EARLY GROWTH AND UNDERSTORY VEGETATION AT RED PINE USING NATURAL SEEDLINGS FROM TREES IN A NUMBER OF RESERVES

Abstract

 Red pine (Pinus densiflora) has traditionally been used by the Japanese for fuel. However, after the woodland was abandoned, and the numbers of red pine began to decrease because of this lack of management and invasion by the pine wood nematode.
 We aimed to determine the regeneration ability of the red pine using natural seedlings from trees in a number of reserves.
 We also determined its usability by researching the lumber volume and underdstory vegetation.
 The lumber volume among 16- year-old red pines was approximately 12 m/ha.
 A total of 46 species were found in the understory vegetation, and some of these prefer bright light. Growth of the red pine seedlingd two years after the felling of all trees in the area was comparable with taht 16 years after felling.