TITLE:
Natural Regeneration on Planted Clearcuts—The Easy Way to Mixed Forest?
AUTHORS:
Emma Holmström, Per Magnus Ekö, Karin Hjelm, Matts Karlsson, Urban Nilsson
KEYWORDS:
Betula, Birch, Soil Scarification, Seed Dispersal
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.6 No.4,
July
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Establishing mixed stands by stimulating natural in combination with planting could potentially ensure adequate stocking and meet shifting demands for forest products. Two long-term experiments were separately established in former Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) stands in southern Sweden to be able to evaluate mixed forest establishment and management. The treatment plots were treated with different intensity of soil scarification (disc trenching, soil inversion and control) to test effects of soil disturbance on regeneration success. Five years later, both experiments were used for a first evaluation, where seedlings of all naturally regenerated tree species were counted together with estimates of the cover and height of other vegetation. This was made in sample plots in symmetric grids. Testing the effects of scarification and distance to seed source on natural regeneration of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) and downy birch (B. pubescens Ehrh.) showed that both scarification type and degree of soil disturbance significantly affected seedling counts but only if seed sources were close. In conclusion, conventional management practices for regenerating coniferous forest may be suitable for establishing mixed forest stands with combinations of planted and naturally regenerated seedlings.