Abstract
Dead wood (DW) is an important component of sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation. Three research plots (each with an area of 1 ha), located in virgin forests in the Southern Carpathians (Semenic P20, Retezat–Zănoaga, and Făgăraș–Șinca), were installed in order to study the synergies between DW and climate change mitigation effects. Data on the dendrometric characteristics of standing and lying DW, the species, and the degree of decay were recorded. The aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon stock (CS) of the DW were also determined. The DW volume was between 48 m3·ha−1 and 148 m3·ha−1, with the total volume (dead and alive) ranging between 725 m3·ha−1 and 966 m3·ha−1. The DW volume distribution shows a decreasing trend, with the most suitable theoretical distributions for describing this being the lognormal, the 2P Weibull, and the 2P-Gamma. The AGB ranged between 17 t·ha−1 and 30 t·ha−1 and showed a decreasing trend according to altitude. The CS was between 8 t·ha−1 and 14.33 t·ha−1. A slow decomposition rate for the hardwood was identified by analyzing the relationship between the surface and volume of the DW. This highlighted the capacity of DW to store carbon for a long period of time.
Highlights
Concerns regarding climate change are becoming more and more obvious
Based on the findings of this study, we have reached the following main conclusions: In analyzing the dead wood (DW) volume data, it was found that the results were very homogeneous and similar to those of other virgin and quasi-virgin forests (50 m3·ha−1 and 200 m3·ha−1, respectively)
In order to achieve sustainable and efficient forest management in the future, we identified a potential tool that could reproduce the structure of the DW volume in managed forests
Summary
Concerns regarding climate change are becoming more and more obvious. It is well known that forests are an important component of the global carbon cycle [1], with dead wood (DW) being a key element of sustainable forest management [2,3]. Virgin forests are reference models for managed forests [4–6], and the most appropriate way to understand the synergies between DW and climate change mitigation is to research this topic in natural forests [2]. Virgin forests consist of different-aged trees, which reach impressive dimensions at old age [7], their diameter distribution being, in general, ‘J’-shaped [8]. All trees reach their physiological age (longevity) and they die and become DW. In managed forests, the natural developmental stages of the trees are missing, causing the disappearance of the floras and faunas that are specific to virgin forests [10–13]. Research on establishing and monitoring the health condition [20], the causes of tree death, and the dynamics of DW has intensified [21,22]
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