Species composition and specific aspects of the Green Tree Retention structure in unmanaged mixed forests in Asturias (northern Spain)
Abstract
Aims of the study: i) To characterize the species composition and stand variables in a Green Tree Retention (GTR) structure obtained as result of applying an uneven aged silviculture system based on the BDq method; ii) to conduct a biometric study of these components of the GTR.
Area of study: Asturias (northern Spain).
Material and methods: The GTR system included three groups of trees: non-commercial species, trees destined for production of edible fruits (Castanea sativa) and veteran trees (with DBH>52.5 cm, established by the BDq method) in 6 strata of the fourth Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI4). The method was applied to trees up to DBH at which are then classified as veteran. The other groups are excluded from management. A biometric study of these components was conducted by analysis of the extreme value distributions of maximum and minimum diameters by fitting the Gumbel Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF). The goodness of fit was evaluated with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic (Dn), the Cramér von Mises criterion (W2), the bias and the mean squared error (MSE).
Main results: The Gumbel CDF generally produced good results, and the best fits were obtained for maximum diameters. The Dn values were generally low or normal. The values of W2 and the MSE are consistent with the Dn. As the mean value of the biases is always positive, the Gumbel CDF tends to underestimate the real distributions.
Research highlights: The values obtained for the parameters can help in determining several aspects of the structure of the GTR and thus help in forest management decision-making.
Downloads
References
Bravo F, Díaz-Balteiro L, 2004. Evaluation of new silvicultural alternatives for Scots pine stands in northern Spain. Ann For Sci 61: 163-169. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:2004008
Brzeziecki B, Kornat A, 2011. Application of the BDq method in uneven−aged stands silviculture. Sylwan 155(9): 589-598.
Cao Q, 2004. Predicting parameters of a Weibull function for modeling diameter distribution. For Sci 50(5): 682-685.
Crecente-Campo F, Tomé M, Soares P, Diéguez-Aranda U, 2010. A generalized nonlinear mixed-effects height-diameter model for Eucalyptus globulus L. in northwestern Spain. For Ecol Manage 259: 943-952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.11.036
Díaz-González TE, 2014. El paisaje vegetal de Asturias en el contexto bioclimático y biogeográfico de la Península Ibérica. Real Instituto de Estudios Asturianos, Oviedo. 141 pp.
Drozdowski S, Andrzejczyk T, Bielak K, Buraczyk W, Gawron L, 2014. Silvicultural planning in spruce mire forests by the means of the BDq method. Sylwan 158(10): 733-742.
FEMAT, 1993. Forest ecosystem management: an ecological, economic, and social assessment. For Ecosyst Manage Assess Team, US Forest Service. Washington, DC.
Fisher RA, Tippett LHC, 1928. Limiting forms of the frequency distribution of the largest or smallest member of a sample. Math Proc Cambridge Philos Soc 24: 180-190. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305004100015681
Gadow Kv, 2001. Orientation and control in CCF systems. In: Continuous Cover Forestry. Assessment, Analysis; Scenarios, 211-217; Gadow Kv, Nagel J & Saborowski J (eds). Int IUFRO Conf, 19-21 Sept, Göttingen, Germany.
Gorgoso-Varela JJ, Rojo-Alboreca A, 2014a. Use of Gumbel and Weibull functions to model extreme values of diameter distributions in forest stands. Ann For Sci 71: 741-750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-014-0369-1
Gorgoso-Varela JJ, Rojo-Alboreca A, 2014b. A comparison of estimation methods for fitting Weibull and Johnson's SB functions to pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and birch (Betula pubescens) stands in northwest Spain. Forest Syst 23(3): 500-505. https://doi.org/10.5424/fs/2014233-04939
Gorgoso-Varela JJ, García-Villabrille JD, Rojo-Alboreca A, 2015. Modeling extreme values for height distributions in Pinus pinaster, Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus stands in northwestern Spain. iForest-Biogeosci Forest 9: 23-29. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor1447-008
Gorgoso-Varela JJ, Alonso-Ponce R, Rodríguez-Puerta F, Lizarralde I, 2019. Application of the BDq method to complex structures of natural mixed forests in Asturias (Northern Spain). Int Sci Conf: Forests in Science, Practice and Education. Varsovia, 18-19 Jun.
Graz FP, Gadow Kv, 2005. Application of a stem number guide curve for sustainable harvest control in the dry woodland Savanna of northern Namibia. South Afr Forest J 204: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.2989/10295920509505225
Guldin JM, 1991. Uneven-aged BDq regulation of Sierra Nevada mixed conifers. West J Appl Forest 6(2): 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1093/wjaf/6.2.27
Gumbel EJ, 1954. Statistical theory of extreme values and some practical applications. Applied Mathematics Series, 33. US Dept. of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards.
Hansen AJ, Garman SL, Weigand JF, Urban DL, McComb WC, Raphael MG, 1995. Alternative silvicultural regimes in the Pacific Northwest: simulations of ecological and economic effects. Ecol Appl 5: 535-554. https://doi.org/10.2307/1941965
Larrieu L, Cabanettes A, 2012. Species, live status, and diameter are important tree features for diversity and abundance of tree microhabitats in subnatural montane beech-fir forests. Can J For Res 42: 1433-1445. https://doi.org/10.1139/x2012-077
Loetsch F, Zöhrer F, Haller KE, 1973. Forest inventory 2. Verlagsgesellschaft. BLV. Munich. 469 pp.
MAGRAMA, 2012. Cuarto Inventario Forestal Nacional del Principado de Asturias. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, Spain. 59 pp.
Palahí M, Pukkala T, Blasco E, Trasobares A, 2007. Comparison of beta, Johnson's SB, Weibull and truncated Weibull functions for modelling the diameter distribution of forest stands in Catalonia (northeast of Spain). Eur J Forest Res 126: 563-571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-007-0177-3
Rose CR, Muir PS, 1997. Green-tree retention: Consequences for timber production in forests of the Western Cascades, Oregon. Ecol Appl 7: 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(1997)007[0209:GTRCFT]2.0.CO;2
Smith DM, 1986. Practice of silviculture, 8th edition. John Wiley & Sons. NY, USA.
Spies TA, Franklin JF, 1991. The structure of natural, young, mature, and old-growth Douglas-fir forests in Oregon and Washington. In: Wildlife and vegetation of unmanaged Douglas-fir forests; Ruggiero LF et al. (eds), pp: 91-121. US Forest Service General Technical Report PNW-285.
Tappeiner JC, Huffman D, Marshall D, Spies TA, Bailey JD, 1997. Density, ages, and growth rates in old growth and young-growth forests in coastal Oregon. Can J For Res 27: 638-648. https://doi.org/10.1139/x97-015
Valkonen S, Ruuska J, Siipilehto J, 2002. Effect of retained trees on the development of young Scots pine stands in Southern Finland. For Ecol Manage 166: 277-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00668-5
Vanha-Majamaa I, Jalonen J, 2001. Green tree retention in Fennoscandian forestry. Scand J For Res Suppl 3: 79-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/028275801300090663
Wang M, 2005. Distributional modelling in forestry and remote sensing. PhD thesis, Univ. of Greenwich, UK, 187 pp.
WWF, 2004. Deadwood-living forests. The importance of veteran trees and deadwood to biodiversity. http://www.panda.org/europe/forests.
Zenner EK, 2000. Do residual trees increase structural complexity in Pacific Northwest coniferous forests? Ecol Appl 10: 800-810. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[0800:DRTISC]2.0.CO;2
Zenner EK, Acker SA, Emmingham WH, 1998. Growth reduction in harvest-age, coniferous forests with residual trees in the western central Cascade Range of Oregon. For Ecol Manage 102: 75-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00108-4
Copyright (c) 2022 Forest Systems
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
