Inger Sundheim Fløistad, Aksel Granhus. (2013). Timing and duration of short-day treatment influence morphology and second bud flush in Picea abies seedlings. Silva Fennica vol. 47 no. 3 article id 1009. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1009

Keywords: Norway spruce; photoperiod; autumn bud break; root collar diameter; second bud break; sturdyness

Highlights: The duration of short-day treatment, calculated as number of days, influenced the root collar diameter growth more than the timing of the treatment; If short-day treatment starts early in summer, a longer duration of the treatment is recommended to avoid second bud flush.

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A slower reaction of diameter growth cessation compared to that of height growth in response to short day (SD) treatment is well documented in Picea abies (L.) Karst. seedlings, suggesting that the height/diameter ratio of seedlings could be controlled through appropriate timing and/or duration of SD treatment is forest nurseries. Here, we applied specific combinations of timing (starting date 20 and 27 June, 4 or 11 July) and duration (7, 10, 14 or 17 days) of SD treatment to assess the possibility of obtaining more sturdy seedlings. We observed a rapid and uniform height growth cessation following SD treatment compared with the delayed cessation of diameter growth. Height growth responded significantly only to starting date of SD treatment, resulting in taller seedlings for later starting dates. Diameter growth responded to the duration of SD treatment, with significantly less diameter growth in seedlings exposed to 14 or 17 days of SD treatment than in seedlings exposed to 7 or 10 days of SD treatment. Also starting date influenced diameter growth, resulting in significantly more diameter growth with the earliest starting date compared with the two latest starting dates of the SD treatment. A second bud flush occurred only in seedlings exposed to SD treatment starting on 20 or 27 of June and only following 7-14 days of duration. This implies a need of longer duration if the SD treatment starts early. This will be at the expense of sustained diameter growth, thus compromising the objective of obtaining more sturdy seedlings.

Fløistad, Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Høgskolevn 7, N-1430 Ås, Norway & Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, P.O. Box 115, N-1431 Ås, Norway E-mail: isf@skogoglandskap.no
Granhus, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, P.O. Box 115, N-1431 Ås, Norway E-mail: aksel.granhus@skogoglandskap.no

article id 263, category Research article

Aksel Granhus, Dag Fjeld. (2008). Time consumption of planting after partial harvests. Silva Fennica vol. 42 no. 1 article id 263. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.263

Keywords: planting; work study; mechanical site preparation; partial cutting; scarification

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Partial harvesting combined with underplanting may be a means to reduce the risk of regeneration failure when e.g. unfavourable microclimatic conditions or severe damage by bark-feeding insects may be expected after clear-cutting, and to maintain or establish certain stand structures or tree species mixture. In this study, we performed time studies of manual planting with and without prior site preparation (patch scarification, inverting) in partially harvested stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The harvest treatments included basal area removals of approx. 35, 45, and 55%, and a patch clear-cut treatment that was assumed to provide the same conditions for planting as conventional clear-cutting. Site preparation had a much larger influence on time consumption plant^–1 (main time) than the harvest treatment. The lowest time consumption was found with inverting and the highest without site preparation. The time spent on walking between planting spots increased with decreasing harvest intensity, reflecting a lower density of planted seedlings in the partially harvested stands. A corresponding increase in main time per plant only occurred after site preparation, since the time spent on clearing the planting spot (removal of logging residue and humus) on untreated plots was higher at the higher harvest strengths. The variation in time consumption attributed to the six replicate stands was large and mainly due to the difference among stands planted by different workers.

Granhus, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Dept. of Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA), P.O.Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway E-mail: aksel.granhus@umb.no
Fjeld, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Forest Resource Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: df@nn.se

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