COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

Beech high forests are most common in southern Italy where they play an important and attractive
role in many protected areas, such as in the Abruzzi and Gran Sasso-Maiella National Parks.
Many beech stands, including those near ‘old-growth’ forest types, are listed under NATURA 2000
conservation sites.
sILvIcuLTure aNd ForesT maNaGemeNT
The present structure of beech forests in Italy is as a result of many interacting factors. One of the
greatest impactas has been the type of cultivation and management which has characterized the
history of each stand (Nocentini 2009). Beech coppice is generally clear felled leaving 60 – 80
standards per hectare. Rotation age is usually 24 – 30 years. A particular type of beech coppice is
‘selection coppice’ (or uneven aged coppice), where shoots of different ages (usually three age classes)
grow on each stump (Giannini, Piussi 19 6).
Over the last few decades, forest policies have been increasingly directed to favouring beech coppice
conversion to high forests, considered more productive and ecologically more desirable.
In general, conversion to high forest has been carried out, progressively reducing density by frequent
thinning of the shoots. The aim is to favour growth of the best stems and at the same time reduce
re-sprouting (Bagnaresi, Giannini 1999). Conversion to high forest is completed with seedling
establishment following regeneration felling. Conversion to high forest requires a long period of
time, varying in relation to site quality, but generally it takes several decades, often up to 60 – 80
(100) years after the first thinning (Nocentini 2009).
In high forest management, the uniform shelterwood system is usually prescribed because of the
supposed natural tendency of beech towards even-aged structures. Plans usually prescribe rotation
ages varying between 100 and 140 years. Most of beech high forests, especially in the southern
regions, have a complex structure which is the result of the particular type of selection felling carried
out by the owners. These are repeated in each compartment at short intervals (8 – 10 years), creating
small gaps – 40 to 100 square meters – where beech regeneration quickly sets in. This type of forest
management, not part of regular management plans, but described according to unwritten rules
passed on by owners and woodsmen from generation to generation, can be considered as a part of
local traditional knowledge.
Silviculture and management aspects, which are currently under investigation, present the possibility
of managing beech stands with the objective of increasing structural diversity. Particularly interesting
are the results of investigations, currently undertaken , on the structure, regeneration and productivity
of beech high forests following small group selection felling (Ciancio et al. 2008).
Of importance also are the investigations on natural beech regeneration in even-aged, monospecific
stands of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) in the northern Apennines and in Austrian pine (Pinus nigra
Arn.) plantations, where the management objective is to favour re-naturalization, i. e. the gradual
transformation towards self-regenerating, mixed stands with complex structures (Nocentini 2009).
GeNeTIcs
The genetic variability and the phylogeographic relationships as well as phenological and growth
parameters or molecular genetic features of Italian beech populations were extensively analyzed in
the past years using a variety of traditional and molecular approaches.
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