Effects of Strip Roads in a Pine Tree Stand (Pinus sylvestris L.) on the Diameter Growth and Pith Eccentricity of Trees Growing along Them

Włodzimierz Stempski,Krzysztof Jabłoński,Jakub Jakubowski

doi:10.3390/f12101414

Abstract

Although skid roads are more and more commonly used in Poland, they are still quite often criticised due to a certain loss of wood volume and the impact on edge trees. In this context, the results of the research described in this article can be used as a substantive contribution to discussions about strip roads. Research was carried out in a 42-year-old pine tree stand (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the Notecka Forest, where thinning had been performed and 2.5 and 3.5 m wide strip roads had been cut 10 years before. The analysis comprised two five-year periods recording diameter growth and pith eccentricity in trees growing at the distance zones of 0–1 m (adjacent trees), 2–4 m and 8–10 m (the control) away from the strip roads. The differences in growth and eccentricity between the different distance zones as well as the frequency of pith eccentricity in the N-W, S-W, N-E and S-E directions were assessed, related to the distance from the strip road and the measurement height. The measurements of the analysed traits were conducted on wood discs cut from the centres of two-metre-long sections on sample trees (12 trees in each distance zone). The trees growing directly beside the strip roads were statistically significantly thicker than those growing 8–10 m away, and in the case of the trees beside the narrower strip roads, in the second 5-year period, they were also thicker than the trees from the 2–4 m distance zone. The effect of the wider strip roads in the first growth period was also significant for the trees growing 3 m away from the strip road (their growth in this period was significantly greater than that of trees in the control zone). The research into tree-pith eccentricity showed no differences due to relative distance from the strip road. Furthermore, no statistically significant relationship between the distance of trees from the strip road, measurement height and frequency of tree-pith eccentricity to the N-W and S-W were found.

Highlights

Sustainable forestry is multifunctional and supports the maintenance of the ecological, economic, social and cultural functions of forests for the present day and for the future [1,2,3]
The research showed that both in the first as well as in the second five-year periods after cutting strip roads in the 3.5 m variant, the trees growing directly at the strip roads showed much larger growth in diameter than those growing at greater distances from the strip road (Table 1)
These results can be used in discussions about strip roads, which often mention the wood volume losses caused by their cutting, and their negative impact on the proper development of trees at the edge of the strip road and, on the quality of wood from these trees

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable forestry is multifunctional and supports the maintenance of the ecological, economic, social and cultural functions of forests for the present day and for the future [1,2,3]. The economic forest functions lie in wood production and harvesting. These functions, bringing the greatest revenues, are still very important for the forest economy, more and more often the value of other, non-productive forest services and products is stressed [4,5]. Wood harvesting is one element of forest utilisation that in multifunctional forestry is not limited to taking specific material goods out of the forest, and uses the forest space [7]. One use of forest space is the strip road, which is indispensable for machine movement, and when correctly designed, contributes to a reduction in damage to trees caused by wood harvesting operations [8,9,10,11]

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Conclusion