<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Overstorey and topographic effects on understories: Evidence for linkage from cork oak (Quercus suber) forests in southern Spain</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Forest Ecology and Management</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2014</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">328</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">35-44</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The understorey is a critical feature of forest ecosystems, affecting nutrient cycling, biodiversity, regeneration capacity and wildfire regimes. Understanding the interaction of environmental and canopy controls on understorey development is therefore important for forest management. We use airborne lidar to elucidate this interaction in a forest of cork oak (Quercus suber) mixed with the deciduous oak (Quercus canariensis) on complex topographic relief in southern Spain. Solar radiation (controlled by aspect) and topographic position were highly influential in the differential distribution of the two dominant canopy trees, and exerted some control on their canopy density and height. There was a detectable effect of both canopy characteristics and solar radiation on the amount of understorey shrub cover, indicating direct and indirect controls of the environment on this stratum. In cork oak forest, understorey shrubbery increased towards valley bottoms, at lower levels of solar radiation and under shorter canopies. Our results are relevant to the management of these forest systems in the face of future change. They suggest that maturation and closure of these even-aged stands, coupled with climate warming, may lead to impoverishment of the shrub layer, reducing the build-up of fuel but also the biodiversity value of these systems.</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Remotely sensed indicators of forest conservation status: Case study from a Natura 2000 site in southern Portugal</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ecological Indicators</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2013</style></year></dates><publisher><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Elsevier Ltd</style></publisher><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">24</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">636-647</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The successful implementation of habitat conservation measures demands regular and spatially explicit monitoring and reporting on conservation status at a range of scales, based on indicators of both habitat range and condition (structure and functions required for long-term maintenance). Such is the case with the Natura 2000 protected areas in Europe. Focusing on the cork oak (Quercus suber) forests of one such area, the Serra de Monchique in southern Portugal, we test the complementarity and joint effectiveness of airborne multispectral and laser scanning (lidar) in providing robust indicators of conservation status. Principal forest types and other land covers are mapped to an accuracy of up to 70% (11 land cover classes) and 81% (5 classes) by fusing the two remote sensing datasets, results that are superior to using either one alone. Using previously tested relationships between lidar height metrics, forest vegetation structure and species diversity, we develop a map predicting areas of high (22% of area), medium (25%) and low (53%) condition. We recommend the further development and testing of remotely sensed range and condition indicators of conservation status for their application in important forested sites across Europe and beyond</style></abstract></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Use of an airborne lidar system to model plant species composition and diversity of Mediterranean oak forests.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2012</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">26</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">840-850</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Airborne lidar is a remote-sensing tool of increasing importance in ecological and conservation research due to its ability to characterize three-dimensional vegetation structure. If different aspects of plant species diversity and composition can be related to vegetation structure, landscape-level assessments of plant communities may be possible. We examined this possibility for Mediterranean oak forests in southern Portugal, which are rich in biological diversity but also threatened. We compared data from a discrete, first-and-last return lidar data set collected for 31 plots of cork oak (Quercus suber) and Algerian oak (Quercus canariensis) forest with field data to test whether lidar can be used to predict the vertical structure of vegetation, diversity of plant species, and community type. Lidar- and field-measured structural data were significantly correlated (up to r= 0.85). Diversity of forest species was significantly associated with lidar-measured vegetation height (R(2) = 0.50, p &lt; 0.001). Clustering and ordination of the species data pointed to the presence of 2 main forest classes that could be discriminated with an accuracy of 89% on the basis of lidar data. Lidar can be applied widely for mapping of habitat and assessments of habitat condition (e.g., in support of the European Species and Habitats Directive [92/43/EEC]). However, particular attention needs to be paid to issues of survey design: density of lidar points and geospatial accuracy of ground-truthing and its timing relative to acquisition of lidar data.</style></abstract><accession-num><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">22731687</style></accession-num></record></records></xml>