Treesearch

Restoring native plant communities is a key objective in the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. Opportunities have increased following recent wildfires. This paper describes the policy and history behind the reforestation and restoration programs in the Northern Region (Region 1) of the USDA Forest Service, which focused primarily on meeting the objectives in the National Fire Plan, Key Point 2, Rehabilitation and Restoration. The discussion continues with an overview of the rehabilitation efforts in response to nearly 13 million ac (5.3 million ha) of National Forest Lands that have...

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Bighorn National Forest in northcentral Wyoming. The variables include live tree density, dead tree (snag) density, canopy cover, abundance of coarse woody debris, species diversity, fire return intervals, the abundance of various diseases, the proportion of the landscape in different land cover...

Hardwood seedling production presents several challenges that differ considerably from pine seedling production. Because of a nearly double water requirement, hardwoods need to be planted where they can be irrigated separately from pines. Nutrient requirements are generally higher for hardwoods, including especially nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). Other nutrients are required in a slightly higher level. The form of N is very important. Sources of N that are “reduced,” including ammonium and urea, are used efficiently. “Oxidized” forms, including mostly...

The Nursery Technology Cooperative has been conducting projects to examine forest seedling quality and reforestation success in the Pacific Northwest for more than 20 years. Because of the large wildfires in recent years, there is a growing interest in studying reforestation strategies for optimum restoration following a fire. We have developed 2 “Rapid Response Reforestation” projects to address common reforestation issues in burned areas. Because the number of acres in need of planting cannot be predicted in advance, it is difficult to have adequate seedling stock, especially 2-year-old...

Crop rotation and fallow are management options that can be used to control plant parasitic nematodes in forest tree nurseries. Before these options can be put into practice, it is important to determine the host range and survivability under fallow of the parasitic nematode to be controlled. The results of host range tests on a needle nematode (Longidorus spp.) and a stunt nematode (Tylenchorhynchus ewingi) indicate that crop rotation practices were a factor leading up to the development of damage by these nematodes at 2 Southern nurseries. The needle nematode became a problem in a field...

With hundreds of variables to investigate, and thousands of combinations, seldom is there found such appeal to the investigator as an organism’s response to density. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) was grown at several levels of seedbed density and sowing configurations in order to display unique contrasts between consequent morphological traits, expense investments, and respective grades in revenue potential.Individual papers from this publication

The survey on values, objectives, beliefs, and attitudes, implemented as a module of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, asked over 7,000 respondents nationwide about their values with respect to public lands, objectives for the management of these lands, beliefs about the role the USDA Forest Service should play in fulfilling those objectives, and attitudes about the job the agency has been doing. This report ? one of a series of similar regional reports ? shows that respondents from the Intermountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah,...

It appears, from observations reported by both private and public nurseries, that there are nurseries that do not have adequate quality assurance procedures. Species are being mislabeled and incorrect seed sources are being sold. It appears that some nurseries have entered the market ill prepared to provide quality seedlings. On the other hand, why should anyone listen to an established nursery instead of a new nursery that is selling a less expensive seedling? Nursery accreditation would be one way for a reputable nursery trying to follow correct practices to distinguish themselves from...

The survey on values, objectives, beliefs, and attitudes, implemented as a module of the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, asked over 7,000 respondents nationwide about their values with respect to public lands, objectives for the management of these lands, beliefs about the role the USDA Forest Service should play in fulfilling those objectives, and attitudes about the job the agency has been doing. This report - one of a series of similar regional reports - shows respondents from the East (USDA Forest Service Region 9: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,...

Successful weed management must be an incorporation of techniques and ideas. Habitual practices of cleaning equipment, using the proper cover crop, spraying small amounts of herbicides early and more often, timing of applications, and the use of the correct mulch/resin are all important lines of attack in keeping the nursery free of competing vegetation. The methods presented are methods used at MeadWestvaco’s forest tree nursery in Ravenel, SC.Individual papers from this publication