Forest ecosystems of temperate climatic regions: from ancient use to climate change. Issue 4 (27th October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gilliam, Frank S.
• Is Part Of: New phytologist. Volume 212:Issue 4(2016)
• Page Start: 871
• Page End: 887
• Publication Date: 2016-10-27
• Subjects: climate change -- global change -- nitrogen saturation -- phenology -- temperate forests; Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/nph.14255
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-646X

Abstract

Summary: Humans have long utilized resources from all forest biomes, but the most indelible anthropogenic signature has been the expanse of human populations in temperate forests. The purpose of this review is to bring into focus the diverse forests of the temperate region of the biosphere, including those of hardwood, conifer and mixed dominance, with a particular emphasis on crucial challenges for the future of these forested areas. Implicit in the term 'temperate' is that the predominant climate of these forest regions has distinct cyclic, seasonal changes involving periods of growth and dormancy. The specific temporal patterns of seasonal change, however, display an impressive variability among temperate forest regions. In addition to the more apparent current anthropogenic disturbances of temperate forests, such as forest management and conversion to agriculture, human alteration of temperate forests is actually an ancient phenomenon, going as far back as 7000 yr before present (bp ). As deep‐seated as these past legacies are for temperate forests, all current and future perturbations, including timber harvesting, excess nitrogen deposition, altered species' phenologies, and increasing frequency of drought and fire, must be viewed through the lens of climate change. Contents Summary 871 I. Introduction 871 II. A brief biogeography and history of temperate forests 874 III. Climate, soils, composition and land use 875 IV. Climate change 878 V. Epilogue 882 Acknowledgements 884 References 884