influence of gap size and development stages on the silvicultural characteristics of oriental beech (fagus orientalis lipsky) regeneration

we studied 11 gaps covered with beech saplings (< 1.30 m tall) in a reserve compartment (compartment 139, district one, langa forest, watershed 36: kazemrood) of the caspian beech forest in n iran. two transects, each 2 m wide, were laid along the longest (n-s) and shortest (e-w) axis of each gap. five micro sample plots, each 4 m2, were established: one at the center, and one at each corner. qualitative and quantitative characteristics of saplings with a diameter at breast height less than 7.5 cm were examined in the micro sample plots. analysis of variance (anova) and kruskal-wallis test were performed using spss software for quantitative characteristics, and chi-square test for qualitative characteristics. results indicated that medium-sized (200-500 m2) gaps promote the growth of oriental beech saplings of desirable silvicultural forms during decay and initial stages.