Revista: Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Autores: Soto, D.; Donoso, P.; Navarro, C.; Fernández, M.P.
Fecha: 2025
Abstract
Nothofagus species dominate the temperate forests of South America. Among them, Nothofagus dombeyi and Nothofagus alpina are long-lived, fast-growing pioneer trees with high-quality timber, which makes them attractive for plantation forestry. Unlike conifers, however, these species—particularly N. dombeyi—often lack strong apical dominance, leading to stem forking and the need for early form pruning to ensure straight, high-quality stems. Despite this, information about early form and stem pruning in Nothofagus plantations remains scarce. This study evaluated the effects of early pruning on growth and stem form dynamics in a young N. dombeyi (5-year-old) and a young N. alpina (8-year-old) plantation in south-central Chile. For each species, growth responses were evaluated over 4 years following pruning treatments (T1: unpruned control, T2: fork control, and T3: pruning to half of total height plus fork control). Pruning responses differed markedly between species. In N. dombeyi, pruning significantly reduced d and v growth (p < 0.05), with the strongest reductions under T3 (20–25% relative to T1), followed by rapid recovery within 4 years. Height growth was not affected (p > 0.05), although T3 tended to increase height increment in N. dombeyi. In contrast, N. alpina showed no differences among treatments (p > 0.05). Overall, N. dombeyi exhibited greater sensitivity to pruning, likely reflecting its higher light demand and greater biomass and leaf area removal compared to N. alpina. Despite short-term growth reductions, early pruning is recommended to improve stem form and produce high-quality, knot-free timber within the proposed 35-year rotations in good sites for both studied species.
Keywords
apical control, hardwood silviculture, plantation diversification, timber quality, tree tending treatments
