The quality and value of the main tree species in the forest management unit Stari trg in Bela Krajina were assessed, with the main focus on sessile oak (Quercus petraea). A new tree quality assessment approach was applied, of which the main feature was that only tree trunk defects were inventoried in the field, while assortments were later determined in the cabinet with a detailed review of inventoried trunk defects and criteria set in the Rules on Measurement and Classification of Forest Wood Assortments (2017). The influence of tree, stand and site characteristics on oak quality was analyzed with the generalized linear mixed models. Oak trees exhibited 10 % share of the highest quality assortments A1 and A2, 9 % represented medium-quality assortments B and C, 14 % assortments of quality D, and 69 % represented energy wood. For beech, the share of the highest quality assortments A1 and A2 was 3 %, 13 % were of medium quality assortments B and C, 4 % of the lowest quality assortments D, while the share of energy wood was 80 %. The value of oak increased most at 52 cm (15.25 € / cm) if Diameter at breast height (dbh) increased for 1 cm, while with beech the value increased continuously with tree dbh, but less than for oak. Dbh was recognized as the most influential attribute of the appearance of high and medium quality assortments in oak. With proper tending of regeneration and thinning of pole stands, high-quality oak (and beech) can be provided on the analyzed sites. With proper bucking, a significant share of assortments of the highest quality can be obtained.
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