Soil respiration following Chinese fir plantation clear-cut: Comparison of two forest regeneration approaches

Bai, Shun; Qiu, Wanting; Zhang, Hui; Wang, Yixiang; Berninger, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135980

Cited by 13 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Its sustainable management is crucial for guaranteeing timber supply and improving regional ecological environments. To promote the growth of retained trees, Chinese fir plantations usually undergo 2-3 rounds of individual tree thinning before final harvesting [6,29,30]. However, few studies have analyzed the thinning effects over a rotation period (20-25 years) [4], which is extremely important for assessing and evaluating the near-natural conversion of plantations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scale Effects of Individual Tree Thinning in Chinese Fir Plantations

Wei,

Li,

Bai

2024

Forests

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Thinning is a crucial approach to the near-natural conversion of plantations, contributing to the sustainability of forest management. However, over a rotation, the effects of thinning on tree growth, structure, and species diversity, as well as their scale-dependent outcomes, remain unclear. Ten years after conducting individual tree thinning in a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) monoculture in southwest China, we analyzed the thinning effects within the influence zone (r = 0–2.5 m) centered around stumps and center trees. The results indicate that (1) individual tree thinning did not significantly promote the increment of diameter at breast height, volume, and biomass of Chinese fir. The four nearest Chinese fir around stumps and center trees were in a state of random distribution, high mixing, and dominance; (2) individual tree thinning significantly promoted the formation of species abundance and richness at r = 2–2.5 m. With increased scale, more species were found, leading to increased stability in diameter and species distribution. Linear and nonlinear relationships between diameter classes, mingling, and dominance became more stable; (3) later-coming populations within both modes exhibited a common characteristic of random distribution, high mixing, and disadvantage at each scale, but with significant differences in species composition (kj = 0.22–0.61). These results suggest that individual tree thinning has limited impacts on the growth and structure of retained trees in Chinese fir plantations but significantly enhances the formation of species diversity, demonstrating scale effects. This underscores the feasibility of individual tree thinning in the near-natural conversion of plantations.

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