Modeling Regeneration of Douglas fir forests in Central Europe

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Artikel aus einer Zeitschrift

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Austrian Journal of Forest Science 2018, 135(1) ; Jrg. 135 ; 1 (2018) , 33-51

Modeling regeneration and growth of juvenile trees is highly relevant for simulating the growth behaviour of forest stands, which permits evaluating forest management options for climate change adaption. An important adaptation option is tree species selection. Douglas fir, a non-native tree species from north western America, was introduced
in many Central-European countries and is now one of the most frequent non-native tree species in Europe. In this study, we develop a regeneration tool to predict the regeneration establishment and juvenile tree height growth of Douglas fir in central Europe. We implement this regeneration tool in the tree growth simulator MOSES and test the potential invasiveness using data from 28 Douglas fir dominated stands with natural regeneration located in Austria and southern Germany. Our results suggest that regeneration establishment and juvenile tree growth is driven
by overstory competition as well as edge effected incidence of light. Douglas fir regeneration shows no invasive behaviour, but in contrast requires forest management to survive.
Keywords: Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, natural regeneration modeling, invasiveness, tree growth modeling