Efficient integration of a deadwood inventory into an existing forest inventory carried out as two-phase sampling for stratification

Abstract

Deadwood is an important component of many ecosystems and plays a major role for biodiversity, soil protection and carbon sequestration. Despite its high ecological value, deadwood is not included in the main focus of traditional forest inventories. The sampling designs of these inventories are therefore not optimal for deadwood sampling. However, in recent years, interest in non-timber aspects of forest structure and demand for multipurpose forest inventories has increased. Drawing on the example of a German state forest district inventory, we suggest an efficient integration of point transect and line intersect sampling of deadwood into an existing forest inventory, carried out as two-phase sampling for stratification. Compared with fixed area sampling, efficiency is tremendously increased using point transect sampling for standing deadwood and line intersect sampling for coarse woody debris. © 2014 Institute of Chartered Foresters. All rights reserved.