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Peer-reviewedCC BYEuropean Journal of Forest Research

Artificial gaps but not thinning persistently enhance forest structural heterogeneity

  • Kerstin Pierick1,2
  • Roman M. Link3
  • Heidi Linda Inderwies4
  • Stephanie Puggaard Koolen5
  • Biyun Wu1,6
  • Bernhard Schuldt3
  • Jörg Müller7,8
  • Christian Ammer1
  • Dominik Seidel2
8 affiliations
  1. 1Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
  2. 2Spatial Structures and Digitization of Forests, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
  3. 3Chair of Forest Botany, Technical University of Dresden (TUD), Pienner Straße 7, 01737, Tharandt, Germany
  4. 4HessenForst, Panoramaweg 1, 34131, Kassel, Germany
  5. 5Department of Biology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
  6. 6State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China
  7. 7Chair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter of the Julius-Maximilians University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
  8. 8Nationalpark Bavarian Forest, Freyunger Str. 2, 94481, Grafenau, Germany
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Abstract

The strong focus on wood production has led to structural homogenization of managed forests worldwide, reducing habitat heterogeneity and thereby β-diversity of forest dwelling taxa. The Enhanced Structural Beta Complexity (ESBC) approach aims to counteract this by actively creating a heterogeneous structural mosaic in production forests. This is achieved by applying combinations of different deadwood retention treatments and spatial timber removal patterns (thinning vs. gaps) in neighboring forest patches. In a field experiment, heterogeneous ESBC-treated forest districts (10–20 ha) were implemented in temperate broad-leaf forests and paired with homogeneous control districts. Heterogeneity in the ESBC districts was created by applying 15 treatments in forest patches of 50 m × 50 m. The treatments combined cutting 30% of the stand basal area, either regularly distributed throughout the whole patch (thinning) or aggregated in the patch center (gap), with deadwood retention. We quantified the changes of forest structure in 90 forest patches using a 7-year time series of repeated terrestrial laser scanning and calculated three indices: stand structural complexity index, understory complexity index, and canopy openness. While thinning had only minor effects, the removal of equal amounts of timber through gap felling greatly affected all structural indices. In canopy gaps, structural development was highly dynamic between years and impacted by deadwood retention treatments. Mostly driven by the pronounced structural changes in canopy gaps, ESBC treatments effectively lead to structurally heterogeneous forests throughout the post-intervention period. Therefore, the ESBC approach is a promising tool for integrating biodiversity conservation in multifunctional forests.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pierick2026artificial,
  title = {{Artificial gaps but not thinning persistently enhance forest structural heterogeneity}},
  author = {Kerstin Pierick and Roman M. Link and Heidi Linda Inderwies and Stephanie Puggaard Koolen and Biyun Wu and Bernhard Schuldt and Jörg Müller and Christian Ammer and Dominik Seidel},
  journal = {European Journal of Forest Research},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1007/s10342-026-01914-5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-026-01914-5},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Artificial gaps but not thinning persistently enhance forest structural heterogeneity
AU  - Kerstin Pierick
AU  - Roman M. Link
AU  - Heidi Linda Inderwies
AU  - Stephanie Puggaard Koolen
AU  - Biyun Wu
AU  - Bernhard Schuldt
AU  - Jörg Müller
AU  - Christian Ammer
AU  - Dominik Seidel
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/26
JO  - European Journal of Forest Research
DO  - 10.1007/s10342-026-01914-5
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-026-01914-5
AB  - The strong focus on wood production has led to structural homogenization of managed forests worldwide, reducing habitat heterogeneity and thereby β-diversity of forest dwelling taxa. The Enhanced Structural Beta Complexity (ESBC) approach aims to counteract this by actively creating a heterogeneous structural mosaic in production forests. This is achieved by applying combinations of different deadwood retention treatments and spatial timber removal patterns (thinning vs. gaps) in neighboring forest patches. In a field experiment, heterogeneous ESBC-treated forest districts (10–20 ha) were implemented in temperate broad-leaf forests and paired with homogeneous control districts. Heterogeneity in the ESBC districts was created by applying 15 treatments in forest patches of 50 m × 50 m. The treatments combined cutting 30% of the stand basal area, either regularly distributed throughout the whole patch (thinning) or aggregated in the patch center (gap), with deadwood retention. We quantified the changes of forest structure in 90 forest patches using a 7-year time series of repeated terrestrial laser scanning and calculated three indices: stand structural complexity index, understory complexity index, and canopy openness. While thinning had only minor effects, the removal of equal amounts of timber through gap felling greatly affected all structural indices. In canopy gaps, structural development was highly dynamic between years and impacted by deadwood retention treatments. Mostly driven by the pronounced structural changes in canopy gaps, ESBC treatments effectively lead to structurally heterogeneous forests throughout the post-intervention period. Therefore, the ESBC approach is a promising tool for integrating biodiversity conservation in multifunctional forests.
SN  - 1612-4669
SN  - 1612-4677
ER  -