Production and nutrient accumulation in a eucalyptus plantation as a consequence of thinning intensities and fertilization

Abstract

The objective of this work was to estimate the production of wood and biomass, as well as nutrient accumulation, in a eucalyptus plantation subjected to thinning intensities and post‑thinning fertilization. The experiment was carried out in randomized blocks, in a split‑plot arrangement, with two replicates of treatments within each block. Thinning intensities (0, 20, 35, and 50%) were evaluated in the plots, and the fertilized and non‑fertilized conditions in the split plots. Thinning was done at 89 months, and the fertilizer application at 99 months. Data were collected at 125 months. Thinning affected the diameter growth, basal area, wood volume, and biomass. Post‑thinning fertilization did not affect nutrient accumulation by the forest, neither its production. Nutrient accumulation above ground and in the trunks was inversely proportional to thinning intensity. Calcium content in the litter varied with thinning, and the ones of K, Ca, Mg, and S, with fertilization. Thinning has a higher influence on forest post‑thinning production than fertilization.