Forest@ (Dec 2007)
Deadwood in forest stands: assessment of wood basic density in some tree species, Trentino, Italy
Abstract
Given the importance of deadwood as temporary carbon storage, the present paper reports preliminary results on the application of a method to quantify carbon content of standing and lying deadwood in the forest. The investigation, carried out in the Province of Trento, has been addressed to three important forest species in the local and Italian context: spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), fir (Abies alba Miller) and beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Wood analysis has concerned the assessment of the main qualitative characteristics. The variables considered were: volume, decay class and category (log or snag). After a laboratory step, data collected in the field allowed to estimate fresh wood density, basic wood density and carbon stock for the three species in the different decay classes. The present study allowed the method used to be tested on a partial collection of deadwood samples, with the perspective of its application to the deadwood volumetric data collected during the third phase of the current National Inventory of Forests and Forest Carbon Sinks (INFC).
