DYNAMICS OF GROUND COVER IN SCOTS PINE STANDS AFTER CLEAR-CUTTING

Abstract

While developing the principles of sustainable forestry and society prioritising forest management strategies with low forest use, clear-cutting of mature forests is currently causing strong debates in the region. The study on ground cover in Scots pine stands after clear-cutting included the assessment of the ground layer of non-living organic material (forest floor and dead wood) and the ground layer of live organic material (ground vegetation – mosses and vascular plants). The study was carried out in three sites located in Trakai, Varėna and Kazlų rūda districts. Each study site included the set of 1, 2 and 3 years old clear-cut plots and of the plots in Scots pine stands of different age groups (8–10, 15–20, 30–40, 70–80, and 101–130 years). The study results showed that the parameters of ground cover in Scots pine forests of Pinetum vaccinio-myrtillosum type reached the same level as in the mature stand 20–30 years after clear-cutting. The evaluation of non-living and live ground cover elements and diversity indicators does not allow the influence of clear-cutting to be considered as a completely negative effect on this type of Scots pine forest, because a higher abundance and species diversity of the ground vegetation was determined at different stages of stand development compared to a mature Scots pine forest.