changing the composition of tree species in these strata, because species differ in wood density and carbon content. We performed a meta-analysis of 17 datasets from 12 studies, assessing the effects of deer exclusion on aboveground carbon stocks within the seedling and sapling layer (≤3m) under two scenarios of carbon calculation, where we used either: (1) species-specific carbon content and wood density values (mean scenario) and (2) generic carbon content and wood density values (neutral scenario). Our results show that including species-specific wood density values in calculations had a minimal effect on the estimated impact of deer exclusion on carbon stocks compared to generic values, but that there was insufficient data on species-specific carbon content to determine its importance in calculating aboveground carbon stocks. Our results show that preventing deer herbivory did not have a consistent positive effect on aboveground carbon stocks in the regenerating forest layer, except in sites dominated by conifer saplings and boreal sites. Instead, the among-case variability in effects suggests a complex interaction between the impact of deer browsing and forest carbon. Understanding these interactions is vital to assess wildlife-carbon relations and to develop appropriate forest conservation approaches in response to growing deer populations.</p>
The effect of climate change on forest fire danger and severity in the Canadian boreal forests for the period 1976-2100
<p>There are 5 files uploaded.</p><p> </p><p>(1) fwi26.txt.gz, RCP26</p><p>(2) fwi45.txt.gz, RCP45</p><p>(3) fwi85.txt.gz, RCP85</p><p>(4) msk20231028.txt</p><p>(5) Shape_Canadian_Boreal_Forests.7z</p><p> </p><p>mask20231028.txt is an ascii file covering the Canadian Boreal Forests.</p><p>This file can be imported into GisMAP to generate a mask raster.</p><p> </p><p>Shape_Canadian_Boreal_Forests.7z is a compressed shape file cover the</p><p>Canadian Boreal Forests.</p><p> </p><p>fwi26.txt.gz, fwi45.txt.gz, and fwi85.txt.gz are the zipped file of FFMC</p><p>and DSR daily surfaces. There are 6 fields in the files:</p><p> </p><p>Field 1: row number in the mask file of mask20231028.txt.</p><p>Field 2: column number.</p><p>Field 3: Years; 1, 2, 3, ... 95 correspoind to 2006, 2007, 2008, ..., 2100.</p><p>Field 4: Days; 1, 2, 3, ..., 365 in a year.</p><p>Field 5: Daily FFMC values.</p><p>Field 6: Daily DSR values. </p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
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OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.