Climate-Driven Decline of Oak Forests: Integrating Ecological Indicators and Sustainable Management Strategies

Ioan Tăut, Florin Dumitru Bora, Florin Alexandru Rebrean (), Cristian Mircea Moldovan (), Mircea Ioan Varga, Vasile Șimonca, Alexandru Colișar, Szilard Bartha, Claudia Simona Timofte and Paul Sestraș
Additional contact information
Ioan Tăut: Forestry and Land Surveying, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Florin Dumitru Bora: Viticulture and Oenology Department, Advanced Horticultural Research Institute of Transylvania, Faculty of Horticulture and Business in Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (UASVM) Cluj-Napoca, Mănăştur Street 3–5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Florin Alexandru Rebrean: Forestry and Land Surveying, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Cristian Mircea Moldovan: ”Marin Drăcea” National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry Cluj, 65 Horea Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Mircea Ioan Varga: Forestry and Land Surveying, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Vasile Șimonca: Forestry and Land Surveying, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Alexandru Colișar: Forestry and Land Surveying, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3–5 Mănăștur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Szilard Bartha: Department of Forestry and Forest Engineering, University of Oradea, 1 University Street, 410087 Oradea, Romania
Claudia Simona Timofte: Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, 26 General Magheru Sreet, 410048 Oradea, Romania
Paul Sestraș: Department of Land Measurements and Exact Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Cadastre, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-32

Abstract: Oak forests provide critical ecosystem services, but are being increasingly exposed to climate variability, drought, and insect outbreaks that threaten their long-term resilience. This study aims to integrate structural canopy indicators with climate-derived indices to detect early-warning signals of decline in temperate oak stands. We monitored eight Forest Management Units in western Romania between 2017 and 2021, combining field-based assessments of crown morphology, vitality traits, defoliation, and epicormic shoot frequency with hydroclimatic indices such as the Forest Aridity Index. Results revealed strong spatial and temporal variability: several stands showed advanced canopy deterioration characterized by increased defoliation, dead branches, and epicormic resprouting, while others maintained stable conditions, suggesting resilience and suitability as reference sites. Insect defoliators, particularly Geometridae, contributed additional stress, but generally at subcritical levels. By synthesizing these metrics into conceptual models and a risk scorecard, we identified the causal pathways linking climatic anomalies and biotic stressors to structural decline. The findings demonstrate that combining structural and climatic indicators offers a transferable framework for forest health monitoring, providing robust early-warning tools to guide adaptive silviculture and resilience-based management. Beyond the Romanian context, this integrative approach supports sustainability goals by strengthening conservation strategies for temperate forests under global change.

Keywords: Quercus robur decline; climate change; forest health monitoring; Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI); Geographic Information Systems (GIS); genetic diversity; remote sensing; crown defoliation; adaptive forest management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9197/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9197/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:20:p:9197-:d:1773246

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().