A significant increase of disturbances events in forest ecosystems worldwide has been witnessed during the last decades. The most important disturbance agents are wind, drought, fire, insects and pathogens, except for direct human activities. The main causes of higher frequency disturbance incidence are: (i) climate change - affecting the balance of ecosystems, accompanied by an increase in the frequency of extreme events; (ii) biological invasions - associated primarily with the intensive development of international travel and trade; (iii) economically oriented silvicultural management - affecting the species composition and structures of forests. However, disturbances are an essential factor in the dynamics of natural forests; by understanding these, we can comprehend the changes in processes which are currently taking place in forested landscapes. A fundamental challenge for current efforts for sustainable forestry is to incorporate the increased frequency of disturbances in forest ecosystems into strategies of forest management.
Due to the variability of biotic disturbance agents and affected forest biotopes, many disturbance event parameters must be known and recorded for their generalization. First of all, it is the extent and severity of the disturbance. Determining the extent of the disturbance depends on the symptomatic manifestations of damage and the possibility of distinguishing them. The severity of the disturbance is based on the required function of the forest stand and the current resilience. Compared to that, the resistance and the predisposition of forest ecosystems determine the degree of risk of disturbance. The value of resilience, resistance and predisposition are difficult to measure. They are usually determined retrospectively by analysing the impact of disturbance, the spread of disturbance agents and forest regeneration on a local or landscape scale. An important practical scientific question is whether the occurrence of another biotic disturbance can be predicted and if the risks of its event can be determined based on measurable parameters. This special issue aims to provide up-to-date knowledge about biotic disturbance events in various forest ecosystems of the world, especially from the point of view of the risk of their occurrence, detection methods and ways of mitigating them.
This Research Topic aims to gather articles evaluating biotic disturbance events in forest biotopes in terms of their origin, impact, method of detection and response to them. Therefore, topics may include, but are not limited to:
- monitoring programs, stratified surveys or evaluation of database records of disturbances;
- methods determining the extent of disturbance events using remote sensing tools, trapping and other types of sampling;
- new methods to identify and monitor damage or estimate population densities of forest pests;
- forest trees' predisposition and health status, including responses to stress caused by disturbance agents;
- new methods or procedures for the identification and management of disruptive agents;
- comparing silviculture management reactions to the disturbance events.
A significant increase of disturbances events in forest ecosystems worldwide has been witnessed during the last decades. The most important disturbance agents are wind, drought, fire, insects and pathogens, except for direct human activities. The main causes of higher frequency disturbance incidence are: (i) climate change - affecting the balance of ecosystems, accompanied by an increase in the frequency of extreme events; (ii) biological invasions - associated primarily with the intensive development of international travel and trade; (iii) economically oriented silvicultural management - affecting the species composition and structures of forests. However, disturbances are an essential factor in the dynamics of natural forests; by understanding these, we can comprehend the changes in processes which are currently taking place in forested landscapes. A fundamental challenge for current efforts for sustainable forestry is to incorporate the increased frequency of disturbances in forest ecosystems into strategies of forest management.
Due to the variability of biotic disturbance agents and affected forest biotopes, many disturbance event parameters must be known and recorded for their generalization. First of all, it is the extent and severity of the disturbance. Determining the extent of the disturbance depends on the symptomatic manifestations of damage and the possibility of distinguishing them. The severity of the disturbance is based on the required function of the forest stand and the current resilience. Compared to that, the resistance and the predisposition of forest ecosystems determine the degree of risk of disturbance. The value of resilience, resistance and predisposition are difficult to measure. They are usually determined retrospectively by analysing the impact of disturbance, the spread of disturbance agents and forest regeneration on a local or landscape scale. An important practical scientific question is whether the occurrence of another biotic disturbance can be predicted and if the risks of its event can be determined based on measurable parameters. This special issue aims to provide up-to-date knowledge about biotic disturbance events in various forest ecosystems of the world, especially from the point of view of the risk of their occurrence, detection methods and ways of mitigating them.
This Research Topic aims to gather articles evaluating biotic disturbance events in forest biotopes in terms of their origin, impact, method of detection and response to them. Therefore, topics may include, but are not limited to:
- monitoring programs, stratified surveys or evaluation of database records of disturbances;
- methods determining the extent of disturbance events using remote sensing tools, trapping and other types of sampling;
- new methods to identify and monitor damage or estimate population densities of forest pests;
- forest trees' predisposition and health status, including responses to stress caused by disturbance agents;
- new methods or procedures for the identification and management of disruptive agents;
- comparing silviculture management reactions to the disturbance events.