Classical selective thinning is one of the most important forest measures in the Central European forestry. Even though such thinning is regularly applied, the appropriate thinning intensity remains relatively unstudied. A permanent research site for a long-time monitoring was set up in the submontane European beech forests in the Forest Management Unit Pišece. It was set up in young pole-stage forest stands (approximately 15 years old) and consisted of 7 plots with dimensions of 30x30 m. In each plot we measured all trees with diameter at breast height (dbh) above or equal to 0.5 cm along with assessing the tree species and social status; for some trees also the diameter at the stump height (10 cm) was measured. After the plots were measured, we grouped them
into 3 blocks (treatments), namely treatment A (plots with low-intensity thinning applied), treatment B (plots with high-intensity thinning applied) and treatment C (a
control plot with no thinning applied). On average, on plots of treatment A the number of trees was reduced by 31,7% and of treatment B by 37,8 %. We found no statistically significant differences in the change of number of trees, stand basal area and growing stock. In the following years, we might have to consider rearrangement of plots into
blocks to ensure representative results in the long term.
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