Long-Term Growth Comparisons Of Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) With Some Of The Native Tree Species In The Western Black Sea Region Of Turkey
Abstract
Douglas-fir (DF, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco is the first introduced and most promising exotic tree species for industrial wood production, and for this species, very detailed experiments were conducted. However, experiments with different origins of DF revealed unsuccessful results in a significant number of sites in the eastern and western Black Sea Region (BSR) of Turkey. The aim of this study is to compare the growth of DF trees as a fastgrowing introduced tree species with those of some of the native tree species at the plantation age of year 17. The study area is located in the Melen Forest Management Chiefship of the Düzce Forest Management Directorate in the western BSR of Turkey. 17 years after planting, the soil pH on DF and the Scotch-pine (SP, Pinus sylvestris L.) sites were about 0.3 units lower than that on an eastern beech site (Fagus orientalis L). At the 17th year of stand establishment, beech trees accumulated 3.4 and 1.7 times more biomass than did Scotch pine (SP) and DF. In terms of plant nutrition, mean foliage nitrogen concentration in beech and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) foliage was 57 and 117% higher than those in SP and DF foliage, respectively. Data implies that wood production can be increased by selecting superior genotypes and proper cultural treatments that will boost the production of native, fast-growing tree species. And this production can be higher that some of the well-known fast growing exotic species.
Keywords
Douglas-fir , plantation , biomass , fast-growing species , , Turkey
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