Crown architecture and dynamics in Abies procera as influenced by cutting for greenery

Greenery production from 13 to 17 years old Abies procera was studied in three localities differing in soil and tree provenance. Two alternative clipping strategies for greenery were applied during 8 years. Subsequently, destructive crown analyses were carried out on the trees sampled from these and traditionally cut plots. Regeneration occurred from stubs or bases of cut primary branches. In cases when stubs were removed, proliferation took place around the scar; these branches compensated in numbers but not in biomass for the absence of stub branches. More severe cutting regimes resulted in an overall biomass reduction, most notably with shorter and lighter whorl branches. Interwhorl branches and branches issued from the base of primary branches were able to extend progressively in response to severe cutting. Base branches were apparently recruited along most of the trunk, the latency of growth points thus being up to at least 10 years. Competition among interwhorl branches, as well as more complicated interactions between whorl branches and secondary branches arising from their base, are indicated by the data. Reiteration directly from the stem could not be provoked and the results suggest that optimum greenery yield depends on careful stub management.