Management and Silviculture of Highly Valuable Oak (Quercus petraea and Q.

robur)

Robert M. Ochieng, Donal Yeang and Hou Zhengyang

Belonging to the genus Quercus, there are about 400 species of oak around the world. Oaks
occur naturally in Asia, North America and Europe. In Europe, oaks have traditionally been used
for the production of acorns for pig feeding and were very important for ship construction in the
early stages of the naval industry and in winery. Because of its importance in Central Europe,
some counties e.g. Germany has it as her national symbol and in her currency.

Today in Germany and France, oaks (Quercus petraea and Q. robur) are managed for the
production of high valuable veneer, timber and wine barrels 1,2 . 3 highlights the following as key
market requirements for valuable and highly priced oak wood: knot and other defects free wood;
large dimensions, at least 40 – 60 cm mid diameter; maximum ring width of 4mm; dbh(1.3) of 70 -
80 cm and; consistently light color.

These requirements calls for careful management of oak stands and are the basis of oak
silviculture. To achieve these dimensions, oaks require a rotation of between 160 – 240 years
(Germany) and between 200 – 300 years (France)1,2,3. To produce quality veneer logs, oaks need
to have an average clear bole of at least 8m which calls for consistent pruning of all future crop
trees. However, since artificial pruning is expensive, natural pruning is preferred. This is
achieved by having a high density of trees during regeneration of a minimum of 5 000 s.p.h3.
Once the clear bole length has been achieved, there is need for intense shading of the bole to
avoid the occurrence of epicomic branches which reduces quality (and price) of aok wood
considerably1. This is ensured by the use of admixture species.

                                                            
1
Personal communication from Prof. Henriech Spiecker, Institute of Forest Growth, University of Freiburg,
Germany
2
Personal communication from Mr. Steckel, German Forest Administration, Johanniskreuz, Rheinland-Pfalz
Germany
3
von Lüpke, B. 1998. Silvicultural methods of oak regeneration with special respect to shade tolerant mixed species.
Forest Ecology and Management 106: 19 – 26
In Germany beech (Fagus sylvatica) is the mostly widely used admixture species while in France
hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) is preferred. Beech is preferred because it grows naturally, grows
vigorously under shade of oaks and casts a dense shade. However, it is highly competitive and
has to be cut frequently since if left untended it out-competes the oaks. While hornbeam does not
grow into the canopy of oaks and provides litter3, it is highly nutrient demanding and cannot be
used in poor soils1,2. It also has a short life span of only 150 years and has weak regeneration2.

Regeneration of oak can be done naturally or artificially by direct seeding and sowing.
Regeneration basically takes place under shade but the canopy must be open and is quickly
removed within 4 – 8 years following regeneration3 to promote height growth. In the first 20 – 25
years following regeneration, careful release cutting is done but only for selected future crop
trees. The number of final crop trees ranges from 50 – 80 s.p.h and usually up to 300 trees is
selected as candidates for the future. Any beech tree that grow into the canopy of the future trees
has to be cut as are any other trees that can cause competition.1 provides vitality, shape (i.e. clear
bole, branching pattern, occurrence of epicomics, twisting, e.t.c.) and potential competition as
criteria for selecting future crop trees, and dbh(1.3) times a factor of 25 as a rule of thumb for
deciding minimum distance between adjacent future trees. At an average age of 27 years the first
pre-commercial thinning is done. The first commercial thinning is done between the age of 45
and 55 years2,4 and thereafter every 8 – 12 years depending on stand and market conditions1.
Clear felling is done when the trees have attained the desired diameter of 70 – 80 cm. However,
felling may be done earlier or later depending on market conditions.

                                                            
4
Personal communication from Bruno Jubera, Office Nationale de Forets, Troncais, France