Decomposition of coarse woody debris in forest ecosystems with particular reference to spruce, beech and fir

Dead trees are an important component of forest ecosystems, being a major reservoir of organic carbon, as well as a habitat for many species belonging to different systematic groups. The paper presents a review of the literature on wood decomposition and the factors that play an important role in this process, including its biological and physicochemical aspects. It provides recent knowledge on the rate of decomposition for the main forest tree species of Carpathian Mountains such as Norway spruce, European beech and European silver fir.