Browsing hinders the regeneration of broadleaved trees in uneven-aged forest management in southern Finland

Uneven-aged forest management has attained increasing popularity. It may benefit biodiversity, buffer against pests and abiotic damages, decrease runoff from clearcuts and improve recreational values. We studied how gap cuttings and single-tree selection cuttings influence browsing damage in spruce-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of forest research 2020-05, Vol.35 (3-4), p.134-138
Main Authors: Atte, Komonen, Esko, Paananen, Merja, Elo, Sauli, Valkonen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Browsing
Browsing damage
Clearcutting
Cuttings
Damage
Forest management
gap cutting
moose
Pests
Planting density
Regeneration
Runoff
Seedlings
selection silviculture
single-tree selection
tree recruitment
Trees
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Uneven-aged forest management has attained increasing popularity. It may benefit biodiversity, buffer against pests and abiotic damages, decrease runoff from clearcuts and improve recreational values. We studied how gap cuttings and single-tree selection cuttings influence browsing damage in spruce-dominated forests in south-central Finland. Overall, browsing damage was especially frequent in aspen and rowan, but also in birch. The larger the basal area left in harvesting, the lower the browsing pressure on birch and rowan; neither the harvesting method nor the seedling density had an independent effect on browsing damage. Although larger tree retention levels may reduce browsing damage, the regeneration and recruitment of shade-intolerant broadleaved trees may be compromised.
ISSN:0282-7581
1651-1891
DOI:10.1080/02827581.2020.1761443