Structural variation in mixed planted forests after forest management abandoning

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

1 Department of Forest Sciences and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, I. R. Iran

2 University Of Mohaghegh Ardabili

3 Technical Bureau of Forestry and Plantation, Natural Resources and Watershed Management Office of West Azerbaijan Province, Urmia, I. R. Iran

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Forest structure is a key factor in growth, yield and how changes occur in the forest stands, and evaluating the structure of plantations can play an important role in improving afforestation and timely implementation of forestry treatments in each stand. This study aimed to evaluate structural characteristics of plantation forests in the Saib Tabrizi forest park located on Tabriz, after 25 years of planting have passed, and abandon its management.
Materials and Methods: For this purpose, after initial field surveys, three one-hectare plots were selected and based on quantitative indicators, the structure of each plot-sample was investigated. In each plot, structural characteristics of all trees (species type, diameter at breast height, tree height, canopy height, and canopy diameter) were measured and the distance method (based on nearest neighbor’s) were used to quantify stand structure. In order to study of stand structural some index including nearest neighbors distance index (density of trees), uniform angle index and Clark and Evans index (variety of location), Mingling index (species mixture), diameter and height differentiation indices (dimensional differences of trees), and complex structural diversity index (tree diversity) were used.
Results: Based on the results, the average density of trees was 448 per hectare. In the studied sample plots, the average DBH was equaled to be 12.9 cm, the average height of the trees was 5.1 m and the average basal area was calculated to be 0.013 m2 per hectare. The highest abundance among the species belonged to the species of Pinus nigra with 50.4% and Robinia pseudoacacia 32.4%, respectively. The results of the uniform angle index showed that a cluster pattern in spatial distribution of trees, however Clark and Evans index showed a regular pattern. According to the Mingling index, the studied stands have relatively moderate mixing. The height and diameter differentiation indices showed that the dimensions of the trees had a slight difference, and have a homogeneous structure. According to complex structural diversity index, tree diversity was obtained at the low level.
Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be said that after nearly three decades of planting trees in this park, tree communities have maintained the homogeneity of their structure, and trees have moderate mixture. Therefore, it can be stated that the development of forest structure in the research area is slow. Hence it is recommended to increase the biological sustainability, silvicultural treatments are needed to increase mixture and heterogeneity of structure. The results of this study can provide objective justifications for the importance of consciously creating forestry strategies in the country's forestry as a missing link in the forest management.

Keywords

References

1.Abbasian, P., Attarod, P., Sadeghi, S.M.M., Van Stan, J.T., and Hojjati, S.M. 2015. Throughfall nutrients in a degraded indigenous Fagus orientalis forest and a Picea abies plantation in North of Iran. Forest Systems. 24: 1-10.
2.Aguirre, O., Hui, G., von Gadow, K., and Jiménez, J. 2003. An analysis of spatial forest structure using neighbourhood-based variables. Forest Ecology and Management. 183: 137-145.
3.Bumrungsri, S., Sripao-Raya, E., and Leelatiwong, C. 2006. A quantitative analysis of plant community structure in an abandoned rubber plantation on Kho-Hong Hill, southern Thailand. Songklanakharind J. of Science and Technology. 28: 479-491.
4.Corral, J.J., Wehenkel, C., Castelanos, H.A., Vargas, B., and Dieguez, U. 2010. A permutation test of spatial randomness: application to nearest neighbor indices in forest stands. J. of Forest Research.15: 218-225.
5.Crecente-Campo, F., Pommerening,A., and Rodríguez-Soalleiro, R. 2009. Impacts of thinning on structure, growth and risk of crown fire in a Pinus sylvestris L. plantation in northern Spain.Forest Ecology and Management.257: 1945-1954.
6.Dement, W.T., Hackworth, Z.J., Lhotka, J.M., and Barton, C.D. 2020. Plantation development and colonization of woody species in response to post-mining spoil preparation methods. New Forests. 51: 965-984.
7.Ehbrecht, M., Schall, P., Ammer, C., and Seidel, D. 2017. Quantifying stand structural complexity and its relationship with forest management, tree species diversity and microclimate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 242: 1-9.
8.Forrester, D.I. 2019. Linking forest growth with stand structure: Tree size inequality, tree growth or resource partitioning and the asymmetry of competition. Forest Ecology and Management. 447: 139-157.
9.Gao, G.L., Ding, G.D., Zhang, A., Cao, M.N., Zhao, Y.Y., Bao, Y.F., and Li, X. 2014. Comparison of stand spatial structure in different plantations and natural forests in Rocky mountain area of Northern China. International J. of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics. 9: 141-148.
10.Ghanbari, S., Sefidi, K., and Fathizadeh, O. 2019. Composition and structure of English yew forest stands (Taxus baccata L.) in different conservation systems of Arasbaran forests, Iran. J.of Wood and Forest Science and Technology. 26: 31-49. (In Persian)
11.Graboski, L.E., Steiner, K.C., McDill, M.E., and Finley, J.C. 2020. Predicting oak regeneration success at the stem exclusion stage of stand development in upland hardwood forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 465: 118093.
12.Grotti, M., Chianucci, F., Puletti, N., Fardusi, M.J., Castaldi, C., and Corona, P. 2019. Spatio-temporal variability in structure and diversity in a semi-natural mixed oak-hornbeam floodplain forest. Ecological Indicators. 104: 576-587.
13.Hui, G., Zhang, G., Zhao, Z., and Yang, A. 2019. Methods of forest structure research: A review. Current Forestry Reports. 5: 142-154.
14.Kerr, G. 1999. The use of silvicultural systems to enhance the biological diversity of plantation forests in Britain. Forestry. 72: 191-205.
15.Khai, T.C., Mizoue, N., Kajisa, T.,Ota, T., and Yoshida, S. 2016. Stand structure, composition and illegal logging in selectively logged production forests of Myanmar: Comparison of two compartments subject to different cutting frequency. Global Ecology and Conservation. 7: 132-140.
16.Kint, V., Lust, N., Ferris, R., and Olsthoom, A.F.M. 2000. Quantification of forest stand structure applied to Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Forests. Investigación Agraria: Sistemasy Recursos Forestales. 1: 147-163.
17.Krumm, F., Kulakowski, D., Risch, A.C., Spiecker, H., Brändli, U.B., and Bebi, P. 2012. Stem exclusion and mortality in unmanaged subalpine forests of the Swiss Alps. European J. of Forest Research. 131: 1571-1583.
18.Lelli, C., Bruun, H.H., Chiarucci, A., Donati, D., Frascaroli, F., Fritz, O., Goldberg, I., Nascimbene, J., Tøttrup, A.P., Rahbek, C., and Heilmann-Clausen, J. 2019. Biodiversity response to forest structure and management: Comparing species richness, conservation relevant species and functional diversity as metrics in forest conservation. Forest Ecology and Management. 432: 707-717.
19.Marin-Spiotta, E., Silver, W.L., and Ostertag, R. 2007. Long‐term patterns in tropical reforestation: Plant community composition and aboveground biomass accumulation. Ecological Applications. 17: 828-839.
20.Pastorella, F., and Paletto, A. 2013. Stand structure indices as tools to support forest management: an application in Trentino forests (Italy).J. of Forest Science. 59: 159-168.
21.Poldveer, E., Korjus, H., Kiviste, A., Kangur, A., Paluots, T., and Laarmann, D. 2020. Assessment of spatial stand structure of hemiboreal conifer dominated forests according to different levels of naturalness. Ecological Indicators. 110: 105944.
22.Pommerening, A., and Uria-Diez, J. 2017. Do large forest trees tend towards high species mingling? Ecological Informatics. 42: 139-147.
23.Ruprecht, H., Dhar, A., Aigner, B., Oitzinger, G., Raphael, K., and Vacik‚ H. 2010. Structural diversity of English yew (Taxus bacata L.) populations. European J. of Forest Research.129: 189-198.
24.Sadeghi, S.M.M., Alijani, V., Namiranian, M., and Mohamadizadeh, M. 2016. Structural characteristics of Juniperus excelsa in the mountainous forests of Alborz south facing slope (Case study: Atashgah, Karaj). Iranian J. of Forest. 8: 35-49. (In Persian)
25.Sefidi K., Copenheaver, C.A., Kakavand, M., and Behjou, F. 2015. Structural diversity within mature forests in Northern Iran: a case study from a relic population of Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica C.A. Meyer). Forest Science. 61: 258-265.
26.Sefidi, K., and Sadeghi, S.M.M. 2019. Structural characteristics of Quercus macranthera forests in Arasbaran region, Northwest of Iran (Hatam Mashe Si, Meshgin-Shahr). Iranian J. of Forest. 11: 347-361. (In Persian)
27.Sterba, H., Dirnberger, G., and Ritter, T. 2018. The contribution of forest structure to complementarity in mixed stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.). Forests. 9: 1-17.
28.Szmyt, J., and Dobrowolska, D. 2016. Spatial diversity of forest regeneration after catastrophic wind in northeastern Poland. iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry. 9: 414-427.
29.Vacek, Z., Cukor, J., Vacek, S., Podrázský, V., Linda, R., and Kovařík, J. 2018. Forest biodiversity and production potential of post-mining landscape: opting for afforestation or leaving it to spontaneous development? Central European Forestry J. 64: 116-126.
30.Verheyen, K., Vanhellemont, M., Auge, H., Baeten, L., Baraloto, C., Barsoum, N., Bilodeau-Gauthier, S., Bruelheide, H., Castagneyrol, B., Godbold, D., and Haase, J. 2016. Contributions of a global network of tree diversity experiments to sustainable forest plantations. Ambio. 45: 29-41.
31.Waters, C.M., Gonsalves, L., Law, B., Melville, G., Toole, I., Brassil, T., and Tap, P. 2018. The effect of thinning on structural attributes of a low rainfall forest in eastern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management. 409: 571-583.
32.Yang, H., Miao, N., Li, S. C., Ma, R., Liao, Z.Y., Wang, W.P., and Sun, H.L. 2019. Relationship between stand characteristics and soil properties of two typical forest plantations in the mountainous area of Western Sichuan, China. J. of Mountain Science. 16: 1816-1832.
33.Zhao, Z., Bai, Z., Zhang, Z., Guo, D., Li, J., Xu, Z., and Pan, Z. 2012. Population structure and spatial distributions patterns of 17 years old plantation in a reclaimed spoil of Pingshuo opencast mine, China. Ecological Engineering. 44: 147-151.
Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology
Volume 27, Issue 4
March 2021
Pages 97-112

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics