Variation in the amount of dead wood in the woodlands of the Lower Wye Valley, UK in relation to the intensity of management

The volume of deadwood was estimated in 24 stands within the temperate deciduous woodland of the Lower Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. The standi were chosen to represent different forms of management and lack of management in woodland on predominantly well-drained sites within a single district. In mature stands which had not been managed for a century, total volumes and size class distributions had reached a level and variety comparable with long-unmanaged old-growth forests in Continental Europe and Eastern North America. In managed stands, including semi-natural mixtures which had formerly been neglected, volumes were generally no more than 30% of these natural levels and usually very much lower. Large well-rotted logs were extremely rare. This variation is reviewed in terms of the history of management in these woods. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.