Francesco Chianucci, Luca Salvati, Tessa Giannini, Ugo Chiavetta, Piermaria Corona, Andrea Cutini. (2016). Long-term response to thinning in a beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) coppice stand under conversion to high forest in Central Italy. Silva Fennica vol. 50 no. 3 article id 1549. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1549

Keywords: continuous cover forestry; thinning; Leaf Area Index; coppice management; Plant Canopy Analyzer

Highlights: Canopy recovery after medium-heavy thinning reveals the prompt response of beech to intensive thinning cycles; Active management practices accelerate the transition from coppice to high forest.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests have a long history of coppicing, but the majority of formerly managed coppices are currently under conversion to high forest. The long time required to achieve conversion requires a long-term perspective to fully understand the implication of the applied conversion practices. In this study, we showed results from a long-term (1992–2014) case-study comparing two management options (natural evolution and periodic thinning) in a beech coppice in conversion to high forest. Leaf area index, litter production, radiation transmittance and growth efficiency taken as relevant stand descriptors, were estimated using both direct and indirect optical methods. Overall, results indicated that beech coppice showed positive and prompt responses to active conversion practices based on periodic medium-heavy thinning. A growth efficiency index showed that tree growth increased as the cutting intensity increased. Results from the case study supported the effectiveness of active conversion management from an economic (timber harvesting) and ecological (higher growth efficiency) point of view.

Chianucci, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Forestry Research Centre, viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100 Arezzo, Italy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5688-2060 E-mail: fchianucci@gmail.com
Salvati, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Research Centre for the Soil-Plant System, via della Navicella 2–4, 00184 Roma, Italy E-mail: bayes00@yahoo.it
Giannini, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Forestry Research Centre, viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100 Arezzo, Italy E-mail: tessa.giannini@entecra.it
Chiavetta, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Forestry Research Centre, viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100 Arezzo, Italy E-mail: ugo.chiavetta@entecra.it
Corona, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Forestry Research Centre, viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100 Arezzo, Italy E-mail: piermaria.corona@unitus.it
Cutini, Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria – Forestry Research Centre, viale Santa Margherita 80, 52100 Arezzo, Italy E-mail: andrea.cutini@entecra.it

Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.

If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.

Contents alert

Your selected articles

Follow @SilvaFennica