Effect of management intervention on structure of natural stands (Case Study: Gorazbon District of Kheirud Forest)

Appropriate management of forest requires indices that can provide adequate information about forest structure condition and its changes with the least cost and time. In this research, the effect of tree marking on natural stand structure was evaluated in Gorazbon district of Kheirud forest using indices ofspatial and non-spatial distribution. For this purpose, 682 structural groups (trees) were studied from the lower up to the upper boundary of compartment in two rectangular plots. The results showed that the changes of some indices, including mingling, Uniform Angle Index, DBH dominance, DBH differentiation, Pielou segregation, Clark and Evans aggregation, stem per hectare, basal area and diameter at breast height were not significant. Also, the paired t-test results showed non-significant differences for Uniform Angle Index and DBH dominance, whereas the Mingling and DBH differentiation indices showed significant differences, in the two studied sample plot before and after the tree marking. According to the results of this research, one can conclude that the applied indices are able to show the changes in the stand structure over different time studies and they are suitable for comparison of stands. These indices could be useful tools for forest management in close to nature silviculture.