Abstract
A clear-cutting system with soil preparation before replanting is usual for Scots pine stands in many European countries. Additionally, thinning regimes are applied during the rotation. Thus, forest floor is recreated in each rotation and can be influenced by thinning regime. The present study aimed to determine possible effects of thinning on production (evaluated by basal area) and forest-floor status (evaluated by dry mass, carbon and nitrogen content) in pine stands. We used data from four experiments established in 1962 in 25- to 45-year-old pine stands. In 2008, we analysed forest-floor characteristics under the observed stands. The results from basal area evaluation showed different development in treatments on all experiments during and at the end of observation. We observed substantial, but statistically non-significant, differences between treatments in quantity of dry mass (and of carbon and nitrogen) accumulated in humus horizons under Scots pine stands more than 40 years after first thinning.
Highlights
In Central Europe, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) monocultures are usually managed by a clear-cutting system with relatively intensive soil preparation before planting
(1) Two experimental sites (Straznice and Kersko) showed continual substantially higher basal area on the Control plots. These differences continued to the end of the study on both sites with the exception that on the Straznice site the basal area of the Control and Thinned plots showed only small differences at the final, 10th year of observation
In horizon H, we found from 256.9 (Thinned plot at Straznice) to 1,346.8 (Control plot at Kersko) kg ha–1 of Ntot
Summary
In Central Europe, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) monocultures are usually managed by a clear-cutting system with relatively intensive soil preparation before planting. The forest floor —an important part of a forest ecosystem— is recreated in each rotation, and this process can be relatively long. It is known that the maintenance of forest soil fertility is largely dependent on this periodic return of plant material, its decomposition, and the release of elements which are important in forest tree nutrition (Piene and Van Cleve, 1978). Rosenqvist et al (2010) reported that 60 to 90 years of forest development resulted in accumulation of a thick (6-8 cm) O layer with carbon contents comparable to those of soils in this region with a longer forest history. From the sustainable management point of view, some studies (e.g. Johnson, 1992) have found that the stocks of both N and C in soil decreased after intensive scarification.
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