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Ingrowth, survival and height growth of small trees in uneven-aged Picea abies stands in southern Finland
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The purpose of the study was to analyse height growth, mortality, and ingrowth of individual small-sized trees in uneven-aged spruce-dominated stands. It was based on experimental data from 16 stands for a 15-year observation period including four measurements with a 5-year interval. In the data of this study, the heights of small-sized trees varied from 0.1 to about 9 m. Results showed that the growth of small trees was rather slow, particularly in the smallest size classes. With average growth rates it would take about 60 years for a freshly emerged spruce germinant to achieve 1.3 m in height. The stand density, site quality and selection cuttings affected the growth of small-sized spruces. Average five-year mortality rates for spruce, birch and pine were 17.0%, 40.9% and 33.9%, respectively. Annual ingrowth rates with the threshold height of 1.3 m for the three species were on average 30.4, 2.8 and less than 0.1 trees per hectare, respectively. Even if, a selection cutting of modest intensity (25% of basal area removed on average) seemed to have accelerated the growth of small spruces, it is recommended that more intensive harvestings be applied to enhance the survival and growth of small spruces. It is also concluded that shade intolerant species like birch and pine do not seem to be capable of developing into viable undergrowth in spruce selection stands with their current levels of stand density.
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Ingrowth, survival and height growth of small trees in uneven-aged Picea abies stands in southern Finland
),
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to analyse height growth, mortality, and ingrowth of individual small-sized trees in uneven-aged spruce-dominated stands. It was based on experimental data from 16 stands for a 15-year observation period including four measurements with a 5-year interval. In the data of this study, the heights of small-sized trees varied from 0.1 to about 9 m. Results showed that the growth of small trees was rather slow, particularly in the smallest size classes. With average growth rates it would take about 60 years for a freshly emerged spruce germinant to achieve 1.3 m in height. The stand density, site quality and selection cuttings affected the growth of small-sized spruces. Average five-year mortality rates for spruce, birch and pine were 17.0%, 40.9% and 33.9%, respectively. Annual ingrowth rates with the threshold height of 1.3 m for the three species were on average 30.4, 2.8 and less than 0.1 trees per hectare, respectively. Even if, a selection cutting of modest intensity (25% of basal area removed on average) seemed to have accelerated the growth of small spruces, it is recommended that more intensive harvestings be applied to enhance the survival and growth of small spruces. It is also concluded that shade intolerant species like birch and pine do not seem to be capable of developing into viable undergrowth in spruce selection stands with their current levels of stand density.
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Acknowledgements
The study was based on the experiments established and managed under the ERIKA project of the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla). We thank all project participants and supporters for their cooperation. Ms. Hilkka Ollikainen and Mr. Juhani Korhonen deserve our special gratitude for their inexorable endeavour in the field.
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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.
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