Abstract
Existing approaches for the assessment of forest management intensity lack a widely accepted, purely quantitative measure for ranking a set of forest stands along a gradient of management intensity. We have developed a silvicultural management intensity indicator (SMI) which combines three main characteristics of a given stand: tree species, stand age and aboveground, living and dead wooden biomass. Data on these three factors are used as input to represent the risk of stand loss, which is a function of tree species and stand age, and stand density, which is a function of the silvicultural regime, stand age and tree species. Consequently, the indicator consists of a risk component (SMIr) and a density component (SMId). We used SMI to rank traditional management of the main Central European tree species: Norway spruce (Picea abies [Karst.] L.), European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and oak (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea L.). By analysing SMI over their whole rotation period, we found the following ranking of management intensity: oak<beech<pine≪spruce. Additionally, we quantified the SMI of actual research plots of the German Biodiversity exploratories, which represent unmanaged and managed forest stands including conifer forests cultivated outside their natural range. SMI not only successfully separate managed from unmanaged forests, but also reflected the variability of forest management and stand properties across the entire sample and within the different management groups. We suggest using SMI to quantify silvicultual management intensity of stands differing in species composition, age, silvicultural system (even-aged vs. uneven-aged), thinning grade and stages of stand conversion from one stand type into another. Using SMI may facilitate the assessment of the impact of forest management intensity on biodiversity in temperate forests.
Highlights
Land-use intensity is known to be a major driver of biodiversity
Data on these three factors are used as input to represent the risk of stand loss, which is a function of tree species and stand age, and stand density, which is a function of the silvicultural regime, stand age and tree species
The approach to quantify silvicultural management intensity’ (SMI) presented in this study combines three main stand characteristics of a given stand: tree species, age, and biomass
Summary
Land-use intensity is known to be a major driver of biodiversity. The relationship between land use and biodiversity has recently become a hot spot of ecological research, the actual impact of land-use intensity on various taxa is not known. For agricultural systems and for forests, there is an increasing interest in whether or not, and to what extent, biodiversity is influenced by management intensity (Fischer et al 2010). Such analyses require a large set of stands that differ in attributes thought to be relevant for stand management, such as tree species composition, stand age, and stand density.
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