Assessing Understory Complexity in Beech-dominated Forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Central Europe—From Managed to Primary Forests

Understory vegetation influences several ecosystem services and functions of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests. Despite this knowledge on the importance of understory vegetation, it is still difficult to measure its three-dimensional characteristics in a quantitative manner. With the recent advancements in terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), we now have the means to analyze detailed spatial patterns of forests. Here, we present a new...