Branch Development of Five-Year-Old Betula alnoides Plantations in Response to Planting Density

Forests

卷:9

Cheng Tang¹  Jie Zeng²  Chun-Sheng Wang²  Zhi-Gang Zhao²  Jun-Jie Guo²  Sebastian Hein³ 

[1] Agricultural College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832003, China;

[2] Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Longdong, Guangzhou 510520, China;

[3] University of Applied Forest Sciences, Schadenweilerhof, 72108 Rottenburg, Germany;

关键词: Betula alnoides;    branch morphology;    branch quantity;    mixed-effects models;    planting density;    wood quality;    young plantation;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f9010042

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Branch development in the lower part of stem is critical to both early stem growth and wood quality of the most valuable section of tree, and its regulation through planting density has always been greatly concerned. Here the effect of planting density on branch development was examined in a five-year-old plantation of Betula alnoides with six planting densities (625, 833, 1111, 1250, 1667, and 2500 stems per hectare (sph)) in Guangdong Province, South China. Branch quantity (number, proportion, and density), morphology (diameter, length, and angle), position (height and orientation), and branch status (dead or alive) were investigated for 54 dominant or co-dominant trees under six treatments of planting density after the growth of each tree was measured. Factors influencing branch development were also explored by mixed modelling. The results showed that the mean tree heights of 1250 and 1667 sph treatments were higher than those of other planting density treatments. The quantity of live branches decreased with increasing planting density. However, planting density had no significant effect on the number of all branches, and there existed no remarkable difference in branch number and proportion among four orientations. As for branch morphology, only the largest branch diameter had a significantly negative correlation with planting density. In addition, high planting density significantly increased the height of the largest branch within the crown. Mixed effects models indicated that branch diameter, length, and angle were closely correlated with each other, and they were all in positively significant correlation to the branch height at the stem section below six meters. It was concluded that properly increasing planting density will promote natural pruning, improve early branch control, and be beneficial for wood production from the most valuable section of the stem.

【 授权许可】

Unknown