Influence of Initial Spacing and Planting Design on the Development of Young Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Stands

1993

16 Lit. Ang.

Unselbständiges Werk

2767

200040904

Three Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations carrying 35 plots with initial spacings from 800 to 5000 plants/ha were studied. Planting designs varied from a square to a rectangle with 5-metre row distance, the plant-to-plant distance being 0.8 metres. At current dominant height of 6m, rectangularity had no effect on height, diameter, or volume growth of the trees. Slight ovality of stems was observed in rectangular plots but the differences in the cross-wise mean diameters were very small, not over 1.1mm in terms of plotwise means. The diameter of the thickest living branch of a tree was linearly dependent on the dbh. The branches were clearly thicker between the planting rows at under 1600 stems/ha stand density. A non-square planting pattern is a conceivable alternative when the line corridors suitable for mechanized silvicultural operations are preferred.