Structural analysis and management methods in the Calabrian pine forests of the Sila area

Abstract

The structure of a forest stand is the result of interactions between bio-ecologicalfactors and human activities and is an important element for the analysis and themanagement of the forest ecosystems.In management terms, the study of the structural types makes it possible to assess theeffects of silvicultural treatments implemented over the years in the forests and it is thestarting point for defining appropriate management methods to adopt, in order toimprove and promote the structural complexity of the stand and the system’s functionalefficiency.The management methods of the Calabrian pine groves over the past thirty years,based on the elimination of individual plants, patch or strip clear felling and selectionfelling, have created diversified structural conditions over large areas. Pure, even-agedstands and uneven-aged pine forests, alternate with stands that are dense and dynamicwith abundant, young natural beech or, in the more advanced phases, young beech forestsdominated by adult pines. These last two phases are chronologically sequential.This study covers the even-aged pine forest, the Calabrian pine forest withwidespread regeneration of beech and the sparse Calabrian pine forest with young beechstands, each of which has undergone a detailed structural analysis. The objective is tohighlight the relationships among the silvicultural treatments, the structural conditionsand the evolutionary dynamics of the pine forests and to contribute to the development ofguidelines for the sustainable management and the maintenance of these formations.