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Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 | 2011

Category : Research article

article id 117, category Research article

Harri Kilpeläinen, Jari Lindblad, Henrik Heräjärvi, Erkki Verkasalo. (2011). Saw log recovery and stem quality of birch from thinnings in southern Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 117. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.117

Keywords: Betula pendula; Betula pubescens; thinning; European white birch; silver birch; saw logs; stem quality; stem defects; bucking; recovery

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The objective of this study was to examine the timber quality of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and European white birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) trees in the first and second thinnings in southern parts of Finland, from the viewpoint of sawing of small-diameter, short logs, in particular. The average stem volume of birch was 0.140 m³ in the first thinning stands and 0.206 m³ in the second thinning stands. In planted stands, the trees were larger in the first thinnings but slightly smaller in the second thinnings, compared with naturally regenerated pure birch stands or mixed stands of Norway spruce and birch species. Almost 60% of the harvested and 35% of the remaining stems that could provide saw logs were graded as pulpwood for timber quality due to the occurrence of stem defects. The most common stem defects were multiple crooks and middle crooks. Only minor between-stratum differences were detected in the numbers of defects. Depending on the bucking option, the total percentage of saw and plywood logs from the total birch recovery in the thinning of the sample stands varied between 11.7 and 18.2. The recovery of saw logs was clearly higher in the second thinnings, 12–19%, than in the first thinnings, 8–14%. Of the stand types, saw log recovery was the highest in planted birch stands, 12–19%, but lower in naturally regenerated pure birch stands and mixed stands of Norway spruce and birch. The highest share of saw logs was in the second thinning of planted stands, 17–25%. This study shows that the harvesting recoveries of end-use based timber assortments can be estimated in different kinds of thinning birch stands. Based on tree and log dimensions and stem squality, silver birch firstly from plantations and secondly from mixed stands should be the most interesting source of raw material for the saw milling, furniture and interior product sectors.

Kilpeläinen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Eastern Finland Research Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: hk@nn.fi
Lindblad, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Eastern Finland Research Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: jl@nn.fi
Heräjärvi, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Eastern Finland Research Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: henrik.herajarvi@metla.fi
Verkasalo, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Eastern Finland Research Unit, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: ev@nn.fi

article id 116, category Research article

Eva-Maria Nordström, Ljusk Ola Eriksson, Karin Öhman. (2011). Multiple criteria decision analysis with consideration to place-specific values in participatory forest planning. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 116. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.116

Keywords: forest management; decision support; public participation; spatial planning

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The combination of multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and participatory planning is an approach that has been applied in complex planning situations where multiple criteria of very different natures are considered, and several stakeholders or social groups are involved. The spatial character of forest planning problems adds further to the complexity, because a large number of forest stands are to be assigned different treatments at different points in time. In addition, experience from participatory forest planning indicates that stakeholders may think about the forest in terms of place-specific values rather than in forest-wide terms. The objective of this study was to present an approach for including place-specific values in MCDA-based participatory forest planning and illustrate the approach by a case study where the objective was to choose a multipurpose forest plan for an area of urban forest in northern Sweden. Stakeholder values were identified in interviews, and maps were used to capture place-specific spatial values. The nonspatial and nonplace-specific spatial values were formulated as criteria and used to build an objective hierarchy describing the decision situation. The place-specific spatial values were included in the creation of a map showing zones of different silvicultural management classes, which was used as the basis for creation of forest plan alternatives in the subsequent process. The approach seemed to work well for capturing place-specific values, and the study indicates that formalized methods for including and evaluating place-specific values in participatory forest planning processes should be developed and tested further.

Nordström, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd 1, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: eva-maria.nordstrom@slu.se
Eriksson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd 1, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: loe@nn.se
Öhman, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management, Skogsmarksgränd 1, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: ko@nn.se

article id 115, category Research article

Marjut Turtiainen, Kauko Salo, Olli Saastamoinen. (2011). Variations of yield and utilisation of bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and cowberries (V. vitis-idaea L.) in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 115. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.115

Keywords: bilberry; cowberry; total berry yield; yield variation; utilisation of wild berries

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

So far, only rough estimates for the utilisation rates of wild berries in Finland have been available. One reason for this is that there has been a lack of empirical-knowledge-based studies concerning total yields of wild berries and their yield variations. This study had three aims: 1) total bilberry and cowberry yields of an average crop year were calibrated for different (abundant and poor) crop years using the inventory data on wild berries collected by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (1997–2008); 2) national utilisation rates of bilberries and cowberries were calculated for three different berry years 1997–1999; and 3) regional utilisation rates of these berry species were calculated for the year 1997. According to calculations, annual bilberry yields in Finland vary from 92 to 312 million kg. For cowberry, the range of variation in total berry yields is from 129 to 386 million kg. It was also found that approximately the same proportion of the total yield of bilberries (i.e. 5–6%) was collected between 1997 and 1999. Utilisation rates of cowberries were also quite constant varying from approximately 8% to nearly 10%. In 1997, bilberries and cowberries were utilised most intensively in the eastern parts of the country and in the Oulu-Kainuu region. The results of this present study describe the situation before the phenomenon of foreign pickers. It can be presumed that commercial wild berry picking by migrant collectors has so far affected both national and regional utilisation rates of wild berries.

Turtiainen, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: marjut.turtiainen@uef.fi
Salo, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Research Unit, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: ks@nn.fi
Saastamoinen, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: os@nn.fi

article id 114, category Research article

Roy V. Rea. (2011). Impacts of moose (Alces alces) browsing on paper birch (Betula papyrifera) morphology and potential timber quality. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 114. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.114

Keywords: deciduous; browse damage; forestry; hardwood; silviculture; ungulate; wood quality

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Rea, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, Canada V2N 4Z9 E-mail: reav@unbc.ca

article id 113, category Research article

Jinsong Wang, Chunyu Zhang, Fucai Xia, Xiuhai Zhao, Lianhai Wu, Klaus von Gadow. (2011). Biomass structure and allometry of Abies nephrolepis (Maxim) in Northeast China. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 113. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.113

Keywords: biomass structure; aboveground competition; allometry; Abies nephrolepis (Maxim); tree size

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Above- and below-ground tree biomass structure and allometric relationships of Abies nephrolepis (Maxim) were assessed in an old secondary forest dominated by A. nephrolepis, Pinus koraiensis, Quercus mongolica, Tilia amurensis, Fraxinus mandshurica and Acer mono in northeast China. Based on the breast-height diameter (D), a total of 21 sample trees were divided into three tree size classes: the small trees (1 cm ≤ D < 10 cm), the medium trees (10 cm ≤ D < 20 cm) and the big trees (D ≥ 20 cm). The greatest amount of live branch biomass was located in the middle and bottom layers of the crown, while the largest foliage biomass was found in the middle layer in each tree size category. The relative contribution of canopy biomass components (live branches and foliage) decreased with increasing tree size, while that of coarse root biomass remained almost constant. The relationship between above- and belowground biomass was linear. D and tree height (H) decreased with increasing competition intensity. The small trees had lower average crown ratio and higher average height-to-diameter ratio than those of the medium and big trees. The big trees had higher average stem to foliage mass ratio than those of the small and medium trees. Crown ratio, height-to-diameter ratio and stem to foliage mass ratio were not correlated with competition intensity in the same tree size class. Root to shoot mass ratio was almost constant among tree sizes. Allometric equations based on D gave higher correlations compared to those with other stem diameters: at tree base, at 30-cm height and at crown base.

Wang, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China E-mail: jw@nn.cn
Zhang, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China E-mail: cz@nn.cn
Xia, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China E-mail: fx@nn.cn
Zhao, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China E-mail: zhaoxh@bjfu.edu.cn
Wu, Rothamsted Research, Okehampton, Devon, UK E-mail: lw@nn.uk
Gadow, Faculty of Forestry and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany E-mail: kvg@nn.de

article id 112, category Research article

Mike R. Saunders, Shawn Fraver, Robert G. Wagner. (2011). Nutrient concentration of down woody debris in mixedwood forests in central Maine, USA. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 112. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.112

Keywords: Acadian Forest; hardwoods; softwoods; carbon-nitrogen ratios; decay classes; disturbance-based silviculture

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Both nutrient concentrations and pre- and post-harvest pool sizes were determined across down woody debris decay classes of several hardwood and softwood species in a long-term, natural disturbance based, silvicultural experiment in central Maine. Concentrations of N, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, and Zn generally increased 2- to 5-fold with increasing decay class. Concentrations of Mn, Al and B did not differ among decay classes, while K decreased by 20–44% from decay class 1 to class 4. C:N-ratios declined with increasing decay class, while N:P-ratios increased from decay class 1 to 2 and then plateaued with further decay. Within decay classes, softwoods generally had lower nutrient concentrations and higher C:N-ratios than hardwoods; N:P-ratios did not differ between hardwoods and softwoods. Although gap harvesting increased the size of the overall down woody debris nutrient pools, mostly through a large pulse of decay class 1 material, harvesting generally reduced the nutrients held in advanced decay classes. Pre-harvest down woody debris pools for N, P, K and Ca were 11.0, 0.6, 2.1 and 21.1 kg ha^–1, respectively, while postharvest were 20.0, 1.3, 6.2 and 46.2 kg ha^–1, respectively. While the gap-based silvicultural systems sampled in this study doubled the size of the pre-harvest, downed woody debris nutrient pools, the post-harvest pools were estimated to be only 3.2–9.1% of aboveground nutrients.

Saunders, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 715 State Street, West Lafayette, IN, USA E-mail: msaunder@purdue.edu
Fraver, USFS Northern Research Station, Grand Rapids, MN, USA E-mail: sf@nn.us
Wagner, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA E-mail: rgw@nn.us

article id 41, category Research article

Ying Hou, Jintao Qu, Zukui Luo, Chao Zhang, Kaiyun Wang. (2011). Morphological mechanism of growth response in treeline species Minjiang fir to elevated CO2 and temperature. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 41. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.41

Keywords: climate change; Abies faxoniana; crown architecture; leaf morphology; response ratio

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

To test whether and how morphological traits are linked with growth responses of plants to temperature and CO₂ is important for understanding the mechanism underlying how plant growth will respond to global warming. In this study, using closed-top chambers to mimic future elevated CO₂ and temperature, the growth response, morphological traits of Minjiang fir (Abies faxoniana Rehd.et Wils.) and the relationship of the two were investigated after two years of exposure to the single and combined elevation of CO₂ and temperature. The results showed that biomass of Minjiang fir was 21%, 31%, and 35% greater than the control in elevated CO₂, elevated temperature and the combination of elevated CO₂ and temperature treatments, respectively. Elevated CO₂ and temperature significantly affected the morphology of Minjiang fir, and a few morphological traits were highly correlated with growth responses. Larger branch angles at the upper layer, crown volume, and relative crown length contributed to positive growth responses to elevated CO₂, while decreased specific leaf area (SLA) constricted any further growth response. Leaf morphological traits were more closely correlated with the response ratio than crown did in the elevated temperature, while in the combination of elevated CO₂ and temperature, crown was more correlated with the response ratio than the leaf morphological traits. Thus, our results indicate that morphological traits may contribute differently to growth responses under different experimental conditions.

Hou, Department of Life Sciences, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, China E-mail: yh@nn.cn
Qu, Department of Life Sciences, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, China E-mail: jq@nn.cn
Luo, School of Environment and Life Sciences, Kaili University, Kaili, China E-mail: zl@nn.cn
Zhang, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Ecological Restoration, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, and University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: cz@nn.cn
Wang, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Ecological Restoration, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, and University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, Joensuu, Finland E-mail: kywang@re.ecnu.edu.cn

article id 40, category Research article

Jorge Martín-García, Elba Espiga, Valentín Pando, Julio Javier Diez. (2011). Factors influencing endophytic communities in poplar plantations. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 40. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.40

Keywords: endophyte; poplar; management; site quality; foliar nutrients; forest health

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The fungal species associated with leaves and twigs from stands of Populus x euramericana in northern Spain were studied with the aim of evaluating the effects of several factors on endophytic communities in these plantations. Endophyte assemblages were analysed in 12 poplar plantations (clone I-214), chosen according to a factorial scheme with two factors: age and site quality. Crown condition, dendrometric variables and foliar nutrients were recorded in each sampled tree to evaluate their effects on endophytic communities. Fungal species richness and relative isolation frequency (RIF) were higher in young stands than in adult stands. Moreover, the age-related differences depended on site quality, with the lowest richness levels observed in adult stands located in poor sites. At stand level, endophyte assemblages varied among stands according to site quality and, to a lesser extent, stand age. On the other hand, crown discoloration, total height and foliar concentrations of iron and zinc may be key indicators of endophytic communities in poplar plantations, at tree level.

Martín-García, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid – INIA, Avenida de Madrid 57, 34004 Palencia, Spain, and Forestry Engineering, University of Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain E-mail: jorgemg@pvs.uva.es
Espiga, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid – INIA, Palencia, Spain E-mail: ee@nn.es
Pando, Statistics and Operations Research Department, University of Valladolid, Spain E-mail: vp@nn.es
Diez, Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid – INIA, Palencia, Spain E-mail: jjd@nn.es

Category : Research note

article id 118, category Research note

Audrius Menkis, Remigijus Bakys, Vaidotas Lygis, Rimvydas Vasaitis. (2011). Mycorrhization, establishment and growth of outplanted Picea abies seedlings produced under different cultivation systems. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 118. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.118

Keywords: forest nursery; cultivation system; ectomycorrhizal fungi; Picea abies seedlings

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

In forest nurseries seedlings are commonly produced using different cultivation systems which may have a profound effect on the extent of root colonisation by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and, consequently, on subsequent performance of the outplanted seedlings under field conditions. In this study, we compare effects of bare-root and containerised cultivation systems on mycorrhization, establishment and growth of nursery-produced Picea abies. One hectare experimental plantation was established on poor fertility sandy site. In total, 1250 seedlings of each treatment were planted in rows as ten individual replicates. The results of this study showed that production of P. abies seedlings using containerised system can yield abundant ECM colonisation of seedling roots and significantly improve seedling survival in the field. Some reduction in height increment may occur during the first years as a possible cost for support of ECMs. Study demonstrated that selection of proper cultivation system might result in similar or higher mycorrhization and survival rates of outplanted seedlings than achieved by expensive and laborious artificial mycorrhization.

Menkis, Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7026, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: audrius.menkis@slu.se
Bakys, Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7026, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: rb@nn.se
Lygis, Laboratory of Phytopathogenic Microorganisms, Institute of Botany at the Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania E-mail: vl@nn.lt
Vasaitis, Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7026, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: rv@nn.se

Category : Discussion article

article id 119, category Discussion article

Markku Larjavaara, Helene C. Muller-Landau. (2011). Cross-section mass: an improved basis for woody debris necromass inventory. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 2 article id 119. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.119

Keywords: biomass; coarse woody debris (CWD); deadwood; log; void space; nominal volume and wood density; carbon in woody detritus

View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Larjavaara, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100 Box 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998, USA, and University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Sciences, Finland E-mail: larjavaaram@si.edu
Muller-Landau, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 9100 Box 0948, DPO AA 34002-9998, USA E-mail: hcml@nn.us

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