Effects of Shortened Weeding Period on Colonization of Native Broad-leaved Tree Species in a Hinoki Cypress Plantation

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of a shortened weeding period on colonization by native broad-leaved tree species over 8 years from the age of 4 to 11 in a plantation of hinoki cypress. The weeding period was experimentally reduced to 3 years in a part of the plantation, which was compared with another part where the weeding period was the standard 6 years. At the end of the study, saplings of wind- and bird-dispersed trees (e.g., Fraxinus, Prunus) were found in both parts of the plantation, but no gravity-dispersed trees (e.g., Quercus) were found. At the age of 11 years, the planted trees were much taller than the colonizing trees in the 6-year weeding area. By contrast, in the 3-year weeding area, the colonizing trees were often taller than the planted hinoki cypresses trees, although most of them were shrub species.