| Summary: | As a BSc forestry-student at the Agricultural University of Iceland in Hvanneyri, I participated in an international research project on ecology of the European chestnut (Castanea sativa) forest which took place in Belasitsa Mountain in southern Bulgaria. I worked with experts at the Icelandic Forest Research in Mógilsá, who work in cooperation with the Forest Research Institute in Sofia. The project is funded by the European Economic Area (EEA) Grants and Norway Grants. The chestnut forest in Belasitsa is considered one of the best preserved in the Balkans. The forest health has deteriorated over the past few decades and that is the reason for this project discussed here. The role of the Icelandic team in the project is to build dendrochronological timescales for the chestnut, which makes it possible to explore the history of the forest growth and the environmental factors that are controlling the growth and development of chestnuts in southern Bulgaria. The Chestnut is crucial for many countries in Central and Southern Europe. It is a multi-functional tree species and through the ages it has been cultivated for wood and seed production. It has a considerable economic value, as well as being a large part of the culture and landscape of the Mediterranean countries. Field work was conducted in June 2010 in the northern slopes of the Belasitsa mountain range in southern Bulgaria. Increment cores were collected from about 150 chestnut trees in 19 plots in which the chestnut was the dominant species. The mean age of the sample trees at breast height(BH) is 60 years, with the oldest trees over 200 years old. Average height of sample trees was 19 m and average diameter at breast height (DBH) was 48 cm. The results show similar growth patterns in the radial growth until about 1975. Then decline begins in their growth and the mean annual tree ring width, goes from 3.5 mm to about 2 mm. After about 1990 the trees seem to recover slightly. The most likely explanation for the decline in the growth of the trees after 1975 ...
|
|---|