Distance-dependent indices to assess deadwood diversity in forest ecosystems: an application in the Italian Alps
Abstract
Aim of study: To evaluate the effectiveness of distance-dependent indices in characterizing deadwood diversity at stand level.
Area of study: Four forest types in the Italian Alps (Trentino Alto Adige region): Norway spruce, mixed Silver fir–Norway spruce, European larch, and European beech forests.
Materials and methods: Distance-dependent indices from the literature, originally developed to assess stand structure, were applied to evaluate deadwood diversity in four forest stands (40 sample plots). The performance was assessed by comparing the “structural group of four” method, which considers the four deadwood elements closest to the plot center, with the fixed-area sampling method, which includes all deadwood elements in the plot (531 m2).
Main results: The results showed an average deadwood volume of 18.65 m³ ha-1 and a higher deadwood diversity by species, decay class and size for European beech forests than the other three forest types. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank test showed no statistically significant difference in the indices calculated using the three and five closest deadwood elements compared to all elements in the plots.
Research highlights: Distance-dependent spatial indices proved effective for characterizing deadwood diversity at the stand level. The “structural group of four” sampling method proved to be the most efficient, as including additional elements beyond four did not significantly improve accuracy. This approach represents a reliable and time-efficient tool for assessing deadwood diversity.
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References
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