ZLV Online

Abstrakt

Global climate change (GCC) underscores the need to increase the resistance of forest ecosystems, with mixed stands increasingly considered a key adaptation strategy for maintaining both productive and ecological stability. The study was conducted in the Ore Mountains (542–603 m a.s.l.) on 20 permanent research plots in 86–102-year-old stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.; BK) and Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst; SM). The aim was to evaluate the effect of species admixture on diversity and production potential in pure and mixed stands across five variants (admixture of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%). The results demonstrated significant differences (p < 0.001) between admixture variants for most of the studied parameters. Mixed stands showed 32.5% higher tree density, 47.4% higher basal area, and 54.1% higher stand volume (558 m3/ha) compared to monocultures (362 m3/ha), with the highest stand volume observed in the SM 50% + BK 50% variant (614 m3/ha). In terms of production, species evenness proved to be the most important factor. Diversity indices of the tree layer revealed a strong advantage of mixtures, particularly in the SM 50% + BK 50% variant, which also reached the highest values of overall diversity (B 5.64), whereas spruce monocultures showed the lowest values (B 3.21). Mixed stands achieve higher production potential, carbon sequestration, and structural diversity compared to monospecific stands. The promotion of mixed beech–spruce stands can be recommended as a suitable silvicultural strategy to enhance stability, resilience, and multifunctionality of forests under GCC in similar site conditions.