Monitoring of spruce stands in the Czerwona Woda river catchment of the Stołowe Mountains National Park

In the spring of 2017, Stołowe Mountains National Park started a research program related to the protection of water resources. The research program was started because of, among others, the growing problems of water resources and the dying of spruce trees. One of the projects commissioned by the Park was ‘Monitoring the impact of renaturisation and hydrological status on changes in the biomass of trees and stands’. The monitoring covered spruce stands growing along the main watercourse of the Park (the Czerwona Woda). As a part of the study, three rectangular surfaces (from 0.45 to 0.50 ha) and 10 circular areas (0.04 ha each) were established. On fenced rectangular surfaces, 10 model trees were selected using the Draudt method. They were monitored using hemispheric cameras (changes in crowns), dendrometers (changes in the circumference of stems) and minirhizotronami (changes in the root layer). In addition to the measurements of all the trees on the surface, imaging with terrestrial laser scanning and hemispherical images was done. The data and results presented in this work were created as a result of the implementation of a project financed from funds related to the forestry fund of the State Forests National Forest Holding

Monitoring of spruce stands in the Czerwona Woda river catchment of the Stołowe Mountains National Park

In the spring of 2017, Stołowe Mountains National Park started a research program related to the protection of water resources. The research program was started because of, among others, the growing problems of water resources and the dying of spruce trees. One of the projects commissioned by the Park was ‘Monitoring the impact of renaturisation and hydrological status on changes in the biomass of trees and stands’. The monitoring covered spruce stands growing along the main watercourse of the Park (the Czerwona Woda). As a part of the study, three rectangular surfaces (from 0.45 to 0.50 ha) and 10 circular areas (0.04 ha each) were established. On fenced rectangular surfaces, 10 model trees were selected using the Draudt method. They were monitored using hemispheric cameras (changes in crowns), dendrometers (changes in the circumference of stems) and minirhizotronami (changes in the root layer). In addition to the measurements of all the trees on the surface, imaging with terrestrial laser scanning and hemispherical images was done

Monitoring of spruce stands in the Czerwona Woda river catchment of the Stołowe Mountains National Park

In the spring of 2017, Stołowe Mountains National Park started a research program related to the protection of water resources. The research program was started because of, among others, the growing problems of water resources and the dying of spruce trees. One of the projects commissioned by the Park was ‘Monitoring the impact of renaturisation and hydrological status on changes in the biomass of trees and stands’. The monitoring covered spruce stands growing along the main watercourse of the Park (the Czerwona Woda). As a part of the study, three rectangular surfaces (from 0.45 to 0.50 ha) and 10 circular areas (0.04 ha each) were established. On fenced rectangular surfaces, 10 model trees were selected using the Draudt method. They were monitored using hemispheric cameras (changes in crowns), dendrometers (changes in the circumference of stems) and minirhizotronami (changes in the root layer). In addition to the measurements of all the trees on the surface, imaging with terrestrial laser scanning and hemispherical images was done. The data and results presented in this work were created as a result of the implementation of a project financed from funds related to the forestry fund of the State Forests National Forest Holding

The Impact of Road Investments on the Forest Environment—Case Study: The Impact of Asphalt Roads on the Health Condition and Growth of Trees

The study was conducted within the framework of the R&D project entitled “Environmental aspects of reconstruction and construction of forest roads using selected asphalt binders”. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of an asphalt road segment located in the Przymuszewo Forest District, the Regional Directorate of the State Forests in Toruń, Poland (53°57′24.14″ N, 17°34′38.30″ E), on growth increments and health condition of trees in a 60-year-old pine stand. The first stage of the investigation required laboratory analyses and field observations to assess the impact of mineral filler and asphalt mixtures on roadside habitats. Chemical analyses were performed on samples of wood and soil collected from transects located at three distances from the asphalt road, as well as dendrological and dendrometric analyses in circular sample plots of 0.02 ha in analogous transects parallel to the selected asphalt pavement. Analyses of soils and wood showed no negative environmental impact associated with the road. Contents of all the assayed elements in wood were lower compared to their contents in soil, which indicates their markedly reduced phytoextraction. Statistical analyses showed that the asphalt road has an effect on the adjacent forest mass, but that this effect is statistically insignificant with respect to the mean annual increments diameter at breast height and the defoliation of trees growing at various distances from the road

The Effects of Tree and Stand Traits on the Specific Leaf Area in Managed Scots Pine Forests of Different Ages

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships between stand structure (tree size, volume, biomass, social position, stand density) and the variability of specific leaf area (SLA) at the stand level, which could improve forest management modeling. The study was carried out on 100 trees selected from 10 stands of Scots pine located in northwestern Poland. The stands had been established in a similar way and were similarly managed. Five mid-aged (51–60 years) and five mature (81–90 years) pure Scots pine stands were selected. To obtain the SLA index, we used the direct method, which involves scanning ca. 50 needles from each part of the tree crown. The average SLA was from 4.65 to 6.62 m2·kg−1 and differed significantly according to the part of the crown measured (p < 0.0001) and the tree age (p < 0.0001). The smallest SLA was in the upper part of the crown and the largest in the lower part of the crown, which is in line with the known relation to the light exposure of needles. Mid-aged stands of Scots pine have higher SLA values than mature ones. Dominant trees in mid-aged stands have a lower SLA than more shaded intermediate ones, which is probably due to the different lighting conditions within the canopy. No clear relationship is observed between the stand density and the SLA