Best Practice Knowledge Base
7.6 Pruning
Pruning is a silvicultural technique that involves selectively removing branches from trees. Its main purposes generally include improving timber quality by enhancing the growth of clear, knot-free wood and shaping tree form; enhancing forest health by controlling diseases; and improving movement within the forest. However, it can also be used to reduce the vertical continuity of biomass within the stand, in order to reduce the risk of fires.
I. Guidelines
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus Region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | NZFFA Information leaflet No. 7 (2005) - Pruning | Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) | 2005 | - | English | Basic description of the main types of silvicultural pruning methods | https://www.nzffa.org.nz/farm-forestry-model/resource-centre/information-leaflets/farm-forestry-association-leaflet-series/no-7-pruning/ |
| 2 | A Land Manager’s Guide for Creating Fire-Resistant Forests | Fitzgerald & Bennett | 2013 | United States | English | Guidelines to create fire-resistant forests | https://www.nwfirescience.org/sites/default/files/publications/A%20Land%20Managers%20Guide%20for%20Creating%20Fire-resistant%20Forests%20.pdf |
II. Books or book chapters
| Nº | Title | Author | Chapter | Chapter author | Year | Focus region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Waldbau auf Ökologischer Grundlage | Bartsch et al. | Bestandespflege - Ästung | - | 2020 | Europe | German | Detailed description of pruning for general purposes | https://www.utb.de/doi/book/10.36198/9783838587547 |
| 2 | Grundriss des Waldbaus | Burschell and Huss | Bestandespflege - Ästung | - | 2004 | Europe | German | Detailed description of pruning for general purposes | - |
| 3 | Plantation silviculture in Europe | Savill et al. | Spacing, thinning, pruning, and rotation length | - | 1997 | Europe | English | General recommendations for prunning | https://global.oup.com/academic/product/plantation-silviculture-in-europe-9780198549086?cc=us&lang=en&# |
| 4 | The practice of silviculture: Applied forest ecology | Ashton and Kelty | Pruning methods and applications | - | 2017 | World | English | Detailed guide for pruning for general purposes | https://www.wiley-vch.de/de/fachgebiete/naturwissenschaften/the-practice-of-silviculture-978-1-119-27095-9 |
| 5 | Silviculture: Concepts and applications | Nyland | Managing quality in forest stands - Pruning | - | 2016 | World | English | Detailed guide for pruning for general purposes | https://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=416 |
| 6 | Selvicoltura generale | Piussi and Alberti | Tecniche particolari di coltivazione: Le portature | - | 2015 | Italy | Italian | Recommendations for pruning for multiple purposes, including fire prevention | - |
III. Scientific articles
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus region | Language | Type | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Effects of Pruning on Vegetation Growth and Soil Properties in Poplar Plantations | Huang et al. | 2023 | China | English | Observational study | Analyses the impact of pruning on tree growth as well as understory vegetation and soil properties in Poplar plantations in China | https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030501 |
| 2 | Pruning high-value Douglas-fir can reduce dwarf mistletoe severity and increase longevity in Central Oregon | Maffei et al. | 2016 | USA | English | Observational study | Analyses the impact of pruning on tree health, especifically mistletoe infestation in Douglas fir | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.07.014 |
| 3 | Can pruning help maintain vitality of ash trees affected by ash dieback in urban landscapes? | Marciulyniene et al. | 2017 | Europe | English | Experiment | Pruning can be effective to prevent stem infection by fungi in Ash trees in urban landscape | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.06.017 |
| 4 | Assessing the effect of pruning and thinning on crown fire hazard in young Atlantic maritime pine forests | Hevia et al. | 2018 | Spain | English | Experiment | Pruning and thinning can be effective in the mitigation of crown fire hazard in a pine plantation in the Northwest of Spain | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.09.051 |
| 5 | Dynamic Evaluation of Early Silvicultural Treatments for Wildfire Prevention | Piqué et al. | 2022 | Spain | English | Experiment | Pruning and precommercial thinning can be effective in preventing fire hazard in a pine stand in Spain | https://doi.org/10.3390/f13060858 |