Treesearch

This report is a case history of stand development 25 years after a 9.0-inch diameter-limit cutting in a primarily second growth 40- to 45-year-old Appalachian hardwood stand. Some old residual trees from the early 1900 logging era were scattered throughout the stand. In 1950, a 9.0-inch diameter-limit cutting removed 8,650 board feet per acre and reduced the basal area from 97 to 24 square feet per acre. Twenty-five years after this 1950 cutting, the total sawlog volume was 7,425 board feet per acre with a basal area of 98 square feet per acre. Oaks accounted for 42 percent of the...

European black alder is recommended for planting on many surface mine spoils in the eastern United States. It grows rapidly on a range of spoil types and contributes to soil enrichment by fixing nitrogen and providing a leaf fall rich in nutrients. This study evaluated the effect of alder on the survival and growth of five hardwood and five pine species. After 10 growing seasons, the alder had had little effect on the survival of the interplanted species, but their height and diameter growth were greater in association with alder, Foliar analyses showed that the interplanted species had...

Nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV) of the gypsy moth was fed to three mammalian predators of the insect: the white-footed mouse, the short-tailed shrew, and the Virginia opposum in the form of NPV-infected 5th instar gypsy moth larvae, polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB's) mixed in dog food and PIB's mixed in a standard spray formulation. The total amount of NPV consumed by each treated mouse and shrew was equivalent to more than a 40-ha exposure for a 7Okg person, assuming the NPV was applied at the rate of 5.0 x 1011 PIB's/ha. Analyses of general body condition, weight, and reproductive...

The results of this study show that (1) black cherry seed remains viable in the forest floor for 3 years, with a small amount of seed germinating after 4 or 5 years; (2) sassafras seed remains viable for 6 years in the forest floor, and (3) some wild grape seed retains its viability for at least 8 years. These results are important to the forest manager in setting up harvest schedules and controlling unwanted species in the new stand.

Goal programing (GP) can be useful for decision making in the natural Christmas tree industry. Its usefulness is demonstrated through an analysis of a hypothetical problem in which two potential growers decide how to use 10 acres in growing Christmas trees. Though the physical settings are identical, distinct differences between their goals significantly influence the recommendations made to them. Included also is a simplified presentation of the general GP model plus a discussion of its applicability to production and marketing problems in the industry.

Results of a survey of intensive forest-culture practices on forest-industry lands in the North. Timber-stand improvement and commercial thinning have been and apparently will continue to be the most popular practices undertaken. Estimated increases in recent annual harvests due to intensive culture averaged about 4 percent, and greater increases are expected during the next decade. Industrial managers expressed a high-priority need for more knowledge about genetic tree improvement, site preparation, fertilization, and species conversion.

A stocking guide for stands of Allegheny hardwoods (sugar maple or sugar maple-beech with varying admixtures of black cherry, red maple, white ash, sweet birch, and other species) on the Allegheny Plateau in northwestern Pennsylvania. Included are procedures for evaluating stocking and stand conditions, thinning even-aged stands, determining minimum residual stocking, distributing the basal-area cut in a stand, and using the guide for selection cutting.

A study of practices for marketing Christmas trees in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Denver, Colorado, revealed that such factors as retail lot competition, tree price, consumer traffic, and consumer income were very important in determining a particular retailer's sales. Analyses of 4 years of market data were used in developing regression models for predicting sales of cut trees from retail lots.

A custom-built bark blower truck (MOBLOW) developed in Oregon was tested for its effectiveness in applying bark mulches, sawdust, and shavings in the eastern United States. Tests determined the bark blower's performance and cost in mulching grass-legume seedings and shrub beds with 10 bark products or wood residues. Bark blower trucks built to MOBLOW specifications can effectively apply pine and hardwood bark products, sawdust, and wood shavings, but cannot handle unprocessed bask residues. Blower trucks can be used to blow shredded bark, sawdust, and shavings into barns, cattle sheds,...

Labor turnover in hardwood sawmills of the Appalachian Region was studied by using data collected during interviews with 68 mill managers. Job-quitting was highest among young unskilled workers who had less than 6 months of service with their employers. Half of the mills surveyed had annual quit rates of more than 100 percent. Variation among mills was associated with the age of mill employees, wages and the number of paid holidays received by the workers, and the general wage level and unemployment rate in the local labor market. Lumber output per man-hour varied inversely with quit...