Leśne Prace Badawcze, 2010, 71, 3: 225-230.

Żywotnoość korzeni w wierzchnich warstwach gleby w drzewostanach sosnowych w 10 lat po trzebieży
Root vitality in the upper soil of pine stands ten years after thinning  

Dorota Farfał 

Abstract. The vitality of roots in the soil at depths of 0–5 cm and 5–15 cm was determined for pine stands which had been thinned ten years earlier using various different methods and means of timber harvest. The parameters adopted to assess root vitality were: total root density (g/100 cm3 of soil) and fractional root density divided into live and dead root diameters for individual tree species. Overall, live roots were most prevalent (88–96%) in the investigated stands. Whereas, the total density of dead roots was 0.033–0.111 g/100 cm3 of soil at 0-5 cm depth and 0.039–0.058 g/100 cm3 of the soil at 5–15 cm depth. The opening of the canopy in older stands caused more-intense development of fine roots in the plants of the forest floor (0.411–0.567 g/100 cm3 of soil) compared to the fine roots of pine trees (0.145–0.177 g/ 100 cm3 of soil), especially at 0–5 cm soil depth. The studies did not reveal significant differences in root development on the old skidding roads due to variation in the methods of timber harvesting during thinning operations ten years earlier nor when compared with the control plots.

Key words: fine root, harvesting, Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L.