Stand structural complexity of mixed old-growth and adjacent selection forests in the Dinaric Mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina

- We compared old-growth forests and neighboring managed forests (Piceo-Abieti-Fagetum).
- Single-tree selection system led to significant difference in tree species composition between studied forests.
- Cumulative diameter distributions and structural indices had high level of similarity.
- Managed forests had low but constant share of light-demanding sycamore maple in the upperstory.

Research results on the structure of European OGF are often contradictory; while some researchers stress equilibrium structures, others suggest that this rarely happens due to biomass accumulation. If the former were the case, then there would be a fairly strong argument that OGF should serve as natural references for selection management. At the same time, mountain mixed selection forests are in many regions considered to be the most “natural” type of MF, and thus to a large extent similar to corresponding OGF. However, because there are few old-growth forests (OGF) left in Europe, comparisons between OGF and selection-managed forests (MF) are rare. Since nature-based silviculture should follow natural processes and not exclude any species from its natural range, in this study we compared two mixed OGF and neighboring MF (Piceo-Abieti-Fagetum illyricum) in the Dinaric Mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The MF were managed by the single-tree selection system for almost a century. The results indicated that this management approach yielded a statistically significant difference in tree species composition and presence of large-diameter trees. The cumulative diameter distributions, however, were similar in OGF and MF as both exhibited the shapes that are considered to provide demographic equilibrium. On the species level, though, this was the case only for beech. Species occurrence matrices indicated significant dominance of young European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees over silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) in OGF. Nevertheless, based on the results from MF, the study highlights the crucial role of silvicultural measures that may potentially provide targeted long-term coexistence of the studied broadleaved and coniferous tree species.