Does management improve the state of chestnut (Castanea sativa L.) on Belasitsa Mountain, southwest Bulgaria?

Chestnut forests in the Belasitsa Mountain region of southwest Bulgaria were traditionally intensively managed as orchard-like stands for nut production. More recently, management intensity has been sharply reduced as a result of rural abandonment, which combined with the effects of chestnut blight has led to marked structural changes in these forests. The focus of this paper is on the seed-based regeneration potential and seedling survival of chestnut in mixed stands managed over the past 15 years. Results suggest that management of stands under a high-forest system is appropriate, and regeneration from seed has advantages over coppicing if competing species can be controlled. An investigation into “sanitation cutting” performed since the 1990s shows that this had not a successful response to blight infestations.