Gap regeneration of sessile oak stands with respect to site heterogeneity

Bc. Alexander Aguirre Guillen

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) is native to Central Europe and Czech Republic, with an economic and ecological importance, it is possibly a key species in the battle against the effects of the climate change. Sessile oaks natural regeneration has been extensively studied and is still in the process of research, since sessile oak tends to fail to naturally regenerate in the Czech Republic and other countries around Europe.The research and data collection for this project was made in the Kunratický forest, a green island surrounded by urban development. Kunratický forest is a multifunctional forest with an approach of an uneven age forest, the location is one of the most frequently visited parks in Prague. The chosen site presented open gaps with natural regeneration and visible differences of growth stages of sessile oak seedlings. The data collection was made in the autumn of 2019. The study presents 3 research plots with different features. It was possible to obtain density of each research plot and the species composition inside the gap. Other measurements were taken, such as seedling height, diameter, quality of the stem, the effect of game damage, the forest floor coverage, increment gained in the periods of 2019 and 2018, and light characteristics under canopy. In regard to natural regeneration the Small gap presents results of 24.31 indiv. /m², the Big gap shows samplings of larger height with an average 41.59 cm and a maximum of 310 cm. The light availability within the gaps has a beneficial effect on the regeneration, growth and quality of the seedlings of the gaps, average Direct light 11.67 in the Small gap and 11.61 in the Big gap.

Keywords

Sessile oak, Gap regeneration, Silviculture, Heterogeneity, Light availability

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 15. 6. 2020

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Lukáš Bílek, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences

Master programme / field:
Forestry Engineering / Tropical Forestry and Agroforestry