Best Practice Knowledge Base
4.2 Girdling
Girdling create standing beech deadwood. Germany © Hernán Serrano-León
Girdling is a technique in which a strip of bark and cambium layer around the circumference of a tree trunk is removed. This disrupts the downward flow of photosynthates, leading to the gradual death of the tree. Girdling is particularly effective in controlling invasive tree species without the immediate ecological disturbances associated with felling. Additionally, girdling can create standing dead trees or snags, which creates microhabitats that enhance biodiversity. This method avoids the use of chemicals and minimizes soil disturbance, making it a valuable tool in sustainable forest management and restoration efforts.
I. Guidelines
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus Region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Girdling, constriction and ring barking | Pepper | 2008 | Europe | English | Girdling and ring barking in tree management and in nature. | https://www.trees.org.uk/Trees.org.uk/files/be/be635d9d-5a6e-464a-a6b7-0ca1e85f1dba.pdf |
| 2 | Guide to Volunteer Organizations: Removal of Invasive Trees-Wrenching and Girdling | Watershed protection | ? | United States | English | Short guidelines for volunteers when removing invasive plant species by girdling. | https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Watershed/riparian/GrowZones-How-To-Girdling-Workday.pdf |
| 3 | Programa de integración de medidas de conservación en la planificación y gestión forestal | BIORGEST | 2019 | Spain | Spanish | Document with various actions to biodiversity enhancent and fire prevention, including specific indications for tree girdling | https://lifebiorgest.eu/docs/Programa%20integracion%20de%20las%20medidas%20de%20conservacion.pdf |
| 4 | Méthode de l’annélation | Centre forestier de formation Lyss | 2014 | France | French | Méthode de l’annélation: description, application et conseils techniques | https://www.waldbau-sylviculture.ch/publica/2014_2_annelation.pdf |
| 5 | Tree girdling tools | US Forest Service | 1999 | United States | English | Summary of tools for tree girdling | https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf99242809/pdf99242809pt02.pdf |
II. Books or book chapters
| Nº | Title | Author | Chapter | Chapter author | Year | Focus region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Grundriss des Waldbaus | Burschell and Huss | Bestandeserziehung-Bestandespflege - Durchforstung | - | 2004 | Europe | German | Describes different methods for the removal of trees when thinning, girdling among them | - |
| 2 | The practice of silviculture: Applied forest ecology | Ashton and Kelty | Post-establishment tools in silviculture | - | 2017 | World | English | Use and indications for girdling as a release treatment | https://www.wiley-vch.de/de/fachgebiete/naturwissenschaften/the-practice-of-silviculture-978-1-119-27095-9 |
III. Scientific articles
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus region | Language | Type | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Deadwood management in Central European forests: Key considerations for practical implementation | Vítková et al. | 2018 | Central Europe | English | Narrative review | Review on the different ways of creating deadwood in restoration efforts, including girdling | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.07.034 |
| 2 | Tree girdling increases soil N mineralisation in two spruce stands | Zeller et al. | 2008 | Germany | English | Experiment | Effect of tree girdling on soil nitrogen mineralisation in young and old spruce forests in southeast Germany | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.12.009 |
| 3 | Deadwood management in Central European forests: Key considerations for practical implementation | Vítková et al. | 2018 | Central Europe | English | Narrative review | Review on the different ways of creating deadwood in restoration efforts, including girdling | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.07.034 |
| 4 | Avaliação da estrutura de uma floresta submetida a diferentes intensidades de anelamento, 28 anos após a intervenção | Santos da Silva et al. | 2016 | Brazil | Portuguese | Experiment | Experiment on the effect of girdling on the structure of a tropical forest in Brasil | dx.doi.org/10.18671/scifor.v44n112.20 |
| 6 | Killing it Softly: Girdling as an Efficient Eco-friendly Method to Locally Remove Invasive Acer negundo | Merceron et al. | 2016 | France | English | Experiment | Testing 4 different methods to remove invasive Acer negundo, including girdling | https://doi.org/10.3368/er.34.4.297 |
| 7 | Viability of thinning sessile oak stands by girdling | Reque & Bravo | 2007 | Spain | English | Experiment | Effects of thinning by girdling in the forest structure and economic alternative to non-commercial thinning in oak stands in Spain | https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpm003 |
| 8 | The creation of structural diversity and deadwood habitat by ring-barking in a Scots pine Pinus sylvestris plantation in the Cairngorms, UK | Agnew & Rao | 2014 | United Kingdom | English | Experiment | Ring-barking effectivity in creating structural diversity and deadwood habitat in two plantations in United Kingdom | https://conservationevidencejournal.com/reference/pdf/5487 |
| 9 | Testing the Effect of Snag and Cavity Supply on Deadwood-Associated Species in a Managed Boreal Forest | Dufour-Pelletier et al. | 2020 | Canada | English | Experiment | Response of deadwood and cavity users to snag and cavity supply by girdling and nest boxes in Canada | https://doi.org/10.3390/f11040424 |
| 10 | Wild bees benefit from structural complexity enhancement in a forest restoration experiment | Eckerter et al. | 2021 | Germany | English | Experiment | Effects of deadwood creation through girdling and uprooting on wild bees in a spruce forest in Germany | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119412 |