The analysis of flourishing of six conifer species in the area of Gostovic´ka rijeka.
In the forestry of Bosnia and Herzegovina in general, a long persisting problem is major presence of mainly low productivity and low-quality outgrown forests or totally bare surfaces. At approximately 50% of the forest surfaces in Bosnia and Herzegovina the production potential of the stands is not optimally utilized, that is, the maximum quantity of quality timber fails to be produced. One of the measures that have been applied in the past in order to overcome this problem is introduction and growth of plantations of autochthonous and allochtonous tree species distinguished for fast growing and high quality timber. Numerous spruce plantations have been raised, including Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arn.), and in smaller numbers Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga mensiesii Franco.), European larch (Larix europaea L.) Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis Gord.) and American Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus L.). Due to insufficient experience the obtained results differed. The studies on the production and structural characteristics were carried out on the plantations of the Norway spruce, the Scots pine and the Austrian pine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while on the allochtonous tree species the studies were only partially carried out. This study is an addition to previous such studies. The aim of this study is to analyze and evaluate the productivity of the six conifer species, 3 autochthonous and 3 allochtonous, in a comparative trial in the area of Gostivaćka rijeka.