Parent Stand Growth Following Gap and Shelterwood Cutting in a Sessile Oak-Hornbeam Forest

In this paper, effects of uniform shelterwood cutting (SWC) and gap cutting (GC) ontotal volume and value increment of the parent stand, volume increment of individual sessile oaktrees, as well as, on crown expansion of sessile oak are compared for the first five years of theregeneration period of an oak-hornbeam forest. The gaps were circular and of one tree height indiameter. During SWC, there were two harvesting occasions, on each of which 30% of thestanding volume was removed. Total volume increment of the remaining sessile oak trees relativeto the initial standing volume of sessile oak was approximately identical between the twomethods. However, individual trees grew faster if applying SWC. Volume increment of sessileoak decreased with the distance from gap centres. Crowns expanded mostly southwards andwestwards both in the cases of GC and SWC. Value increment of the parent stand did not differconsiderably between the two methods.