Treesearch

During the summer, orientation surveys were carried out and initial plans for the conduct of the project were completed. Generally, the plans are for the investigation of the short and long-term effects of logging and associated activities on the nature, the ecology, and the productivity of one branch (the south fork) of Caspar Creek. The north fork watershed is not to be logged and the north fork will thus serve as a "control" area for the study.

Reports 4-year results of revegetation measures tested for emergency erosion control after fire denuded the San Dimas Experimental Forest in 1960, including establishment of seeded grasses and their influence on recovery of native vegetation.

Recording timber-cruise data with a portable tape recorder cost 10 percent less than using paper and pencil. Data errors of 1.3 percent were not considered important owing to the usual review.

Young-growth, mixed-conifer stands were logged by a group-selection method designed to create openings 30, 60, and 90 feet in diameter. Total costs for felling, limbing, bucking, and skidding on these openings ranged from $7.04 to $7.99 per thousand board feet. Cost differences between openings were not statistically significant. Logging costs for group selection compared favorably with those previously reported for seed-tree and selection harvest cuts--$8.20 and $8.39, respectively.

Studies of natural reproduction following logging under unit area control started in 1948 at the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest in California. Results from 119 permanent and 468 temporary quadrats show that when logging preceded a good seedfall, 67 percent of the total reproduction established in the first year remained after 12 years. With rodent control, 4 percent of the 1948 seedfall gave rise to new seedlings. Bare soil or light litter in semishade made good seedheds, but tolerance to sun and litter depth differed among species. Incense-cedar and white fir were the most common...

Consideration of the available data on cellulose pyrolysis suggests that, with relative importance depending upon heating rate in the temperature range 200-400°C, very pure cellulose decomposes by two competitive endothermic processes. lt is postulated that an unzipping reaction produces 1,4-anhydro-α-D-glucopyranose which rearranges to give levoglucosan. The other process, a dehydration, is considered to form the starting material for a subsequent exothermic process which results in CO2, CO, further H2O, and char. Although the known effects of some salts on cellulose pyrolysis can be...

Humidity patterns near the 500- to 1,000-meter level on California's coastal mountains often show an anomolous decrease in the moisture content at night and early morning. A study in the Santa Ana mountains suggests that nighttime downslope winds provide the most satisfactory explanation for the decrease in moisture because of their effect on the marine layer.

Few areas in the world have so many introduced plants as the Hawaiian Islands. Government agencies, private organizations, and many individuals have engaged in sometimes major efforts to bring in useful species. lntroducing new species for forestry purposes began well before the turn of the century and is still continuing. Follow -up appraisal of the . adaptability of introduced trees forms an important part of forestry research. The Hawaii Forestry Division (and its predecessor agencies) has probably been the most active in tree introduction work. As early as 1887 Walker (1887) reported...

Flowering of koa was strongly seasonal on the Mauna Loa Strip. At 4,000 feet heavy flowering began in early December and lasted until early March. At 6,700 feet it extended from early March until mid-May. Heaviest flower losses occurred during anthesis, and were due to wind, rain, and possibly the dropping of unpollinated heads. Large insects were important as pollinators. Shoot growth was cyclic, being most rapid from April to August, and much slower from September to March, or April.