The more, the better? Water relations of Norway spruce stands after progressive thinning

• Thinning experiment with progressive thinning intensities.
• Effects of thinning on individual components of the water balance were quantified.
• Increased soil water availability by thinning.
• Increasing productivity related water use efficiency on single tree and stand level.
• Soil water storage capacity and ground vegetation restricted thinning effect.

Predicted intense and prolonged drought events challenge forest management. Thinning is debated as a silvicultural measure for reducing drought risk in densely established forest stands. We report on a thinning experiment in a 26-year-old Norway spruce stand (Picea abies), comprising of two thinning intensities and one unthinnned control. The removal of 43% (moderate thinning, MT) and 67% (heavy thinning, HT) of the initial basal area led to increased water availability during the entire three year observation period. Stand-level transpiration (Es) was decreased by about 25% upon moderate, and by about 50% upon heavy thinning during the first year after the interventions had been carried out. However, differences in Es across the treatments decreased within three years after thinning mainly due to increased single-tree transpiration and additional understory evapotranspiration at HT. Nevertheless, due to lower interception and transpiration on the thinned plots three years after treatment MT and HT still showed a substantial surplus in extractable soil water. The results showed that the main determinants concerning the extent of the mitigation effect with increasing thinning intensity were the available soil water storage capacity and the emerging understory vegetation. We conclude that repeated moderate thinning, through enhancing the water availability to the remaining trees, can mitigate drought risk in young spruce stands and thus, represent a viable silvicultural measure in anticipating possible water limitations due to climate change.