The paper discusses results of a study on the composition of beech stands in 18 site units in Slovenia. The analysed mature beech stands are uniform but are characterised by certain uneven-agedness. The aim of the study was to determine age composition of these stands and to examine differentiation process within a period of 60 years. Top height trees, that is a hundred largest trees per hectare, are dealt with in detail. The differentiation process of these trees was relatively modest in mature stands, even insignificant in individual sites. These top height trees are, as a rule, a little older than other trees, that is trees which started growing early in the regeneration period.
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