%0 Research article
%T Spatial structure in four Norway spruce stands with different management history in the Alps and Carpathians
%A Lamedica, Silvia
%A Lingua, Emanuele
%A Popa, Ionel
%A Motta, Renzo
%A Carrer, Marco
%D 2011
%J Silva Fennica
%V 45
%N 5
%R doi:10.14214/sf.75
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/75
%X In Europe most Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) mountain forests  have been altered by human activities, leading to a lack of reference  condition concerning their original structure. Nonetheless, remnants of  Norway spruce primeval forests still exist in the Carpathians. Our  objective was to assess the differences in structure between managed and  unmanaged stands, concerning diameter distributions, amount of standing  deadwood, spatial distributions and spatial structure of trees. We  established four permanent plots: one in a virgin forest in the Eastern  Carpathians and three in a previously managed forest in the Alps. In  each plot, species, DBH, and position of the live and dead standing  trees were collected. Spatial distribution and structure of all the  trees was analysed through several indices. In the Carpathians forest  there are clear signs of natural density-dependent mortality processes  whereas in the Alpine plots such dynamics are less evident. In these  latter plots, the lower snags volume and the random trees spatial  distribution can be considered the legacies of past management.  Nonetheless, despite the different history of the four stands, they all  seem to converge towards a similar spatial structure with the presence  of groups (30–40 m) of trees of similar size.