Treesearch

Browsing by large deer herds has seriously impaired successful regeneration on some Connecticut forests. Six plots were established in 1990 to examine the effectiveness of 5 deer browsing protection devices for 5 tree species. Protective devices included plastic mesh sleeves (60-cm), Reemay (spunbonded polypropylene) sleeves (60-cm), Tubex tree shelters (120 and 180-cm), and Corrulite tree shelters (120-cm) to be compared to unprotected controls. Species included eastern white pine, eastern hemlock, Norway spruce, northern red oak, and black walnut. After 3 growing seasons, seedlings...

A 22 year-old shelterwood treatment that failed to regenerate oaks on an upland site in Michigan was clearcut in the fall of 1986 and planted with 2-0 northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings the following spring. The four planting treatments included: control (clearcut harvest only), brush control only, 48 inch tree shelters only, and brush control plus tree shelters. After three years, 65 percent of sheltered northern red oak seedlings were at least 47 inches tall and on average 21 inches taller than unsheltered seedlings. After six years, a total of 92 percent of sheltered trees...

Silvicultural practices that promote two-age stand structures have the potential to meet a wide range of forest resource goals. Such practices can overcome perceived disadvantages associated with clearcutting and still provide sustainable yields of desirable timber products and other woodland benefits. Forest managers need information on stand development following two-age harvests to develop prescriptions that meet diverse landowner objectives over long planning periods. Species composition, distribution, and stem quality of commercial hardwood reproduction were evaluated in four central...

Thinning guidelines have existed for most eastern hardwood forests for 20 to 30 years. While these guidelines are presented in varying degrees of detail, they generally all contain recommendations on levels of residual stand density and stand structure, along with information on crop tree requirements. Recent attempts have been made to simplify thinning guidelines by using an individual tree approach, referred to as "crop tree management". This is in contrast to the "area-wide approach", which purportedly focuses on the stand-level alone. In this paper, I will show how the two approaches...

In 1988 seven study areas were established in Connecticut to examine the effects of precommercial crop tree release on bole and crown growth. Each study area has 27 8x8 m plots centered on a northern red oak, black oak, or scarlet oak identified as a potential crop-tree (PCT). The 27 plots at each study area were divided into 3 treatments: no cutting, removal of all stems with crowns within 1 m of the crown of a PCT, and removal of all stems with crowns within 1 m of the crowns of a PCT and 2 other potential crop-trees. After cutting, 7191 stems remained. A consequence of crop-tree release...

The term "forest health" means many things to many people and we do not know how to measure it. Baseline standards for conducting a physical examination of a stand of trees do not exist. One factor that can be considered when making judgments about the health of a particular forest tree species is change in the relative stocking of that species, that is the extent to which the species is gaining or losing ground in its ecosystem. The forest survey unit at the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station is using remeasured forest inventory plot data to estimate current average annual change in...

During a 2-year investigation into the effect of small mammals on northern red oak (Quercus rubra) acorn survival and germination, widespread germination failure and lack of seedling vigor was apparent in control quadrats on one of two watersheds under study. Insects were present in and on the failed acorns but it was unknown whether they were primary invaders or merely scavengers. The purpose of the present study was to determine: 1) the proportion of acorn failure that could have been attributed to insect infestation, and 2) the effect of cotyledon damage due to insects on the vigor of...

Provides current and historical information on primary and secondary hardwood products, production, prices, international trade, and employment.

The traditional role of silviculture was to manipulate forest vegetation to provide wood and related forest products for humanity's benefit over a long period. Silviculturists soon noticed that such manipulation influenced other components of the ecosystem. In particular, insects and diseases responded dramatically to silvicultural practices-both positively and negatively. The use of silviculture to improve the health of northeastern conifers is most used in spruce-fir forests for spruce budworm, white pine and mixed white pine-oak forests for white pine blister rust and white pine weevil,...

Pathogens and insects are major driving forces of processes in forested ecosystems. Disturbances caused by them are as intimately involved in ecosystem dynamics as the more sudden and obvious abiotic disturbances, for example, those caused by wind or fire. However, because pathogens and insects are selective and may affect only one or several related species of trees, or the less vigorous or genetically unfit members within a species, the resulting patterns of disturbance may differ from those caused by abiotic factors. Pathogens and insects may cause disturbance through direct effects on...