Coarse Woody Debris in Oak Woodlands of California

Abstract An extensive forest inventory was conducted to estimate the amount and distribution of coarse woody debris (CWD) on 5.6 million ac of woodlands in California that are outside of national forests and reserved areas. Woodlands consist primarily of oak (Quercus spp.) types and are defined as forestland incapable of producing commercial quantities of traditional forest products because of adverse site and tree morphophysiology. Approximately 671 million ft3 of CWD were estimated to occur over the study area. Almost 3 million ac of woodland (52% of the sampled area) were estimated to have no CWD. The large-end diameter of CWD was <12 in. on 67% of all logs sampled. Blue oak (Q. douglasii) CWD occurred over the largest area and gray pine (Pinus sabiniana) produced the most volume (164.1 million ft3) of CWD. An average of 115 ft3/ac, 1.2 tons/ac, 21 logs/ac, and 56.8 linear ft/ac were estimated for CWD across all woodland types. The coast live oak (Q. agrifolia) type produced the largest per-acre measure of CWD volume (164.1 ft3/ac). The California laurel (Umbellularia californica) type produced the highest log density (48 logs/ac) and the most linear feet per acre of CWD (131.8 ft/ac). CWD was most abundant in the central coast and least abundant in the northeastern portion of the state. Results of this study suggest that CWD is not common across much of California's woodlands. More detailed research is needed to evaluate the amount and distribution of CWD, affects of land-use, and the implications for wildlife. West. J. Appl. For. 17(3):139–146.

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Estimates of Down Woody Materials on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia

Southern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/sjaf/32.2.53 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 53-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jason R. Applegate

Keyword(s):

Coarse Woody Debris ◽

Forest Inventory ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Forest Type ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Forest Cover Type ◽

Cover Type ◽

Forest Cover Types ◽

Structure Class

Abstract An inventory of down woody materials (DWM) was conducted on Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, to develop a baseline of DWM abundance and distribution to assist in wildland fire management. Estimates of DWM are necessary to develop accurate assessments of wildfire hazard, model wildland fire behavior, and establish thresholds for retaining DWM, specifically CWD (coarse woody debris), as a structural component of forest ecosystems. DWM were sampled by forest type and structure class using US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) field procedures. DWM averaged 12–16 tn/ac depending on forest cover type and structure class. Coarse woody debris (CWD) averaged 2.7–13.0 tn/ac depending on forest cover type and structure class. CWD comprised more than 70% of DWM across all forest cover types and structure classes. Fine woody debris (FWD) averaged 0.05–3.2 tn/ac depending on fuel hour class, forest cover type, and structure class. DWM was consistently higher in mature (sawtimber) forests than in young (poletimber) forests across all forest cover types, attributed to an increased CWD component of DWM. The variability associated with DWM suggests that obtaining robust estimates of CWD biomass will require a higher sampling intensity than FWD because of its nonuniform distribution in forest systems. FIA field procedures for tallying and quantifying DWM were practical, efficient, and, subsequently, included as permanent metrics in Fort A.P. Hill's Continuous Forest Inventory program.

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Estimating Wildfire Fuel Load of Coarse Woody Debris using National Forest Inventory Data in South Korea

Journal of Climate Change Research ◽

10.15531/ksccr.2015.6.3.185 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 185

Author(s):

Suwon Choi ◽

Jongyeol Lee ◽

Seung Hyun Han ◽

Seongjun Kim ◽

Yowhan Son

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Coarse Woody Debris ◽

Forest Inventory ◽

Woody Debris ◽

National Forest Inventory ◽

Fuel Load ◽

National Forest ◽

Inventory Data ◽

Forest Inventory Data

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Assessment of coarse woody debris stock in Russian forests based on state forest inventory data

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/316/1/012033 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 316 ◽

pp. 012033

Author(s):

N Malysheva ◽

A Filipchuk ◽

T Zolina

Keyword(s):

Coarse Woody Debris ◽

Forest Inventory ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Inventory Data ◽

Forest Inventory Data ◽

Russian Forests

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Estimation of coarse woody debris stocks in forest ecosystems of Slobozhansky national nature park

Naukovì dopovìdì Nacìonalʹnogo unìversitetu bìoresursiv ì prirodokoristuvannâ Ukraïni ◽

10.31548/dopovidi2021.01.003 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

O. Furdychko ◽

◽

O. Chornobrov ◽

I. Solomakha ◽

I. Tymochko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coarse Woody Debris ◽

Forest Inventory ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Dead Wood ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Forest Stands ◽

Dead Trees ◽

Standing Dead ◽

Fallen Dead Wood ◽

Total Stock

Dead wood is an important component of forest ecosystems. It performs a number of environmental functions. Coarse woody debris includes standing dead trees, fallen dead trees, fragments of fallen trees (trunks), branches (fragments of branches), and rough tree roots. It is a substrate and habitat for living organisms, including a number of species of mosses, lichens, fungi, invertebrates, as well as birds and mammals. Woody detritus plays an important role in the biological cycle of substances and energy, and carbon deposition, is a source of nutrients. Therefore, the study of quantitative and qualitative features of dead wood, in particular on protected areas, is a considerable nowadays problem. The aim of the work is to estimate identified by forest inventory stocks of dead wood in forest ecosystems of Slobozhansky NNP by categories, as well as to analyze the distribution of its volumes in stands of dominant tree species and forest types. The estimation of coarse woody debris stocks was performed based on forest inventory data of Slobozhansky National Nature Park conducted by Ukrainian State Project Forestry Production association “Ukrderzhlisproekt”. Data from 493 forest stands of nine tree species were analyzed. The stock of the following fractions of coarse woody debris was studied: standing dead wood, fallen (downed) dead wood. Data analysis was performed using MS Excel 2016 software. It was found that the total area of forest stands in which standing or downed dead wood was found during forest inventory was 2149.8 ha, or 47.5% of the total forest area of NNP. The total stock of coarse woody debris was 19478 m3, more than 95% of which is concentrated in the stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) (78.8%) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) (16.6%). Standing dead wood prevailed (62.1%) fallen dead wood (37.9%) in the structure of dead wood volume. The volume of dead wood was in the range of 5–50 m3∙ha–1, and on average in studied forest ecosystems in which it was found was 9.1 m3∙ha–1. In Scots pine forest stands coarse woody debris was found on an area of 1703.5 hectares with total stock of 15355 m3, consists of standing dead trees (9952 m3, 64.8%) and fallen dead wood (5403 m3, 35.2%). The volume of dead wood in forest stands was 5–50 m3∙ha–1, on average – 9.0 m3∙ha–1. In pedunculate oak stands coarse wood debris was found on an area of 384.7 hectares with a total stock of 3224 m3, consists of standing dead wood (1469 m3, 45.6%) and fallen dead wood (1755 m3, 54.4%). The volume of dead wood in forest stands was 5–20 m3∙ha–1, on average – 8.4 m3∙ha–1.

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