DEAD WOOD - AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR FOREST BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION.

The importance of deadwood in forest ecosystems is widely recognized today and it is used as indicator for the sustainable management of forests. The purpose of researches carried out in five natural reserves and managed Romanian forests was to determine and compare the amount, size, distribution and decay classes of their deadwood. The data obtained in the mixed beech coniferous and beech old growth forests can be used as reference values for the natural dynamic of deadwood and can contribute to set the rules for the restoration of deadwood in forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]