[Effects of thinning intensity on the seed bank and seedling growth of Quercus variabilis on the south slope of Qinling Mountains, Northwest China].

In August-November 2010 and August 2011, and taking the pure Quercus variabilis forests under close-to-natural management of different thinning intensity (30%, 20%, and 10%) in Shangluo district of south slope of Qinling Mountains as the object, an investigation was conducted on the seed amount of seed bank, the survival rate and growth status of seedlings, and their relationships with environmental factors 4-5 years after thinning. As compared with the control, the seed amount in the seed bank of 10%, 20%, and 30% thinning plots increased by 2.0%, 21.1%, and 34.8%, respectively in the fourth year after thinning, and the 1-year-old seedlings amount increased by 28.5%, 99.7%, and 122.2%, respectively in the next year. The survival rate of the seedlings in the 10%, 20%, and 30% thinning plots was increased by 25.5%, 235.7%, and 480.0%, respectively in the fifth year after thinning. Thinning improved the light, temperature, soil moisture, and soil nutrient conditions in the forests, which promoted the height- and new shoot growth and the leaf area index of each age seedlings. The three growth indices also increased with increasing thinning intensity. In the Q. variabilis forest with a canopy density of > or = 0.85, the thinning intensity 30% (canopy density 0.6) was most conducive to the seed germination and seedling growth.