Research on old-growth forests is essential for understanding forest ecosystem functioning and for the development of forest management strategies. Their structural dynamics depends on disturbance patterns (White and Pickett, 1985). In recent decades, much research in old-growth forests has focused on natural disturbances. However, over several centuries, the natural disturbance regime has been severely altered by forest fragmentation, changes in fire regime, fauna extinctions, the introduction of forest management into the forest matrix surrounding old-growth, forest road infrastructure, and, in the last few decades, by overbrowsing, air pollution and climate change (Nowacki and Abrams, 1994;Uotila et al., 2002;Oulehle et al., 2010). Present-day old-growth forest structures are often a result of complex interactions between natural and anthropogenic disturbances (McLachlan et al., 2000). In Europe, old-growth forests have been significantly influenced by millennia of civilization. Thus, studies of

This paper compares the forest structure, regeneration and distribution of dead wood in a virgin forest remnant and a closeto-nature managed beech -conifer mixture situated on Grmeč Mountain in Western Bosnia. The investigations were carried out in a 1 ha permanent sample plot and 35 circular plots (20 m radius) in the virgin forest and in 17 circular plots (25 m radius) in managed forests. The number of trees in the managed forest was significantly ( p ¼ 0.05) higher than that in virgin forest and the distribution of the number of trees per diameter classes had a decreasing trend, but with a different shape in the virgin forest compared to the managed stands. In the lower diameter classes, the stock volume recorded in virgin forest was half of that in the managed forest, whilst for higher diameter classes the cumulated volume of the growing stock was almost double in virgin forest. The young crops had a significantly lower presence in the virgin forest and a larger volume of dead wood was identified in the virgin forest than in managed stands. The study results are important in assessing the consequences of close-to-nature management on the forest structure and regeneration when compared to the condition in virgin forests.

UDK: 630*228(234.422 Bjelašnica)(253) This work researches structural composition, texture and diversity of development phases of virgin forest „Ravna vala“ on Bjelašnica. Virgin forest „Ravna vala“ is located in central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 20 km south west from Sarajevo on mountain Bjelašnica, on altitude of 1280 to 1450 m. First time it was described in 1978. Within it we have positioned permanent plot of the square shape in size of 1 ha. Research was conducted on permanent plot in three time series: in years 1978, 1988 and 2008, and on 46 temporary systematically positioned circular plots in diameter of 12.6 meters, where each represents as per 1 ha of virgin forest area. In virgin forest we have registered 689 trees per hectare and wood supply mass of 701 m3/ha. Through analysis of dynamics of growth of specific species trees, it is visible that beech suppresses fir, i.e. there is a shift in main species in virgin forest, therefore, in the last 30 years number of beech trees has tripled in the lower diameter classes. Virgin forest has mostly present optimum phase and evenness phase, and rejuvenation phase. Texture diversity is expressed through Shannon index in value of 1.69, and evenness index has the value of 0.86.

Background and purpose: In this paper was researched the morphological variability of seed and one-year seedlings of beech of different proveniences from the major part of its natural dispersing in Bosnia and Herzegovina (from the Bužim,

UDK: 630*222:582.632.2 (497.6 Sarajevo)           582.632.2:630*5(497.6 Sarajevo) The paper represents a methodological approach in categorization of coppice beech stands in Sarajevo Canton area in relation to their ecological, productive, structural and silvicultural characteristics. For the collection of necessary data, method of temporary experimental surfaces, systematically allocated in squares 200 meters distant from each other has been used, in accordance to design of simple systematic sample. Concentric circles whose radius depend on tree diameter has been used as sample units (STOJANOVİĆ & DRİNİĆ, 1975). Data have been conducted in 659 locations. Stands have been categorized in three categories in relations to predefined criteria of categorization based on stand environment, productiveness, structure, economic value and fostering needs. For each of the categories, average units of basic productive indicators of the stand have been determined: number of trees, basal area, volume and volume increment per year for marked and unmarked, as well as same indicators of marking timber volume and the intensity of felling. Statistical significance of difference between the indicators has been tested by the method of variant analysis. Based on the results, indirect conversion has been recommended for the first stand category, direct and combined conversion for second one, and third category didn't need conversion because they have predominantly protective character