Assessment of Forest Health Status in a Natural Untouched of Fagus orientalis Lipsky Mixed Stand Using Regeneration and Deadwood Indicators (Case Study: Masuleh Watershed)

Forest health monitoring is essential to assess the changing state of forest resources and create awareness of forest health issues. This study was conducted to monitor forest health using two indicators of regeneration and deadwood in the Masouleh watershed,. To collect data in the study area, using Forest Health Monitoring method 5 clusters of plots including 20 plots in two different altitudes were considered. In each cluster, the regeneration status of species was determined based on the quality of seedlings and their division into two categories: healthy and unhealthy. The characteristics of the deadwood including diameter, and quality characteristics (species type, degree of decay) were measured and recorded. In the study area, 80% of the seedlings were healthy and 20% unhealthy. The results of the analysis of variance of the number of regenerations per hectare in the altitude classes showed that there is a significant difference between the number of healthy seedlings and unhealthy seedlings in the studied altitude classes. According to the results of the study, the volume of deadwood is 44 m3/ha, which is 34 and 10 m3/ha of down logs and standing deadwood, respectively. Analysis of variance showed that there was no significant difference between the volumes of deadwood per hectare in the two altitude classes in the study area. But there is a significant difference in the number of deadwood per hectare in the altitude classes. Study of the quality of deadwood showed that the highest percentage of deadwood belongs to the first-level decay (81%).