Effects of Cutting and Logging Processes on Tree Resprouting and Mortality in Chestnut Coppices in Southern Italy

In the Mediterranean mountain areas, generally, in the coppice cutting the logging operations of the woody materials are carried out intensively, causing damages to the stumps often irreversible. These forest practices are becoming unsustainable and invasive, also influencing the future regeneration and the timber quality. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate, one year after thinning interventions, the effects of cutting and logging operations on the vitality of stumps, but also on the ability of the chestnut coppice to sprouting, focusing in 4 subplots extending each 0.025 ha, located on slope with different slopes. The study was conducted in a coppice stand dominated by chestnut, in the context of the “Aspromonte” National Park (southern Italy). The studied forest is delimited by two forest roads and the timber handling was carried out toward both the borders using agricultural tractors. The results obtained showed how the cutting and timber handling induced the death of some stumps, affecting the number and the vitality of the shoots, but also their growth. In fact, on average, one year after cutting, shoots > 1 cm in diameter were the 65.0% in the MS areas and the 16.5% in the HS areas. Furthermore, for damaged and un-damaged stumps, they were the 27.0 and the 55.0% respectively. The shoots with a height > 1 m were the 16.0% in the MS (medium slope) areas and the 2.7% in the HS (hight slope) areas; the undamaged stumps had the 11.5% of shoots with a height greater than 1 m, com-pared to the 7.2% of the damaged stumps. Therefore, the damage was greatest in high slope areas. Moreover, measuring the height of the dominant stems, we underline the importance of this parameter for evaluating the coppice vitality within a chestnut forest stand. The observed effects revealed how it is fundamental to choose the best cutting and logging options to minimize the damages on the young trees, but also to guarantee the timber quality in a long-term perspective.