Journal of Forest Science, 2020 (vol. 66), issue 4
Retrieval of among-stand variances from one observation per standOriginal Paper
Steen Magnussen, Johannes Breidenbach
J. For. Sci., 2020, 66(4):133-149 | DOI: 10.17221/141/2019-JFS 
Forest inventories provide predictions of stand means on a routine basis from models with auxiliary variables from remote sensing as predictors and response variables from field data. Many forest inventory sampling designs do not afford a direct estimation of the among-stand variance. As consequence, the confidence interval for a model-based prediction of a stand mean is typically too narrow. We propose a new method to compute (from empirical regression residuals) an among-stand variance under sample designs that stratify sample selections by an auxiliary variable, but otherwise do not allow a direct estimation of this variance. We test the method...
Dominant woody species, their distribution and threat in Ambrolauri, GeorgiaOriginal Paper
Tamar Khardzhiani, Roman Maisuradze
J. For. Sci., 2020, 66(4):150-158 | DOI: 10.17221/120/2019-JFS
The paper presents the maps of ecosystems and 11 dominant woody species of Ambrolauri municipality, Georgia (Europe). Forest cover comprises approximately 68% of the study area, most of which are natural forests. Almost all formations of natural forests, depicted on the Georgian section of the Map of the Natural Vegetation of Europe, are still preserved in the research area. Nearly 40% of the forested land is broadleaf forest. Woody species are better preserved in the upper reaches of rivers, while an anthropogenic transformation is most visible in the Lower Racha Floodplain. A majority of the species discussed in the paper are included in the IUCN...
Variations of soil physicochemical properties and vegetation cover under different altitudinal gradient, western Hyrcanean forest, north of IranOriginal Paper
Hassan Pourbabaei, Ali Salehi, Sepide Sadat Ebrahimi, Fazel Khodaparasrt
J. For. Sci., 2020, 66(4):159-169 | DOI: 10.17221/136/2019-JFS
This study was done to quantify the amount of soil organic matter and to evaluate physicochemical properties and vegetation cover changes along the altitudinal gradient. Nine altitudinal transects were selected from 100 m a.s.l. to 1 700 m a.s.l. Then, 160 circular plots of 1 000 m2 area with a distance of 150 m from each other were studied. Soil texture, bulk density, particle density, soil base saturation, phosphorus and potassium values did not indicate any specific variation pattern. Whereas pH decreased powerfully, the highest and the lowest value of pH was measured at 100 m a.s.l. and 1 700 m a.s.l., respectively. Soil organic carbon content...
Fuzzy and Boolean operation based modelling for evaluation of ecological capability in the Hyrcanian ForestsOriginal Paper
Ali Ghomi-Avili, Moslem Akbarinia, Seyed-Mohsen Hosseini, Mohammad-Hasan Talebian, Hannes Dieter Knapp
J. For. Sci., 2020, 66(4):170-184 | DOI: 10.17221/130/2019-JFS
Over the past four decades, management plan based on the Boolean Ecological Capability model has caused major problems in the management of the Hyrcanian Forests. The aim of this study is to evaluate ecological capability of five proposed sites including Golestan National Park, Afra Takhteh Yew Forest, Kojoor Forest, Cypress Woodland of Hassanabad-e Chalous, Lomer forest along the Hyrcanian region from east to west, using both Boolean and fuzzy logic and to compare these two models. A total of 10 important factors including slope, aspect, elevation, soil types, soil erosion, soil transformation, canopy cover, the value of species, distance to streams...