Thinning effects on production, root biomass and some soil properties in a young oriental beech stand in Artvin, Turkey.

In this study, three thinning treatments were applied on a 0.54 ha young oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) stand (25-30 years old) in Karadag, Artvin in the fall of 1999. The treatments were: (1) no thinning, (2) light thinning, and (3) heavy thinning. Prior to thinning, the stand averaged 15000 trees ha(-1) and 40.0 m2 ha(-1) of basal area, with an average mean diameter of 5 cm. Thinning reduced stand basal areas to about 31.1 and 24.9 m2 ha(-1) for the light and heavy thinning treatments, respectively. After 3-years, diameter increment was the highest in heavily thinned stand and the lowest in unthinned stand. The increment in stand basal area was about 10, 18 and 27% in the unthinned, lightly thinned, and heavily thinned stands, respectively. Fine root biomass significantly decreased with thinning and thinning had no significant effects on soil pH and soil organic matter content.