Results of different managements for natural regeneration of two beech forests in tohoku district and their ecological process

摘要

Current status of beech (Fagus crenata Blume) forests which were differently managed were investigated. One forest was intensively logged 30 years ago with some mature trees left as seed sources. The other was logged with less intensity about 111 years ago in order to prompt establishment of beech saplings. In the former, saplings of beeches were suppressed by larger saplings of Magnolia obovata, Prunus grayana, etc. The regeneration of beech appears to he in failure though beech seedlings were most dominant just after the cutting. This suggests that caution is needed when evaluating the silvicultural prescription of beech forests by short-period monitoring. The latter forest also failed in introducing beech saplings and has prompted only establishments of Betula maximowicziana, Magnolia abovata. etc. Intensive and repeated weeding after further removing tinderstories could increase beech seedlings at this forest, but this prescription should not be called effective, considering the longer periodfor a structural development and the financial issue. At intensively-logged forests with poor beech regeneration, new recruitments of beeches by natural seed fall are not likely because of spatial limitation of seed dispersal. However, post-dispersal survival of beech seeds has became higher than 30 years ago. This suggests that an ecological process in the logged beech forests may change temporally. A further monitoring is required to predict the future development of logged forests with few successor