Effect of marking on the spatial distribution and structure of beech stands (Case study: Safarood-Ramsar)

This paper aims to study the spatial pattern of marked trees in compartments 513 and 514 of district five of Safarood Ramsar which is located between 1200 and 1300 m.a.s.l. in the watershed management unit 30. For this purpose, twenty, 1ha sample plots were selected based on two independent communities, 16 plots in managed and 4 plots in unmanaged (control) stands, and the data on 2000 and 2012 were compared. Results showed that the structure of the 20 plots on 2000 was irregular and the selection cuttings within 12 years have made ​​some effects on the structure in 2012 which is now a bit far from irregular form. The number of trees in small, large and extra large diameter classes is reduced. The spatial pattern of marked trees in the compartment 512 showed cluster pattern (located around large and extra large timber), whereas in the compartment 513 was random (located around small and medium timber) which is directly related to the typology of the stands. Moreover, the results indicated that the mean area of gaps in the managed and control stands was 414m2 and 284m2, respectively. Mean total height of seedlings was 1.4m and 1.2m in the managed and control stands, respectively. Mean seedlings number in the managed and control stands was 603 and 512 in 100 m2, respectively. None of the differences of above mentioned data were statistical significant