Plantation silviculture of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) cultivars in Hungary - A review

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is the most widespread tree species in Hungary, occupying approximately 24% of the forested land and providing 25% of the annual timber output of the country. Due to the demands of consumers new cultivars are to be produced by improvement techniques and introduced into practical forestry use. This review provides a practice-oriented survey on black locust cultivar's management in Hungary. Material and Methods: There are several cultivars and cultivar-candidates for high volume, high quality saw logs; for pole and prop, fuelwood and fodder production, of which there are several multipurpose varieties. Tending guidelines of stands established with the selected black locust cultivars are in some ways different from stands established by seedlings or regenerated by coppicing. Results and Conclusion: It is important to know how stand density influences production and how it can be manipulated. This has already been worked out for most of the major European tree species that can be grown plantation-like. Many countries have some form of production or yield models based on various spacing and thinning regimes, which are usually entered via site index curves based on height and age. Black locust plantation silviculture can come to be synonymous with high-input intensive management of monocultures for the production of a relatively narrow range of industrial products. However, there is no doubt that plantation silviculture will become increasingly important in more and more countries with special regard to the marginal site conditions.