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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. For. Glob. Change
Sec. People and Forests
Volume 7 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2024.1461996
This article is part of the Research Topic Agroforestry for biodiversity and ecosystem services View all 7 articles

Effects of Single-Tree selective harvest method on Ecosystem Services in a Mixed Temperate ‎Broadleaf Forest in Iran

Provisionally accepted
Behrooz Karamdost Behrooz Karamdost 1Ahmad Alijanpour Ahmad Alijanpour 1*Abbas Banj Shafiei Abbas Banj Shafiei 1Samira Sasanifar Samira Sasanifar 1Pedro Álvarez-Álvarez Pedro Álvarez-Álvarez 2
  • 1 Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
  • 2 University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study examines the effects of single-tree selective harvest method on ecosystem services in a mixed ‎temperate broadleaf forest in Iran. The research was conducted in four districts, each with two parcels ‎managed with either single-tree selective harvest method or a control method. The study found that single-tree ‎selective harvest method had a significant impact on regulating and supporting services, including carbon ‎sequestration, tree species diversity, soil nutrient cycle, and stand volume. The results showed that the single-‎tree selective harvest method significantly impacted carbon storage, with varying effects on soil and forest ‎floor litter carbon storage depending on elevation. The method also had a positive impact on tree species ‎diversity, with an increase in the number of tree species and a decrease in the dominance of certain species. ‎However, the study also found that the single-tree selective harvest method has reduced the stand volume in ‎the managed area. The results showed that changes in height above sea level have a significant effect on ‎diversity indices, litter carbon storage, available potassium and stand volume factors. Also, comparing the ‎effects of management and elevation above sea level factors on the trend of changes in soil carbon storage, ‎richness, diversity, total nitrogen, available potassium and stand volume is significant. The study concludes ‎that single-tree selective harvest method can be a viable forest management method for maintaining ‎ecosystem services in mixed temperate broadleaf forests. The study concludes that single-tree selective ‎harvest method can be a viable forest management method for maintaining ecosystem services in mixed ‎temperate broadleaf forests, without causing significant negative impacts on soil or ecosystem health. ‎However, careful consideration should be given to the specific ecological and environmental conditions of ‎the forest, as well as the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. The findings of ‎this study have important implications for sustainable forest management practices in Iran and other regions ‎with similar forest ecosystems.‎

    Keywords: Single-tree selective harvest method, forest management, ecosystem services, Carbon Storage, Tree species diversity

    Received: 09 Jul 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Karamdost, Alijanpour, Shafiei, Sasanifar and Álvarez-Álvarez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ahmad Alijanpour, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

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