Stand dynamics of the virgin forest Rajhenavski Rog

Pragozdni rezervati so odličen objekt za analizo naravnega razvoja sestojev, ki poteka brez vpliva človeka, oziroma je ta močno zmanjšan. Leta 1984 so bile v Rajhenavskem Rogu postavljene stalne raziskovalne ploskve s skupno površino 1,91 ha, namenjene analizi odraslega sestoja. Leta 2020 je bila izvedena peta ponovitev popisa. Smrtnosti in vrasti jelke in bukve si niso podobne in se skozi čas spreminjajo. V celotnem obdobju ni bilo zaznane vrasti jelke skozi merski prag. Prav tako so se močno zmanjšale njene gostote v prvem debelinskem razredu (DBR), čemur vzrok so predvsem velike populacije jelenjadi. Stalno odmiranje in pomanjkanje vrsti jelke je privedlo do splošnega upada jelke skozi vse DBR. Nasprotno, število bukve v prvem DBR skozi vsa obdobja vztrajno narašča, njena vrast pa je vidna tudi v ostalih DBR. Ti trendi napovedujejo vztrajno nadomeščanje jelke z bukvijo, kar lahko dolgoročno privede do spremenjene drevesne sestave. V zadnjih treh meritvah je opazno večanje števila živih-zlomljenih dreves, od vetra izruvanih dreves in dreves, ki so podlegla padcem drugih dreves, kar kaže na večanje ekstremnih vremenskih pojavov, predvsem manjših vetrolomov.Old-growth reserves serve as natural laboratories for analysing the dynamics of forest stands without direct influence of humans. In 1984, permanent research plots were placed in the Rajhenavski Rog with a total area of 1.91 ha intended for the analysis of long-term demography. A fifth iteration of the census was carried out in 2020. Mortality and recruitment of beech and fir, the two dominant species, varied over time. Throughout the monitoring period, no ingrowth of the fir was detected, and its density in small diameter classes declined over time, likely due to large populations of red deer. The lack of recruitment and continuous mortality also resulted in a general decline in fir across all diameter classes. In contrast, the number of beech in the smallest diameter class has steadily increased over time, and recruitment of beech is notable across most diameter classes. These trends highlight a steady replacement of fir by beech, which may lead to a long-term change in species composition at the site. In the last three measurements, there has been an increase in the number of live-snapped, uprooted, crushed trees, indicating an increase in disturbance induced tree mortality, especially smaller windthrow events