Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
AUSTRIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST SCIENCE, cilt.142, sa.3, ss.215-254, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Ground-level habitat microstructures are critical yet overlooked drivers of forest biodiversity, offering resources for diverse forest organisms. While canopy gaps, tree-related microhabitats (TreMs), and coarse woody debris are widely studied, small-scale features such as ground-level dead wood, micro-pools, and topographic irregularities remain poorly documented in Turkiye. This study presents the first systematic, plot-based quantitative assessment of such features in the ancient Belgrade Forest, a historically protected woodland near Istanbul. 40 randomly selected 10x10 m plots were surveyed across 5,400 ha, assessing seven microstructure categories: dead wood elements (logs, snags, stumps), perennially wet micro-pools, mounds, depressions, branch/brash piles, stone piles, and ant mounds. Frequencies were evaluated using a standardized four-tier scale. Results revealed severe microhabitat simplification. Ecologically valuable dead wood (>= 10 cm) occurred in only 7.5% of plots; smaller snags (<10 cm) appeared in 25%. Micro-pools were nearly absent (2.5%), large Mounds (>50 cm) were rare (5%), and deep depressions (>50 cm) were scarce (7.5%). Branch/brash piles and ant mounds each occurred in <10% of plots. Stumps (>= 10 cm) were widespread (82.5%), but excluded from the ecological rating due to anthropogenic origin. No category reached "High" status; most were "Low" or "Very Low." Shannon's H' ranged from 2.05 to 2.31; Simpson's index (1-D) ranged from 0.82 to 0.86, indicating no spatial dominance. Jaccard similarity (mean = 0.31) reflected high spatial heterogeneity. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) results demonstrated that no individual structural element exerted a dominant effect; rather, small structural elements contributed to forest habitat heterogeneity along different axes, providing relatively modest but complementary contributions. Rarefaction curves plateaued near 12 types, confirming sampling sufficiency. Chi-square (chi(2) = 321.0, df = 39, p < 0.001) and Kruskal-Wallis tests (H = 10.35, p = 0.016) indicated significant variation in frequency and richness. These findings highlight the scarcity of essential microhabitats for saproxylic insects, amphibians, and other taxa, even in a legally protected forest, demonstrating that passive conservation alone cannot maintain ecological integrity. By focusing on ground-level microstructures (distinct from TreMs), this study reveals a structurally degraded but spatially heterogeneous mosaic. Restoration should prioritize dead wood enrichment, perennial micro-pools, and fine-scale topography, implemented proactively in historically protected forests such as Belgrade forest, once safeguarded under imperial edicts but now ecologically simplified. Similar degradation patterns may occur in other peri-urban forests such as Berlin's Grunewald, Vienna's Wienerwald, and Paris's Bois de Boulogne. Thus, Belgrade Forest provides an instructive model for biodiversity-oriented forest policy and restoration, emphasizing recognition, protection, and artificial creation of ground-level habitat microstructures.To our knowledge, this is the first systematic forest inventory worldwide focusing specifically on these features, addressing a gap in forest biodiversity monitoring.