Site and stand effects on coarse woody debris in montane mixed forests of Eastern Italian Alps

The role of deadwood on biodiversity conservation of forest ecosystems is widely recognised. Interest on deadwood has increased in the last years, and forest management policy regards deadwood as indicator of sustainable forest management. This study took place in mixed montane forests in Eastern Italian Alps. The objective was to determine how past forest management, topography and forest structure influenced coarse woody debris (CWD) accumulation. 124 sampling points were established in four forest reserves, where time since active management activities ranges from 12 to more than 50 years. A multivariate analysis was performed to investigate the connections among site, stand characteristics, and CWD. Coarse woody debris volume in the reserves was similar to other forests withdrawn from regular management in last decades in central Europe. However, CWD stocking was much lower than in old-growth montane mixed forest. Both site and stand characteristics determined CWD accumulation. Elevation, basal area of living trees and human impact emerged as the most important factors. These aspects are connected with the accretion (density-dependent mortality) and the depletion (harvesting, decay) of deadwood in the stand. In the next decades we expect an increase of deadwood stocking, due to density-dependent mortality and disturbances. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.