Quantitative and qualitative assessment of deadwood in natural stands of Hyrcanian forests (Case study: Gorazbon district of Kheyrud, Nowshahr)

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Silviculture and Forest Ecology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

2 Prof., Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

3 Assistant Prof., Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

The conservation value of Coarse Woody Debris (CWD), as critical microhabitat component, in forest ecosystems led to increasingly expand interests in researches about it. The scientific CWD information had gradually considered by decision-makers for implementing forestry planning. In this study, due to evaluate qualitative and quantitative characters of CWD and its proportion to live standing trees, full callipering method was applied. Data were collected from an unmanaged parcel (parcel no. 37, Gorazbon district, Kheyrud forest) situated in southern slopes of Caspian beech forests. The study site has never been under wood exploitation. The data of CWD (middle diameter ≥ 10 cm) and stand (D.B.H ≥ 7.5 cm) were measured using full calipering method. The results of this study illustrated the average number of live standing trees, snags, and fallen trees were 357, 8, and 26 per ha, respectively. Between all species, hornbeam had the highest volume proportion both in live standing trees and CWD. One fifth of total CWD volume was accounted to sangs and stumps and about half of the total volume was exposure in low degree of decomposition. CWD volume amounted 3.5% of total yield of site study. In summary, total CWD volume is lower than optimal value considered for CWD in temperate forests which sets alarms that any removal of CWD could bring irrecoverable consequences in site study.

Keywords


- Alidadi, F., Marvie Mohadjer, M.R., Etemad, V. and Sefidi, K., 2014. Decay dynamics of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) deadwood in mixed beech stands. Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, 22(4): 624-635 (In Persian).
- Amanzadeh, B., Sagheb-Talebi, Kh., Foumani, B., Fadaie, F.J., Camarero, J. and Linares, J., 2013. Spatial distribution and volume of dead wood in unmanaged Caspian beech (Fagus orientalis) forests from northern Iran. Forests, 4: 751-765.
- Anonymous, 2010. Forest Management Plan, Gorazbon District of Kheyrud Forest. Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, pp. 191-273 (In Persian).
- Anonymous, 2011. Down Woody Materials. Phase 3 (Field Guide), Version 5.1. USDA Forest Service, Section 25: 1-34.
- Butler, J., Alexander, K.N.A. and Green, T., 2002. Decaying wood: an overview of its status and ecology in the United Kingdom and continental Europe. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-GTR-181: 11-19.
- Dudley, N. and Vallauri, D., 2005. Forest Restoration Landscape: Restoration of Deadwood as a Critical Microhabitat in Forest Landscapes. Forest Restoration in Landscapes, Springer, pp. 203-207.
- Erajaa, S., Halme, P., Kotiaho, J.S., Markkanen, A. and Toivanen, T., 2010. The volume and composition of dead wood on traditional and forest fuel harvested clear-cut. Silva Fennica, 44(2): 203-211.
- FAO, 2006. Global forest resources assessment 2005, Progress towards sustainable forest management. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, Rome, 147: 149-154.
- Habashi, H., 1998. Study of ecological and silvicultural importance of dead trees in Noor forests. M.Sc. thesis, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, 210p (In Persian). 
- Harmon, M.E., Franklin, J.F., Swanson, F.J., Sollins, P., Gregory, S.V., Lattin, J.D., Anderson, N.H., Cline, S.P., Aumen, N.G., Sedell, J.R., Lienkaemper, G.W., Cromack, K. and Cummins, K.W., 1986. Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research, 15: 88-110.
- Harmon, M.E. and Sexton, J., 1996. Guidelines for measurements of woody detritus in forest ecosystems. U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Publication, University of Washington, Seattle, 20p.
- Humphrey, J.W., Sippola, A.L., Lemperiere, G., Dodelin, B., Alexander, K.N.A. and Butler, J.E., 2004. Deadwood as an indicator of biodiversity in European forests: from theory to operational guidance. EFI-Proceedings, 51: 193-206.
- Lassauce, A., Paillet, Y., Jactel, H., Bouget, C., 2011. Deadwood as a surrogate for forest biodiversity: Meta-analysis of correlations between deadwood volume and species richness of saproxylic organisms. Ecological Indicators, 11: 1027-1039.
- MacMillan, P.C., 1988. Decomposition of coarse woody debris in an old-growth Indiana forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 18: 1353-1362.
- Marvie-Mohadjer, M.R., 2013. Silviculture. 3rd Edition, University of Tehran Press, Tehran, 418p (In Persian). 
- Radu, S., 2006. The ecological role of deadwood in natural forests: 137-141. In: Gafta, D. and Akeroyd, J. (Eds.). Nature Conservation. Springer, Berlin, 460p.
- Ritter, T. and Saborowski, J., 2014. Efficient integration of a deadwood inventory into an existing forest inventory carried out as two-phase sampling for stratification. Forestry, 87: 571-58.
- Rondeux, J. and Sanchez, C., 2009. Review of indicators and field methods for monitoring biodiversity within national forest inventories, Core variable: Deadwood. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 164(1-4): 617-630.
- Sagheb-Talebi, Kh., 2013. Appropriate characteristics of beech stands for application of close to nature silviculture (selection system). Final Report of Research Project, Published by Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, Tehran, 120p (In Persian).
- Sagheb-Talebi, Kh. and Schütz, J.P., 2002. The structure of natural oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) forests in the Caspian region of Iran and the potential for the application of the group selection system. Forestry, 75(4): 465-472.
- Sefidi, K., Esfandiary Darabad, F. and Azarian, M., 2016. Effect of topography on tree species composition and volume of coarse woody debris in an oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) old growth forests, northern Iran. iForest, 9: 658-665.
- Sefidi, K., Esfandiary Darabad, F. and Sharari, M., 2017. The decay time and rate determination in oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) deadtrees in Asalem forests. Journal of Environmental Studies, 42(3): 551-563.
- Sefidi, K. and Etemad, V., 2014. The amount and quality of dead trees in a mixed beech forest with different management histories in northern Iran. Biodiversitas, 15: 162-168.
Travaglini, D., Barbati, A., Chirici, G., Lombardi, F., Marchetti, M. and Corona, P., 2007. Forest BIOTA data on deadwood monitoring in Europe. Plant Biosystems, 141(2): 222-230.
Vandekerkhove, K., Keersmaeker, L.D., Menke, N., Meyer, P. and Verschelde, P., 2009. When nature takes over from man: Dead wood accumulation in previously managed oak and beech woodlands in North-western and Central Europe. Forest Ecology and Management, 258: 425-435.
Zobeiry, M., 1994. Forest Inventory. University of Tehran Press, Tehran, 401p (In Persian).