Standardsignatur
Titel
Forest dynamics of the natural forest reserve Schiffwald
Verfasser
Ajdin Starcevic
Darius George Hardalau
Dimitrios Manousidis
Harald Vacik
Georg Frank
Seiten
280
Material
Artikel aus einem Buch
Datensatznummer
200210757
Quelle
Protected Areas facing the Biodiversity Crisis: Conference Volume to the 7th International Symposium for Research in Protected Areas (2022) , 280
Abstract
Natural forest dynamics can be generally described by changes of different forest attributes. Insights into how these changes occur, that influence the structure, growth and regeneration dynamics of forest ecosystems, can be utilized as a foundation for developing close-to-nature forest management practices. Natural forest reserves provide a valuable and rare chance to study forest dynamics since they are not subjected to human management. The Austrian natural forest reserves programme aims at systematically establishing a representative network of such reserves to study and monitor those natural dynamics. In this context 56 permanent plots were resampled in 2021 in the natural forest reserve (NFR) Schiffwald to assess the ongoing dynamics of the forests in the last 13 years. The NFR Schiffwald is situated a couple kilometres south (47°36’N, 15°00’E) from the municipality of Wildalpen in the Austrian province of Styria. It is located on the northern slopes of the Hochschwab mountains, and with its 692 ha of area, it is one of the biggest natural forest reserves in Austria. Vertically, the NFR is situated between 960 and 1500 m.a.s.l.. The NFR Schiffwald covers themiddle montane, upper montane and subalpine vegetation zones in the forest ecoregion eastern north Alps (4.2). Around 11% of the NFR is covered with mixed spruce-fir-beech forests and pure Norway Spruce forests are the most prevalent forest type, accounting for 35 percent of the total area. Whereas dwarf pines cover 45 percent of the NFR, with the remainder of the area made up of windthrow zones, screes, and meadows. After the formal stop of any human interventions in the year 1995, the first investigation in the NFR Schiffwald has been done. The reinvestigation of the permanent sample plots allows for an assessment of the changes regarding basic forest attributes such as growing stock, species composition, height and diameter distribution, tree mortality, and natural regeneration over time. In addition to the evaluation of the current state of the forest, a comparative assessment will be conducted with the data collected in 2008 and 1995. The stand dynamics will be analysed among different tree species and forest communities.