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Forest structure and soil fertility determine internal stem morphology of Pedunculate oak: a modelling approach using boosted regression trees

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Abstract

This study aims at the explanation of internal stem morphology of vital (co)dominant Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) trees in homogeneous even-aged high-forests by the factors tree age, forest structure and site quality, using boosted regression trees as a powerful modelling technique. The study area covers the region of Flanders (Northern Belgium), which is characterised by the absence of strong topographic and climatic gradients. For 76 adult sample trees covering the entire productivity range of Pedunculate oak, morphological characteristics were derived from measurements of ring width or heartwood area on wood cores. Forest structure, soil physicochemical properties, humus quality, vegetation indices and litter nutrient contents were quantified at each sample location. Model predictive performance and generality are good. Tree age effects correspond to expected trends in age-related radial growth and heartwood portion. Even if management of oak trees in even-aged high-forests is rather similar over Flanders, forest structure is the most important factor determining ring width, followed by soil fertility. Heartwood portion is determined by soil fertility and crown structure. Effects of topsoil and humus physicochemical characteristics, litter nutrient contents and water supply mainly confirm autecological knowledge on oak. However, variables related to soil water availability are only occasionally relevant, and always of lower importance than soil fertility. The low importance of water availability in the models contradicts results from other studies, and the potential effect of confounding is discussed. The observed growth reduction at low litter N/P ratios might be indirectly linked to early litterfall.

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Abbreviations

BRT:

Boosted regression trees

DBH:

Diameter at breast height

EW, mEW:

(mean) earlywood width

HW:

Heartwood area

HWP:

Heartwood portion

LW, mLW:

(mean) latewood width

RW, mRW, sdRW:

(mean/standard deviation of) ring width

SW:

Sapwood area

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Acknowledgments

This study has been conducted within the context of the SimForTree project (http://www.SimForTree.be; IWT-SBO contract 060032). The authors wish to thank Joost Malliet, Marc De Vrieze, Sofie Bruneel and Jasper Goffin for their support to this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, K.U.Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, Box 2411, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Vincent Kint, Wim Aertsen & Bart Muys

  2. Laboratory of Wood Technology, Department of Forest and Water Management, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Dries Vansteenkiste & Joris Van Acker

  3. Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Gaverstraat 4, 9500, Geraardsbergen, Belgium

    Bruno De Vos

  4. Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Raphael Bequet

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  1. Vincent Kint
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  2. Dries Vansteenkiste
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  4. Bruno De Vos
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  7. Bart Muys
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Correspondence to Vincent Kint.

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Communicated by T. Seifert.

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Kint, V., Vansteenkiste, D., Aertsen, W. et al. Forest structure and soil fertility determine internal stem morphology of Pedunculate oak: a modelling approach using boosted regression trees. Eur J Forest Res 131, 609–622 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-011-0535-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-011-0535-z

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