Investigation on natural regeneration of Quercus castaneifolia C. A. M. at Loveh forest management project

• Main Authors: Naser Mohajer, Zaydollah Mirkazemi
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands of Iran 2004-06-01
• Series: تحقیقات جنگل و صنوبر ایران
• Subjects: Quercus castaneifolia; regeneration; silviculture
• Online Access: http://ijfpr.areeo.ac.ir/article_109293_643b7d1ad2b1551404125772e245dac2.pdf

In order to study the natural regeneration of Q. Castaneifolia, the regeneration unit of District No.2 of the Loveh forest Management project was selected. The regeneration unit has been under management from 1981 at 350 ha area, using the uniform compartment system to produce an even - aged high forest. The required cuttings under the silvicultural system are being made irregularly. In 1992, 102 nested plots of 100 to 1000 m2 area were allocated under the Systematic Randomized Sampling Method and the required cuttings were made. Regeneration of oak and other species and the seedling establishment and their relationships with the silvicultural method and environmental factors were studied. The results show that 78.5% of the regeneration unit area has a moderate to excellent level of regeneration, whereas 59% of its area is lack of oak regeneration. The minimum percentage of regeneration in different environmental conditions is as follows: - Slope gradient of 10-20%: 51.7% - Slope aspect of north 0.5-0.9: 61.7% - Crown Cover of 0.5-0.9: 61.7% - Humus thickness of 3.0-5.0 cm: 30.2% Overall, the forest management project has not been applied in accordance to the preliminary regulations objectives. The factors that decreased natural regeneration were: inharmonic cuttings, marking the seeding trees for cutting at early stage of applying the silvicultural system, low number of seeding trees, construction of secondary roads with less technical basics, damage caused by local people, seed feed by wild animals and seed damage by different pests.