FOREST ECOSYSTEMS – MORE THAN JUST TREES Edited by Juan A. Blanco and Yueh-Hsin Lo Forest Ecosystems – More than Just Trees Edited by Juan A. Blanco and Yueh-Hsin Lo Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Dejan Grgur Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published February, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechweb.org Forest Ecosystems – More than Just Trees, Edited by Juan A. Blanco and Yueh-Hsin Lo p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0202-1 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Forest Structure and Biodiversity 1 Chapter 1 Plant Diversity of Forests 3 Ján Merganič, Katarína Merganičová, Róbert Marušák and Vendula Audolenská Chapter 2 Arthropods and Nematodes: Functional Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems 29 Pio Federico Roversi and Roberto Nannelli Chapter 3 Advances in Molecular Diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Phylum Glomeromycota) in Forest Ecosystems 53 Camila Maistro Patreze, Milene Moreira and Siu Mui Tsai Chapter 4 Deadwood in Forest Ecosystems 81 Katarína Merganičová, Ján Merganič, Miroslav Svoboda, Radek Bače and Vladimír Šebeň Chapter 5 Composition and Stand Structure of Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa, India 109 R.K. Mishra, V.P. Upadhyay, P.K. Nayak, S. Pattanaik and R.C. Mohanty Chapter 6 Vegetation Evolution in the Mountains of Cameroon During the Last 20 000 Years: Pollen Analysis of Lake Bambili Sediments 137 Chimène Assi-Kaudjhis Chapter 7 Using Remotely Sensed Imagery for Forest Resource Assessment and Inventory 165 Rodolfo Martinez Morales VI Contents Part 2 Forest Function – Energy, Mass and Biological Fluxes 179 Chapter 8 Ecohydrology and Biogeochemistry in a Temperate Forest Catchment 181 Su-Jin Kim, Hyung Tae Choi, Kyongha Kim and Chunghwa Lee Chapter 9 Carbon Cycling in Teak Plantations in Comparison with Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests in Thailand 209 Masamichi Takahashi, Dokrak Marod, Samreong Panuthai and Keizo Hirai Chapter 10 Fertility, Microbial Biomass and Edaphic Fauna Under Forestry and Agroforestry Systems in the Eastern Amazon 231 Maria de Lourdes Pinheiro Ruivo, Antonio Pereira Junior, Keila Chistina Bernardes, Cristine Bastos Amarante, Quezia Leandro Moura and Maria Lucia Jardim Macambira Chapter 11 Plant Productivity is Temporally Enhanced by Soil Fauna Depending on the Life Stage and Abundance of Animals 253 Ayu Toyota and Nobuhiro Kaneko Chapter 12 Entomopathogenic Fungi as an Important Natural Regulator of Insect Outbreaks in Forests (Review) 265 Anna Augustyniuk-Kram and Karol J. Kram Chapter 13 Quantitative Chemical Defense Traits, Litter Decomposition and Forest Ecosystem Functioning 295 Mohammed Mahabubur Rahman and Rahman Md. Motiur Chapter 14 Genetic Sustainability of Fragmented Conifer Populations from Stressed Areas in Northern Ontario (Canada): Application of Molecular Markers 315 K.K. Nkongolo, R. Narendrula, M. Mehes-Smith, S. Dobrzeniecka, K. Vandeligt, M. Ranger and P. Beckett Part 3 Ecosystem-Level Forest Management 337 Chapter 15 Moving from Ecological Conservation to Restoration: An Example from Central Taiwan, Asia 339 Yueh-Hsin Lo, Yi-Ching Lin, Juan A. Blanco, Chih-Wei Yu and Biing T. Guan Chapter 16 Restoration of Forest Ecosystems on Disturbed Lands on the Northern Forest Distribution Border (North-East of European Russia) 355 Irina Likhanova and Inna Archegova Contents VII Chapter 17 Close to Nature Management in High-Mountain Forests of Norway Spruce Vegetation Zone in Slovakia 375 Martin Moravčík, Zuzana Sarvašová, Ján Merganič and Miroslav Kovalčík Chapter 18 Interactions of Forest Road, Forest Harvesting and Forest Ecosystems 415 Murat Demir Chapter 19 Forest Transportation Systems as a Key Factor in Quality Management of Forest Ecosystems 433 Tibor Pentek and Tomislav Poršinsky . FOREST ECOSYSTEMS – MORE THAN JUST TREES Edited by Juan A. Blanco and Yueh-Hsin Lo Forest Ecosystems – More than Just Trees Edited by Juan A orders@intechweb.org Forest Ecosystems – More than Just Trees, Edited by Juan A. Blanco and Yueh-Hsin Lo p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0202-1 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Forest Structure. Preface The common idea for many people is that forests are just a collection of trees. However, forests are much more than just that. They are complex, functional systems of interacting