Variation in morphological and wood cell traits in coppice stems of Populus nigra L. and Salix alba L.

Coppice management is an ecologically important silvicultural practice to provide the quicker and higher potential of wood biomass production for industrial demands. Understanding morphological and anatomical responses of coppiced trees could help to determine the quantity and quality of wood and thus provide better management of coppiced tree plantations for short-time biomass production. However, there is a little investigation in morphological and anatomical adaptation in different fast-growing tree species. The present study, therefore, studied how morphology and anatomy vary between two fast-growing coppices of Populus nigra L. (black poplar) and Salix alba L. (white willow). Each coppiced tree was grown in a similar habitat and was at a similar age. However, each coppiced tree showed different morphological and anatomical plasticity in their stems in response to environmental factors. Poplar coppices showed better anatomical properties due to greater vessel diameter, fibre length, fibre width, fibre wall thickness, and ray height; however willow coppices had better morphological plasticity which had higher average stem height and ring width. The results suggest that willow coppices had the greater height growth potential even at 2 years of age than poplar coppices.

Soil Disturbance Induced by Silvicultural Treatment in Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) Coppice and Post-Disturbance Recovery

Chestnut forests represent an important environmental and landscape element in Europe, especially in the hill regions of southern Europe. In Italy, the total surface amount of chestnut forests is slightly expanded with 788,408 hectares, but orchards show a dramatic reduction (147,586 hectares or 20% of the total) and timber-producing stands a comparable expansion (605,888 hectares or 80%). The coppice management actually applied is considered one of the oldest forms of sustainable forest management. Over the years, coppice highlighted its versatility, resilience and multifunctionality. In this management system, in consideration of the “frequent” cutting cycles, special attention must be paid to forestry operations, because tree damage and soil compaction can trigger fungal disease and soil erosion. Frequent and repeated machine traffic increases the risk for soil degradation derived from compaction, topsoil removal and general disturbance. This study covered different forest areas and mechanization levels, in order to evaluate if the extent, type and severity of soil disturbance changed with site characteristics and logging technique. Furthermore, the study sought to obtain a better knowledge about the recovery time required for restoring the original soil properties after a disturbance has occurred. The findings showed that physical, chemical, and biological soil features were only partially disturbed by the coppicing and again that a high level of specialized mechanization does not generate heavier soil impact compared with the smaller and lighter machines deployed under the traditional and intermediate mechanization scenarios. Soil recovery in the impacted areas is already measurable one year after harvest and may be complete within the eight year—that is halfway through the standard rotation applied in the region to chestnut coppice.

Yield and Nutrient Demand and Efficiency of Eucalyptus under Coppicing Regime

Eucalyptus stands can be managed by coppicing, however, in several Brazilian regions reduced yield has been observed with harvesting successions. This reduction can be attributed to reduced nutrient availability, among other factors. This study aimed to: to assess the nutritional demand of the Eucalyptus stand under a coppice regime; the effect of fertilization on the production of wood, distribution and compartmentalization of nutrients in eucalyptus stands managed by coppice; the effect of the height and number of shoots, on the occasion of the sprouting, in the production of eucalyptus managed by coppice and to compare the productivity of high eucalyptus wood with coppice management regime. The trial was conducted for clone GG157 (Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid), in Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo (Oxisol), of the Cerrado region in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Trees were originally planted at the 3.8 × 2.4 m spacing and, after the first harvesting, at age 84 months, the stand was managed by coppicing. Treatments consisted of: (a) fertilization or not; (b) one, two or four poles per stump; and (c) selection of 1-, 2- or 4-m-high poles and repeated three times. Sixty months after treatment application, plots of 80 trees were used for the assessments. The gain in trunk yield with fertilization and the combination between the height of poles at the time of pole selection and number of poles left varies between 140.2% for thinning when the pole is 2 m high and maintains 1 pole per strain and 128.6% when the plants are 1 m high and maintain 1 pole per strain. Not supplying nutrients in the coppicing system leads to lower accumulation of nutrients in the tree and reductions in both wood and trunk yields. Trees in the coppicing system use nutrients for trunk production more efficiently than those in high forest. Earlier pole selection enables the best use of growth resources, resulting in increased yield. Adequate nutritional management of coppiced stands results in the maintenance or increase of yield compared to the first rotation.

Assessment of Eucalyptus Globulus Coppice Yield in the Highland Areas of North Shewa, Ethiopia

One of the old traditional methods of silvicultural management is coppicing. Many woody species produce new shoots successfully after coppicing. Regeneration of forest through coppice can be used for short rotation of tree to produce wood biomass for construction and fuel purposes. There are different levels of coppice practiced in Eucalyptus globulus plantation in the highland areas of North Shewa. However, there was no evidence or study which coppice levels can give high yield. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare yield of E. globulus at different coppice level in the highland areas of North Shewa, Ethiopia. Fifty sampled plots were purposively selected for this study. Volume, mean annual increment, stump height and diameter, stem number and harvesting age were determined from sampled plots. The results revealed that there was no yield difference (p> 0.05) between zero, first, second and third coppice levels. However, stump diameter and number of shoots per stump, stump height were significantly different among 1, 2, 3 coppice levels (p<0.05). Number of shoots were positively correlated with stump diameter and height (r = 0.77, r = 0.72) respectively. Farmers mostly coppice E.globulus from November to December and from April to June. Although statistically there was no yield difference between coppice levels, as farmers described the first coppice has higher yield than other coppice levels. The numbers of shoots per stump were higher in the second and third coppice and this could affect stem quality especially at early stage. Altogether the mean number of stems per hectare was 10812 which is higher than previous studies. Therefore, early silvicultural activities like thinning, early coppice management and pruning has to be done to increase wood stem quality and to promote growth as well.

Soil Disturbance and Recovery after Coppicing a Mediterranean Oak Stand: The Effects of Silviculture and Technology

Traditional coppice management system is one of the most debated topics in the Mediterranean area, as it is a forest management system that accounts for over 23 million hectares. Coppicing is considered the oldest form of sustainable forest management. Its past and current widespread popularity is mainly due to its capacity to positively contribute to the rural economy and ecosystem services. This research aimed at assessing the effect of coppicing on soil characteristics, understanding a possible treatment return time, and evaluating the implementation of proper sustainable forest operations (SFOs) in order to have a better understanding of the disturbance caused by silvicultural treatment and forest operations with two different harvesting techniques. The results demonstrated that physical, chemical, and biological soil features were partially disturbed by the coppicing. Both silvicultural treatment and forest operations influenced soil disturbance. The least impactful technique was extraction by winch, while forwarding resulted in heavier alterations of soil characteristics. It took about five years for the soil to recover its original pre-harvest conditions when the disturbance was caused by the silvicultural treatment alone (non-trafficked areas) and about eight to nine years when the disturbance was the cumulated effect of silvicultural treatment and logging activity (trafficked areas).

Assessment of Eucalyptus Globulus Coppice Yield in the Highland Areas of North Shewa, Ethiopia

One of the old traditional methods of silvicultural management is coppicing. Many woody species produce new shoots successfully after coppicing. Regeneration of forest through coppice can be used for short rotation of tree to produce wood biomass for construction and fuel purposes. There are different levels of coppice practiced in Eucalyptus globulus plantation in the highland areas of North Shewa. However, there was no evidence or study which coppice levels can give high yield. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare yield of E. globulus at different coppice level in the highland areas of North Shewa, Ethiopia. Fifty sampled plots were purposively selected for this study. Volume, mean annual increment, stump height and diameter, stem number and harvesting age were determined from sampled plots. The results revealed that there was no yield difference (p> 0.05) between zero, first, second and third coppice levels. However, stump diameter and number of shoots per stump, stump height were significantly different among 1, 2, 3 coppice levels (p<0.05). Number of shoots were positively correlated with stump diameter and height (r = 0.77, r = 0.72) respectively. Farmers mostly coppice E.globulus from November to December and from April to June. Although statistically there was no yield difference between coppice levels, as farmers described the first coppice has higher yield than other coppice levels. The numbers of shoots per stump were higher in the second and third coppice and this could affect stem quality especially at early stage. Altogether the mean number of stems per hectare was 10812 which is higher than previous studies. Therefore, early silvicultural activities like thinning, early coppice management and pruning has to be done to increase wood stem quality and to promote growth as well.

Unimodal Relationships of Understory Alpha and Beta Diversity along Chronosequence in Coppiced and Unmanaged Beech Forests

Patterns of diversity across spatial scales in forest successions are being overlooked, despite their importance for developing sustainable management practices. Here, we tested the recently proposed U-shaped biodiversity model of forest succession. A chronosequence of 11 stands spanning from 5 to 400 years since the last disturbance was used. Understory species presence was recorded along 200 m long transects of 20 × 20 cm quadrates. Alpha diversity (species richness, Shannon and Simpson diversity indices) and three types of beta diversity indices were assessed at multiple scales. Beta diversity was expressed by a) spatial compositional variability (number and diversity of species combinations), b) pairwise spatial turnover (between plots Sorensen, Jaccard, and Bray–Curtis dissimilarity), and c) spatial variability coefficients (CV% of alpha diversity measures). Our results supported the U-shaped model for both alpha and beta diversity. The strongest differences appeared between active and abandoned coppices. The maximum beta diversity emerged at characteristic scales of 2 m in young coppices and 10 m in later successional stages. We conclude that traditional coppice management maintains high structural diversity and heterogeneity in the understory. The similarly high beta diversities in active coppices and old-growth forests suggest the presence of microhabitats for specialist species of high conservation value.