Parent Stand Growth Following Gap and Shelterwood Cutting in a Sessile Oak-Hornbeam Forest

Abstract

In this paper, effects of uniform shelterwood cutting (SWC) and gap cutting (GC) on total volume and value increment of the parent stand, volume increment of individual sessile oak trees, as well as, on crown expansion of sessile oak are compared for the first five years of the regeneration period of an oak-hornbeam forest. The gaps were circular and of one tree height in diameter. During SWC, there were two harvesting occasions, on each of which 30% of the standing volume was removed. Total volume increment of the remaining sessile oak trees relative to the initial standing volume of sessile oak was approximately identical between the two methods. However, individual trees grew faster if applying SWC. Volume increment of sessile oak decreased with the distance from gap centres. Crowns expanded mostly southwards and westwards both in the cases of GC and SWC. Value increment of the parent stand did not differ considerably between the two methods.