On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
On the Ecology of Mountainous Forests in a Changing Climate: A ...
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118 Chapter 4<br />
Tab. 4.6: Statistics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> distribution <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PS coefficients at <strong>the</strong> three test sites. CI denotes <strong>the</strong> lower<br />
and upper 95% confidence <strong>in</strong>terval <strong>of</strong> PS. The arcs<strong>in</strong>e transformation is accord<strong>in</strong>g to Zar (1984).<br />
Bern Airolo Davos<br />
arcs<strong>in</strong>e<br />
transformed<br />
arcs<strong>in</strong>e<br />
transformed<br />
untransformed<br />
untransformed<br />
untransformed<br />
arcs<strong>in</strong>e<br />
transformed<br />
CI upper 0.955 0.950 0.963 0.957 0.989 0.983<br />
µ(PS) 0.902 0.903 0.907 0.909 0.954 0.956<br />
CI lower 0.849 0.844 0.850 0.844 0.920 0.916<br />
It is evident from Tab. 4.7 & 24 that <strong>the</strong> coefficient <strong>of</strong> variation tends to <strong>in</strong>crease with<br />
decreas<strong>in</strong>g species-specific biomass (e.g. P. excelsa vs. L. decidua at Davos, Tab. 4.7).<br />
Moreover, <strong>the</strong> species role (Shugart 1984) is important as well: For example, L. decidua<br />
and P. cembra have similar biomass at Davos; yet, s<strong>in</strong>ce P. cembra is shade tolerant and<br />
usually present with low biomass, its CV is considerably smaller than that <strong>of</strong> L. decidua,<br />
which is usually absent except after <strong>the</strong> formation <strong>of</strong> a large gap, when it can establish<br />
and grow to a considerable size; afterwards, it disappears aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Similar reason<strong>in</strong>g can be applied to <strong>the</strong> results from <strong>the</strong> site Bern: The biomass estimates<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two dom<strong>in</strong>ant species, F. silvatica and A. alba, have small coefficients <strong>of</strong> variation<br />
(Tab. 4.8). <strong>On</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, species with similar and low biomass such as Acer<br />
pseudoplatanus and Quercus petraea have coefficients <strong>of</strong> variation that differ considerably,<br />
aga<strong>in</strong> due to <strong>the</strong>ir different roles: Q. petraea is much less shade tolerant than A.<br />
pseudoplatanus. Obviously <strong>the</strong> species “roles” def<strong>in</strong>ed by Shugart (1984) provide a useful<br />
framework for this analysis.<br />
Thus it may be concluded that <strong>the</strong> statistical properties <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> PS coefficient between two<br />
<strong>in</strong>dependent estimates <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> same steady state can not be stated generally. They depend<br />
Tab. 4.7: Averages (µ) and coefficients <strong>of</strong> variation (CV) <strong>of</strong> 400 species-specific steady-state biomass<br />
estimates at <strong>the</strong> site Davos (n = 200, ∆t = 150).<br />
Variable µ [t/ha] CV<br />
total biomass 340.8 2.4%<br />
Picea excelsa 269.7 3.8%<br />
Abies alba 34.5 16.2%<br />
Populus nigra 13.8 16.6%<br />
Larix decidua 8.9 61.3%<br />
P<strong>in</strong>us cembra 6.5 36.3%