Point transect sampling of deadwood: a comparison with well-established sampling techniques for the estimation of volume and carbon storage in managed forests

Tim Ritter,Joachim Saborowski

doi:10.1007/s10342-012-0637-2

Tim Ritter, Joachim Saborowski

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-012-0637-2

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Abstract

In managed forests, the occurrence of deadwood (DW) can be regarded as a stochastically rare event with strong clumping and high local variability (Meyer in Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt 118:167–180, 1999). Traditional sampling techniques, such as Fixed Area Sampling, Angle Count Sampling and Line Intersect Sampling, do not regard this fact and may be inefficient for surveys of DW, because of limited search areas. A sampling technique that should remedy this shortcoming is Point Transect Sampling (Buckland et al. in Introduction to distance sampling: estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001; Advanced distance sampling: estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004), where as a matter of principle, all objects that are sighted from a fixed location are counted. We compare Point Transect Sampling with the other well-established sampling approaches for the estimation of volume, necromass and carbon storage in terms of precision and sampling effort. It is shown that Point Transect Sampling is the superior method for sampling standing DW regarding efficiency, whereas for sampling downed DW, it is clearly outperformed by Line Intersect Sampling.

Highlights

Deadwood (DW) is typically defined as ‘‘all non-living woody biomass not contained in the litter, either standing, lying on the ground, or in the soil’’ (FAO 2006, p. 172)
It is shown that Point Transect Sampling is the superior method for sampling standing DW regarding
As downed DW or Coarse Woody Debris (CWD), we considered every piece of DW lying on the ground, with a length of 1.3 m or more and a maximum diameter of 15 cm or more

Summary

Introduction

Deadwood (DW) is typically defined as ‘‘all non-living woody biomass not contained in the litter, either standing, lying on the ground, or in the soil’’ (FAO 2006, p. 172). Deadwood (DW) is typically defined as ‘‘all non-living woody biomass not contained in the litter, either standing, lying on the ground, or in the soil’’ Deadwood is an important component of many ecosystems, and it is abundant in many forest ecosystems and forms major structural features with many crucial ecological functions (Harmon et al 1986). DW plays an important role for (1) Biodiversity, (2) Soil Protection and (3) Carbon sequestration. 2. DW enhances litter-dwelling detritivores, which impact nutrient cycling by diverting fluxes and changing the availability of macronutrients, such as phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). Accumulation of DW on the forest floor locally improves soil quality and decreases the risk of tree damage caused by acidification (Kappes et al 2007)

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