IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p9179-d615396.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Current Status and Recent Stand Structure Dynamics in Mixed Silver Fir—European Beech Forests in Croatian Dinarides: Are There Differences between Managed and Unmanaged Forests?

Author

Listed:
  • Jura Čavlović

    (Department of Forest Inventory and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Marijana Andabaka

    (Department of Forest Inventory and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Mario Božić

    (Department of Forest Inventory and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Krunoslav Teslak

    (Department of Forest Inventory and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

  • Karlo Beljan

    (Department of Forest Inventory and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia)

Abstract

The environmental, social and economic potential of Dinaric uneven-aged forests along with the complex stand dynamics influenced by different long-term management approaches and environmental factors require comprehensive forest monitoring. This study aimed to explore differences in the current status and recent past dynamics of stand structures between unmanaged and managed mixed fir-beech forests in the Croatian part of the Dinaric Alps using large-scale data from an established monitoring system. From the 74 permanent sample plots distributed within the forest type measured in 2008 and re-measured in 2019, we stratified four strata (types of management regimes): (1) forests out of regular management and tree harvest for at least 30 years, (2) managed state forests on carbonate bedrock, (3) managed state forests on non-carbonate bedrock and (4) managed private forests. In each sample plot, 34 structural attributes were computed to assess indicators of their current status and recent past dynamics of stands in the studied forests. An increasing Q shape diameter distribution with a high number of large and very large trees characterize unmanaged forests and managed forests on non-carbonate bedrock. In managed state forests and private forests, variable (rotated sigmoid) and constant (negative exponential) results were obtained, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) distinguished managed and unmanaged forests with decreasing harvest volume and recruitment, increasing basal area, number of very large trees, average diameter at breast height (DBH), crown defoliation of firs and basal area of died beech trees. The current structure, recent and expected stand dynamics in the unmanaged forests (accumulation of standing volume, increase of large diameter trees and large snags, large share of beech, large mean DBH) can be recognized as old-growth attributes. The differences between the studied forest types, potential of both unmanaged and state managed fir-beech forests and approaches to sustain multifunctional forest management in the Dinaric region were discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jura Čavlović & Marijana Andabaka & Mario Božić & Krunoslav Teslak & Karlo Beljan, 2021. "Current Status and Recent Stand Structure Dynamics in Mixed Silver Fir—European Beech Forests in Croatian Dinarides: Are There Differences between Managed and Unmanaged Forests?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9179-:d:615396
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9179/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9179/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9179-:d:615396. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.