Growth, regeneration and shade tolerance of the Wild Service Tree ( Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz) in aged oak coppice f
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Growth, regeneration and shade tolerance of the Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz) in aged oak coppice forests Patrick Pyttel • Jo¨rg Kunz • Ju¨rgen Bauhus
Received: 9 March 2013 / Revised: 13 June 2013 / Accepted: 9 July 2013 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Sorbus torminalis L. (Crantz) is a rare species in Central European forests with very limited quantitative information on its regeneration and growth dynamics. Since coppicing is no longer practiced in the most parts of Central Europe, it is unclear whether S. torminalis, which has usually a shorter end height than companion species, can persist in high forest systems. Here, we quantified species frequency on three 1 ha sample plots of former oak coppice forest. To determine whether S. torminalis regenerated continuously and how it might compete with oaks, the age of 80 trees was determined, and diameter and height growth were reconstructed for the 20 largest trees by stem analysis. To assess its shade tolerance, photosynthesis was measured for leaves located in high and low light conditions. Dendrochronological data demonstrated that, over the last 80 years, continuous recruitment of S. torminalis occurred. Growth patterns and photosynthesis measurements suggest that S. torminalis is a highly shadetolerant species. We conclude that abandonment of coppicing in these forests does not threaten the status of S. torminalis, which can persist beneath the canopy of oaks. Keywords Coppice Age structure Growth Light ecology Sorbus torminalis Wild Service Tree
Communicated by A. Nardini. P. Pyttel (&) J. Kunz J. Bauhus Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau 79085, Germany e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Introduction Like other minor tree species, Wild Service Tree (Sorbus torminalis) is of high ecological and economic value and contributes to a wide range of ecosystem services (LFV 1987; Ro¨hrig 1972; Spiecker 2006; Hemery et al. 2010). Only a few other European tree species yield comparable prices for high quality timber (Drapier 1993; Franke et al. ¨ BF 2004; Uthoff 2002). For a long time, Sorbus 1990; LO torminalis has been considered the most important species for forestry within the genus Sorbus (Heß 1905; Klein 1910); however, it has received very little attention by forest management (Uthoff 2002). Sorbus torminalis occurs from the north-west of Africa to the south of Sweden and from the east of Great Britain to the north of Iran (Bednorz and Urbaniak 2005; DemesureMusch and Oddou-Muratorio 2004). Central Europe, particularly Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland comprise its main distributional range (Schu¨te 2001). The species occurs generally in low densities in rather small, isolated groups or as scattered individual trees (see Demesure-Musch and Oddou-Muratorio 2004; Hoebee et al. 2006; Spiecker 2006). It occurs typically in secondary oak-hornbeam forests of relatively dry habi
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