Height growth of Quercus petraea coppices: Effects of tree type, stand management, and site conditions - A case study from the Czech lowlands

This study examines height growth and its driving factors instools and standard trees, the two key structural components ofcoppice-with-standards stands. Wefocused onsessile oak [Quercus petraea agg. (Matt.) Liebl.] stands over 90 years old attwo contrasting sites near Brno (South Moravian Region, Czech Republic): one actively managed and one left unmanaged for more than 40 years asastrict nature reserve. Tree heights were analysed using two-factor analysis ofvariance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests and multinomial logistic regression. Atotal of1239 trees were measured (584 stools and 655 standards). Standard trees were the tallest onaverage (21.8 m), significantly exceeding all the stool categories, whereas managed triple-stem stools were the shortest (15.97 m). Across all categories, unmanaged stands generally reached greater heights than managed stands did, except for standard trees. The forest type, exposure and slope had significant effects onheight class probabilities, whereas elevation was important only for smaller trees. Overall, the results demonstrate that both the tree type and site conditions strongly influence height growth inQ.petraea coppice-with-standards stands, with management history leaving a clear biological legacy in the present-day stand structure.