Development of sessile oak and European hornbeam sprouts after thinning

Abstract

We observed the growth of juvenile sprouts at stool level in an oak-hornbeam selective coppice after selective thinning. We tested the relations of sprouting probability, number and height of new sprouts, and stool biometric characteristics with thinning intensity and light conditions. We compared the results between the two species. The sprouting probability, number of new sprouts, and height of new sprouts were modelled using different types of regression (logistic, generalized linear, and multiple linear regression) evaluated from 84 sessile oak (Quercus petraea Matt. Liebl.) and 139 European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) stools with the same site conditions. There were no significant relations between sprouting probability and the tested parameters because nearly all stools re-sprouted. The growth (number and height) of new sprouts depended on the stool basal area before thinning and on thinning intensity. Light conditions (indirect site factor) only influenced the number of new European hornbeam sprouts in 2016 and the height of new sessile oak sprouts. The number of new sprouts in European hornbeam was higher than in sessile oak.