Management and the amount and density of woody debris at the West forests of Guilan Province

Large woody debris is found at the most of the forest ecosystems. This woody debris provides commercial uses and living opportunities for organisms. Therefore, its existence reduces species extinction in the forest ecosystem. This debris is considered as a source of wood in Iran because of shortage wood. The aim of this research was to study the effects of three slope classes including low slope (0 to 20%), moderate (20 to 40%) and high slope (>40%) and management regimes on the amount and density of woody debris at the western part of Guilan forests.
Material and Data were collected from three managed parcels and three unmanaged parcels using linear sampling method on lines with a length of 100 meters and a network of 200×200 meters. The measured variables including diameter and length of woody debris at the different slope classes were compared using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine which of the treatments were statistically significant.
The results showed that with increasing slope, the amount and density of large woody debris increased. The average large woody debris in low, moderate and high slopes was 2.65, 3.13, and 5.54 cubic meters per hectare, respectively. We observed a significant difference among slope classes in terms of amount of woody debris. Also, the average density of large woody debris on low, medium and high slopes was 869, 852 and 2176 cubic meters per hectare, respectively. Higher slope, higher amount and density of woody debris. At the low slope class, the amount of woody debris was similar at two management regimes. The amount and density of large woody debris in the managed forests was more than these in the unmanaged forests.
Discussion and The quality of large woody debris at the grade one of quality at the managed forest was more than unmanaged forest. This study will provide information about the amount and density of woody debris at the different slope classes and management regimes. Awareness of the amount of woody debris will help planners and decision makers to optimize their management.