COST Action E 52 - vTI - Bund.de

the widest annual rings and the highest number of trachea were found in samples from the optimal
growth area (Kahvecí, Huss 2009).
Dense vegetation cover, mainly Rhododendron ponticum L. and Rhododendron flaum Don., in oriental
beech growing sites, causes problems for natural regeneration. Other species which have negative
effects on the natural regeneration of beech forests are Ilex aquifolium L., Vaccinium arctostaphylos L.,
Prunus laurocerasus, blackberry (Kahveci, Huss 2009). Other factors which prevent regeneration
in oriental beech forests in Turkey are the predators of seed such as rodents and infrequent seed
formation.
In the past, especially up to the 1980s, the wood quality of beech was considered to be poorer than
that of conifers and therefore degraded and coppiced forests of beech were replaced by conifers
(Kahveci, Huss 2009).
In the past, oriental beech forest in Turkey suffered from the effect of improper silvicultural treatments
and other anthropogenic factors (Çalikoğlu, Kavgaci 2001). These affected the quality of oriental
beech timber and the genetic base of beech stands. The regeneration with seedlings resulted in
genetic recombination and the provision of a larger genetic base needed for adaptation to existing
or changing environmental conditions. Thus, regeneration of oriental beech forests in such places
should be gradually replaced through seedlings rather than coppicing (Kandemir, Kaya 2009).
Photo 2: An example of stem sprouting regeneration of oriental beech in Sinop (Black Sea Region of Turkey)
(KANDEMIR 2008)
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