Forest management and snag characteristics in Northern Iran lowland forests

Abstract

Some snag characteristics were studied in three different Hyrcanian lowland forests. The highest snag density (38.4 stem.ha-1) was found in fully protected forests, and it was significantly higher than in selectively logged (23.7 stem.ha-1) and open access forests (8.8 stem.ha-1). The snag volume, diameter and height were also significantly higher in the fully protected forests. The number of snag species was recorded in fully protected (9), selectively logged (5) and open access forests (4). The snags were more evenly distributed among diameter, height and decay classes in the fully protected forest. The larger diameter snags (> 90 cm) and snags higher than 15 m in height were not found in the open access forest. The snags of decay class 5 had a density of 6.8 stem.ha-1 in the fully protected forest, while they had a low density (1.5 stem.ha-1) in the selectively logged forest and they were not found in the open access forest. Target values of snags for managed lowland forests in Iran were defined in relation to management influences.

Keywords

• biodiversity
• broadleaved forests
• caspian forests
• dead wood
• hyrcanian forest