Artificial regeneration of northern red oak in the Lake States with a light shelterwood: a departure from tradition

Abstract

Artificial regeneration of northern red oak is difficult to achieve in the Lake States. A replicated study was established in northern Wisconsin in 1990 to determine the effect of overstory density and understory competition on the performance of bareroot and containerized northern red oak seedlings on a dry-mesic site. The relationship between seedling performance and the number of first-order lateral roots was also tested. Seedling performance was evaluated under three overstory densities - clearcut, 25%, and 50% crown covers - in combination with (or without) understory vegetation control with herbicide. Height growth was greater for containerized seedlings than for bareroot seedlings after two and three growing seasons. After 2 years, seedling growth was greatest in the sprayed clearcut plots, but was only slightly greater than the unsprayed plots under the 25% crown cover (bareroot 25.5 vs. 23.8 cm, and containerized 33.0 vs. 31.2 cm, respectively). After 3 years, seedling height growth (containerized and bareroot) was significantly greater in the unsprayed plots under the 25% crown cover than in all overstory/understory treatment combinations examined. These early results suggest that the light shelterwood (25% crown cover) treatment may be a good alternative over the more traditional management scheme of establishing seedlings under a medium density shelterwood (70% crown cover) with total overstory removal at a later date.

Citation

Teclaw, Ronald M.; Isebrands, J. G. 1993. Artificial regeneration of northern red oak in the Lake States with a light shelterwood: a departure from tradition. In: Gillespie, Andrew R.; Parker, George R.; Pope, Phillip E.; Rink, George: eds. Proceedings of the 9th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-161. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station: 185-194