Treesearch

The Forest Service avoided positive management activities within giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] Buchholz) groves after heavy early logging on private lands caused adverse public reaction. However, since 1975 timber sales and prescribed burning have been conducted to encourage giant sequoia regeneration and increase tree vigor. General management direction is contained in supplements to the Forest Service Manual. Management strategies for individual groves will be finalized through the Land Management Planning process, now underway.

Shelterwood cuttings on Swain Mountain Experimental Forest were measured to determine performance six to eight years after the shelterwood cutting and before shelterwood removal. Use of appropriate selecting criteria minimized windthrow of seed trees. Regeneration remained red fir, even where the major seed source was white fir. Density of seed trees may affect seedling growth only after the fourth year. Adequate regeneration can be attained and maintained at 25 trees per hectare (10/acre). In addition, the total number of seedlings produced each year was apparently not related to cone...

Established in 1946, the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, Tulare County, California, is managed by the California Department of Forestry. It is a multiple-use forest with recreation as its primary focus, although timber management has always played an important role. Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl. ] Buchholz) occurs in isolated groves in the Sierra Nevada and grows on about half the acreage of the Mountain Home Forest. Old-growth specimens are protected, and selected young-growth trees are encouraged to grow to old-growth. Young sequoias are a valuable resource...

Management of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum,/i> [Lindl.] Buchholz) in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks focuses on the need for maintaining and, where necessary, restoring natural ecosystem processes. Such a program includes restoration of natural fire regimes, mitigation of impacts from visitor use, support for basic research and monitoring, and careful evaluation. Research includes studying the effects of air pollution. Interpretation translates information on the ecology and management of giant sequoia for the public.

The giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] Buchholz) groves in their natural setting are one of the outstanding scenic features of the southern Sierra Nevada. These groves where they have survived should be man-aged to protect their natural values and to restore former natural conditions wherever possible. Groves that are essentially intact should have the whitewoods removed that have encroached as a result of over-protection from fire. Pines and firs should be carefully removed to avoid damage to giant sequoias. Once natural conditions are restored, prescribed burning should be...

Wood properties of giant sequoia (Sequoia gigantea [Lindl.] Decne.) were compared with those for other coniferous tree species. Wood properties such as specific gravity, various mechanical properties, extractive content, and decay resistance of young-growth giant sequoia are comparable to or more favorable than those of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.). It is recommended that giant sequoia be considered for planting stock in managed production forests to increase future supplies of wood having the characteristics so highly valued in coast redwood and other decay-resistant...

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] Buchholz) is genetically less variable than expected; furthermore, it is less variable and its populations are less structured than are several associated or related conifers. Giant sequoia seedlings from open-pollinated seeds of isolated trees or from small outlier groves do not survive and grow as well as those from large groves, and cold susceptibility is related to elevation of origin. On the basis of these observations and other considerations, planting strategies for within and outside the native range are recommended. More information...