2006 Volume 69 Issue 5 Pages 483-486
Conservation of Quercus serrata secondary forests has been recently looked for on the aspects of bio-diversity, citizens recreation and other effects. A long terms abandonment of appropriate management for Q. serrata forests has increased, however, especially in urban areas, since a revolution of fuel and fertilizer. Regeneration of those forests has been maintained through the method of coppicing, but it is generally said that it might be difficult to generate an old-aged forest by coppicing. So this research aims for giving a fundamental data for regeneration by natural seedling for aged Q. serrata forests. Two aged Q. serrata forests, a forest in Zama Park and a forest in the campus of Nihon University, with different ages and tree densities in Kanagawa prefecture were investigated on acorn production and seedling growth. As a result, 7.5 to 174.5 acorns per square meter were collected from the trees at the age of 37 to 66 years. It was confirmed that larger growth of seedling was related to larger weight of acorn, however a comparison for number of acorn was difficult because of a good or poor crop harvest among individual trees. Larger growth of seedling was also related to higher quantity of light under lower density of tree. It was confirmed that lower density of tree and higher quantity of light is one of the primary facts for good growth of seedlings.
