Yield and crown structure characteristics in a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) stand: A case study - Short Communication

Abstract

The paper provides the results of a detailed analysis of timber volume and the most important crown variables of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia Linnaeus) based on an experimental plot in southern Hungary. At the age of 20 years the crop trees belonged to different height classes. If the volume of the mean tree from height class I is considered as 100%, the volume of the mean tree of class II is 44.0%, and the mean tree of class III is only 30.3%. In case of timber volume per 1 m2 crown surface, the values are 72.9 and 61.7%. The DBH of trees showed a positive linear correlation with crown diameter (r = 0.942). Additionally, there were also positive linear relationships between crown diameter and volume (r = 0.901), between crown length and volume (r = 0.721) as well as tree height and crown length (r = 0.661). The variation of crown indices is height even within the same stand and indicates the importance of following a selective thinning operation method.

Keywords

• forest regeneration
• crown indices
• crop tree selection
• volume production
• non-native tree species