Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2001
– Partial cutting in Norway spruce: impacts on advance regeneration and residual stand
Aksel Granhus
Authors
Aksel GranhusAbstract
The risk of logging damage to residual trees (height >3.0 m) and advance regeneration saplings (height 0.5–3.0 m) was evaluated after mechanized (single-grip harvesters + forwarders) and motor-manual (chain saw + skidding) selection harvesting in studies I and II. Harvesting took place during the winter season. Mechanized harvesting caused the highest injury rates, and the difference was highest at high cutting intensity in densely stocked stands. Another important difference between the two operating methods was the spatial distribution of the injury risk relative to striproads. The most important injuries on the larger (>3.0 m) trees were stem- and root wounds, and loss of branches. Wounds tended to be larger, and crown injuries more serious, after mechanized harvesting, but differences were not statistically significant. The most frequent injuries on saplings were crown injuries (loss of branches, stem breakage) and stem lean. In motor-manually harvested stands saplings without pre-harvest deformities in the form of top- or leader defects were more prone to damage than saplings with such defects. A similar difference was not found in stands subjected to mechanized harvesting. This result was attributed to the different work patterns during felling and processing with the two operating methods, in combination with the spatial distribution of saplings of different quality relative to larger trees and stand openings. In study III sapling mortality, and recovery from logging damage in a five-year period after selection harvesting, was investigated. Mortality on the different plots (n=11) was highly variable. For saplings without previous logging damage mortality was related to pre-harvest vigour, and increased with increasing cutting intensity in the immediate surrounding of the sapling. Unspecified site factors also contributed to explain the probability of mortality. Saplings that had been pushed over during harvesting often survived and recovered, while injuries to the crown led to poor survival. Crown injuries were most common on plots subjected to mechanized harvesting, while stem lean was correspondingly important on motor-manually harvested plots. Whether this pattern was attributed to differences in temperature at the time of harvesting (winter), or operating method, is uncertain. In study IV advance regeneration responses in terms of height growth, needle dry weights, and foliar nutrient concentrations were compared after three different release treatments: untouched control, selection harvesting with 50-60 % removal of basal area (BA50-60), and patch cut (25x25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). The foliar analyses were carried out five years after treatment, and included dominant and co-dominant (overstorey) trees on control and BA50-60 plots. Height growth and needle dry weights of saplings generally increased with increasing overstorey removal. The growth response was explained by an interaction of foliar nitrogen concentration in current (C) and one-year-old (C+1) needles, and degree of overstorey removal. The foliar analyses did, however, not confirm improved N status after cutting. Increasing overstorey removal led to a reduction of K (C), Mg (C+1) and B (C, C+1) in saplings. A parallel decline of B (C+1) occurred in the overstorey trees (BA50-60). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in C-needles, relative to overstorey trees. The influence of neighbour tree basal area on sapling height growth and presence of natural defects (top- and leader damage) was examined in study V. The three stands selected for the study had not been subjected to cutting for several decades, and basal areas ranged from 25–33 m2 ha-1. The relationship between growth and four basal area variables was evaluated: basal area (m2 ha-1) of taller (>3.0 m) neighbour trees within 2.82, 3.99 and 5.64 m radius from the sapling (25, 50 and 100 m2 circular plots), and basal area (m2) of trees within 5.64 m radius weighted according to distance from the sapling. A reduction of growth attributed to increasing basal area of neighbour trees was only observed for the tallest saplings (2.1-3.0 m). Between 33 and 42 % of the saplings had leader- or top defects, and damage frequencies increased with declining distance to the nearest taller neighbour tree.
Abstract
Foliage nutrient concentrations of overstorey and understorey Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and height growth and needle weights of understorey saplings, were studied in a seven-year period after harvest. The following treatments were applied on each of three sites five years prior to needle sampling: control with no cutting, partial cutting with 50-60 % removal of basal area, and patch cut (25 x 25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in current-year needles (C) than overstorey trees. Increased harvest intensity led to a reduction of K in C- needles and Mg in (C+1)-needles of saplings, and of B in both saplings (C, C+1) and overstorey trees (C+1). Sapling needle weights generally increased with harvest intensity, whereas no effect of foliage N status on needle weights could be detected. The growth response of saplings was explained by the interaction between foliage N status, quantified as average N concentration in C- and (C+1)-needles, and harvest intensity. The results illustrate that sufficient N supply is a key factor for the ability of advance regeneration to utilize the improved light condition associated with overstorey removal.
Abstract
Injuries and mortality to advance growth (saplings) after selection harvesting was studied in 17 multi-storied Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands. Harvest removals ranged from 33 to 67 % of initial basal area. Four of the stands were harvested motor-manually (chain saw + skidding with farm tractors; M-FT). The remaining stands were harvested with single-grip harvesters and forwarders (H-FW). In each stand, injury rates were evaluated on a 24x48 m plot, located between the centrelines of two parallel striproads that were spaced 24 m apart. All logging teams had at least five years of experience in clear-cutting and thinning operations. The trees to be removed, and striproad centrelines, were marked prior to harvest. Mortality varied between 5 and 51 %, whereas total injury (injured + dead saplings) varied between 17 and 76 %. Mortality- and injury levels were generally highest on H-FW plots. Crown reduction and leaning stems were the most frequent types of injury, regardless of operating method. Injury rates increased with sapling height with the H-FW method, whereas the opposite was found on M-FT plots. Saplings without pre-harvest damage in the form of top- or leader defects had a higher probability of being injured than saplings with such damage in stands harvested with the M-FT method. A similar difference was not found on H-FW plots. A logistic regression model show that the spatial risk for injury depends on the interaction between forest condition factors and operational characteristics. Forest condition factors influencing the risk of injury are sapling height and the location of saplings relative to larger residual trees and striproads. Corresponding operational characteristics are operating method and harvest intensity.
2000
Abstract
Relationships between crown density and growth of Norway spruce stands are presented, after removal of the effects of major natural influences. On 569 monitoring plots comprising 40 000 trees, crown density has been annually assessed during 1991 to 1996.Stand growth was determined from measurements of diameter and height in 1991 and in 1996. Various models explaining mean crown density and annual growth of the stands as a function of natural factors, like age and site index, were compared.The influence of the natural factors were then removed by recalculating crown density to residual values from one preferred model, and by recalculating growth to relative values given in percent of model predictions.Crown density and its residuals were positively correlated to growth. These relationships were weak in terms of their ability to explain variation (low R2). However, the various relationships consistently indicated that roughly 1% change in crown density corresponded to 1% change in growth. This relationship also included common spatial variation over Norway: a large part of southeast Norway had unexplained low crown density and unexplained low growth.Some other, smaller regional consistencies were found as well. The study supports the use of crown density assessments, and further it encourages the use of growth data in the search for major stress factors responsible for present forest condition.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
1999
Authors
Svein SolbergAbstract
On the local county monitoring plots located throughout Norway a reduction of crown density has been noted during 1988-97. The aim of this study was to determine whether this change could be attributed to normal effects from increased age on the plots.The dataset comprised around 580 plots and 27 000 single trees of Norway spruce, where each tree was provided with ten years of crown density measures. A two step approach was used, firstly to search for an expectancy for normal reduction of crown density by age derived from the dataset, and then to compare this with the actual reduction. The interpretation was somewhat complicated as the various results were tangled into each other.Highly significant correlations were found between crown density and age. The relationship indicated an annual reduction of crown density around 0.12%-units, however, the relationship varied both between years and between regions, and it was not possible to definitely determine whether the relationship was best described by linear or non-linear models.Of major importance here is that the relationship appeared to be influenced by the presence of stresses, which effects tended to be more severe in old stands. Based on this it seems questionable whether an expectancy for normal ageing can be properly defined. However, in the present study it could still be definitely determined that the mean crown density change of -0.41%-units annually was too negative to be attributed to normal ageing, as it was clearly below all the suggested expectancies from the various models.This suggests that the amount of stress in the period under study has been higher than normal, and this encourages the search for causal agents in further studies. Changes in silviculture may have had some influence.The results were valid for most of Norway, with the exception of western and northern regions. Crown density assessments are subjective, which may possibly give erroneous time trends, however, it is argued that this is less likely to be of major importance in the present data.
Authors
Gro HylenAbstract
Age trends of phenotypic, environmental, and additive genetic variance and heritability were estimated for overall density and its components earlywood and latewood densities and latewood proportion. The objective was to acquire information for both individual and cumulated rings from ring number 3 to 12 counted from the pith. Age-age correlations were calculated for cumulated density traits only. The wood density data were obtained with X-ray analysis of increment cores from 47 open-pollinated families of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The families had earlywood and latewood with significant differences in density for individual and cumulated rings and consequently for overall density. The latewood proportion had significant family variation for cumulated rings but not for all individual rings. Large fluctuations in environmental variance caused fluctuations in heritability estimates for successive rings. A strong decrease in environmental variance for all cumulated traits, especially from ring 3 to 5, resulted in a steady increase in heritability estimates. The latewood density had the highest heritability estimates and latewood proportion the lowest for both individual and cumulated rings. Overall density and the cumulated components at cambial age 12 showed strong genetic correlations with their respective traits at all younger ages.
Authors
Svein SolbergAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study describes how crown density changes were distributed within monitoring plots, in order to determine whether the reduced crown density observed could be explained as a worsening of a limited number of unhealthy or small and slightly suppressed trees.Crown density, yellowing, coning and stem diameter data were available from 447 selected plots comprising 22560 single trees all having a complete 1990-97 series of crown condition data.The eight years series of crown density for each tree were recalculated to two median values, for 1990-93 and 1994-97, in order to reduce the influence from short time variations including random errors. The scores for yellowing and amounts of cones were averaged over the years 1990-93. These variables, and diameter, were recalculated to rank indices within each plot.Relationships between variables were described by graphs and examined by correlation analyses of the indices. The trees tended to retain their internal ranking. Generally, when crown density for a plot has changed, most of the trees were affected. The most defoliated trees in each plots had the least negative changes, but except from that the trees were equally affected regardless of their yellowing, amount of cones, and their size.The results demonstrates that any effects from competition between the trees were sufficiently removed in the assessments, even in densely stocked stands.
Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the quality of crown density data, based on independent, pairwise tree assessments. The data originates from monitoring of forest health (crown condition) in Norway; 250 plots, comprising 12 000 individual trees of Norway spruc e, have been reassessed by a single observer during 1990-95. Of the trees, 2300 were controlled more than twice, providing the possibility of evaluating the quality of assessed temporal changes of crown density. True errors (standard deviation) are estima ted to be about 10% for single trees and 5% for plot means, while the real standard deviation of the differences were slightly higher. The errors of the temporal changes of crown density were of similar magnitude. Systematic differences in crown density w ere found between sites and plot types, partly resulting from observer bias. However, the results suggest that observer bias is really the result of each observer\"s personal style in assessment.