Reaction of Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) plantation to fertilization

Silver fir as a domestic species is an important tree in our forests. Unfortunately it has suffered from serious dieback in Central Europe in the last decades. Reintroduction of Silver fir is not an easy task as seedlings and saplings are sensitive to many environmental harmful factors and to game browsing damage especially in early stages after germination. The fertilization of Silver fir saplings could help shorten the sensitive period of the tree species. Silver fir research plots were founded in 1999 to observe an impact of different fertilizers on its height growth. Applications of conventional as well as modern fertilizers confirmed the positive influence on the height growth of the species. Apical dominance ratio was used to evaluate the growth status of saplings.