<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The long-term (50 years) effect of whole-tree harvesting (stump harvesting) on ground vegetation in experimental drained Norway spruce (<italic>Picea abies</italic> (L.) Karst.) stands was studied. We used a chronosequence approach to assess the long-term impact of whole-tree harvesting (WTH) on stands’ ground vegetation. WTH stands were compared with four control stands with different age and with the same forest type: young stand (15 years), middle-aged stand (45 years), mature stand (110 years) and over-mature stand (140 years). Species richness was similar between the WTH stand and middle-aged stand (61 and 60 species, respectively). Shannon-Wiener diversity indices in the WTH and middle-aged stand (3.40 and 3.19, respectively) indicated that the stands were similar to each other. A community similarity analysis showed that the composition of vegetation was similar between the WTH and middle-aged stand, although some species like <italic>Lycopodium clavatum</italic> and <italic>Diphasiastrum complanatum</italic> occurred only in the WTH stand. The study showed that a period of 50 years is sufficient for ground vegetation of a typical drained spruce forest to recover after WTH management.</p></abstract>

The long-term (50 years) effect of whole-tree harvesting (stump harvesting) on ground vegetation in experimental drained Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands was studied. We used a chronosequence approach to assess the long-term impact of whole-tree harvesting (WTH) on stands’ ground vegetation. WTH stands were compared with four control stands with different age and with the same forest type: young stand (15 years), middle-aged stand (45 years), mature stand (110 years) and over-mature stand (140 years). Species richness was similar between the WTH stand and middle-aged stand (61 and 60 species, respectively). Shannon-Wiener diversity indices in the WTH and middle-aged stand (3.40 and 3.19, respectively) indicated that the stands were similar to each other. A community similarity analysis showed that the composition of vegetation was similar between the WTH and middle-aged stand, although some species like Lycopodium clavatum and Diphasiastrum complanatum occurred only in the WTH stand. The study showed that a period of 50 years is sufficient for ground vegetation of a typical drained spruce forest to recover after WTH management.

Ground vegetation composition and diversity in drained Norway spruce (<italic>Picea abies</italic> (L.) Karst.) stands 50 years after whole-tree harvesting management: case study in Latvia

Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”

Forestry Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Ground vegetation composition and diversity in drained Norway spruce ( (L.) Karst.) stands 50 years after whole-tree harvesting management: case study in Latvia

The long-term (50 years) effect of whole-tree harvesting (stump harvesting) on ground vegetation in experimental drained Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.)...

Ground vegetation composition and diversity in drained Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands 50 years after whole-tree harvesting management: case study in Latvia

Published Online: May 13, 2019

Page range: 33 - 43

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fsmu-2018-0010

Keywords
biomass removal, stump harvesting, ground vegetation regeneration

© 2018 Roberts Čakšs et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Ground vegetation composition and diversity in drained Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands 50 years after whole-tree harvesting management: case study in Latvia

Published Online: May 13, 2019

Page range: 33 - 43

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fsmu-2018-0010

Keywordsbiomass removal, stump harvesting, ground vegetation regeneration

© 2018 Roberts Čakšs et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
biomass removal, stump harvesting, ground vegetation regeneration