Spatial patterns of deadwoods and affecting factors in Kazdağı fir forests

Dead trees are vital to the conservation and sustainability of biodiversity. Dead trees are one of the most important components in forest ecosystems. The number of large-diameter live trees and dead trees in a stand are some of the most common stand characteristics used to determine the structural complexity of the stand. Various studies have been carried out on the spatial distribution of trees in the stands in forests consisting of different tree species. However, studies on the spatial distribution of dead trees in the stand are very limited. In this study, spatial patterns of trees in a Kazdağı fir (Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani) stand was examined, and mapped. Moreover, distribution pattern of the standing deadwoods was also monitored. This study was carried out within the borders of Ilgaz Mountain National Park in Kastamonu province. After determining the individual coordinates of all trees in the study plot, these data were added to the ArcMap program and stem maps of the trees were created. The "Average Nearest Neighbor Analysis" in ArcMap was used to calculate the average nearest neighbor distance of both all trees and dead trees in the study plot. Also, Ripley's k-function analysis was used in ArcMap to see if the point distribution was clustered, random, or scattered. While the distribution of all trees was scattered, it was determined that dead trees were clustered in the stand.