Chemical Composition and Stocks of Nutrients in Dead Wood of Beech (Fagus Sylvatica L.) Forests

Abstract

The research was carried out in four beech communities in two mountains, Stara Planina and Vitosha in Western Bulgaria. The object of the study was dead beech wood. The aim was to determine the chemical composition and stocks of nutrients in different parts of dead wood in both mountains. The content of macro- and micronutrients in different fractions (stumps, standing, and lying dead wood) of dead wood was determined. The elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (N) were in the largest quantities of all the chemical elements studied. Next in order were Ca, Mg, K, and P. Micronutrients were arranged as follows in descending order of their content in the dead wood: Mn, Fe, Zn, Na, Pb, Cu. The calculated stocks of these elements showed that Stara Planina had a larger stock of elements than Vitosha mountain due to the greater amount of dead wood. The results proved that the dead wood is primarily a carbon reservoir, stored mainly in the lying dead wood fraction. The average carbon stock was 983 kg/ha for Vitosha and 4635 kg/ha for Stara Planina. The stocks of all other elements that are contained were several times less in quantity.