IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v286y2014icp53-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ecological traits of Mediterranean tree species as a basis for modelling forest dynamics in the Taurus mountains, Turkey

Author

Listed:
  • Kint, V.
  • Aertsen, W.
  • Fyllas, N.M.
  • Trabucco, A.
  • Janssen, E.
  • Özkan, K.
  • Muys, B.

Abstract

To investigate the past forest–society interactions in the territory of the ancient city of Sagalassos, situated in the Taurus Mountains in Southwest Turkey, it is necessary to reconstruct forest composition and biomass through time. This paper focuses on modelling the natural vegetation dynamics in the area over the occurring gradient of biophysical site conditions under today's climate, as a first and essential stepping-stone towards this goal. GREFOS, a forest gap dynamics model developed for the North-Eastern Mediterranean Basin, was adapted to the bioclimatic conditions of the Taurus Mountains, adding effects of late frost on species regeneration and adjusting the fire module. The model was parameterized based on an extensive literature review and additional field measurements for the seven most important tree species in the study area (Pinus brutia, Pinus nigra, Cedrus libani, Abies cilicica, Quercus cerris, Quercus coccifera and Juniperus excelsa) resulting in the most complete and documented ecological traits matrix presently available for the studied species. Qualitative and semi-quantitative model validation indicates that simulated species presence, altitude ranges and basal area estimates correspond reasonably well to field observations or expected values based on literature and expert knowledge. Yet validation results also indicate some inaccuracies for simulation of P. nigra and J. excelsa at higher altitudes. Simulations are summarized in a conceptual model with four vegetation zones, which reflects literature and expert opinion, and is interpretable in terms of ecological processes and succession dynamics in the study area. It is concluded that the resulting model is able to realistically predict effects of fire and abiotic site conditions on natural vegetation development in different climate zones in the Taurus mountains. Further model development steps should aim to include important additional drivers of vegetation composition, such as climate change and land use.

Suggested Citation

  • Kint, V. & Aertsen, W. & Fyllas, N.M. & Trabucco, A. & Janssen, E. & Özkan, K. & Muys, B., 2014. "Ecological traits of Mediterranean tree species as a basis for modelling forest dynamics in the Taurus mountains, Turkey," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 286(C), pages 53-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:286:y:2014:i:c:p:53-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.04.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380014002130
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.04.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Augusiak, Jacqueline & Van den Brink, Paul J. & Grimm, Volker, 2014. "Merging validation and evaluation of ecological models to ‘evaludation’: A review of terminology and a practical approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 280(C), pages 117-128.
    2. Fyllas, Nikolaos M. & Phillips, Oliver L. & Kunin, William E. & Matsinos, Yiannis G. & Troumbis, Andreas I., 2007. "Development and parameterization of a general forest gap dynamics simulator for the North-eastern Mediterranean Basin (GREek FOrest Species)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 204(3), pages 439-456.
    3. Fyllas, Nikolaos M. & Politi, Patrizia I. & Galanidis, Alexandros & Dimitrakopoulos, Panayiotis G. & Arianoutsou, Margarita, 2010. "Simulating regeneration and vegetation dynamics in Mediterranean coniferous forests," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(11), pages 1494-1504.
    4. Aertsen, Wim & Kint, Vincent & van Orshoven, Jos & Özkan, Kürşad & Muys, Bart, 2010. "Comparison and ranking of different modelling techniques for prediction of site index in Mediterranean mountain forests," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(8), pages 1119-1130.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Holm, Jennifer A. & Shugart, H.H. & Van Bloem, S.J. & Larocque, G.R., 2012. "Gap model development, validation, and application to succession of secondary subtropical dry forests of Puerto Rico," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 233(C), pages 70-82.
    2. Lorscheid, Iris & Meyer, Matthias, 2016. "Divide and conquer: Configuring submodels for valid and efficient analyses of complex simulation models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 152-161.
    3. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta, 2016. "Robustness analysis: Deconstructing computational models for ecological theory and applications," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 162-167.
    4. Ahmed Laatabi & Nicolas Marilleau & Tri Nguyen-Huu & Hassan Hbid & Mohamed Ait Babram, 2018. "ODD+2D: An ODD Based Protocol for Mapping Data to Empirical ABMs," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 21(2), pages 1-9.
    5. Watson, Joseph W & Boyd, Robin & Dutta, Ritabrata & Vasdekis, Georgios & Walker, Nicola D. & Roy, Shovonlal & Everitt, Richard & Hyder, Kieran & Sibly, Richard M, 2022. "Incorporating environmental variability in a spatially-explicit individual-based model of European sea bass✰," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 466(C).
    6. Xiaolan Wu & Xiaoyan Bu & Suocheng Dong & Yushuang Ma & Yan Ma & Yarong Ma & Yulian Liu & Haixian Wang & Xiaomin Wang & Jiarui Wang, 2023. "The Impact of Restoration and Protection Based on Sustainable Development Goals on Urban Wetland Health: A Case of Yinchuan Plain Urban Wetland Ecosystem, Ningxia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Grimm, Volker & Berger, Uta, 2016. "Structural realism, emergence, and predictions in next-generation ecological modelling: Synthesis from a special issue," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 177-187.
    8. Boult, Victoria L. & Quaife, Tristan & Fishlock, Vicki & Moss, Cynthia J. & Lee, Phyllis C. & Sibly, Richard M., 2018. "Individual-based modelling of elephant population dynamics using remote sensing to estimate food availability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 387(C), pages 187-195.
    9. Braun, A. & Rosner, H.-J. & Hagensieker, R. & Dieball, S., 2015. "Multi-method dynamical reconstruction of the ecological impact of copper mining on Chinese historical landscapes," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 303(C), pages 42-54.
    10. Seyed Naghibi & Hamid Pourghasemi, 2015. "A Comparative Assessment Between Three Machine Learning Models and Their Performance Comparison by Bivariate and Multivariate Statistical Methods in Groundwater Potential Mapping," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(14), pages 5217-5236, November.
    11. Honkaniemi, Juha & Ojansuu, Risto & Kasanen, Risto & Heliövaara, Kari, 2018. "Interaction of disturbance agents on Norway spruce: A mechanistic model of bark beetle dynamics integrated in simulation framework WINDROT," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 388(C), pages 45-60.
    12. Kjelland, Michael E. & Piercy, Candice D. & Swannack, Todd M., 2017. "Beyond graphs and tables: Enhancing explanatory power of complex environmental simulations through 3D printed model output," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 360(C), pages 244-251.
    13. Ayllón, Daniel & Railsback, Steven F. & Vincenzi, Simone & Groeneveld, Jürgen & Almodóvar, Ana & Grimm, Volker, 2016. "InSTREAM-Gen: Modelling eco-evolutionary dynamics of trout populations under anthropogenic environmental change," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 36-53.
    14. Robert Huber & Hang Xiong & Kevin Keller & Robert Finger, 2022. "Bridging behavioural factors and standard bio‐economic modelling in an agent‐based modelling framework," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 35-63, February.
    15. Kitikidou, Kyriaki & Petrou, Petros & Milios, Elias, 2012. "Dominant height growth and site index curves for Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) in central Cyprus," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 1323-1329.
    16. Zhang, Jingjing & Dennis, Todd E. & Landers, Todd J. & Bell, Elizabeth & Perry, George L.W., 2017. "Linking individual-based and statistical inferential models in movement ecology: A case study with black petrels (Procellaria parkinsoni)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 360(C), pages 425-436.
    17. Fitts, Lucia A. & Fraser, Jacob S. & Miranda, Brian R. & Domke, Grant M. & Russell, Matthew B. & Sturtevant, Brian R., 2023. "An iterative site-scale approach to calibrate and corroborate successional processes within a forest landscape model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 477(C).
    18. MacPherson, Brian & Gras, Robin, 2016. "Individual-based ecological models: Adjunctive tools or experimental systems?," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 323(C), pages 106-114.
    19. Singer, Alexander & Johst, Karin & Banitz, Thomas & Fowler, Mike S. & Groeneveld, Jürgen & Gutiérrez, Alvaro G. & Hartig, Florian & Krug, Rainer M. & Liess, Matthias & Matlack, Glenn & Meyer, Katrin M, 2016. "Community dynamics under environmental change: How can next generation mechanistic models improve projections of species distributions?," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 326(C), pages 63-74.
    20. Erickson, Richard A. & Eager, Eric A. & Brey, Marybeth K. & Hansen, Michael J. & Kocovsky, Patrick M., 2017. "An integral projection model with YY-males and application to evaluating grass carp control," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 361(C), pages 14-25.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:286:y:2014:i:c:p:53-65. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.