Effects of thinning on microsites and natural regeneration in aLarix olgensis plantation in mountainous regions of eastern Liaoning Province, China

Abstract

In order to understand the effects of thinning on microsite conditions and natural regeneration in the larch plantation, thinning experiment was conducted in a 40-year-oldLarix olgensis plantation in Qingyuan County in eastern Liaoning Province, China in 2003–2004. Five thinning treatments (0%, 10.2%, 19.8%, 29.7% and 40.3% thinned) were designed on the same site. After thinning, canopy openness and the microsite conditions such as photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), soil moisture content, and soil temperature were measured in one growing season. Meanwhile, the investigation of natural regeneration was conducted at the end of the growing season. The results showed that the canopy openness increased with the increase of thinning intensities. PPFD and soil temperature and soil moisture content in different soil layers were positively relative with canopy openness after thinning. The richness of regenerating tree species did not significantly increase (p=0.30) after one growing season since thinning, but the regeneration density and frequency of tree species increased significantly (p<0.05). In addition, the number of regenerating tree species increased, and the increment was correlated with the characteristics of individual tree species. The increasing percentage of regenerating seedlings of the shade-intolerant tree species was more than that of shade-tolerant tree species. Among the investigated regeneration species, the biggest response of seedling emergency to the canopy openness wasPhellodendron amurense. This paper confirmed the following conclusions: after thinning, the variety of regenerating tree species was correlative with the characteristics of regenerating tree species, and the distribution of unthinned trees and the site conditions in the investigated larch plantation were the additional factors influencing the regeneration.

Keywords

Larix olgensis plantation / Thinning / Microsite / Natural regeneration / S754 / A

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