COMBINED DETERMINATION OF THE AGE OF YOUN G BEECHES (FAGUS-SYLVATIC L)

Tree ring analyses from cuttings through the middle of the hypocotyle and the successive length increments were done on young beeches of kno wn age with and without ''lammas shoots''. It could be pointed out tha t the accurate age can be certainly determined by analyses of ring for mation (Fig. 4. 6. 7. 9). Endogenous-proleptic shoots (Fig. 8c and d) do not cause a false wood ring. During these investigations there coul d be found false wood rings only in few cases (Fig. 5a and b). These f alse rings (additional rings) do distinguish from true rings through t he blurred boundary between the first increment area and the succeedin g additional increment (Fig. 5b). It is also possible to determine mor phologically the accurate age of young beech plants by counting the le ngth increments produced regularly along the axis of the primary leaf axil shoots including the hypocotyle (Fig. 3). Thus, the number of the length increments is identical with the number of the true rings in t he hypocotyle. The different branching patterns of one year old beech seedlings are morphologically described (Fig. 1, 2). A field method fo r testing the accurate age of young beech seedlings is presented (Fig. 3, 8, 9).