Ecological and Environmental Role of Deadwood in Managed and Unmanaged Forests

Paletto, Alessandro; Ferretti, Francesco; Meo, Isabella De; Cantiani, Paolo; Focacci, Marco

doi:10.5772/24894

Cited by 17 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…The first one is higher than the lower limit proposed for deciduous British forests undisturbed by humans by at least 80 years [62]. The number and volume of dead stumps (0.2 m 3 ha −1 ), both very low, indicate the lack of forest utilizations in a long time and they are in line with those of Mediterranean forests left to natural development or unmanaged for decades [49,58].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In Mediterranean oak forests, subject to different forms of management, only 35-44% of the total deadwood volume is found lying on the forest floor [25,58]. As long as the abandonment of management proceeds, this share tends to progressively increase, until lying deadwood becomes prevalent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to other similar Mediterranean forests, the Fanuso wood hosts a relatively high number of standing dead elements, more than 25 per hectare, of which slightly more than half are whole standing trees [5,25,58]. However, standing elements with a DBH > 30 cm are less than four, just close to the lower limit of 5-10 trees per hectare, considered as a reference value for the survival of most saproxylic organisms [61].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Badalamenti

Mantia

et al. 2017

Forests

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For a long time, human impact has deeply simplified most of the forest ecosystems of the Mediterranean Basin. Here, forests have seldom had the chance to naturally develop a complex and multilayered structure, to host large and old trees and rich biological communities, approaching old-growth conditions. Also for this reason, limited information is currently available about Mediterranean old-growth forests, particularly with regard to deadwood. The main aim of this work is to help fill this critical knowledge gap. In Sicily (Italy), we identified a Quercus pubescens forest that seemed to show some typical old-growth features. Total living volume (360 m 3 ha −1 ) and basal area (34 m 2 ha −1 ) were, respectively, about 6 and 3 times higher than the averages recorded in the regional forest inventory for this forest type. Deadwood was particularly abundant, exceeding the threshold of 30 m 3 ha −1 , mainly represented by lying dead elements. Dead to live wood ratio reached 9%, a value close to the threshold of 10% considered for Mediterranean old-growth forests. As the investigated forest showed some typical old-growth traits, it deserves to be fully protected and could be a permanent monitoring area for studying deadwood and stand dynamics in mature Mediterranean stands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Badalamenti

Mantia

et al. 2017

Forests

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“…The volume of standing (snags) or fallen wood regulates the biodiversity of forest ecosystems, in biotic and abiotic terms, by offering meso-to microhabitats for decomposition species and serving as an important part to the global carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. On the other hand, a high amount of dead wood may also have a negative impact on ecological functioning, ecosystem services, and economic interests (PALETTO et al 2012). In this context, the chlorophyll content can be used as an indicator for the quality of forest habitat conditions, and to find the equilibrated balance of the amount of dead wood in a forest ecosystem.…”

Section: Broad-scale Monitoring Of Forest Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-scale Forest Habitat Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Data

Osberger¹,

Strasser²,

Riedler³

et al. 2015

GI_Forum 2014 – Geospatial Innovation for Society

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Remote sensing imagery and advanced image analysis methods show high potential for monitoring forest habitat issues. The objective of this paper is to provide ready-to-use information on forest habitats by conducting a multi-scale approach for the delineation of such, and the assessment of their conservation status on multi-spectral satellite imagery of high and very high spatial resolution, as well as LiDAR data. This information should help forest managers in the decision-making process and contribute to a sustainable management. The evaluation of the quality of forest habitats is performed on suitable indicators such as structure and composition on broad-scale for whole landscapes and on fine-scale for individual protected sites. In this context, information layers and direct habitat mapping can help to address the complex task of monitoring forest habitats and to harmonize information output.

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“…Similarly, it helps to provide habitat for both animal and vegetal organisms (Stevens 1997). There is evidence that woody debris stocks improve soil stability in slopes and help to mitigate run off effects on soil loss (Stevens 1997, Paletto et al 2012.…”

Section: Dynamics Of Woody Debris Stocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

The hidden role of woody debris stocks as a woodfuel source: why cutting down trees if woodfuel can be gathered from forest floor?

Corredor¹

2018

Bosque (Valdivia)

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The hidden role of woody debris stocks as a woodfuel source: why cutting down trees if woodfuel can be gathered from forest floor?El papel subrepticio de los desechos leñosos como fuente de leña: ¿Por qué talar árboles si la leña puede ser recolectada del suelo del bosque? Javier AristizábalFundación Natura, Subdirección de Desarrollo Local y Cambio Global Bogotá, Colombia, Carrera 21 No. 39 -43, jaristizabal@natura.org.co SUMMARY Recently, the key role played by woody debris within the ecological dynamics of forest ecosystems has been acknowledged; however, its contribution as a source of woodfuel has barely been studied, despite being the most important energy resource for one-third of world population. Over decades, the widely held belief that woodfuel exclusively comes from woody living biomass has labelled woodfuel collection as a driver of tropical deforestation. The poor understanding about gathering ways of this resource in the rural developing world has hidden the fact that it is mainly sourced from woody necromass, of which their stocks and productivity may be estimated at 35 Pg and 6.5 Pg year -1 in tropical forests, respectively. Whether necromass productivity of both geographically accessible tropical forest for rural communities and other types of woody vegetation is taken into account together, a potential supply of 2.19 Pg year -1 could be estimated, which would meet by far, the projected global rural woodfuel demand. It concludes that household-oriented woodfuel collection is far from being a driver of deforestation; instead, this latter might jeopardize access to this energy source. This paper tries to provide a new insight about the relationship between rural energy security and forest-based ecosystem services and their repercussions on climate change.Key words: necromass, deforestation, cookstoves, non-renewable biomass. RESUMENRecientemente, se ha reconocido el papel fundamental que desempeñan los residuos leñosos dentro de la dinámica ecológica de los ecosistemas forestales, sin embargo, poco se ha estudiado respecto a su contribución como fuente de un recurso energético tan importante como la leña de la cual dependen más de una tercera parte de la población mundial. Durante décadas ha persistido la creencia generalizada que la leña procede exclusivamente de las reservas de la biomasa en pie, por lo cual, su recolección ha sido calificada como una actividad promotora de la deforestación tropical. La pobre comprensión que existe sobre las formas de apropiación de este recurso en el medio rural de países en vías de desarrollo ha ocultado el hecho que su principal fuente procede de la necromasa leñosa cuyas reservas y productividad pueden estimarse en alrededor de 35 Pg y 6,5 Pg año -1 para los bosques tropicales, respectivamente. Considerando la productividad de la necromasa tanto de áreas forestales tropicales físicamente accesibles para las poblaciones rurales como de otros tipos de vegetación leñosa, se estima una oferta potencial de 2,19 Pg año -1 , la cual puede satisfacer la demanda glo...

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Ecological and Environmental Role of Deadwood in Managed and Unmanaged Forests

Cited by 17 publications

References 39 publications

Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Multi-scale Forest Habitat Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Data

The hidden role of woody debris stocks as a woodfuel source: why cutting down trees if woodfuel can be gathered from forest floor?

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