Treesearch

Nutrient supply often limits growth in forest ecosystems and may limit the response of growth to an increase in other resources, or to more favorable environmental factors such as temperature and soil water. To explore the consequences and mechanisms of optimum nutrient supply for forest growth, the Flakaliden research site was established in 1986 on a young Norway spruce site with nutrient-poor soil. This special section on research at Flakaliden presents five papers that explore different facets of nutrition, atmospheric CO2 concentration, [CO2], and increased temperature treatments,...

Site preparation following timber harvests is widely used to increase seedling establishment postharvest. Historically, dozer piling and ripping were the most common forms of site preparation in the Intermountain West. Less commonly, terracing of hill slopes was another form of site preparation on the Bitterroot National Forest in western Montana from 1961-1970 on marginally productive lands. Our objective was to compare soil physical and chemical properties as well as timber productivity as evidenced by diameter-at-breast height (dbh) between terraced and standard-site preparation methods...

Many public land management agencies monitor forest soils for levels of disturbance related to management activities. Although several soil disturbance monitoring protocols based on visual observation have been developed to assess the amount and types of disturbance caused by forest management, no common method is currently used on National Forest lands in the United States. We present data on relative soil disturbance based on harvest system from National Forests throughout Montana and Idaho. Because each National Forest uses its own method for data collection, we developed a common,...

The use of native plants in wildland restoration is critical to the recovery and health of ecosystems. Information from genecological and reciprocal transplant common garden studies can be used to develop seed transfer guidelines and to predict how plants will respond to future climate change. Tools developed from these data, such as universal response functions and trait shift maps, can help managers make informed decisions regarding restoration strategies, such as assisted migration, in the face of climate change.

Assisted migration may be necessary as a climate change adaptation strategy for native plant species that are less adaptive or mobile. Moving plants has been practiced a long time in human history, but movement of species in response to climate change is a new context. First proposed in 1985, assisted migration has gained attention since 2007 as a strategy to prevent species extinction, minimize economic loss, and sustain ecosystem services. We present a synthesis of proposed assisted migration guidelines and provide resources for nurseries, landowners, and researchers.

Phytosanitation is not a new concept but has received renewed attention due to the increasing threat of nursery spread Phytophthora ramorum (PRAM), the fungus-like pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death. This disease has the potental to become the most serious forest pest since white pine blister rust and chestnut blight. Phytosanitation can help prevent the spread of this and other pathogens to or from nursery operations. Phytosanitation can most simply be viewed as an input-output model: prevent pests from entering your nursery and make certain that your plants are not carrying pests when...

Propagation environments are areas that have been modified for plant growth, and can be designed using the law of limiting factors. Identifying critical factors that are most limiting to optimal plant growth is helpful when developing both bareroot and container nurseries. Propagation environments can be categorized into minimally-controlled, semi-controlled, and fully-controlled. The defining characteristics of each are discussed. When planning a nursery, three things should be considered: the type of crop, local soil and climate conditions, and available budget.

This paper reviews research on improving the basic technique of cold stratification for tree and shrub seeds. Advanced stratification techniques include long stratification, stratification re-dry, or multiple cycles of warm-cold stratification. Research demonstrates that careful regulation of moisture levels and lengthening the stratification period have produced a more vigorous response in several species. Advanced stratification techniques have also produced more uniform germination in species that, when treated in the basic manner, have failed to germinate or have germinated erratically....

This paper illustrates how to use an excel spreadsheet as a decision-making tool to determine optimum sowing factor to minimize seedling production cost. Factors incorporated into the spreadsheet calculations include germination percentage, seeder accuracy, cost per seed, cavities per block, costs of handling, thinning, and transplanting labor, and more. In addition to numerical outputs, the spreadsheet generates a graphical representation of results to present and evaluate options. Example scenarios demonstrate how the tool can be used. A copy of the spreadsheet tool is available by...

Crucial to the restoration of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) ecosystems is the ability of forest managers to locate, propagate, and reintroduce viable, disease-resistant populations to these jeopardized systems. Currently, one of the most limiting steps in this process is the slow, labor-in - tensive, and expensive process of producing whitebark seedlings at forest nurseries. From a nursery production standpoint, whitebark seed dormancy is complex and more problematic that other western conifers. Although seedling culture has evolved and become more streamlined, overcoming seed dormancy...