Treesearch

Information on seed production is vitally important in obtaining good forest regeneration. This is true of young-growth as well as virgin stands of Douglas-fir, but thus far most seed studies have been confined to old growth. Now, with the transition to management and harvest of young stands, we need seed information from these forests, also.

Stand age for Douglas-fir has been defined as the average age of dominant and codominant trees. It is commonly estimated by measuring the age of several dominants and codominants and computing their arithmetic average.

Owners of Douglas-fir reproduction stands often ask, "Is this land suited for Christmas tree production, or should I hold it for timber?" In answering this question, foresters will find a consideration of site will usually be helpful as a supplement to personal judgment and experience. The following table shows how some of the stand characteristics, important for both Christmas trees and timber, vary by site class.

The initiation and rapid increase in harvesting of Shasta red fir mountain hemlock stands in southwestern Oregon have emphasized the lack of information needed to manage these species intelligently. The most important single management practice for converting old growth to managed forests is the application of cutting methods that will assure prompt regeneration of desired species. Clearcutting in staggered settings has been used for the first sales in Shasta red fir on the Rogue River National Forest. A pioneering study to assess natural regeneration was started in 1951 from which...

Before an introduced tree species is. recommended for wide-scale forest planting, its adaption to the local climate and soil should be carefully checked over a long period of years. This need has been clearly demonstrated at the Wind River Arboretum where many introduced species are being evaluated for possible use in plantations. The purpose of this note is to call attention to six of the introduced conifers (table 1) that have been killed or critically injured by extremes in climate before they reached merchantable size or rotation age. Several of these species made satisfactory growth...

In the fall of 1952, E. E. Matson of the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station learned that the Fir-Tex Insulating Board Company bf St. Helens, Oregon was considering mixing alder with Douglas-fir chips for outside storage. Since alder heartwood i s more susceptible to decay than that of Douglas-fir, the question arose whether mixing the two might hasten the decay of the Douglas-fir chips. It was then suggested that the Division of Forest Disease Research should be consulted. This led to the establishment of some outdoor small scale tests in late October 1952. Preliminary...

Wood ash and its accompanying alkalinity have sometimes been cited as being harmful to germination of tree seed on slash-burned forest land. Unasylva, the United Nations forestry publication, recently carried a report of research in British Columbia on the effect of slash burning on germination and initial survival of lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir. One finding was that "There was no germination where ash was added to unburned soil, due to the increased pH of the soil, the hardening of the ash layer, and exclusion of oxygen and high concentration of the nutrient solution

Chemical treatment of standing trees to facilitate bark removal has received a great deal of attention in Eastern United States and Canada during the past decade. The potential advantages of removing bark or extending easy peeling throughout we year have stimulated tests of many chemicals and methods of application.

For the second successive fire season forest fire weather in western Oregon and Washington was far below normal severity. The low danger is reflected in record low numbers of fires reported by forestry offices of both States and by the U. S. Forest Service for their respective protection areas. Although spring and fall fire weather was near normal, a rain-producing weather pattern persisted over the Northwest from late May to mid-September. The resulting summer fire danger was as low as any on record. Summer weather also had a direct effect on fire occurrence since 1954 lightning storm...

Flammability of Oregon and Washington national forests during the middle of the 1953 fire season was slightly less than the 3941-51 normal as indicated by slightly above normal fuel moistures (table 1). The rating is based on the 25 lowest daily observations of fuel-moisture indicator sticks in the July 16 to August 31 period. Records are from 68 key fire-danger stations near the exterior boundaries of the national forests.