Research interests:

• Terrestrial and mobile laser scanning
• Quantification of structural complexity of beech forests
• Changes in forest structure through management
• Comparison/ evaluation of structural complexity of forests of different management concepts

Research project:

Objective (Subject)	Quantification of the effect of target tree removal to different degrees of competition reduction on stand structure and vitality in European beech with the use of 3D laserscanning
Content	Within the scope of a target tree removal experiment, it is to be investigated how the release of beech, as a consequence of tree removal, affects stand development. Meanwhile, it is also to be assessed whether this common practice in Rhineland-Palatinate is still beneficial under the changed climatic conditions of our time. To this end, the structural complexity of medium-aged beech stands and old beech stands will be investigated in an in-situ experiment. The medium-aged beech stands have been studied for about two decades and differ in terms of their treatment variant (target tree removal; "Qualifizieren-Dimensionieren" = silvicultural strategy of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Forests; zero area = reference plot without treatment). There will be no treatment on these areas until 2025. The established structural differences and their effects between the silvicultural strategy " Qualifizieren-Dimensionieren ", target tree removal and the zero area are investigated and quantified. In the old-growth stands, in addition to zero areas, single-tree or group-selection of the dominant trees will be removed in 2023. Here, it is to be assessed to what extent the introduction of natural regeneration through the establishment of light gaps as a result of the implemented measures burdens the old beech trees remaining on the site. It will be investigated to what extent the removal is beneficial for the development of the dominant beech in the following period (2 vegetation periods) and what stress level they encounter (partly data collection by third parties). The project focuses on the exact three-dimensional recording and quantification of the stand structure of beech forests in the dimensioning phase in comparison of the treatment variants as well as in old beech stands in comparison of zero area and treated areas (before and after removal). Finally, the findings will be interpreted in the context of the literature and translated into recommendations for action
Appropriation period	01.05.2023 - 30.04.2025
Funded by	Forschungsanstalt für Waldökologie und Forstwirtschaft (FAWF) in Rheinland-Pfalz
Project-leader	Dr. Dominik Seidel
Persons in charge	Liane Neudam