Effects of Forest Structure Management on Species Richness and Diversity

Dear Colleagues,

Forest structure is determined by synergy of biotic and abiotic factors. It is a product as well as a driver of ecosystem processes and biodiversity. Essential attributes of forest structure include structural type, size, shape, and vertical and horizontal spatial distributions of components. Forest structure management affects the entire set of factors and components of the ecosystem, as well as species richness and diversity. It is known that the biodiversity of managed forests is reduced in comparison to natural forests and that the research looking into forest management has mainly been focused on simple comparisons between managed and unmanaged forests and on aggregated community metrics such as the species richness of individual taxa.

The local biodiversity of forests depends on a complex set of factors that characterize the habitats of individual species. These factors include components such as structural complexity, species composition, phenology timing, and horizontal patterning of the vegetation, which in turn depend on environment and the history of disturbances. Since managed forests have an important role to play in conserving global biodiversity, this Special Issue aims to achieve a better understanding of how changes induced by management on the composition of forests, and their structural and horizontal pattern of the dominant vegetation, define the diversity of the composition and the richness of associated organisms.

Dr. Irena Šapić
Dr. Damir Ugarković
Dr. Igor Poljak
Guest Editors

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