Virgin Status Assessment of Plješevica Forest in Bosnia - Herzegovina

Abstract

Virgin forests are relatively rare in the European temperate zone. This is due to the continuous use of forest historically and to increasinghigh population densities. Virgin forests are forest where the structure and dynamics have developed entirely under natural conditions,without any human interference or influence. This article assesses the Plješevica forest in Bosnia Herzegovina to establish whether it canbe classified as virgin forest. The structure and components of the forest were assessed in a 1 ha sample plot and four 400m2 quadrats. Thevalues of the biodiversity indexes (as defined by Shannon and Weaver, Krebs and Meyer), species richness and evenness, the distributionof the different stand development stages and the proportion of dead wood lead to the conclusion that Plješevica forest presents a set ofstructural and dynamic characteristics close to the ones typical for virgin forests in Europe, so in order to maintain its status as such, in themeantime it should undergo a protection management programme.