The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.)
Background and Purpose: The declining and dieback of lowland oak forests as the result of global climate change, as well as the attack of various pathogenic organisms, industrial pollution, and other negative effects reduce acorn yield and will continue to do so in the future. As a result of this fa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Croatian Forest Research Institute
2019-01-01
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| Series: | South-East European Forestry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/324333 |
| _version_ | 1797207393057112064 |
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| author | Boris Liović Željko Tomašić Tomislav Dubravac Robert Licht Matej Turk |
| author_facet | Boris Liović Željko Tomašić Tomislav Dubravac Robert Licht Matej Turk |
| author_sort | Boris Liović |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Purpose: The declining and dieback of lowland oak forests as the result of global climate change, as well as the attack of various pathogenic organisms, industrial pollution, and other negative effects reduce acorn yield and will continue to do so in the future. As a result of this fact, the areas on which artificial regeneration will be applied by planting seedlings will have to be increased. The artificial regeneration process is more expensive than the natural one, so protection measures need to be applied to minimize the loss of young seedlings.
Materials and Methods: Experimental plots were set up in the forest area of Spačva Basin. A completely randomized block design experiment in four repetitions was used, in which four variants of planting and protection of oak seedlings were examined. We tested polypropylene tree shelters and hydrophilic superabsorbent based on maize starch. Heights of the plants were measured by measuring tape, and survival was registered by numbering of dead and living plants. For statistical purposes, we have used analysis of variance (repeated measure ANOVA), which allows us to prove statistically significant difference between morphological traits of studied variants.
Results: Two years after planting, the lowest level of survival was found in unprotected seedlings (79.5%), while tree shelters provided the best conditions for seedlings survival (88.75%). In the case with the hydrophilic granules Zeba the result is slightly worse. When analyzing average height in a particular case, significantly higher plants are recorded in cases where the polypropylene tree shelters are used. The average height, with tree shelters (128.27 cm), is more than three times higher than the unprotected seedlings (37.97 cm). The addition of hydrophilic granules did not show a statistically significant difference. In cases where the seedlings were not under the tree shelter protection, the effect of hydrophilic granules was also not statistically significant.
Conclusions: Sheltering accelerated the height growth of the planted oaks substantially and also provided best conditions for seedlings survival. During the research period the usage of Zeba did not justify the purpose for which it was applied. Although the first results are promising in order to gain a complete insight into the potential of tree shelters it is necessary to record the changes and maintain the experiment for a further 2-3 years with quantification of other harmful factors that may appear (drought, game etc.) after which a more reliable judgment regarding their usefulness could be provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:22:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b1a4c2bd4c04c75a8c784ecd13dd12b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1847-6481 1849-0891 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:22:11Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Croatian Forest Research Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South-East European Forestry |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b1a4c2bd4c04c75a8c784ecd13dd12b2024-04-15T15:39:45ZengCroatian Forest Research InstituteSouth-East European Forestry1847-64811849-08912019-01-01101899610.15177/seefor.19-07The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.)Boris Liović0Željko Tomašić1Tomislav Dubravac2Robert Licht3Matej Turk4Croatian Forest Research Institute, Division for Forest Protection and Game Management, Cvjetno naselje 41, HR-10450 Jastrebarsko, CroatiaCroatian Forests Ltd., Kneza Branimira 1, HR-10 000 Zagreb, CroatiaCroatian Forest Research Institute, Division for Silviculture, Cvjetno naselje 41, HR-10450 Jastrebarsko, CroatiaCroatian Forest Research Institute, Research Centre for Lowland Forests, Trg Josipa Runjanina 10, HR-32100 Vinkovci, CroatiaŠUME - obrt za savjetovanje u šumarstvu, usluge i trgovinu, Supilova 7, HR-10000 Zagreb, CroatiaBackground and Purpose: The declining and dieback of lowland oak forests as the result of global climate change, as well as the attack of various pathogenic organisms, industrial pollution, and other negative effects reduce acorn yield and will continue to do so in the future. As a result of this fact, the areas on which artificial regeneration will be applied by planting seedlings will have to be increased. The artificial regeneration process is more expensive than the natural one, so protection measures need to be applied to minimize the loss of young seedlings. Materials and Methods: Experimental plots were set up in the forest area of Spačva Basin. A completely randomized block design experiment in four repetitions was used, in which four variants of planting and protection of oak seedlings were examined. We tested polypropylene tree shelters and hydrophilic superabsorbent based on maize starch. Heights of the plants were measured by measuring tape, and survival was registered by numbering of dead and living plants. For statistical purposes, we have used analysis of variance (repeated measure ANOVA), which allows us to prove statistically significant difference between morphological traits of studied variants. Results: Two years after planting, the lowest level of survival was found in unprotected seedlings (79.5%), while tree shelters provided the best conditions for seedlings survival (88.75%). In the case with the hydrophilic granules Zeba the result is slightly worse. When analyzing average height in a particular case, significantly higher plants are recorded in cases where the polypropylene tree shelters are used. The average height, with tree shelters (128.27 cm), is more than three times higher than the unprotected seedlings (37.97 cm). The addition of hydrophilic granules did not show a statistically significant difference. In cases where the seedlings were not under the tree shelter protection, the effect of hydrophilic granules was also not statistically significant. Conclusions: Sheltering accelerated the height growth of the planted oaks substantially and also provided best conditions for seedlings survival. During the research period the usage of Zeba did not justify the purpose for which it was applied. Although the first results are promising in order to gain a complete insight into the potential of tree shelters it is necessary to record the changes and maintain the experiment for a further 2-3 years with quantification of other harmful factors that may appear (drought, game etc.) after which a more reliable judgment regarding their usefulness could be provided.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/324333Spačva Basinartificial regenerationZeba granulespolypropylene tree sheltersCorythucha arcuataMicrosphaera alphitoides |
| spellingShingle | Boris Liović Željko Tomašić Tomislav Dubravac Robert Licht Matej Turk The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) South-East European Forestry Spačva Basin artificial regeneration Zeba granules polypropylene tree shelters Corythucha arcuata Microsphaera alphitoides |
| title | The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) |
| title_full | The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) |
| title_short | The Effect of Polypropylene Tree Shelters on Growth and Survival of Pedunculate Oak Seedlings (Quercus robur L.) |
| title_sort | effect of polypropylene tree shelters on growth and survival of pedunculate oak seedlings quercus robur l |
| topic | Spačva Basin artificial regeneration Zeba granules polypropylene tree shelters Corythucha arcuata Microsphaera alphitoides |
| url | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/324333 |
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