Coarse woody debris in a Carpathian subalpine spruce forest

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Number, volume and size of snags, broken and uprooted trees as well as advancement of their decomposition and arrangement were analysed in a subalpine spruce forest in the Babia Gora massif (West Carpathians). The most important results are: 1. The amount of coarse woody debris noted on Babia Gora was among the highest in subalpine spruce forests, however it was lower than in unmanaged boreal spruce forests, and much lower than in the mountain and boreal forests of North America. 2. Most trees died standing, whereas uprooting was the rarest cause of mortality. The probability that a tree would die standing was greatest among thinnest and thickest individuals. The greater the diameter of spruce the higher was the probability of breakage. Uprooting was most common among trees of moderate diameter. 3. Snags and broken stems were randomly distributed, whereas windthrows were clumped. 4. Decomposition of spruce logs was a very slow process as these logs remain visible on the soil surface for about 150 years after tree death. The process is slower than in central Sweden, but much quicker than in boreal forests of northern Sweden. 5. The diameter of dead trees and the spatial pattern of stand breakdown changed in recent years as a result of stand development and changes of causal factors. 6. In recent years intensity of stand breakdown was nearly two times higher than stand growth when the volume of the trees was taken into account. This indicates the probability of the stand to enter the breakdown stadium.