Dominance reduction of species through disturbance -: a proposed management principle for central European forests

Forest management must take into account in its management schemes very different goals such as timber production, protection from natural hazards, and biological conservation. In this paper we propose a new management principle based on the basic ecological characteristics of forests that could help the integration of these goals. We discuss the factors influencing species richness in forests and relate changes in species richness to the history of forest management. A closer look at hypotheses about possible links between disturbances and species richness reveals that dominance reduction is considered to be the main effect of disturbance events on species richness. We therefore propose dominance reduction as a management principle for forests in central Europe that are actively managed. This, we claim, is a way to maintain biodiversity in an integrative management approach. Three types of disturbances are distinguished: endogenous, exogenous, and human-induced disturbances. This distinction allows a connection to be made between natural and anthropogenic impacts on forests, thus overcoming the negative connotation disturbance events have. Planning forest management according to the principle of dominance reduction will facilitate the search for new ways to integrate the different needs society wants to have fulfilled by forests. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.