Quantifying stand structural complexity and its relationship with forest management, tree species diversity and microclimate

•Stand structural complexity is quantified using single terrestrial laser scans.•The fractal dimension based index SSCI differentiates stand types.•SSCI increases with tree species diversity.•Daily temperature and VPD amplitude decrease from low to high SSCI within stands.

Measures to describe stand structural complexity efficiently and objectively are increasingly demanded to understand the relationship between forest management, stand structure, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here, we present an approach to quantify stand structural complexity based on fractal dimension derived from single terrestrial laser scans (TLS) that were made on 126 permanent forest research plots in Germany, representing major stand and management types. The newly developed SSC-index (SSCI) was positively correlated to conventional tree-based measures of stand structural complexity, tree size differentiation, diversity of tree diameters and random tree spacing patterns. Beyond that, it successfully differentiated between stand types of different main tree species and management systems. SSCI increased from low to high tree species diversity and explained microclimatic fluctuations better than conventional, tree-based measures. Given the high efficiency during data collection, TLS can be used to assess stand structural complexity for large sample sizes to provide an explanatory variable for the effects of forest management on biodiversity, productivity and ecosystem processes.