ORIGINAL PAPER Probability model of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) stump sprouting in the Czech Republic Marke ´ta S ˇ plı ´chalova ´ • Zdene ˇk Adamec • Jan Kadavy ´ • Michal Kneifl Received: 16 September 2011 / Revised: 13 February 2012 / Accepted: 16 March 2012 / Published online: 5 April 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag 2012 Abstract We modeled the probability of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) stump sprouting 1 year after harvest. We established seven research plots in forest stands with ages from 31 to 97 years, differing site indexes and elevations ranging from 290 to 410 m above sea level. A total of 862 stumps of sessile oak were analyzed. In each plot, the position (respective to the plot centre), stump surface diameter, age at the time of harvest and regenera- tion status (successful or unsuccessful) were determined for every stump. The probability of stump sprouting 1 year after harvest was modeled using logistic regression. Stump diameter and parent tree age were both negatively corre- lated with sprouting probability. No impact of site index on sprouting probability was found. Out of several analyzed models, three models were statistically significant. The model with stump diameter was found to be the most suitable. For stump diameters C35 cm, the sprouting probability fell below 50 %. For stump diameters up to 20 cm, the probability of at least one living sprout occur- rence was C70 %. When compared with similar models used for three North American oak species (Quercus velutina Lamb., Quercus montana W. and Quercus alba L.), the sprouting probability in sessile oak stumps declines more sharply as stump diameter increases. Keywords Sprouting capacity  Sessile oak  Coppice  Logistic regression Introduction Sprouting capacity is understood as a tree’s ability to react to various injuries (caused, for example, by game browsing or felling) or to dramatic changes in its environmental conditions (disturbances). Viewed from this perspective, sprouting capacity is a universal attribute among deciduous species, although isolated instances of its occurrence in conifers have been recorded as well. The above-mentioned processes result in the production of sprouts or secondary stems. Sprouting shoots can originate from dormant buds located above ground (axillary, branch epicormic or stem epicormic) or from the base of the plant (i.e., from the collar roots or underground stems (Bond and Van Wilgen 1996). Similarly, sprouting capacity can be classified according to the morphology of the sprouts’ origin and occurrence (Del Tredici 2001) as (a) sprouts originating from the root collar on the stem base (both in seedlings and in mature trees), (b) sprouts originating from specialized underground stems, (c) sprouts from roots or (d) opportunistic sprouts from branches lying on the ground. Generally, we distinguish between the sprouting capacity of seedlings and the sprouting capacity of mature trees (Johnson et al. 2009). In seedlings, sprouting capacity aids the trees’ survival in various stress conditions, including being in the shade of the parent stand, injury from game browsing and site exposure. On the other hand, sprouting in mature trees helps to increase their longevity (as a reaction to damage), and root sprouting is predominantly a strategy to obtain new living space. Del Tredici (2001) states that species growing under greater stress load (exposed sites or sites with the above- mentioned disturbances) tend to regenerate more sponta- neously, for longer time periods and at greater levels. The primary objective of coppice (sprout) management is to safeguard a balanced production of relatively thin Communicated by U. Berger. M. S ˇ plı ´chalova ´(&)  Z. Adamec  J. Kadavy ´  M. Kneifl Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Institute of Forest Management, Mendel University in Brno, Zeme ˇde ˇlska ´ 3, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic e-mail: xsplich0@node.mendelu.cz 123 Eur J Forest Res (2012) 131:1611–1618 DOI 10.1007/s10342-012-0628-3