Published 2012-11-02
Keywords
- old growth Calabrien pine,
- forests,
- structural analysis,
- coarse woody debris
Copyright (c) 2012 Italian Journal of Forest and Mountain Environments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The study of old-growth forest remnants can help in understanding natural dynamics in forest stands which have not been impacted by human activity for a very long period of time. We have examined an old growth forest of Pinus Laricio Poiret where there are three different situations: pure pine stands, pine stands with broadleaves, lower density pine stands with broadleaves. We characterized the stand structure of the different situations by means of NBSI structural indexes and the Latham index. Furthermore, deadwood was measured separating standing dead trees, lying dead trees, wood fragments and stumps. Classification of decomposition degree was carried out following the system suggested by Hunter (1990). Results showed that the conservation of pure Laricio pine forests also in areas where pedoclimatic conditions are favorable to the entrance of other species, such as in this case, Turkey oak, can be supported by a silvicultural approach based on very small group selection system as described by Ciancio et al. (2006).