EN
The objective of the study was to examine the sprouting ability and growth of silver birch after cleaning in a 11−year−old oak stand in Kolumna Forest District (central Poland). The purpose of the cleaning was to remove naturally regenerated birch. Six different treatments were applied as a cleaning methods. They differed in time of application and height of cutting or breaking the birch sprouts, i.e. spring cleaning at ground level in every second oak row (W1) or over the entire surface (W2), cutting or breaking at a height of 1 m in spring (W3a, W3b) and cutting or breaking at a height of 1 m in summer (W4a, W4b). We analyzed the formation of new sprouts and their height and dbh increment over a 4−year period after the treatment. On average, after spring cleaning 10−20% of birches produced new sprouts when birch was cut at the ground level. When cut at one meter, 85−90% of birches produced new sprouts. Cleaning in the summer decreased the sprouting ability by 20−25%. There were also significant differences in height growth of sprout between spring (better) and summer (worse) time of cleaning. There were no significant differences in sprouting ability and sprout growth between cutting and breaking when done at the same time of the year. Thus, the most effective way to restrict competition of birch in young oak stands is cutting at ground level.