Effect of intervention and type of forest management on quality andquantity characteristics of dead wood in managed and reserve forests: Acase study

We compared the dead wood （DW） conditions of Chesh- meh-sar forest and Sardab forest with different management history, including reserve forest and harvested forest. The First forest took 100% inventory from all the available DW. Also dead trees were compared in terms of species, shape, location and quality of fracture in both forests. Volumes of dead wood in Cheshmeh-sar and Sardab forests were 207.47 and 142.74 m3, respectively. Due to this significant difference, impact on the management level was determined. In Cheshmeh-sar forest, 42% of dead trees were standing and 58% were fallen type while in Sardab forest 38.6% were standing and 61.4% fallen. But the difference was not statis- tically significant l^etween them （p = 0.0587）. In terms of quality, dead trees of hard, soft and hollow had the highest frequency, respectively. However, 71.5% of DW was seen as hard dead in Cheshmeh-sar forest while hard dead trees in Sardab forests were 54.2%. Soft quality degree of dead trees which formed in Cheshmeh-sar and Sardab forest were calcu- lated as 26.6% and 43.4% respectively. Also 30% of the dead trees of Sardab forest were eradicated while in Cheshmeh-sar this amount was reduced to 12%. Due to this significant difference （（P=0/018）, it is concluded that the type of management and human interference are affecting the quality of dead trees and makes us to think the human in- terferences could effect on the ecosystem of touched forests.

Species diversity, regeneration and dominance as influenced by canopy gaps and their characteristics in tropical evergreen forests of Western Ghats, India

Canopy gaps play a significant role in maintaining structure and composition of tropical forests. This study was carried out in tropical evergreen forests of central Western Ghats in India to understand the influence of canopy gap size and the relationship of gap regime attributes to diversity measures and regeneration. The average gap size in the study area was found to be 396 m2 and around half of gaps were 4–8 years old. Gaps created by natural single tree fall were smaller in size but significantly higher in number. Diversity and regeneration of woody species were compared with canopy gaps and intact vegetation. Species richness and diversity was higher in gaps than in intact vegetation. Macaranga peltata, a shade intolerant species dominated gaps while intact vegetation was dominated by shade tolerant Kingiodendron pinnatum.Gap size significantly influenced species diversity and regeneration. Gap area and age were significantly and negatively correlated with diversity measures but positively correlated with regeneration. Among all the attributes of gaps, regeneration was significantly positively correlated with light intensity. Gaps maintained species diversity and favored regeneration of woody species. In addition to gap size and age, other gap ecological attributes also affected species diversity and regeneration.