J. For. Sci., 2023, 69(12):525-538 | DOI: 10.17221/103/2023-JFS

Thinning effects on growth and occurrence of rotting in aspen standsOriginal Paper

Alina Nasibullina ORCID...1, Marieke van der Maaten-Theunissen2, Ernst van der Maaten2, Holger Fischer1, Sven Wagner1
1 Institute of Silviculture and Forest Protection, Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany
2 Chair of Forest Growth and Woody Biomass Production, Dresden University of Technology,Tharandt, Germany

Poplar species such as aspen (Populus tremula L.) play a very important role in the forest formation process not only in Eastern European regions. Unfortunately, such aspen stands are often severely affected by fungal diseases, causing mainly core rot. In this study, the indirect effects of thinning on the phytosanitary condition of aspen by promotion of tree growth were investigated. Two thinning methods, manual (thinning from below) and mechanical thinning (schematic), were applied to young stands dominated by Eurasian aspen to study their effects on tree growth and health. All trees were measured at breast height and diameter frequency distribution was determined twice, i.e. three and 24 years after the beginning of the experiment. In addition, during the second measurement, tree-ring samples were obtained from individual trees to evaluate growth and wood decay damage. Neither manual nor mechanical thinning of aspen significantly increased its growth at the stand level, but positive effects on individual trees were observed in plots where mechanical thinning was applied. The thicker the trees, the less decayed they were. The analysis suggests that thinning in general should not be used to increase stand production, but the positive effects of mechanical thinning on individual aspens can be recommended to promote the growth of individual vigorous trees.

Keywords: clear-cutting; core rot; mechanical thinning; Populus tremula (L.); thinning from below; tree-ring analysis

Received: September 7, 2023; Revised: October 10, 2023; Accepted: October 17, 2023; Prepublished online: December 20, 2023; Published: December 21, 2023  Show citation

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Nasibullina A, van der Maaten-Theunissen M, van der Maaten E, Fischer H, Wagner S. Thinning effects on growth and occurrence of rotting in aspen stands. CAAS Agricultural Journals. 2023;69(12):525-538. doi: 10.17221/103/2023-JFS.
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