Umbrella (forestry)
In forestry, an umbrella is the totality of all the crowns of the trees of the upper layer of a forest over the next generation of stands or over cultivated plants (for example blueberries ).
Meaning and quirks
The umbrella gains its importance through the shading of the vegetation growing underneath . It creates an indoor forest climate on a given area, which, compared to open land, ensures a moderate level of humidity, temperature and solar radiation. The reduced supply of light to the plants growing under the umbrella means that they tend to sprout later in spring, which reduces their risk of late frost.
For this reason, the cultivation of some tree species in Europe is often only possible "under umbrella". In the German-speaking area in particular, complex silviculture systems have been developed that take into account the need for protection of the young trees against late frosts during the regeneration processes (umbrella flap in its various variations). Shade-bearing tree species such as the silver fir and the common beech, whose shares in the forest in Germany are to be increased, are particularly at risk from late frost . The conversion of unstable, i.e. remote coniferous forests into semi-natural mixed hardwood stands therefore requires regeneration measures before the final removal of the prevailing tree layer. Occasionally, for the subsequent cultivation of red beeches, special birch forests are established, under which young beeches aged 2 to 4 years are later planted.
literature
- Peter Burschel , Jürgen Huss : Outline of the silviculture. A guide for study and practice . 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Berlin: Parey, 1997. ISBN 3-8263-3045-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhold Erlbeck, Ilse E. Haseder and Gerhard KF Stinglwagner : Das Kosmos Wald und Forstlexikon . Stuttgart: Kosmos, 2002. ISBN 3-440-09316-6
