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Tree allometry of Douglas fir and Norway spruce on a nutrient-poor and a nutrient-rich site

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Abstract

Research related to the allometric relationships of tree height and projected tree crown area to diameter at breast height was conducted to look at the biological suitability and timber production potential of Douglas fir under the conditions present in central Europe. The dependence of allometric relationships on soil nutrient conditions were described in forest stands of Douglas fir and Norway spruce. The studied sites were climatically similar but differed in soil nutrient availability. A significant difference was found in the allometric relationships of Norway spruce trees from the nutrient poor and nutrient rich site. In contrast to the Norway spruce, there was no significant effect of site fertility on allometric relationships for Douglas fir suggesting that its allocation patterns were less sensitive to site nutrient conditions. Stem growth increment, which was measured weekly during two consecutive seasons for both species, was related to the weather conditions and available soil moisture. Stem growth of Douglas fir began about 2 weeks earlier than in the Norway spruce at both sites. At the nutrient rich site, most of the stem growth of both species occurred at the beginning of the season, while growth at the other site was more evenly distributed throughout the season. Data obtained in this study will be useful for modeling stem growth and analysis of water use efficiency of these two tree species.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the director of Forest Enterprise of the Secondary Forestry School of Písek in Hůrky, Mr. Koptík, for his valuable help and very positive approach to our measurements and to Mrs. Dasa Prochazkova and Ing. Stanislav Klima, CSc. for reading the stem growth data. We are grateful to Prof. Jiří Kulhavý for his versatile support during soil analyses and to Ing. Daniel Volařík, Ph.D. for his valuable comments on statistics. This research was supported by projects NAZV-QI-112-A172, IGA 9/2011 and OPVK CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0017–Investments in Education Development co-financed by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic.

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  1. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, Brno, 613 00, Czech Republic

    Josef Urban, Kateřina Holušová, Ladislav Menšík, Jan Čermák & Petr Kantor

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Correspondence to Josef Urban.

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Communicated by T. Grams.

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Urban, J., Holušová, K., Menšík, L. et al. Tree allometry of Douglas fir and Norway spruce on a nutrient-poor and a nutrient-rich site. Trees 27, 97–110 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0771-y

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