Soil and air microclimate in differently managed young silver birch stands compared to spruce growing on a former clear-cut area

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00020702%3A_____%2F25%3AN0000060" target="_blank" >RIV/00020702:_____/25:N0000060 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Soil and air microclimate in differently managed young silver birch stands compared to spruce growing on a former clear-cut area

Original language description

Contribution published in a book of abstracts. The increased occurrence of extreme weather events is a major cause of large-scale clearings of a calamity character in many regions. Such clearings represent a harsh growth environment difficult to overcome for many target tree species. Forest regeneration using preparatory tree species offers an adjustment of the microclimate and soil environment, which may be beneficial for the subsequent introduction of other tree species. This contribution aims to compare the development of soil moisture and soil and air temperature under young stands established by natural regeneration, specifically: (1) birch without thinning (12,600 per ha; Bi), (2) birch after an intensive thinning in favour of target trees (840 per ha; BiT), (3) birch-spruce mixture after moderate thinning (2,200 per ha; BiSp), and (4) planted spruce stand of the same age (1800 per ha; Sp). The experiment is conducted on a former clear-cut area originated as a result of storm Kyrill in 2007. A large part of the area was naturally regenerated mostly by birch. The selected stand treatments (as listed in 1–4 above) were equipped with automatic devices for measuring soil moisture (depth approx. 5–15 cm), soil temperature (-10 cm), soil surface temperature (0 cm), and near-ground air temperature (10 cm), at a minimum of six replicates per treatment. Budburst of deciduous tree stands, as well as sprouting and growth of ground vegetation, had a significant impact on the microclimate. Intensive thinning increased both near-ground air and soil temperatures, particularly during the growing season. In contrast, it increased soil moisture mainly during the dormant season. During the growing season, the temperature regime was also influenced by stand density, with low impact of tree species composition. Stand density had a more pronounced effect on daily temperature maxima than minima. Compared to spruce stands, birch treatments exhibited higher minimum temperatures and lower maximum temperatures, apart from the intensively thinned treatment. The effect on soil moisture evolved over time, reflecting the development of forest stands. In: Forests´ Future 2025. Bark beetle outbreak in Central Europe – Consequences and future challenges. Book of abstracts. Průhonice, September 22nd – 25th 2025. Ed. V. Šrámek, M. Knížek et al. Strnady, Forestry and Game Mangement Research Institute: 126–127.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40102 - Forestry

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů