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Knowledge on the range of variability of montane European forests is hampered by limited data on the natural disturbance regime and by the small size of old-growth remnants. We studied the mixed -- Lom forest reserve (55.8 ha) in Bosnia and Herzegovina at three different scales: a grid of 40 sampling points to describe the structural characteristics and their range of variability, three transects to analyse gap size and gap fraction, and a 1.1 ha permanent plot to reconstruct age structure and disturbance history. The forest is characterized by a high volume of living trees (763 m3·ha-1 in the 55.8 ha core area and 1160 m3·ha-1 in the permanent plot) and of coarse woody debris (327 and 383 m3·ha-1, respectively). The percentages of forest area in canopy and expanded gaps are 19% and 41%, respectively. The median canopy gap size is 76.9 m2 and ranges from 11.1 to 708.0 m2. There are large (up to 120 cm diameter at breast height) and very old trees (441, 432, and 416 years for silver fir ( Mill.), Norway spruce ( (L.) Karst.), and European beech ( L.), respectively). During the last three centuries, the disturbance patterns have been characterized by single-tree or small group mortality. In central Europe, this forest is at the end of a gradient from forests characterized by intermediate disturbances to those where very small-scale processes predominate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatiotemporal development and human impact on dynamic processes were investigated in the mixed European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) and Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) subalpine forest of Lago Perso (Piedmont, Italy). We mapped and measured all 295 trees (DBH ≥4 cm) and 914 saplings (>10 cm height, <4 cm DBH) in a permanent plot (1 ha). One core per tree was extracted upslope at 50 cm height, and dendrochronological techniques were applied to reconstruct age structure and growth patterns. All of the data collected were stored in a GIS, and tree and stem crown maps were generated and analysed to quantify spatial patterns. Ripley's K(t) univariate and bivariate point pattern analyses were employed to assess the degree of spatial autocorrelation. Documentary research was conducted to reconstruct human land use. The stand is uneven-aged, and there were no obvious age cohorts or other evidence of major disturbances in the past. Stone pine saplings and trees and larch saplings exhibited a clumped structure. The same clumping was not so evident in larch trees. The observed structural changes are mainly related to human land use and grazing regime. Although human influence is still manifest, in the recent decades natural dynamics have become the predominant influence on the forest's structure and processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]