Kakovost bukovine v Sloveniji – trenutno stanje in pričakovane spremembe ob sanaciji žledoloma

Quality of beechwood in Slovenia – current situation and expected changes after the re-generation of forests following the natural disaster of glaze ice

Abstract

Beech is a predominant tree species in Slovenian forests, and together with spruce they represent as much as two-thirds of the total growing stock. As a predominant tree species, it will be one of the key factors in the selection and planning of wood processing technologies. After the glaze ice in 2014, 2.34 million m³ of beech were felled within the scope of the salvage cut. In areas with poor openness and impossible conditions to perform felling and harvesting, 521.000 m³ of affected beechwood remain in forests. Using a selected sample of 10 trees, the article analyses the quality of beechwood – from a standing tree to its production of assortments. All trees were evaluated before the felling, then they were bucked and the resulting logs assessed in terms of quality. The European standards for beech logs were used to determine the quality classes of individual assortments. In particular, covered knots and heartwood defects had a decisive impact on the assessment of wood quality in the sample. As expected, 60% of roundwood was established in logs, the majority of the highest A-quality. The trees of poorer quality provided the most stacked wood and the logs were of the worst quality, i.e. mostly D-class. Due to changes in stand conditions caused by glaze ice and bark beetle attacks, the related stands will be restored with beech trees in the future.