J. For. Sci., 2026, 72(2):93-105 | DOI: 10.17221/7/2026-JFS

Height growth of Quercus petraea coppices: Effects of tree type, stand management, and site conditions – A case study from the Czech lowlandsOriginal Paper

Jan Kadavý ORCID..., Michal Kneifl ORCID..., Barbora Uherková ORCID...
Department of Forest Management and Applied Geoinformatics, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

This study examines height growth and its driving factors in stools and standard trees, the two key structural components of coppice-with-standards stands. We focused on sessile oak [Quercus petraea agg. (Matt.) Liebl.] stands over 90 years old at two contrasting sites near Brno (South Moravian Region, Czech Republic): one actively managed and one left unmanaged for more than 40 years as a strict nature reserve. Tree heights were analysed using two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests and multinomial logistic regression. A total of 1 239 trees were measured (584 stools and 655 standards). Standard trees were the tallest on average (21.8 m), significantly exceeding all the stool categories, whereas managed triple-stem stools were the shortest (15.97 m). Across all categories, unmanaged stands generally reached greater heights than managed stands did, except for standard trees. The forest type, exposure and slope had significant effects on height class probabilities, whereas elevation was important only for smaller trees. Overall, the results demonstrate that both the tree type and site conditions strongly influence height growth in Q. petraea coppice-with-standards stands, with management history leaving a clear biological legacy in the present-day stand structure.

Keywords: environmental factors; managed vs unmanaged coppice-with-standard; sessile oak; standard tree; stem growth; stool

Received: January 20, 2026; Revised: February 15, 2026; Accepted: February 17, 2026; Published: February 27, 2026  Show citation

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Kadavý J, Kneifl M, Uherková B. Height growth of Quercus petraea coppices: Effects of tree type, stand management, and site conditions – A case study from the Czech lowlands. Journal of Forest Science. 2026;72(2):93-105. doi: 10.17221/7/2026-JFS.
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