Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of deadwood characteristics in the growing-up volume stage

Dead trees are one of the most important structural features in natural stands that knowledge of the processes associated with them is essential in understanding the evolution and development of forest stands. The main purpose of this study was to estimate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics in the natural beech forests during the stage of growing-up volume in the Kheyrood forest of Iran. For this purpose, three one-hectare sample plots with structural features of growing-up volume stage were selected. In each plot, species, diameter, length, shape, and degree of decay of all dead trees were measured. The proportion of snags was 32.8%, while 67.2% of dead trees were recorded as log. The highest and lowest number of deadwoods belonged to beech with 86% and alder with 6%, respectively. The results showed that 73.8% of the total number of measured deadwoods related to primary decay degrees and 26.2% were in the advanced degrees of decay. The highest frequency of deadwoods in diameter classes in the study stands was measured in low, very thick, medium and thick diameter classes, respectively. The highest and lowest mortality rates in the diameter classes were calculated in the low- and thick-diameter classes, respectively. The average volumes of deadwoods in different diameter classes were significantly different. In general, in order to identify changes in the stand structure over time and to investigate the dynamics of deadwood in the growing-up volume stage, it is suggested that the stand analyzed here be monitored in the future.