Growth characteristics of one-year-old Hungarian oak seedlings ( Quercus frainetto Ten.) in full light conditions

Abstract

In silviculture, the characteristics of growth of seedlings in relation to light conditions are an important indicator of the success of natural regeneration. The paper shows the growth characteristics of one-year-old Hungarian oak seedlings in full light conditions in a field experiment conducted in 2016 in the nursery of the Faculty of Forestry in Belgrade. Four hundred seedlings were analyzed and classified according to the number of shoot growth flushes into three growth types: one-flush growth, two-flush growth and three-flush growth type. Within the analyzed four hundred seedlings, 39.8% belonged to the one-flush growth type, 58.2% to the two-flush growth type, and only 2.0% of the seedlings to the three-flush growth type. The one-flush growth seedlings have less leaves and lower values of height, root collar diameter and total leaf area, but they are characterized by a higher mean height of the primary axis (the height of the first growth flush), compared to the multi-flush growth seedlings. This is pointing out to different growth characteristics in the initial stage of development and during the growing season between different types of seedlings.