Pre-commercial thinning in naturally regenerated stands of European beech (<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>L.): effects of thinning pattern, stand density and pruning on tree growth and stem quality

Reventlow, Ditlev Otto Juel; Nord‐Larsen, Thomas; Skovsgaard, Jens Peter

doi:10.1093/forestry/cpy039

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…3000-5000 tree ha −1 for Fraxinus excelsior in Germany), we considered the lower bound of the range in our analysis. The tree density is especially of importance when controlling the stem quality in traditional forestry whose major purpose is timber production [24]. As the purpose of the tree planting in our analysis is ecological restoration rather than timber production, we used the lower bound.…”

Section: Optimal Options For Each Member State 211 Tree Density Calcu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Three billion new trees in the EU’s biodiversity strategy: low ambition, but better environmental outcomes?

Lee

Pugh

Patacca

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The EU Biodiversity strategy aims to plant 3 billion trees by 2030, in order to improve ecosystem restoration and biodiversity. Here, we compute the land area that would be required to support this number of newly planted trees by taking account of different tree species and planting regimes across the EU member states. We find that 3 billion trees would require a total land area of between 0.81 and 1.37 Mha (avg. 1.02 Mha). The historic forest expansion in the EU since 2010 was 2.44 Mha, meaning that despite 3 billion trees sounding like a large number this target is considerably lower than historic afforestation rates within the EU, i.e. only 40% of the past trend. Abandoned agricultural land is often proposed as providing capacity for afforestation. We estimate agricultural abandoned land areas from the HIstoric Land Dynamics Assessment+ (HILDA+) database using two time thresholds (abandonment since 2009 or 2014) to identify potential areas for tree planting. The area of agricultural abandoned land was 2.6 Mha (potentially accommodating 7.2 billion trees) since 2009 and 0.2 Mha (potentially accommodating 741 million trees) since 2014. Our study highlights that sufficient space could be available to meet the 3 billion tree planting target from abandoned land. However, large-scale afforestation beyond abandoned land could have displacement effects elsewhere in the world because of the embodied deforestation in the import of agricultural crops and livestock. This would negate the expected benefits of EU afforestation. Hence, the EU’s relatively low ambition on tree planting may actually be better in terms of avoiding such displacement effects. We suggest that tree planting targets should be set at a level that considers physical ecosystem dynamic as well as socio-economic condition.

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Section: Optimal Options For Each Member State 211 Tree Density Calcu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Three billion new trees in the EU’s biodiversity strategy: low ambition, but better environmental outcomes?

Lee

Pugh

Patacca

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…The presence of epicormic branches was recorded at the lowest three meters of the stem. Forking was considered as a splitting of stem into two or more equal axes, which reduces the length of a commercial log's section [31]. The presence of acutely angled branches up to 50% of height of the stem was recorded as a ramicorn branch, which degrades the commercial value of a log [31].…”

Section: Sampling and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forking was considered as a splitting of stem into two or more equal axes, which reduces the length of a commercial log's section [31]. The presence of acutely angled branches up to 50% of height of the stem was recorded as a ramicorn branch, which degrades the commercial value of a log [31]. In total, 524 trees were evaluated (500 beech trees and 24 trees of other species).…”

Section: Sampling and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Heterogeneity of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Stands at Its Northernmost Limits

Jansone,

Matisons,

Kārše

et al. 2023

Sustainability

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The expansion of European beech to northeastern regions due to climate change is anticipated, especially if assisted migration techniques are employed. Marginal populations of European beech are exposed to unfavorable growing conditions that are challenging for their survival and multifunctionality. Under such conditions, the structural complexity of stands is a critical factor that supports the sustainability of these populations. In this study, five stands of European beech in Latvia, which are currently the most northeastern stands in Europe, were investigated. In each of the stands, two sample plots (area 500 m2) were randomly established. The dimensions of trees, stem quality features, and spatial structure of the stands were assessed. The stands varied in density but were found to be productive as indicated by comparable tree dimensions to those in core populations. The studied beech stands displayed low species mingling and tended towards monospecies composition, with some structural diversification likely due to small-scale disturbances and varying stand densities, suggesting that spatial diversity was influenced by species composition and competition among trees. The analyzed European beech stands were in the maturing phase, but displayed diverse diameter and height structures, indicating that natural ecological processes were occurring, akin to those found in non-marginal regions. The stem quality of the trees was intermediate, with frequent occurrences of ramicorn, epicormic branches, and forking (41.8%, 53.5%, and 26.3%, respectively), while stem cracks were rare (4.6%). However, these features can provide crucial microhabitats for biodiversity. Therefore, European beech has the potential for diversification in forestry and ensuring sustainability at the edge of its range expansion. The main implications of this study highlight the diverse structural characteristics of the European beech stands, indicating the influence of species competition and small-scale disturbances, providing valuable insights for forest management and conservation strategies. Although, this study has a few potential limitations that should be considered, including the relatively small sample size and the absence of long-term data.

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“…This result is in line with the analysis of the D 300 treatment effect and, as for the pruning in heavily thinned plots, with results from a similar experiment in young European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The beech experiment comprised unthinned control plots, strip thinning removing 50% of the stem number, and heavy thinning (with or without pruning) leaving only 200 trees per ha [45]. Potential future crop trees had been selected in all treatments and according to criteria identical to those used in our birch experiments.…”

Section: Crop Tree Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Thinning Practice, High Pruning and Slash Management on Crop Tree and Stand Growth in Young Even-Aged Stands of Planted Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth)

Skovsgaard

Johansson

Holmström

et al. 2021

Forests

Self Cite

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The objective was to quantify the influence of thinning, high pruning and slash management on crop tree and stand growth in young even-aged stands of planted silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). This study was based on two field experiments, aged six and eleven years at initiation and re-measured after six and eight years, respectively. Treatments included the unthinned control, moderate thinning mainly from below (removing 28–33% of standing volume), point thinning to favor 300 trees per ha and with no thinning elsewhere in the plot (removing 16–25%), and heavy thinning leaving 600 evenly distributed potential future crop trees per ha (removing 64–75%). Slash management (extraction or retention) was applied to heavily thinned plots. High pruning removing 30–70% of the green crown was carried out in some plots with point or heavy thinning on 300 or 600 trees per ha, respectively. Stand volume growth increased with increasing pre-treatment mean annual volume increment and decreased with increasing thinning intensity as compared to the unthinned control. LS-means estimates indicated a reduction for moderate thinning by 14%, for point thinning by 12% and for heavy thinning (combined with pruning) by 62%. However, in the youngest experiment, heavy thinning (without pruning) reduced growth by 54%. Combining these results with results from a similar experiment in Canada, the reduction in stand volume growth (RedIv%) depending on thinning removal (RemV%), both expressed as a percentage of the unthinned control, was quantified as RedIv% = −23.67 + 1.16·RemV% (calibration range: 30–83%). For heavy thinning (large quantities of slash), slash extraction resulted in no reduction in stand volume growth as compared to slash retention. The instantaneous numeric reduction in the average stem diameter of the 300 thickest trees per ha (D300) due to thinning was 3.5, 15–21% and 955–11% with moderate, point and heavy thinning, respectively. The subsequent average annual increase in D300 during the observation period was 8.5%, 25 and 18%, respectively. In the youngest experiment, pruning in unthinned plots led to a reduction in the annual increase of D300 by 14%, and heavy thinning in unpruned plots led to an increase by 30%. The growth of pre-selected potential future crop trees increased with increasing thinning intensity. In heavily thinned plots, pruning reduced growth increasingly with increasing pruning severity; LS-means estimates indicated 21% larger growth on stem diameter for unpruned trees and 3% for pruned trees. As an adverse side effect, heavily thinned plots with only 600 trees per ha were at increased risk of windthrow for some years after the thinning intervention. In the oldest experiment, 95–21% of the trees in these plots were damaged by wind.

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Pre-commercial thinning in naturally regenerated stands of European beech (Fagus sylvaticaL.): effects of thinning pattern, stand density and pruning on tree growth and stem quality

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Three billion new trees in the EU’s biodiversity strategy: low ambition, but better environmental outcomes?

Three billion new trees in the EU’s biodiversity strategy: low ambition, but better environmental outcomes?

Structural Heterogeneity of European Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) Stands at Its Northernmost Limits

Effects of Thinning Practice, High Pruning and Slash Management on Crop Tree and Stand Growth in Young Even-Aged Stands of Planted Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth)

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