Assessment of Dead Tree Role in Natural Regeneration (Case study: Lalis Beech forests, Nowshahr)

Subject Areas : environmental management

Saeid  Shabani ¹ (Research Assistant, Research Department of Natural Resources, Golestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Gorgan, Iran.)
Moslem  Akbarinia ² (Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran *(Corresponding Author).)
Seyed Gholamali  Jalali ³ (Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.)

Received: 2009-07-11 Accepted : 2009-10-02 Published : 2019-10-23

Keywords: dead tree, decay classes, Regeneration, canopy opening, topographic factors,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Dead trees are an important factor for structure and activity controlling in forest temperature. For the sake of survey role of dead trees in the regeneration of trees species, regeneration density of environs dead trees in Lalis forests, Nowshahr was studied. Method: For a sampling of snags by circle plots (500 m2 area) and snag in the center, and also in the logs used of along plots into width four-meter and dead trees length. Decay classes of dead trees, topographic position and canopy gap area due to dead tree inscribed according to average diameter of canopy opening. In this study gaps were divided into five groups, including close canopy, very small (2), small (50-150 m2), medium-size gap (150-250 m2) and large size (250-480 m2). Findings: Results of regeneration show that beech species had the most regeneration density. According to the results of density in decay classes, the fourth class had the most regeneration density for total species. Also with the increase in the size of gaps area, accrue in regeneration density and fifth class includes most regeneration. Differences mean values of density between slope and altitude classes weren't significant, but the density of Beech, Persian Maple, Cappadocian Maple, and Alder species were significant in different aspects. Discussion and Conclusion: The findings of the present study show that recognizing natural processes in virgin stands of forest ecosystems provides useful information for managers to make the right decisions.

References:

1. Payette, S., Filion L., Delwaide A., 1990. Disturbance regime of a cold temperate forest as deduced from tree-ring patterns, the Tantare´ ecological reserve, Quebec. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 20, 1228–1241.


2. Shabani, S., Akbarinia, M., Kooch, M., 2008. Study of dead trees in forest gaps in unmanaged beech stands. The 1^st. international conference on the Caspian region environmental changes, Babolsar, Iran, 24–24 August, 8p (In Persian).


3. Harmon, M.E., Franklin, J.F., Swanson, F.J., Sollins, P., Gregory, S.V., Lattin, J.D., 1986. Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research, Vol. 135, 133–301.


4. Nilsson, S.G., Hedin, J., Niklasson, M., 2001. Biodiversity and its assessment in boreal and nemoral forests. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 3, 10–26.


5. Schmit, J.P., Mueller, G.M., Leacock, P.R., Mata, J.L., Wu Q.X., Huang, Y.G., 2005. Assessment of tree species-richness as a surrogate for macro fungal species-richness. Biological Conservation, Vol. 121, 99–110.


6. Mc Comb, W., Lindenmayer, D., 1999. Dying, dead, and down trees. In: Hunter, M.L. (Ed.), Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 335–372.


7. Kropp, B.R., 1982. Fungi from decayed wood as ectomycorrhizal symbiont of western hemlock. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 12, 36–39.


8. Delfan Abazari, B., Sagheb Talebi, Kh., Namiraian, M., 2004. Study of regeneration gaps and recruited quantitative seedlings in control plot of Kelardasht forests (Lenga), Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, Vol. 12 (2), 251–266 (In Persian).


9. Mc Kenny, H.J.A., Kirkpatrick, J.B 1999. The role of fallen logs in the regeneration of tree species in Tasmanian mixed forest. Australian Journal of Botany, Vol. 47, 745–753.


10. Zolfeghari, E., Marvi Mohajer, M.R., Namiranian, M., 2007. Impact of dead trees on natural regeneration in forest stands (Chelir district, Kheiroudkenar, Nowshahr), Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, Vol. 15 (3), 234–240 (In Persian).


11. Liao, C.C., Chou, C.H., Wu, J.T., 2003. Regeneration patterns of yellow cypress on down logs in mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest of Yuanyang Lake Nature Preserve Taiwan. Botanical Bulletin. Academia Sinica Taipei, Vol. 44, 229–238.


12. Kuluvainen, T., Juntunen, P., 1998. Seedling establishment in relation to microhabitat variation in a windthrow gap in a boreal Pinus sylvestris forest. Journal of Vegetation Science, Vol. 9, 551–562.


13. Noguchi, M., Yoshida, T., 2004. Tree regeneration in partially cut conifer-hardwood mixed forests in northern Japan: roles of establishment substrate and dwarf bamboo. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 190, 335–344.


14. Schaetzl, R.J., Burns, S.F., Johnson, D.L., Small, T.W., 1989. Tree uprooting: review of impacts on forest ecology. Vegetation, Vol. 79, 165–176.


15. Sefidi, K., Mohadjer, M.R., Zobeiri, M., Etemad, V., 2007. Investigation on dead trees effects on natural regeneration of oriental beech and hornbeam in a mixed beech forest. Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, Vol. 15 (4), 365–373 (In Persian).


16. Brang, P., Moran, J., Puttonen, P., Vyse, A., 2003. Regeneration of Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa in high-elevation forests of south-central British Columbia depends on nurse logs. Forestry Chronicle, Vol. 79, 273–279.


17. Christie, D.A., Armesto, J.J., 2003. Regeneration microsites and tree species coexistence in temperate rain forests of Chiloe Island Chile. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 91, 776–784.


18. Madsen, P., 1995. Effects of soil water content, fertilization, light, weed competition and seedbed type on natural regeneration of beech (Fagus sylvatica). Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 72, 251–264.


19. Dovciak, M., Reich, P.B., Frelich, L.E., 2003. Seed rain, safe sites, competing vegetation, and soil resources spatially structure white pine regeneration and recruitment. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 33, 1892–1904.


20. Christy, E.J., Mack, R.N., 1984. Variation in demography of juvenile Tsuga heterophylla across the substratum mosaic. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 72, 75–91.


21. Garber, S.M., Brown, J.P., Wilson, D.S., Douglas, A., Maguire, D.A., Heath, L.S., 2005. Snag longevity under alternative silvicultural regimes in mixed-species forests of central Maine. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 35, 787–796.


22. Dennis, W.M., Batson, W.T., 1974. The floating and stump communities in the santee swamp of South Carolina. Castanea, Vol. 39, 166–170.


23. Heinemann, K., Kitzberger, T., 2006. Effects of position, understorey vegetation and coarse woody debris on tree regeneration in two environmentally contrasting forests of north-western Patagonia: a manipulative approach. Journal of Biogeography, Vol. 33, 1357–1367.


24. Bader, P., Jansson, S., Jonsson, B.G., 1995. Wood-inhabiting fungi and substratum decline in selectively logged boreal spruce forests. Biological Conservation, Vol. 72, 355–362.


25. Musavi Mirkalaei, S.R., 2000. Study of silviculture of regeneration gaps in Shourab forest, Golband district, MSc thesis of forestry, Tarbiat Modares University, 69p (In Persian).


26. Collins, B.S., Picket, S.T.A., 1988. Demographic responses of herb layer species to experimental canopy gaps in a northern hardwoods forest. Journal of Ecology, Vol. 76, 437–450.


27. Felton, A.M., Wood, J., Lindenmayer, D.B., 2006. Vegetation structure, phenology, and regeneration in the natural and anthropogenic tree-fall gaps of a reduced-impact logged subtropical Bolivian forest. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 235, 186–193.


28. Marvie Mohadjer, M.R., 2006. Silviculture. University of Tehran Press, 387p (In Persian).


29. Emborg, J., 1998. Understorey light conditions and regeneration with respect to the structural dynamics of a near-natural temperate deciduous forest in Denmark. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 106, 83–95.


30. Bale, C.L., Williams, J.B., Charley, J.L., 1998. The impact of aspect on forest structure and floristics in some Eastern Australian sites. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 110, 363–377.