Structural Organisation of Native Sub-Tundra Spruce Forests in the Pechora River Basin in the South-West of the Komi Republic

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Abstract

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive study of the structural organisation of indigenous sub-tundra’s spruce forests in the Pechora River basin in the northwest of the Komi Republic. The main components of the spruce phytocoenoses’ structure were analysed, including the size, age and spatial characteristics of the tree layer and the undergrowth. It has been established that stands of sub-tundra spruce forests are characterised by a high degree of variability in trees’ inventory indicators. The coefficients of variation in trunk diameters and heights reach 55 and 40%, respectively, even within a single species – Siberian spruce. Analysis of the age structure of tree stands revealed two types: relatively uneven-aged with a predominance of ascending series’ generations and absolutely uneven-aged with a group mixture of trees of different ages. The latter correspond to climax phytocoenoses with continuous self-reproduction. Spatial structure assessment conducted using the point process methods showed that trees in the stands are distributed mainly randomly, without pronounced aggregation. However, the undergrowth formed clusters, especially due to the seedling regeneration of birch. In the vertical structure of the canopy of sub-tundra spruce forests, both "diffuse" types of structure (trees vary in height, but are similar in the total height of the crown) and "regular at the bottom" types (trees vary in height, but the bases of their crowns are at the same level) are observed. The data obtained contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of intact forest communities’ functioning in the Far North under the conditions of a changing climate.

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About the authors

A. V. Manov

Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: manov@ib.komisc.ru
Russian Federation, 28, Kommunisticheskaya St., Syktyvkar, 167982

I. N. Kutyavin

Institute of Biology of the Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: manov@ib.komisc.ru
Russian Federation, 28, Kommunisticheskaya St., Syktyvkar, 167982

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Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
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1. JATS XML
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2. Fig. 1. Clustering diagram of tree distribution series by trunk diameter (a) and undergrowth by height (b) in the PFS.

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3. Fig. 2. Distribution of the number of trunks (dark columns) and wood stock (light columns) by 20-year age stages in tundra spruce forests: a - grass-green-moss (SPT 6); b - sphagnum (SPT 7); c - cloudberry-sphagnum (SPT 8); d - green-moss (SPT 10); e - shrub-green-moss (SPT 12). Diagram (f) shows the statistics of tree age distribution series in SPTs in ascending order of their numbering.

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4. Fig. 3. Testing the null hypothesis of randomness of the point process. 1 - empirical pair correlation function ĝ (r); 2 - behaviour of the function g (r) in the case of PPP; 3 - area of acceptance of the PPP hypothesis obtained using 999 generations of the homogeneous Poisson process for: a-d - all tree species; e-l - spruce trees; m-c - all undergrowth species; t-ts - spruce undergrowth. Here and in the following figure the columns are labelled as follows: I - grass-green-moss spruce forest (SPT 6); II - sphagnum spruce forest (SPT 7); III - cloudberry-sphagnum spruce forest (SPT 8); IV - green-moss spruce forest (SPT 10); V - shrub-green-moss spruce forest (SPT 12).

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5. Fig. 4. Testing the null hypothesis about the randomness of point process labelling. 1 - empirical cross-correlation function ĝij (r); 2 - behaviour of the function gij (r) in the case of PPP; 3 - area of acceptance of the PPP hypothesis obtained using 999 generations of a homogeneous Poisson process for each pair of woody plant categories: a-d - trees/growth of all species; e-l - trees/growth of spruce.

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6. Fig. 5. Distribution of the coefficients of space filling by tree crowns in tundra spruce forests: a - grass-green-moss (PPP 6); b - sphagnum (PPP 7); c - cloudberry-sphagnum (PPP 8); d - green-moss (PPP 10); e - shrub-green-moss (PPP 12).

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