Contribution of regeneration on dead wood to the spontaneous regeneration of a mountain forest

Abstract

In the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in the beech/spruce forest vegetation zone, the amount of dead wood was determined (pieces of wood and stumps) in five sample plots in a managed forest and in three plots in the National Nature Reserve (NNR) Kněhyně-Čertův Mlýn. In plots situated in the managed forest, 22 to 50 m3/ha of lying wood was found. In the reserve, the volume of fallen wood ranged from 29 to 144 m 3/ha. The number of stumps in sample plots in the managed forest ranged from 530 to 980 per ha. In the reserve, the number of new stumps did not increase any more and only stumps from the period before the NNR declaration occurred. On the dead wood, spruce is regenerated nearly exclusively. In the managed forest and in the NNR, the number of regenerated spruce plants ranged from 5,000 to 16,000 and from 600 to 4,500 per ha, respectively. In plots where the sufficient amount of dead lying wood and stumps occurred, the proportion of spruce plants regenerated on the substrates amounted to even 75%. Other species (beech and silver fir) regenerated only on the soil surface. A sufficient amount of dead wood for the germination of seedlings can significantly ensure the natural regeneration of spruce in mountain forests.