Comparison of structure, regeneration and dead wood in virgin forest remnant and managed forest on Grmecˇ Mountain in Western Bosnia

This paper compares the forest structure, regeneration and distribution of dead wood in a virgin forest remnant and a close-to-nature managed beech–conifer mixture situated on Grmecˇ Mountain inWestern Bosnia. The investigations were carried out in a 1 ha permanent sample plot and 35 circular plots (20m radius) in the virgin forest and in 17 circular plots (25m radius) in managed forests. The number of trees in the managed forest was significantly ( p ¼ 0.05) higher than that in virgin forest and the distribution of the number of trees per diameter classes had a decreasing trend, but with a different shape in the virgin forest compared to the managed stands. In the lower diameter classes, the stock volume recorded in virgin forest was half of that in the managed forest, whilst for higher diameter classes the cumulated volume of the growing stock was almost double in virgin forest. The young crops had a significantly lower presence in the virgin forest and a larger volume of dead wood was identified in the virgin forest than in managed stands. The study results are important in assessing the consequences of close-to-nature management on the forest structure and regeneration when compared to the condition in virgin forests.