Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individual-scale responses of five dominant tree species to single-tree selection harvesting in a mixed forest in Hokkaido, northern Japan

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

We investigated the individual-scale responses of five dominant species (Abies sachalinensis, Acer mono, Tilia japonica, Quercus crispula, and Betula ermanii) to single-tree selection harvesting in a conifer–broadleaved mixed forest in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Using data from stems with a diameter at breast height of ≥12.5 cm, collected during 20 years of monitoring a 6.7-ha stand, we analyzed the effects of harvesting in the neighborhood on tree recruitment and the growth (diameter class transition) and mortality of the residual trees. The effects of harvesting varied considerably among tree sizes and species. Harvesting improved the recruitment of A. mono and B. ermanii, and moderated the negative effect of the initial basal area of the surrounding canopy trees on the recruitment of Q. crispula. Conversely, harvesting limited the recruitment of A. sachalinensis by offsetting the positive effect of the initial basal area of the surrounding canopy trees. The growth of A. sachalinensis and Q. crispula decreased with the initial basal area of the surrounding canopy trees. Harvesting in the neighborhood resulted in an improvement in the growth of the trees of these species only in the smaller size classes. With increasing local harvesting intensity, the mortality of smaller A. sachalinensis trees decreased, whereas the mortality of larger trees increased. These results suggest that differences in the local harvesting intensity, spatial patterns of harvesting, and initial stand structures influence the stand-scale dynamics in response to partial harvesting in the mixed forests of this region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Canham CD, Marks PL (1985) The response of woody plants to disturbance: patterns of establishment and growth. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic Press, London, pp 197–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL (2007) Management strategies to increase stand structural diversity and enhance biodiversity in coastal rainforests of Alaska. Biol Conserv 137:520–532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deal RL, Tappeiner JC (2002) The effects of partial cutting on stand structure and growth of western hemlock–Sitka spruce stands in southeast Alaska. For Ecol Manag 159:173–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster JR, Reiners WA (1986) Size distribution and expansion of canopy gaps in a northern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. Vegetatio 68:109–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin JF, Berg DR, Thornburgh DA, Tappeiner JC (1997) Alternative silvicultural approaches to timber harvesting: variable retention harvest systems. In: Kohm KA, Franklin JF (eds) Creating a forestry for the 21st century. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 111–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Granhus A, Fjeld D (2001) Spatial distribution of injuries to Norway spruce advanced growth after selection harvesting. Can J For Res 31:1903–1913

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greene DF, Zasada JC, Sirois L, Kneeshaw D, Morin H, Charron I, Simard MJ (1999) A review of the regeneration dynamics of North American boreal forest tree species. Can J For Res 29:824–839

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey BD, Leduc A, Gauthier S, Bergeron Y (2002) Stand-landscape integration in natural disturbance-based management of the southern boreal forest. For Ecol Manag 155:369–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiura T, Sano J, Konno Y (1996) Age structure and response to fine-scale disturbances of Abies sachalinensis, Picea jezoensis, Picea glehnii, and Betula ermanii growing under the influence of a dwarf bamboo understory in northern Japan. Can J For Res 26:289–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa Y, Ito K (1989) The regeneration process in a mixed forest in central Hokkaido, Japan. Vegetatio 79:75–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishizuka M (1989) Development processes of mixed conifer–hardwood forests in central Hokkaido. PhD thesis, Tsukuba University (in Japanese with English summary)

  • Jenkins MA, Parker GR (1998) Composition and diversity of woody vegetation in silvicultural openings of southern Indiana forests. For Ecol Manag 109:57–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knuchel H (1953) Planning and control in the managed forest. (Translated by Anderson MJ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh

  • Koike T (1988) Leaf structure and photosynthetic performance as related to the forest succession of deciduous broad-leaved trees. Pl Sp Biol 3:77–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubota Y (1995) Effects of disturbance and size structure on the regeneration process in a sub-boreal coniferous forest, Japan. Ecol Res 10:135–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubota Y (2000) Spatial dynamics of regeneration in a conifer/broad–leaved forest in northern Japan. J Veg Sci 11:633–640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leak WB, Filip SM (1977) Thirty-eight years of group selection in New England northern hardwoods. J For 75:641–643

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsuda K, Shibuya M, Koike T (2002) Maintenance and rehabilitation of the mixed conifer–broadleaf forests in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Eurasian J For Res 5:119–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Miya H, Yoshida T, Noguchi M, Nakamura F (2009) Individual growing conditions that affect diameter increment of tree saplings after selection harvesting in a mixed forest in northern Japan. J For Res (in press)

  • Nagaike T, Kubota Y, Watanabe N (1999) The effects of selective logging on stand structure and the regeneration of subboreal forests in Hokkaido, northern Japan. J For Res 4:41–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T, Iida S (1995) Composition, dynamics and disturbance regime of temperate deciduous forests in Monsoon Asia. Vegetatio 121:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigi T, Koshika K, Kanuma K, Natsume S, Yone Y, Morita H, Fujito E, Hojo H (1998) Managerial progress and results of an experimental forest practiced under the Control Method (II). Res Bull Coll Exp For Hokkaido Univ 55:274–308 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi M, Yoshida T (2004) Tree regeneration in partially cut conifer–hardwood mixed forests in northern Japan: roles of establishment substrate and dwarf bamboo. For Ecol Manag 190:335–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi M, Yoshida T (2005) Factors influencing the distribution of two co-occurring dwarf bamboo species (Sasa kurilensis and S. senanensis) in a conifer–broadleaved mixed stand in northern Hokkaido. Ecol Res 20:25–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi M, Yoshida T (2007) Regeneration responses influenced by single tree selection harvesting in a mixed-species tree community in northern Japan. Can J For Res 37:1554–1562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi M, Kayama M, Yoshida T, Koike T (2003) Photosynthetic traits of seedling of Sakhalin fir grown on the selective cutting forest. Trans Meet Hokkaido Branch Jpn For Soc 51:36–38 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohgane E, Nigi T, Hishinuma Y, Koshika K, Fukui T (1988) Managerial progress and results of an experimental forest practiced by the Control Method. Res Bull Coll Exp For Hokkaido Univ 45:61–113 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins TD, Klein RM, Badger GJ, Easter MJ (1992) Spruce fir decline and gap dynamics on Camel Hump, Vermont. Can J For Res 22:413–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, http://www.R-project.org

  • Sakagami Y, Fujimura Y (1981) Seasonal changes in the net photosynthetic and respiratory rates of Abies sachalinensis and Picea glehnii seedlings. J Jpn For Soc 63:194–200 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sano J (1988) Studies on regeneration patterns in natural oak (Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata) forests through community structure analysis. Res Bull Coll Exp For Hokkaido Univ 45:221–266 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuler T (2004) Fifty years of partial harvesting in a mixed mesophytic forest: composition and productivity. Can J For Res 34:985–997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sendak PE, Brissette JC, Frank RM (2003) Silviculture affects composition, growth, and yield in mixed northern conifers: 40-year results from the Penobscot Experimental Forest. Can J For Res 33:2116–2128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki E, Ota K, Fujiwara K (1987) Regeneration process of coniferous forests in northern Hokkaido I. Abies sachalinensis forest and Picea glehnii forest. Ecol Res 2:61–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi K, Mitsuishi D, Uemura S, Suzuki J, Hara T (2003a) Stand structure and dynamics during a 16-year period in a sub-boreal conifer–hardwood mixed forest, northern Japan. For Ecol Manage 174:39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi K, Uemura S, Suzuki J–I, Hara T (2003b) Effects of understory dwarf bamboo on soil water and the growth of overstory trees in a dense secondary Betula ermanii forest, northern Japan. Ecol Res 18:767–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka H, Nakashizuka T (1997) Fifteen years of canopy dynamics analyzed by aerial photographs in a temperate deciduous forest, Japan. Ecology 78:612–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tatewaki M, Igarashi T (1971) Forest vegetation in the Teshio and the Nakagawa District experimental forests of Hokkaido University, Prov, Teshio, N. Hokkaido, Japan. Res Bull Coll Expt For Hokkaido Univ 28:1–192 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker GF, Hinckley TM, Leverenz J, Jiang S (1987) Adjustments of foliar morphology in the acclimation of understory Pacific Silver Fir following clearcutting. For Ecol Manag 21:249–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umeki K (2002) Tree mortality of five major species on Hokkaido Island, northern Japan. Ecol Res 17:575–589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umeki K (2003) The regeneration of natural forests on Hokkaido, northern Japan: results of scarification and problems remaining to be solved. J Jpn For Soc 85:246–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Webster CR, Lorimer CG (2002) Single-tree versus group selection in hemlock–hardwood forests: are smaller openings less productive? Can J For Res 32:591–604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiser SK, Allen RB, Benecke U, Baker G, Peltzer D (2005) Tree growth and mortality after small–group harvesting in New Zealand old-growth Nothofagus forests. Can J For Res 35:2323–2331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida T, Kamitani T (1998) Effects of crown release on rasal area growth rates of some broad-leaved tree species with different shade-tolerance. J For Res 3:181–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida T, Kamitani T (2000) Interspecific competition among three canopy-tree species in a mixed-species even-aged forest of central Japan. For Ecol Manag 137:221–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida T, Noguchi M (2009a) Vulnerability to strong winds for major tree species in a northern Japanese mixed forest: analyses of historical data. Ecol Res (in press)

  • Yoshida T, Noguchi M (2009b) Growth and survival of Abies sachalinensis seedlings for three years after selection harvesting in northern Hokkaido, Japan. Landscape Ecol Eng (in press)

  • Yoshida T, Iga Y, Ozawa M, Noguchi M, Shibata H (2005) Factors influencing early vegetation establishment following soil scarification in a mixed forest in northern Japan. Can J For Res 35:175–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida T, Noguchi M, Akibayashi Y, Noda M, Kadomatsu M, Sasa K (2006) Twenty years of community dynamics in a mixed conifer–broadleaved forest under a selection system in northern Japan. Can J For Res 36:1363–1375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaczek J (2002) Composition, diversity, and height of tree regeneration, 3 years after soil scarification in a mixed-oak shelterwood. For Ecol Manag 163:205–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the Nakagawa Experimental Forest and the members of the Laboratory of Forest Management, Hokkaido University, for their combined efforts in maintaining the long-term study. We are grateful to Takayoshi Koike, Shigeru Uemura, Tsutomu Hiura, Yasuhiro Kubota and Robert L. Deal for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Thanks are also extended to Yoko Iga, Mio Nagai and the staff of the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, for their assistance with the fieldwork. This study was partly supported by the research project fund from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (No.14760095, 17580123) and by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shikoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 2–915 Asakuranishimachi, Kochi, 780–8077, Japan

    Mahoko Noguchi

  2. Uryu Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Moshiri, Horokanai, Hokkaido, 074–0741, Japan

    Toshiya Yoshida

Authors
  1. Mahoko Noguchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Toshiya Yoshida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahoko Noguchi.

About this article

Cite this article

Noguchi, M., Yoshida, T. Individual-scale responses of five dominant tree species to single-tree selection harvesting in a mixed forest in Hokkaido, northern Japan. J For Res 14, 311–320 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-009-0137-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-009-0137-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation