Untersuchung zur Behandlung von Kastanienniederwäldern in Nordgriechenland | Study on the Treatment of Chestnut Coppices in Northern Greece

The chestnut coppices of Greece are the most productive forests in that country. The aim of this experiment was to determine the most suitable thinning intensity for 13-year-old chestnut coppice stands or coppice forest to allow them to reach optimum production capacity at the age of 20. The experiment was carried out on the northern slopes of Mount Titaros in northern Greece. In 1989, chestnut coppice forest stands with site quality I and II were selected for the study. Both stands were divided into 4 sub-plots which were then treated using four different silvicultural treatments:(1) control, no thinning(2) positive selection thinning, low intensity treatment, removal over 10% of basal area;(3) positive selection thinning, moderate intensity treatment, removal over 20% of basal area;(4) positive selection thinning, high intensity treatment, removal over 30% of basal area The best results were obtained in the sub-plots with the most intensive treatment. The more intensive the treatment, the more timber was produced and the healthier the trees became. H/D-values decreased relative to the amount of control,particularly in the sub-plots with high treatment intensity.