Treesearch

The effects of forest management on non-timber resources are of growing concern to forest managers and the public. While many previous studies have reported effects of stand-level treatments (less than 15 ha) on various stand-level attributes, few studies have attempted to document the influence of forest management on the biotic and abiotic characteristics of entire management areas, comprising many stands on hundreds of hectares. The Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) was initiated by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1990 as a long-term study of typical forest...

This study, a multifactor ecological classification system, using vegetation, soil characteristics, and physiography, was developed for the landscape of the Hoosier National Forest in Southern Indiana. Measurements of ground flora, saplings, and canopy trees from selected stands older than 80 years were subjected to TWINSPAN classification and DECORANA ordination. Physiographic and soil measurements were regressed on groundflora DECORANA scores. Strong relationships were observed between vegetation and slope aspect, soit A- horizon depth, slope position, and soil pH. The landscape was...

The effects of diameter-limit cutting on the future species composition and development of 60-80 year-old upland oak stands were studied in southern Ohio. Four treatments, 11-inch diameter-limit cut, 14-inch diameter-limit cut with selective thinning, 14-inch diameter-limit cut with low thinning, and uncut control were evaluated on medium oak sites (black oak site index 60-75 ft) and good oak sites (black oak site index > 75 ft). Twenty 1.8 acre treatment areas were established, 2 complete replications of the 8 treatment combinations and one partial replication. One year after cutting,...

Partial cutting in bottomland hardwoods to control stand density and species composition sometimes results in logging damage to the lower bole and/or roots of residual trees. If severe, logging damage may lead to a decline in tree vigor, which may subsequently stimulate the production of epicormic branches, causing a decrease in bole quality and an eventual loss in value of the stand. To investigate this hypothesis, a partial cutting to remove pulpwood-sized trees (i.e., low thinning/improvement cutting) was performed in the summer of 1990 in a 45-year-old green ash-sugarberry stand...

The group selection method is a hybrid, drawing key elements from both even- and uneven-aged silviculture. It is perhaps the least used and understood of all the reproductive cutting methods, but it is gaining popularity because of the current disfavor of even-aged silviculture. The group selection method appears promising for regenerating shade-intolerant and intermediate-tolerant species. Research has shown that larger openings create conditions favorable to shade-intolerant species, while smaller openings favor the more shade-tolerant ones. Larger openings consist of a central core that...

Interplanting black walnut (Juglans nigra) with four different nitrogen fixing, woody nurse crops (Alnus glutinosa, Elaeagnus umbellata, E. angustifolia or Caragana arborescens) increased annual walnut height and stem diameter (dbh) growth overall by as much as 50% and doubled or tripled crown volume compared to all-walnut check plots during a 14-year period after plantation establishment. Walnut interplanted with non-nitrogen fixing, woody nurse crops (Lonicera maackii, Acer ginnala, or Pinus sylvestris) in a companion experiment of 12 years duration did not grow significantly more than...

White ash, white oak, and black walnut were planted with and without autumn olive on a site previously occupied by a 10-year-old stand of autumn olive. Seven years later, height, diameter, and foliar nitrogen were significantly greater in plots with autumn olive than in plots without autumn olive. White oak in plots previously occupied by autumn olive were larger in diameter but shorter than white oak in plots previously inhabited by shrubs and scattered hardwoods. Prior cover of autumn olive apparently did not increase growth more than prior cover of shrubs and scattered hardwoods.

Northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings exhibit relatively high survival rates following planting, but their growth rates are often slow and extensive stem dieback can occur. This study was designed to investigate the growth responses of northern red oak seedlings planted with or without root-pruning or shoot-pruning. One-year-old (1-0) northern red oak nursery stock was planted without top-pruning while the two-year-old (2-0) stock was top-pruned to a shoot length of 25 cm. Both types of seedlings were planted with or without root-pruning. Morphological characteristics of each...

An examination of literature pertaining to lease (fee) hunting resulted in a description of tradeoffs for landowners, hunters, wildlife managers, and wildlife in the Central hardwood forest region. Landowner advantages associated with a lease hunting enterprise were better vandalism and trespass control, increased income, increased services, enhanced wildlife management, and farmland preservation; disadvantages were increased landowner liability, increased time and financial investment, changes in farm operation, and increased resentment. Advantages of lease hunting to hunters, wildlife...

Forty fenced and unfenced paired plots were established in a central Pennsylvania mixed oak stand following an improvement shelterwood cut to assess the influence of deer exclusion on the establishment and development of understory vegetation during the first four years following cutting. Exclusion of deer increased the abundance and height growth of woody regeneration which consisted primarily of yellow-poplar, red maple, black birch and black gum. Few oak seedlings became established during the study in either the fenced or unfenced plots. Deer exclusion affected herbaceous composition...