Evaluation of the early success of natural regeneration in Scots pine stands in northern Finland after small gap, selection and shelterwood cuttings using various site preparation methods

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Abstract
The interest in continuous cover forestry (CCF) has increased in Northern Europe over the last decade. Its sustainability depends on successful natural regeneration, which can be limited by the demanding growing conditions in northern Fennoscandia. We studied the early success of, and factors influencing, natural regeneration in six Scots pine stands on xeric and mesic sites in northern Finland after small gap, selection and shelterwood cuttings under different site preparation methods––none, track and patch scarification. The stands were treated in 2020–2021 and inventoried in 2024. We evaluated the factors affecting the number of Scots pine seedlings established after cuttings using generalised linear mixed modelling, considering both field-measured and remote-sensing-based predictors. We found that the modelled number of seedlings increased in the small gap stands along with increasing distance to the forest edge and coverage of bare humus and lichen. This number decreased in the selection and shelterwood cutting stands along with increasing stoniness and moss (excluding Sphagnum spp.) coverage. In both cases, site preparation (especially track preparation) improved the regeneration result. Based on the best fitting model, the mean number of seedlings in the small gap stands was 1500 ha-1 and in the selection and shelterwood cutting stands 1000 ha-1. The success of the regeneration is currently insufficient only 3–4 years after cuttings, but it can still improve in the coming years.

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