Ecological conditions in the Castanetarium Horné Lefantovce and growth of European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.)[Slovak Republic]

The Castanetarium (14.38 ha) was established in 1965-1969 on locality Ferdinandka (220-250 m a.s.l.), near village H. Lefantovce (West Slovakia), Mts Tríbeč. The mean values of litter production (on 10 plots) were following: assimilative organs and flowers (13 229 k per ha - 64%), twigs (5448 kg per ha - 27%), cupules and/or cones (1816 kg per ha - 9%). In the 1968 the delimited agricultural soils were classified as Luvisols, in present they have characteristics typical for Albic Luvisols. The 36 years after forestation a considerable drop in the pHKCl values was recorded in upper 30 cm of the soil pit 4 (by a 1.0-1.1 pH) and soil pit 8 (by a 0.73-1.04 pH) and in upper 20 cm of soil pit 1 (by a 0.75-1.05 pH). The content of humus within the upper 20 cm of soils increased by a 29-157% and ranges between 1.77-3.86%, the ratio C/N in the clone orchard by a 1.5-2.0 times (to 12.9-16.1), on the PRP Radošiná 2 by a 1.4-2.0 times (to 14.4-17.1), and on the PRP H. Lefantovce even by a 2.5-7.2 times (to 15.8-16.8). From the adjacent forest stands 25 woody species including 11 (44%) shrubs have been invaded into PRP. The further 85 species have been found in the herb layer, including 14 (16%) grasses, 12 (14%) synanthropic species, 8 (9%) heminitrophilous species and 16 (19%) indicators of the 3rd forest vegetation tier. The geobiocoenoses of the Castanetarium belong to the group of forest types Fagetum pauper inferiora. In the age of 35 years (in 2001) the plantations of 86 seed progenies of chestnut-trees cultivated in 12 localities of Slovakia have a mean breast-height diameter (cm) from 8.4 (Modrý Kameň 7) to 24.7 (Tlstý Vrch 9), height (m) from 9.5 (Krná 3) to 20.2 (Radošina 3), standing volume (cubic m per ha) from 2.67 (Modrý Kameň 7) to 410.00 (Duchonka 2) and total volume yield (cubic m per ha) from 40.37 (Krná 3) to 877.49 (Duchonka 12). The 15 (17.44%) of seed progenies were very good and 24 (27.91%) good. In 2001 at the stand age of 38 years, the higher volume stock, as a result of the higher number of trees, has been observed in untended stands. In tended stands the highest volume stock (410.89 cubic m per ha) was assessed in the mixed stand Castanea sativa Mill. and Tilia cordata Mill. with the admixture of chestnut by 63.48% (260.85 cubic m per ha).