Comparison of DBH increment on artificial coniferous forest and natural broad-leaved forest through 22yr-growth monitoring

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study was carried out to compare the growth of diameter at breast height (DBH) between artificial coniferous forest and natural broad-leaved forest. Data was collected from permanent monitoring plots in Research Forest of Kangwon National University, which is located at Chuncheon-si, Gangwon province of Korea. For artificial coniferous forest, 8 plots with 20 m x 20 m size were investigated in 1996, 2001, 2008, and 2014. For natural broad-leaved forest, 8 plots with the same plot size were investigated in 1996, 2001, 2008, 2014, and 2018. Before and after first measurement, silvicultural treatment was operated with various thinning intensity of 40~81% based on the number of trees. After thinning, the density ranged 500 ~ 2,500 trees/ha for natural broad-leaved forest and 800 ~ 3,200 trees/ha for artificial coniferous forest. As a result, periodic annual increment was higher in artificial coniferous forest than in natural broad-leaved forest as compared based on similar stand density. When the upper 10% dominant trees and the lower 10% recessive tree compared, the growth difference was apparently shown between artificial coniferous forest and natural broad-leaved forest. In addition, the periodic annual increment according to stand density was higher in artificial coniferous forest and it decreased as time went by. Overall, when the stand characteristics such as stand density and average DBH was similar, DBH growth was superior in artificial coniferous forest.